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— ,N ovEMB^R ^ M ^ 1854.] THE LEADER. 30...
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AMERICAN IMPRESSIONS OF EUROPE. Haps 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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A Hew Novelist. Ajraja, A.Norwegian Andl...
' ^ - " ——^ Baa ^ aBaMMMOTMM n ai at I /» ffoden ; and no man in all Nordland hires himself out , without making it a condition thai he shall join the expedition to the islands . How do you like it ?" " Better at a distance , than near at hand , " said Marstrand , witk a smile . This picture of a church-interior ia Norway gives nn excellent specimen of our author in his best mood : — _ A fall hour elapsed before the parson made his appearance ; and daring this interval many woiidly affairs -were transacted in the porch , and even on the seats of the little weather-beaten , wooden church . Sales and purchases of fish , cattle , oil , and provisions were concluded ; bargains of the most various kinds were laughed over , disputed , and . drunk ; and , in short , it was a gathering of the people for many miles , who availed themselves of this occasion to supply both their spiritual and temporal wants .
Finally , came tke pastor of Lyngen ; a large , broad-shouldered man , in a leathern coat , lined with green freize , and a wolf-skin thrown over it . After he had exchanged a dozen hand-shakings , and had complimented ladies and gentlemen , he put on the cope , and ascended the pulpit to deliver an interminably tiresome discourse . He had selected his theme from the fishing of the believer , who , trusting in the word of the . Lord , had cast his net , and applied it to the prolific catch of that year , under thanks to a gracious God for the many large and fat fish which , by his command , swam in the Westfiord , there to fall into the hands of so many valiant Norwegian men . Tired and bored by this monotonous discourse , Marstrand turned his attention from the preacher to the congregation , which he found much more interesting . He could notin
, general , gainsay the opinion that a long residence in the inhospitable North , amid ice and bog , and tempests on sea and land , had impaired the beauty and strength of the Norman ra . ee . The weather-beaten , leathern-hued complexions of most of the assembly testified to a continual contest with nature , against which no tender organisation could maintain itself , and before which the hardiest and strongest often sank to the ground . Here no one lived for pleasure , and no one could , exist but for the fish , in the sea . The fishy odour which filled every cottage reeked also through this church ; and even the preacher himself , whose red face glowed with the fire of toddy , and . whose eyes shone with enthusiasm as he spoke of the fat fisb , seemed to be a genuine worshipper of the great Fetiseh , from whom came all the blessings of the laud , and to whom all adoration was offered .
Several sprightly young men , with keen , strongly-marked features , distinguished themselves as advantageously among this mass of fish calculators and oil speculators as some young girls who , in their feather jackets and gold pins , were evidently conscious of their charms . Behind them , against the walls of the church , sai the fishermen , with their wives , as motionless as statues , and gazing with , a fixed stare from beneath their long , falling hair , straight ahead . Gigantic Quan . es , from the islands and the new settlements—ugly , stump-nosed fellows , with small , sparkling eyeshovered in . the corners , together with their wives , in red gowns and flaunting kerchiefs , attd hideous , monkey-visag-ed children by their sides . Among all the women , however , in the church , who were modishly equipped in bonnet , cap * and ribbons , bought for them by their fathers and . husbands in Bergen , but few could compare with Miss Ilda .
In her black , woollen dress , with her rich hair bound round -with a velvet ribbon and fastened by a silver arrow , was , as she sat by the side of Marstrand , in his opinion ,, the prettiest maiden in the assemblage . Here , for the fmt time , -where many of her sex were gathered together , be recognised and confessed her superiority ; and whether it proceeded from the fact that his eye was , for the first time , opened , never foefore did her commanding figure , her broad , arched brow , regularly formed face and large , mild eyes , appear to him so commendable , lie lost the standard of beauty which he formerly held , and received in its stead another in the region in which he ¦ was now living . " Among the blind the one-eyed is king , " said he , jokingly , to himself . " I shall ,
however , never be able to persuade myself that Miss Ilda , as she sits there , tall and grand , strong-limbed and motionless of eye , is such a charming being as to set blood and nerves in motion . " His thoughts flew from Ilda ' s cold , severe countenance , to the nimble-footed Gula , revealing , with her pleasant smile , her -white teeth , and nodding to him across the grass-plot before the door of the house at Orenaes . Yes , if she had something of the nature of that child , he thought to himself ; if the pillow of salt could only move and breathe , life would awaken life . Meanwhile , the preacher held valiantly on ; and at length , as Marstrand congratur lated himself he was nearly at an end , the discourse took a sudden turn upon his own personal concerns , and the holy man , in the most strenuous manner , reminded his audience of their obligations and duty to him after so rich a fishery .
" Tins is the day of offerings ! " he shouted , as he thumped the pulpit , " I advise you also not to ba so miserly and niggardly as many among you for a long time have been . I will not mention names : you will understand me sufficiently , and will see to it , that I may bo able to drink to your prosperity . Think of it , dear friends and neighbours ; consider of the great care and trouble I undergo for your sakes , and that I am a N " onmvn of good blood and fumily , and not a Lupp , who can live on fiah-heads and frozen chaese . Search your pockets , and bring out what you have designed for mo ; and if it be too little , add to it , and make it better than the last time , when it Avas a shame for Lynguniiord Parish to seo with what a light purso I went home . . And now , receive the blessing ; and 1 hope you will net properly towards your friend Hoinrick Sturc . "
If our readers are pleased with these specimens of A / raja , we cun honestly recommend them to opun the volume for themselves . I'hey aviII find , it full of passages equal in merit and interest to any that we have quoted .
— ,N Ovemb^R ^ M ^ 1854.] The Leader. 30...
— , N ovEMB ^ R ^ M ^ 1854 . ] THE LEADER . 3075
American Impressions Of Europe. Haps And...
AMERICAN IMPRESSIONS OF EUROPE . Haps and Miahajis of a Tour in Europe . By Grace Greenwood . JBentley . Theuh is nothing very new in this little volume , either aa to the scenes visited or the impressions produced by them ; but all is so plonsuntly described , the writer ' s enjoyment is so fresh nnd genuine , her perceptions so keen , and her appreciation so just , that it is impossible to read it without a certain sympathy . The stylo is exceedingly good—very free from those peculiarities which wo call " Americanisms ; '' horc and there wo ( ind a slight oxoeas of adjectives and enthusiasm , but there is no iill'cotation in this ; it is
the genuine pleasure of an imaginative and cultivated ! mind , enjoying the gratification of beholding for tho first time scenes and yei'sons lmMowed by intellectual or historical associations . The tour may l > u snid to continence at Liverpool , whence , after visiting some few " shrinui . s" in the midland counties , the authoress proceods to London . During her short staiy there , she seems to bave had tho good fortune to see some of its best intellectual society , and to have appreciated it thoroughly . After excursions to Ireland and Scotland , she proceeds through Paris to Koine , naturally her chief objects visits Naples , Genoa , Venice , and other Italian cities , and returns through th < 3 Tyrol , vid Struaburf * and Faris , to London , whoro we part
company . Of all these places she has brought away very pleasing daguerrotypes , from which we shall make a few extracts . Here is a visit to the sister of Robert Burns : — On our way back to Ayr , we called to see the sister and nieces of Burns , —Mrs . Begg and her daftghters , —who , we had been assured , were kindly accessible to visitors ! This visit was altogether the most interesting and gratifying event of the day . Mrai Begg lives in a simple little rose-embowered cottage , about a mile from her birthplace , where all who seek her with a respectful interest receive a courteous and cordial welcome . Mrs . Begg is now about eighty years of age , but looks scarcely above sixty and shows more than the remains of remarkable beauty . Her smile could hardly have been sweeter , or her eyes liner , at twenty . Her sight , hearing , and memory seem unimpaired ; her manners are graceful , modest , and ladylike , and she converses with rare intelligence and animation , speaking with a slight , sweet Scottish accent . Her likeness to Naysrnith ' s portrait of her brother is very marked—lier are
eyes peculiarly like the idea we have of his both by pictures and description—large , dark , lustrous , and changing . Those eyes shone with new brightness as I told her of our love for the memory of her beloved brother , our sympathy in his sorrows , and our honour for his free and manly spirit—when I told her that the new world ,- as the old , bowed to the mastery of his genius , and were swayed to smiltes or tears by the wondrous witchery of his song . But when I spoke my admiration of the monument , and said , " What a joy it would have been to him , could he have foreseen such noble recognition of his greatness ! " she smiled mournfully , and shook her head , saying , " . ' i nadam ) in n 5 s proudest moments , my poor brother never dreamed of such a thing ; " then added that bis death chamber was darkened and his death agony deepened by want and eare , and torturing feara for the dear ones he was to leave . I was reminded by her words of the expression of an old Scotch aame in our country , on hearing of the completion of this monument : " Puir Rob ! he asked for bread , and now they gie him a stane . "
A republican ' s impression of a royal prorogation of Parliament deserves a place : — Her Majesty wore a splendid ¦ tiara of brilliants , matched "by bracelets , necklace , and stomacher . Her soft , brown hair was dressed quite plainly—rolled in the neck as for riding . Her under-dress was of-white satin , striped with gold ; her overdress was , of course , of crimson velvet , trimmed with gold and ermine . After desiring the lords to be seated , the Queen commanded that her " faithful Commons " should be summoned . The members of the lower house are only allowed a narrow , ignoble space , railed off from the chamber , under the gallery , opposite the throne . Into this they soon came , hurrying , and tumbling , with a sad want of aristocratic dignity and parliamentary decorum . While the speaker was reading his formal speech I looked round upon the scene , striving to stamp it indelibly upon my memory . The vast chamber itself , gorgeous in crimson and gold , frescoes rich and historic , carving exquisite beyond description , the pride and loveliness of England ' s aristocracy , with the emblems of its exhaustless wealth , splendidly attired and decorated officers of state , or the army , and of the royal household , grouped about the throne , and her upon the throne .
Throughout the reading of the speech , Her Majesty listened with a cold , quiet manner , sitting perfectly motionless , even to her fingers and eyelids . The Iron Duke , standing at her left , bent and trembled slightly , supporting , with evident difficulty , the ponderous sword of state . Prince Albert , sitting , tall and soldier-like , in his handsome field-marsnaTs uniform , looked nonchalant and serene , and only needed hia meerschaum to make up a perfect picture of German placidity . The Earl of Derby held the crown on its crimson cushion , gracefully , like an accomplished waiter presenting an ice . That crown smote on the eye with its intolerable brightness . Tha wondrous costly jewels seemed to throb with life , the undying life of light . O immortal stones , on how many scenes like this have ye looked , -with your cold gleaming eyes , mocking alike the proud flash in the bold eyes of mighty kings , and the smiling light in the gentl « eyes of fair queens—mocking , indeed , all the passing power , and the perishing glory ye are meant to adorn and emblazon , and tho mournful mortality , the death ward throbbing , of the brows ye encircle !
After the reading of this speech , certain bills were read to Her Majesty for her assent ; -which she gave each time with a gracious bow , shaking sparkles from her diamond tiara in dewdrops of light . At every token of royal acquiescence , a certain , personage , whom I took for an herald , bowed low towards the Queen , then performed a similar obeisance towards the Commons , crying , in a harsh , and utterly indescribable voice , " La Heine le veut . " This ceremony gone through with , tho lord chancellor , kneeling at tho foot of the throne , presented a copy of the royal speech to the Queen , whioh sho proceeded to read in ji manner perfectly simple , yet dignified , and in a voice singularly melodious and distinct . Finer reading I never heard anywhere ; every syllable was clearly enunciated , and thy emphasis fell with unerring precision uport the right word .
I be Lord Chancellor having formally announced that parliament stood prorogued until the 20 th of August , Her Majesty ro . so us majestically as could bej expected of ono more remarkable for rosy plumptiturte than regal altitude . Prince Albert took hia place at her side—the crowu-bcarer took his in front—the train-benrerrt took thoira ia tho rear ; the royal procession formed , swept slowly forth , the brilliant house broko up and followed ; and so tho splendid pageant passed away—faded like a vision of poetry , or a fairy enchantment . There is a good deal of truth in the following comments upon tho yexed question of Church ceremonial : — On descending wo found one or two vicars , and a little crowd of whito-gowncd boyn , performing service in tin : chapel . Wo heard tho or ^ sin rolling its melodious thunder through tho solemn iirchiw , and tUu ohoristora Hinging a beautiful anthem . But , beyond tho solemnity of wiunil , the grandeur of uoUlu music , the EngTiHh worship struck mo as utterly unauitud to the Mplusitlour of old Catholic cuthurirulq . It has form without poetry , liqruinony without myrttory . It In wanting in tho ideal
arid picturesque ; nnd »(> , to the outward eye at leant , comparatively cold and LanLnlofla . There ia a dreary barenoflM , an iucouinloUmcsH , about a vast cathedral 13 k « ( . hi * , without t . ho warmth and glory spread abroad by pictures of naintu and " tho Virgin oi virpjinn , " without the gruuu of HinilpUiro , tho pomp of gorgwmn pritwtly rubuM , tho silvery wroathn of iiieonao , l . ho rwlimico of illuminated nlt-nrn , and , nbnvo nil , the * presence of a kneeling crowd of fin-vont and humbU ) worriltlp | i « r . s . If w « urn to have a religion of form , lot . it b « tho perfection of form , t > uy many in IIioho duyn i if wo uro to wornhip through tho outwnrd and virilhlu , lot . at leant , our type-it nnd wyiiibol . i bo boautiful and hurniontouti . In n country of eonlirteut . od < mtho < lrulrf , < u » l uhurohoa denuded and clcspoilud of thoir lifting' uml legendary aoeoH . wm . w , i <• ' «» unaily iinder-Htand this Puauyila rwiotimi . Though it in undoubtedly iu many ( llrcction . i n ntrika for power , it i » in houiu a mnni nibtsilioii of turttti . Thin mnUlmental pitiwioit for ail things modiuival , from tho Illuminated \ tvnyur-i >» i > k of ihu uoMo lmly to tho < jothio rod-brick country-lumsiss of the retired grocer— tit id nitfu for mouldy taiiotttry , ingoniouitly-uucomfortublu olmiru , and ludeoin old huint . * i" » tn . ino < l tf l « na , in « part of tho M » n > u religiouM buck ml . Hero if ) un ainuuiiif ; akvtdi of a poculiur " Industrie , " thu " artitit-modol , " in Home :- —
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 11, 1854, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_11111854/page/19/
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