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Leader (1850-1860), 12th July 1856, Edition 2 of 2, Page 20

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      The British Hospital In Smyrna. Ismeer, ...

      ^^^^^ SKfitafif- lSlSSt wefe taunted with . our mismanageme ? t , with our jae-wintwwi o thrown in our teeth as a national disgrace that " u ? SSf ^ pe ^ W £ ta ££ * We nobly redeemed ourSves iathe SSJS SowlS , then , that the absolutist system , of conducing ? _* 3 . * v *• sL ^ M >* n ~ i }>* r t « aftorr erovernment m some eyes--presents the fol-It

      , iowJn ^ ctareT was taken a ' short time before the articfes of peace were signed : — __ _^_ _ „ ,. _ . The French are sufferers very much- I say this not from hearsay , but having both witnessed it and personally known some of the © ffifers . From bad food , want of vegetable diet , insufficient clothing , and exposure under tanta . lying on the damp ground , J * edie & the same circumstances have taken place as in the British army last year , under similar conditions . Scurvy ; in its worst form , followed by dysenteryy diarrhoea ! and , ' iatterjy , typhus of a most virulent form , has been sweeping them off bVS ^ d 8 . ^ Iw «^ a 8 So > ed by a French officer , ; that the loss of their medical offieeraalone ; was so great , that the whole number attached to the army have been ¦ ¦

      twice rep laced from home ¦ ¦• • •• -: - ? r- -- ' - . - ? . ^ e ei < Mtent S anitary ccmditidn of the"En ; glisli an ^ t gar ) aim ^ tf fosses ; ijfc this twae is T ^ ell known . "With this contrast tye close ; " our , notace of the book . - ¦ .. ¦ - ¦ . ¦ ,. ¦ ¦ . ¦ ,.,. - ' . . •¦ ..-... -.- ¦ ¦ ¦ -. ¦ :.- ¦ . :. ; ¦ ¦ .,- ¦ . v

      ^» Jej^£Ijsdl J3tli.^L-. - -.- ..-: - ^ ...

      ^» jej ^ £ iJSdL J 3 tli . ^ l-. - -.- ..-: - ^ soJM ! iLiBauu ^_

      :¦' . "¦ ' . ' : ' - The Earth A2itp Man...

      : ¦' . "¦ ' . ' ' - THE EARTH A 2 iTP MAN ^ ^ The Genesis of ike Earth and Man . By Reginald Stuart Poole , M . B ^ . I * . _ _ ¦ . - ; ¦ ¦ - ¦ ¦¦ Edinburgh : Adam and Charles Black . The object of this essay is to maintain the hypothesis of many original pairs from which the human race hasf descended . Mr . Poole devotes his first chapter to explanations of the incongruity that exists between the Mosaic . account of the creation and the results of scientific , discoveries . Starting ; -with thesupposition that the whole Bible is a Tevelation , he endeavours to show ••* that revelations of this kind * of which the subjects

      are events , were " generally conveyed in repres & ttation * to this sight" and thai ; therefore the Mosaic account of creation must be regarded as a record of appearances . With Professor Lee , he thinks . that the narrative ^ j ttifee ^ ormaifion- of the first woman ' mearis ' ^ simpW thaJb ^ the ^ creatioH ^ olif ^ ve * ' WM . ' xeyealed to Adam , who , in , a . , " deep , . sleep *' or ..-eqstflsy ,-and thai ; lie might thus have seen God take one of his nbs , make it ataman , and bring it fd nun ; Mr . Poole also argues from ' citationsi ofSJcriptiird that the six days of creation may refer to six visions . He further contends , that tfcereis a close analogy between natural days « m | the ^ greairgeo logicalperiods ; that the former term . is frequently used to signify life , and that intlie latter instance it may also be used for--the epoch occupied by the enexgiaakig spirit of the Creator in calling into existence the several elements of the earth . . ' ¦ ' ' i " ''' .. '¦ '' ¦ . ¦ ¦ ''¦"¦' . .- ' . . .. ' . ' ,:..: •¦' . _ ¦ . ¦ : ¦ ' ¦¦ ' ¦

      JEC is unnecessary-, t $ fellow Mr . ? opl 6 thrftugh the argument m support of- bis hybotheais thai tJbere was a prse-Adamite race of human beings ; - If Gain . heiS banished to tiie land of 'Hod , had a mark put upon himihat nunstu & ik Hkwiw Kim , it may fairly be asked , " What men P Evidently not the . imldtten of Adam and Eye ; they could scarcely have peopled whole regions 3 n about three generations . : TSfr . Poole ' s theory , then , is that man was , created as soon as the earth was fitted for his habitation , which may have been thousands of yeara ± > efor the creation of Adam ; that the equatorial region of Africa was the scene of his birth ; in fact , 'that the ' trUe'Vegro , the aboriginal inhabitant of Nigritio , is the orimary variety of our species ; that branches fro « ntb 4 « stock gradually overspread the valleys of the Nile and other rivers ' , the southern portions ^ of into the PeninsulaChinaIndiaand Arabia

      Africa , and extended Malayan , , , . Mr . Poole agrees with Dr . Barrow ! in perceiving a striking resemblance between the Hottentots and the Chinese , and hence concludes that both sprang from the TMgritian stem . The same hypothesis supposes that from the Chinese sprang all the Mongolian or Turanian races , extending from the Uinitsof the Malayan region , through Asia and Europe ,, to the coldest limits of the habitable earth and throughout the American continent * , pervading every zone . The Malayan variety , it is conjeetune 4 »« MiPg firoro a branch ' of the Mongolian or Turanian stock , nearly allied tiMPP Chinese , and by degrees entirely supplanted the older iNigritiaa serafero eastward of the African continent , excepting a few instances . The prflafcfpal or * these exceptions are to be found in the mountainous parts of theMalayanpeninsula , the islands of Luzon and Tasmania , New Guinea , New Britain . iNew Ireland , and Australia . Mr . Poole does not think _ it from

      necessary that we should suppose that these races sprang one pair , hqWevetf ^ much the marriages between brothers and sisters , which prevailed in Egypt , may seem tosanetion the idea . He would rather infer that it commenced with two pnirs , because " the marriages of brothers and sisters are contrary to the laws of the Creator , to whose moral government we have no right to impute inconsistency ; " and because the differences of the black an 4 brown and tawny races may be most easily accounted for by the supposition of physical differences , however small , in two pairs of protoplasts . We now . , ar # vie at the Caucasian variety , which , we are told , was brought into existence after all the other varieties had become developed , commencing with Adam * and dividing into two branches , namely , the race of the exiled Cain ; wtich degenerated by his own and his children ' s marrying with descendants of , the primitive stock ; and the race of Adam ' s other sons and daughters , who may reasonably bo presumed to have produced a progeny uncorrujptod by intermarriage with inferior races , and , therefore , more properly be termed the Adamite race . ^ JK ^ hia the theory Mr . Poole wishes to establish . He has incorporated i » fo ^ anrurnent a variety of chronological , historical , and philological de-* $ ¦• Mgd ^ e re commend his book to those who may be tempted to pursue

      ' (^Uf ^1 |»^. ^ : «

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      /.: ; '"' ., : - " • [. ''¦ ' Ms1x)Ri As...

      / .: ; ' "' ., : - " [ . ''¦ ' MS 1 X ) RI AS BOSMlJNliA ^ - ! ,:. » , r ' , . ,. > .. ,. . ,. ,. \ Ax-boik , King of the Lombards , having slain Cbmtmdo , the father of Jtosmunda , makes her drink blood out of her father's skull . ^ l » ot « ift ^ slain in turn by Almachilde , who marrieari ^ MmtMidbi and : tlien defeats Ci e ^ the defender < rf the murdered £ tboin s cause in battle . Alfjbb ^ s play opens whilst the Bounds . « ofthi « battle « re heard in the distahce . Romilda , the daughter of Alboia and tRommnda , her step , mdther , are conversing together . ThisHomMda is detested by Rotmunda , not only because she is the accursed daughter of Aibov ^ the impious : remnant of his house , but because Rosmtmda suspects that her new husband , AZmacMCde , loves

      her . Jiosmunda , therefore , dooms the Princess to the embrace of Alaric . To condemn the young Romilda to so ruthless aaotd « urprises even the rough Almachiide . ' But ^ oa ^ wmtio . has spoken , Her word is law . Almachildemust usei hia sword at the will of hi « imperious mistress : but , vengeance and , pojlicy are . hers . In the battle which gave Almacbdlde the victory over Clqfi , ItdovalcU ) saved the life of hia chief . How can that chief reward him ? . Let , Ildovatdo dernand what he pleases , and he shall have it . - lidovaldo confesses his love for Homitda . That confession is wormwood to AlnachiZde , for , as Rosmunda suspected , he himself U deeply-entangled by her charms ,,. But Romilda loathes him for haying murdered het father , and will hardly condescend to ask him ta aave her ^ ono .- 4 / orw . Nevertheless she does nrefer this reauest , and JinacA ^ ipromisaph . ms ; support .

      But in vain they appeal to Rosmunda * * pity . She is inexorable . IldavaUla , therefore , rows he will emancipate = Rom * Wo . . . ., ... At length Almachilde openly confesses liis love for Romilda—but his passion is spurned . Rosmunda , enraged at the thought of Almachitde ' s love for RomtMa "being requited , is suddenly transported with joy when she learns from RojiuXdtfs lips that lidovaldo—not Almachilde--is the object of her affections . A touch like , this in the hands of Ristori could , not fail to evoke delight . . Fired with an unquenchable hate for Almachilde ^ Rosmunda abandons her design to marry Rpmildd to Alaric . She will use lidovaldo to accomplish her vengeance . If he can conquerAlmachilde , let him take Romilda by force . And yet musJ ; it be that this cursed , daughter ef ^ Jboin , the murderer of Rosmunda s father , shall be made happy by Rosmunda herself ?

      Lieta?—nol sei tu ancora : —io vivo ancora . Happy?—Thou art not happy yet : —I still live . Just as lidovaldo has arranged the escape of Romilda , Almachilde appears— -he offers to fight his rival , so that he who isvictorious shall have the Frineess . Tne offer is rejected , and lidovaldo is disarmed . Rosmunda releases lidovaldo . There is a battle . Hdovaldo , consumed with impatient love of Romilda , leaves the com . mand to his lieutenants , and returns to claim the hand ^ f his bride ; out instead « f that"han * - * fr meets with JfcwfRttmfaYeontempt for not having accomplished her corBtntod— -the death of Almachilde , , JVIeantime Almaehilde has been victorious oirer ' if dov ^ tdo ' s soldiers , and returns triumphant . Rosmunda , seeing the twornvafloverar' & the- haplesa victim both pr ^ ettt ,: aB ( a : unUed only in their desire to rescue her , sweeps her away—like some beast of prey—and stands prepared to plunge the dagger to her heart ; The two rivals are compiled in turn to disarm themselves , and to dismiss their soldiers . Rosmuitda snmmous hetai and then stabs Romilda . ¦ lidovaldo falls by her own hand . But Rosmunda ^ vengeance is but begun—Almachilde lives ; • . .. stort

      Such , is a slight sketch of Aifibri ' s Rosmunda , ^^ in which Madame Bi has played her part . Though it is impossible not to admire the ingenuity of the author in having constructed a play of fire acts with only four characters , we must confess that the impression produced -upon us vas that which might be produced by a dramatic exercitation . It is true , as Alfibri himself says , that until the close of the play it is quite impossible to say which is the principal character , or what will be the issue . The puzzle is complete . Lake a wellshuffled pack of cards , there is absolute uncertainty where each card is to be found . We confess that this peculiarity , whilst it exalts our opinion of Alfibri s fooulty fir the . mosaic ijf the drama ,-has the effect of rendering the characters somewhat artificial . Nevertheless there Is considerable power lri ^ flle work ^ Jtt is not that there are any very toe passages which can be torn from thecontex ^

      hut there is a boldness , a rough-hewn grandeur about some of the characters . Which demonstrates power . Rosmunda is no mere fury . SH © has suffered cruel wrongs . She is a woman of commanding temper . She is bent upon vengeance , and applies herself to the accomplishment of her design with the sternest will . Altnachtlde is a brave soldier , but it is obvious that his character is too weak to resist either the imperious force of Rosmunda , or even the fascinations oiRomtlda Nor is his moral sense strong enough to oppose his path to crime—when crime becomes a necessity . Romilda , though the daughter of a barbarian , is full of noble thoughts .. She maintains a settled dignity-. She Would Sacrifice all for l idovaldo , and yet she would not abate one jot of her hatred for Almachilde , even to win her lover . lidovaldo is a soldier of tried loyalty—of a noble , loving nature .

      He is the victim of circumstances . No character can better suit tho genius of Ristoju thai ^ Rosmunda . Her dress and figure are always admirable . Bat the prominent point , as , it »« e « Kd to us , of her acting ix * this part was the marvellous way in which she seemed to lord it over every creature with whom she came into contact . If she failed to control by her moral power , she hesitated not to employ physical forcQ . ^ tnuffiii / de , the partner of her crimes , had long recognized her influence , and seerqed to aink in her rebuke . When he explains to her the danger of outraging Romilda t It was excellent to watch the patronizing sneer on her countenance as she gently told him that , whilst the sword was his , policy and vengeance were hors , and then , placing her hand upon his shoulder , led him off the stage like a corrected child . Nor was the touch less striking when , with an imperious air , she holds him in her grasp , and , with a stern rebuke , bids him leave Romilda f—

      - ~— pat dost thbu , ' my consort , Differ from me ? and darept tjiou talk to too ? Must I before them discuss with thoo , Reasons of state ? Let us go ; come : Leave him a little time to reflect . Leave her , I say . But the last scene of all , in Which she exhibits her power , is perhaps one of the most surprising exhibitions of dramatio art ever witneBsod on tho stage Tho incident of tho two lovers standing at bay is said to be borrowed from a , French novel , L'JIomme de QualitS . It is somewhat melodramatic ; but tho perfect art with which RiSToni demonstrates by her every gesture her fixed determination to revenge is worthy of all praise . She seems to clutch the poor Jiomilda with her avenging fingers—to encumber her with a terrible embrace , which makes the spectator tremble . It is the Laocoon in spirit . Throughout the play , indeed , there are not many delicate touches of character .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 12, 1856, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_12071856/page/20/