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Leader (1850-1860), 9th September 1854, Edition Country of 2, Page 17, September 9, 1854.] THE LEADER. 357

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      A Batch Of Books.* Dubiwa The Course Of ...

      and "Verse , " of which many have already appeared in the Nonconformist and other periodicals . Mr . Langford is not ambitious . He does not , so far as we can judge from his own words , lay claim to the rank of Poet , for he tells us , in a short and modest preface , "it is hoped that in the present volume the reader will find pleasant matter for an hour ' s reading in Sunshine or in Shade . " Some of the " Lays " are pretty enough , but we cannot help telling Mr . Langford , that to talk of men " walking in the sublime " may be very necessary for the purposes of versification , but that , as a phrase , it has no meaning whatever . In the second stanza of the same lay there is an obvious deficiency in ear . It is quite painful to read lines ILke these : —

      " All things that worth the winning are , Are won by toil alone . " In short , the first lay , " Laborare est or are , " is nearly the worst in the set , and we strongly advise Mr . Langford to cut it out altogether ; or , at least , to place it in a less conspicuous position . The Last Days of JDiserth is a poem , in six cantos , and is an attempt to reawaken an interest in the old British legends , and in the history of Wales before it became a conquered country . How a Welsh bard , fares in these bad days may be learned from , the folio-wing description , extracted from the Chester Courant . For 80 years Jolo Fardd Glas had been one of the most laborious writers and distinguished bards of his day . He had won prizes at the yearly festivals , and , on one occasion , another gainecl a prize for a poem written by Jolo Fardd Glas in a workhouse . "It was two miles from the degrading scene of his deathbed , that to the place where the bard was

      to take his final rest ; and there he was taken in a cart , much like a malefactor taken to the galloWs ; and in Caety Churchyard , among the paupers of Pen-y-Bont workhouse , lies the once celebrated Jolo Fordd Glas . " Arid yet ; the bards to whom this pauper traced his descent , whose name he inherited , were the S 0 ul of Welsh nationality . In these stirring days , when events crowd thick and fast , so that hours are as years , we lose our interest ; in the past . The author of JDiserth has rnadea praiseworthy- and , we hope , a successful attempt to remind us that Wales was onqe ; a country . Tlie TMrdNapolean is an ode addressedtoAlfred Tennyson , and in which Robert Story recommends the poet Laureate to ^ deal no more in fiction * '' to spend no more tiiue on '' rnyths" and inventions of the brain , but to take for his text the real and the present . He even condescends to sket 6 h . ilie plan of a poe . m which will cover Alfred Tennyson with immortal laurels . The subject is to be Napoleon the Third . Here is a specimen of Mr . Kobert Story's muse :-

      —:. * Sing him to a prison taken , And when fear his life would claim , Lo ! his captor—awed and shaken By the speU-wqrd of his nanie—Spares , it- —the damnation dreading . ' Which would follow his blood-shedding . " Our readers will thank us for declining to quote any of the " Songs of the War" which occupy the rest of the volume . Next on our list are three books on Sporting ; Mr . Mayhew , who writes about the management of dogs , is a veterinary surgeon , and lays before the public the result of several years' experience . He hopes to hjduee a more careful study of pathology , a subject which , he tells us , is " at present not properly taught , nor rightlv understood by those who profess to alleviate canine afflictions . / ' The book is purely scientific .

      In ^ shilling , volume , published by Routledge , Mr . Clakey gives us some practical directions about shooting , which we strongly recommend to the reckless young sportsmen who are as dangerous to their neighbours as to the birds , and to the ignorant ones who wish to learn something of their art . Fish and Fishing in the Lone Glens of Scotland explains itself , and is what it pretends to be—an account of the salmon streams in the north , written in an unaffected Guide-book style . Of Famous Persons and Famous Places , by NT . P . Willis , a portion has already appeared in Pencillings by the Way ; the rest is of the same character , very clever , very picturesque , very amusing , but full of what we can only describe as " snobbisms . " In the eyes of the democratic Willis , a noble lord is the most perfect of human beings , and ho loses no opportunity of telling us how the aristocracy of England acknowledged , in his person , the

      dignity of the Republic . 11 is a noble lord who introduces him to Professor Wilson ; as he sits at dinner , he looks round upon the aristocratic company at table , and " thinks he never saw heaven ' s image double stamped as man , and noble so unequivocally clear . " Lord Aberdeen is an especial favourite . " Lord Aberdeen lms tlio name of being tho proudest and coldest aristocrat of England . It is amusing to boo the person who bears such a character . Ho is of the middle height , rut her clumsily mado , with an address more of sober dignity tlinn of pride or reserve . With a black coat much worn , nnd always too largo for him , a pair of course oheck trousers very ill made , si waistcoat buttoned up to his throat , and a cravat of the most primitive negliffd , his aristocracy is cortain . lv not in his dress . His manners are of absolute simplicity , amounting almost to want of style . Ho crosses his hands bohinj him , nnd balances on his hools ; in conversation his voice is low and cokl , and ho seldom smiles . Yot there is «* certain benignity in his countenance , and fin indefinable superiority and high breeding in his simple address , that would betray hit ) nvnlc after a few minutes' conversation to any shrowd observer . It ia only in his nunner towards tho Indies of the party that ho would bo immediately distinguishable from men of lower «\ nk in society . "

      This palpable weakness , however , by no moans diminislios tho charm of tho book . It is not oflbnsive . We know that wo shall come across it , often and often , as soon as wo have road through tho first half-dozen pages , and so we make up our mind to bear our Into . Tho next extract must conclude our notice of tho book . It is three o'clock in Regent-street . " Look _« t theso equipages nnd tlieir nppointmontH 1 Murk tho exquisite balance of that clurot-boiliod chariot upon its apriiim—tho ( Inosvyuy of its sumptuous hmmnorcloth in which the un-smlling concliinnn sits ( mnod to the iniddlo—tho exaot ( It of tho Baddies , setting into tho curves of tho horses batiks so uh not to brenk , to tho most cnroloss oyo , tho lino lines which exhibit notion nnd grace 1 Sco how they stand together—ukrt , ttory , yot obedient to tho woignt ol n silicon thread ; and as tli <) oouohinuu sous you studying his turn-out , obaorvo tho imperceptible fuol of tho ruiaa nnd tho just- visible motion oilna lips , conveying to tho quick onraouua horsos tho premonitory , « nd , to us , inaudible sound , to which , without drawing a ii « ira breadth upon tf »« traces , thuy paw their lino hoofs , uud expand their nostrils impatiently I Oorno nearer , and find < i » p « ik or » mined lmir , if you oun , on Uiobo glossy couts ! uuaorvo tlio nico HtnosB of tho dead blnok harness , tho modoat crest upon tho panel , the Uolioato pjoUing out of white in tho wheels , « n < l , if you would venture upon » freedom in nrnnnora , look in through tho window of rose-tinted glass , nnd eco tho splendid cushions nnd

      the costly and splendid adaptation of the interior . The twin-mated footmen fly to the carriage-door , and the pomatumed clerk who has enjoyed a tete-a-tete for which a Prince Royal might sigh , and an ambassador might negotiate in vain , hands in his parcel . The Email foot presses on the carpeted step , the airy vehicle yields lightly and recovers from the slight weight of the descending form , the coachman inclines his ear for the half-suppressed order from the footman , and off whirls the admirable structure , compact , true , steady , but magically free and fast—as if horses , footmen , and chariot were but the parts of some complicated centaur—some swift moving monster upon legs and wheels . u Walk on a little further to the Quadrant . Here commences the most thronged promenade in London . These crescent colonnades are the haunt of foreigners on the look-out for amusement , and of strangers in the metropolis generally . You will seldom find a town-bred man there , for he prefers haunting his clubs ; or , if he is not a member of them , he avoids lounging much In the Quadrant , lest he should appear to have no other resort . You will observe a town dandy getting fidgetty after his second turn in the Quadrantwhile you will

      , meet the same Frenchman there from noon till dusk , bounding his walk by those coluiimsas if they were the bars of a cage . The western side towards Piccadilly is the thoroughfare of the honest passer-by ; but under the long portico opposite you will meet vice in every degree , and perhaps more beauty than on any other pave in tlie world . It is given up to the viciousand then- followers by general consent . To frequent it , or to te seen loitering there at all , is to make but one impression on the minds of those who may observe you . " The two sides of Regent-street continue to partake of this distinction to the end . Go up on the left , and you meet the sober citizen perambulating with his wife , the lady followed by hex , footman , the grave and the respectable of all classes . Go up on the other , qnd in colour and mein it is the difference between a grass-walk and a bedjot tulips . What proof is here that beauty is dangerous to its possessor ! It is said commonly of Regent-street , that it shows more beauty in an hour , than could be founi in all the capitals of the continent . It is the beauty , however , of brilliant health—of complexion and freshness , more than of sentiment or classic correctness . The English features , at least in the middle and lower

      ranks , are seldom good , though the round cheek , the sparkling lip , the soft blue eyes , and hair of dark auburn , common as health and youth , produce the effect of high and almost universal beauty on the eye of the stranger . The rarest thing in these classes is a finelyturned limb , and to the clumsiness of theiiv feet and ankles must be attributed the "want of grace usually remarked in their . movements . , ¦ : . ' u Regent-street has appeared to me the greatest ; and most oppressive solitude In the world * In a crowd of business then , or in - the' thronged arid mixed gardens of the continent , the preoccupation of others is less attractive , or at least more within our reach , if we woald share in it , Here it is wealth beyond competition , exclusivefiess and indifference perfectly unapproachable . In the cpld and sterri : mein of the practised Londoner , it is difficult for a stranger hot to read distrustj and very difficult for a depressed mind not to feel a marked repulsion . There is no solitude after-all Hke the solitude of cities . : ; ' . .. . ' . ¦¦ " ' O dear , dear London' ( says the companion of Asnnpdeus on his ireturn from France ) dear even in October ! Begent-street , I salute you !; Bondrstreei ; , my good fellow , how are- you ? And you , oh , beloved Oxford-street , whom the opium-eater- called *

      stoneyhearted , ' and whom I , eating aid opium , and speaking as I findj snail ever consider tie most kindly and maternal of all streets—the street of the hiiddle classes-7-busy ¦ without uproar , wealthy without ostentation . Ah ,-the . pretty ankles that trip ^ lohg thy pavement i Ahl the odd CQuhtry-ebusJh bonnets that-peer into- thy wihdpws , which are lined witli cheap yellow shawls , price one jtbund four shillings , marked in tie corner ! Alii the brisk young lawyers flocking from their quarters at tliebackof Holbdrh ! Ah ! the quiet old ladies living iriDuchessrStreet , and visiting thee with tlieir eldest daughters in the . Hope . of a bargain ! Ah , the bumpkins from ^ ortolfc , jiistf disgorged by the Bull and Mouth—the soldiers- ^ the milliners— ^ the Frenchmen---tlie swindlers— -the porters with-four-post beds on their back ? , who . add the excitement of danger to that of amusement 1 The various shifting motley , groiiD that belong to' Oxford-street , and Oxford ^ street atone ! What thoroughfares e ^ ual thee in tlie variety of human specimens ! in . the choice of objects , for rehaark , satire ,

      admiration 1 Besides , the other streets seem chalked out for a sect- —narrow-rninded , ana devoted to a coterie . Thou alone art catholic—all receiving . Regent-street belongs to foreigners , cigars , and ladies in red silk , whose characters are above scandal . Bond ^ -street belongs to dandies and picture-dealers . St . James ' s-street to club-loungers and young men in tke guards , with , rnustaclies properly blackened by the clre of Mr . Delcroix ; but thou , Oxford-street , what class can especially claim thee as its own ? Thou mbekest at oligarchies f thou knowest nothing of select orders ! Thou art liberal as air—a chartered libertine ; accepting the liomage of al ] , and retaining the stamp of none . And to call thee ' stoney-hearted 1 'certainly thou art so to beggars— -to ^ peopfe who have not the wherewithal . But thou wouldst not bo so respectable if thou wert not capable of a certain reserve to paupers . Thou art civil enough , in all conscience , to those who have a shilling in their pocket—rthose who have not , why do they live at all ?'"

      M . Rabbe ' s neat and lively epitome of Russian , history was worthy of a better editor thjm it has found in Mr . Duncan . That gentleman , in common with many other translators , labours under two rather serious deficiencies : he does not know French , and he cannot write English . In running through these pages so bristled of gallicisms , one thinks at each line to hear speak M . de Florae . For instance , Mr . Duncan tells us ( vol . i . p . 205 ) that " the effrontery of the lovers mocked at the stupidity of the prince . " That is enough we rather think as a specimen of his style . For a sample of h-is historical and geographical knowledge we need not go beyond the opening paragraph of his first chapter , for which as his preface informs us , he is solely responsible . We have worked hard at the passage with the map before us , but can neither make head nor tail of it . What puzzles us most of all is the strange course taken by the founders of Novogorod , who " advanced to the Volga" for the purposo apparently of building only on Lake Ilmen , not far from the Baltic ;— .

      " TJio ancient inhabitants of Russia , so far as they can bo traced , wore descended from two different peoples , tlio Slavonians and the Finnish . Tho lormor settled in tho neighbourhood of tho Volga and tlio Dwina ; the latter in tlio vicinity of the Dnoipor « nd tho higher banks of tlip Don , Lithuania and Poland wore , tho principal homes ol' the Slavonians , only a single branch of them spreading to the Dncipor , Tlio Slavonians of tho . Danube , having been driven baolc by the Bulgarians , returned to tho north , and located themselves beyond tho Dneiper , on which they built Kief . A . Slavonian colpny advanced to the Volga and founded Novogorod . A century passed away , of which history has preserved no record . Those Slavonians at length reappear , surrounded by Finnish peoples . At tlmt epoch tho Russian cmjiro was founded by tho Varangians , & e . & c . The other three English books on our list are ropublications . Messrs . Dolman produce the tv / o first volumes of Lingard ' s History of England , in a cheap form , and in double column type . The , book is too well known to need any recommendation from us , and wo hope tjiafc it will have tho success it deserves , Tho edition of Pope ' s works , with a Life written some years ago by Dr . Croly , is a nicely printed and compact little volume . With Muirny a edition of Gibbon our resvdors are already acquainted . Adieux ( iu Monde—Memoires dc Celeste Mogculor , wo reserve for » more extended notice .

      September 9, 1854.] The Leader. 357

      September 9 , 1854 . ] THE LEADER . 357

      Phrenology, Psychology, And Pneuma.Tolog...

      PHRENOLOGY , PSYCHOLOGY , AND PNEUMA . TOLOGY . Phrenology , Vsyoholoqy , and Pnoumatoloffy . By Introviaor . J - Oh * puiAn . T . ua . eompounding of olocjies is necessary to fully "'^^ " ^ P T ^ of training tho whole bciag . Xntrovisor , tho uuthorow , £ ^ oducos an agrec .-ble text-book .. Tho phrenological definitions wo unproved .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 9, 1854, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_09091854/page/17/