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    ^62 THE LEADER. [Sawrdat,

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    lOTTr TEABS I*T BOTH HEMISPHERES. Fifty ...

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    More Poets. Poems. By James Macfarlan. R...

    A plague on all parodists ! Here is Professor Aytoun , -under the thin disguise of Percy Jones , pouring out a vial of wrath on Alexander Smith . Heaven knows we have little enough to say in defence of the poets of Young England . At the close of the season , in the face of cholera , at the cost of many a weary hour , when the bright sun was tempting us from our mournful taik , we have lately tried to discover some hidden beauties in their productions . As our readers know it was all in vain . Uather would we go to MtteyenTritn Mr . Layard , ratJier ascend Mont Blanc with Albert Smith , than again encounter the labour of the last six weeks . Abore all ire cannot tolerate parodists . It is easy ( critics ought to know ) topour out sentences of indignation . It is more pleasant and in every respect more human to search fijrHoeautaes . If "we cannot find room for praise , we soorn to -crash a literary-Aspirant who forges the weapons of bis own destruction . Sometimes , indeed , a sham aehieves success . He deceives mankind , and then , in pity to our race , we -expose him . But we enter a decided protest against that burlesque mama which seems to have seized on . all the world . Look at our theatres ; wirat a crusade is waged against the beautiful and the true ! The

    ¦« uVme Sbakspeare has not escaped . He has been travestied , parodied , and bttrlesoaedin -every conceivable way . And so it is throughout . And : we are ^ astonished heyond measure that a man of any mark in literature should >« ondeseend 1 ; o court applause by pandering to this popular taste . Firmiliaa , «« Spasmodic Tragedy is the work of Professor Aytoun , and his object is to tnafee 2 fclexan & fcr Smith ridiculous . We are not going to defend Alexander Sttutih . I * oBg ago we prophesied his success , and did not certainly conceal Ms-c & fects . We ere ¦ content * o be assured that the public hav « agreed % v ee * verdict , and that the poet can staaid oh his own merits . As every-Ibedy fcnows , the iaults of the young Scotchman ' s poems lay on the sur-^ f tttsc , a foci in . eriticastn might have found them out . Their beauties lay < deeper ; at afl events * "fihey lay feeyond Professor AytoTin ' s ken , and so the irathorof'soine-tbleraibie 'imitations of Macautay-has chosen to "write a parody . Wfe aMs'Borry ttassty -feat « ome " portions of Wirmilianare too clever to allow * 6 he % Qo > k to go unread , but the" spasmodic 1 ' eflbrt will invite bo praise but sueh as is accorded to intellect -without heart .

    V ^ iffe intense Biitisfiietipn . tern > to Songs from E > vamatists 3 edited by ifebljert Bell , and ifornaiitg the August ¦ volume of Parker ' s-annotated edhadn of the-English Poets . Mr \ Bell is , in the best sense of the word , a ¦ worker ,-and we believe him ,-Trhen he tells us in his preface , " tie labour ajestwtwd ; ** pon toiler volume eannot be adequately estimated hy its bulk . The 'la % our whieb is not 'represented considerably exceeded th « labour "Wlnch- 'liasljame the fruit and fl & wers gathered into this little book . " We iare ^ spareS ^ he -toil , and . hanre full-enjoyment of the pleasant results . From Kiohbies Udall , < * rho was born in 1505 , to Uichard Brinsley Sheridan , ^ here < are -some sixty dramatists , whose songs are thought -worthy of ? republic » tipn . Beyond the fact that the general pttblic is now , for the first time , to make acquaintance with the treasures of poetry eonhealed in the works of our dramatic "writers , " the plan upon -which the

    work is arranged furnishes the , raeans of following the course of the drama historically , and tracing in its progressthe revolutions of style , maamer 3 , and morals that marked successive periods . " To announce the appearance of such a book is enough . Five Dramas , by an Englishman , and dedicated to Samuel Phelpg and The Siege of Silist ? ia , by William Thomas Thornton , the author of Zolirab , conclude our list of poets ; unless , indeed , we are to include a Waterloo Commemoration , by Michael Thomas Barry , in a short advertisement to which the author has the audacity to teU us that the composition of the poem occupied fewer hours than its progress through the press did days . Such a statement at the very commencement of a book is a sufficient reason for closing it at once . Why should any one wiifce a book , if it is necessary to preface it by an excuse ?

    ^62 The Leader. [Sawrdat,

    ^ 62 THE LEADER . [ Sawrdat ,

    Lottr Teabs I*T Both Hemispheres. Fifty ...

    lOTTr TEABS I * T BOTH HEMISPHERES . Fifty Years in Both Hemispheres ; or , Reminiscences of a Merchant ' s Life , By Vincent ' Nolte . ' Trlibner and Co , Who does not love a well-written autobiography ? TTou may call us curious , and impertinent , and whatever hard names you chooso ; you may flee from our society as though we had inherited the xnantle of old Boswell ; but we confess , without a blush , that life would lose half its charms except for thtvt instinctive sympathy which each man takes in the history of his fellows . What a dull cold affair would living become , if we were all bounded by our own narrow circle of hopes and fears , of joys and sorrows ! Archftishpp W-hateley told a friend that he knew no better cure for a headacho than Kshop 'Stanley ' s book about birds . For nn Archbishop , that was well-s-flSd : it nrovea . at laast ,. that -fTift -triifrrA lind -tint fr . Whn / l Kim nf nil ¦ ----i t | r - ¦ ¦• - f

    * -.- w- ~ I --- m- -- — - — 9 - ~ - — — ~ - ~— , _ w „ , n ^ p — — ^ * q ** r ^ a ** m ** i *) n % ^ w ^ t , ^^ f ^ * f ^^ ut ¦¦ * ** F 4 A \ J M , % W m Kindly affection . But , For ourselves , if ire happened -to toe in Dh « headncho ' predi ' ejament , we should vote in favour of an autobiography . The memoii's of a Gxammont , the diaries of our Pepyses , the daily records of doings and sayings , lihe Tmvarmshed niwiratives of how the world treated a brother man ion sndh *« u suet a , day— 'all ( these have charms , if not to soothe the savage Ibrcasft , at ail events to ease an aching heart , and cool a throbbing brain . But what does all this mean ? Why arc we repeating whnt everybody knows , sind has been said a million times' ? For the very laudable purpose of introducing the Jteminiscences of a Merchant . Now do not lot the title disgust you . You have been shut up all dny in that dull eounting-houao in the City , and you are sick of merchandise and , Throe per Cents . But you will find nothing in this book thnt . smacks of tho shop . To be sure , Horr JNolto

    was a merchant ; but ho was a merchant who paused through every phn . se of existence . Ho was a millionaire , nnd ( listen to it mnmmon-Ioring Englishmen ) ho tells us how ho made his money . He was born in 1779 , nnd no wrote tho lust lines of his autobiography in May , 1853 . Ho know every corner of Europe and America ; he was in habits of familiar intercourse with royal persona of every description , with the kings who reign by divino right , nnd the kings who roign by right of bruina or money . In one pngo you have an nnecdoto of Napoleon , in tho next a pluasant bit of gossip about Byron . In short , there is scarcely a notoriety of tho last fifty years , on either side of tho Atlantic , of whom you do not hear something . It would bo a sin to tompt you to impatience by any farther dolny . Hero .

    then , is a picture of Bonaparte at Leghorn . Tincent was then a boy , and had been sent to Leghorn to learn business with an uncle . Bonaparte has just arrived , and found that , thanks to Nelson , the British residents had escaped with , all their property : — " About elercTi o ' clock on the ensuing day all the foreiga consuls waited upon Bonaparte who was dismissing them-very abrupth r , when his glance happened to fall suddenly upon my uncle in his red consular uniform . He instantly accosted my worthy relative thus : ' W lafs that ? An English uniform ? ' My uncle , " overwhelmed with confusion , had just presence of mind enough left to stnmmee out . ' No , Padrone 1 ( this word Was probablyborrowed from the street corners ) . ' No , questa e Vuni / hrma dl Amibwrgo P ' No , master ( or boss ") , this is the uniform of Hamburgh ! ' Having tlras delivered Mmself , he tried to

    get awaj r ; but Bonaparte weut on with a fierce diatribe against everything that even looked English , thought English ideas , or could have any intercourse whatever with England . 'These Englishmen , ' said he , according to the recital of my uncle when returned to the house , ' These Englishmen shall get such a lesson as they never heard of before ! I march now on Vienna , and then farther northwards , where I will destroy tlieir hiding places at Hamburgh and other places of resort , and then ferret them out in their own piratical nest i ' My- uncle told me that upon this outbreak , he couhi not keep himself from exclaiming aloud , Eirbante ! ( villain !) before the whole company present , but that the sound of it was lost in the general buzz of the throng . fcl However , any one acquainted with my uncle , is well aware that with him tho deed was oft « Q far behind the thought , and such was , no doubt , the case iu tLe instance just mentioned . "

    A whole chapter is devoted to the history of Ouvrard . Napoleon and th « great capitalist were never good friends . Among other reasons for the dislike of the Emperor to a man whose riches exalted him into the position of a rival , perhaps the following was not the least : — " Ntipoleon , whoj up to that time as a mere general , liaft found no special occasion to plume himself upon any great success with the fairer half of creation , was more fortunate as Emperor , and / Was readily listened to by the rival beauties of the day . In Mademoiselle Georges , the loveliest woman of her time , he flattered himself that lie really had made a complete conquest , looked upon her as Ms exclusive property , betamo enamoured and jealous . Among the intelligence which lie x-eceived from . Paris , on the day after the battle of Austerlitz , -was a message from his Miuister of Police , informing Liirt that Mademoiselle Georges had passed several days at Ouvrard ' s pleasure-palace of Eaincy , and had there performed one of her very best parts . General Berthier , who had hastened onward

    four-andtwenty hours in advance of the Emperor , on his return from Vienna , instantly sent for O uvrard , and intimated to him that this circumstance had in no light degree couuiibuted to exasperate the Emperor , and accelerate his hasty return to Paris . u I-had seen and admired Mademoiselle Georges the preceding year , during the shoit period I speut in Paris , on my journey to Amsterdam ; and limited as lny sojourn in that capital had been , I still had fonnd an opportunity to gei a peep at life behind the scenes of the new imperial regime . The literary circles of the capital were just at that moment taken "up with a new tragedy , which the celebrated play-writer and poet Kenbuard-was then preparing to bring out in the Theatre Francais , under the title of * Les Templiers' ( The remplars ) . The part of Jgnaz de Molay , the Grand Master of the Templars , was in the h-ands of Talma ? the parts of the King and the Qncen wore given to Lafond and Mademoiselle Georges . The rehearsals bad been finished . The time for the first pcrformjinee fixed ttpon , and the intended presence of the , Emperor and Empress everywhere announced .

    , * ' Paris at that time was in a buzz with all kinds of anecdotes about the remarkably splendid set of diamonds which , had beeji presented to the Empress b y the court jeweller Fossin , and which consisted of a diadem , necklace , nnd pendants for the ears . The price which had been asked for this superb ornament was half a million of francs ; and , unless my memory fails me , I recollect to have 4 ieard at that time of another smaller sum , th . at is to say , about three hundred thousand francs . Josephine , whoso purse was always empty , in consequence of her propensity for extravagance , had expressed a desire to obtain possession of these diamonds , but the Emperor would not hear of either of these sums . I nris had a great deal to say cqneeroing the scenes that passed between Josephine and Napoleon in consequence of this afiair ; they were the ever-recurring topic of conversation among the ladies generally , to whose curiosity the jeweller was indebted for very frequent visits . People wanted to seo what it was tluit an Emperor could deny to Iris Empress . " On the appointed day , placards announcing the first representation of " The Templars " were visible at all the street corners . . '

    " 1 had been aofortunate as to procure a parquet-ticket for a seat on the second row of benches , from which I could got a good view of the imperial pair . I sa % y them enter their box , on tho left of the house , and take their seats , Napoleon foremost and Josephine close beside him . In the beginning of the second act , their majesties the king and queen appeared upon the stage . Mademoiselle Georges , in the full splendour of her incoinparahlo charms nnd her splendid figure , heightened tho imposing scone by a dazzling diadem , cardrops , and necklace , all glittering withtlic most superb diamonds . As she approached tho imperial box , Josephine , who was leaning forward on the front rail , betrayed a hasty moveinent of surprise , and tlion suddenly , as if struck by lightning , sanlc back into her seat—I ' orin the magnificent adornment of the actress she had recognised the jewels sho was ko aiDxious to possess . During this little episode in tho imperial box , Napoleon remained , as anight havo been expected , entirely unmoved . For tlie Parisian world such an incident as ihU was a regular mine of fresh anecdotes concerning the scenes which they opined must linve taken place in tho private chamberB of tho Tuilkries , after their majesties returned irom the theatre . "

    Yery interesting is this account of the Baring family : — " I will take this opportunity of saying something about tho Baring family , particularly its most distinguished momborn . Sir l < V ») icis , and his second son , Alexander , us well as tho honourable chiuf of the Ainstoraam house , Mr . Henry Hope , whom I have already ntunod . The last of these , when I first made his acquaintance , had rcaobod liia seventieth year , and ¦ wassomewhat deaf . Ho had nover been limnied . It wna lie who opened tho way for tho autocratic power of Kusaia , under tho Empress Catliarinu II ,, to tho connilimoo of tho then -wealthiest capitalists in Europe , tho Dutch , and thereby laid the foundation of Hussiun ¦ credit . Always treated by the Empress with great distinction , lio hud been honoured with tho gift , fr » w liftr own hand , of her portrait , thu full hjko of life . This picture oocupied tho placo of honour in tho superb gallery of paintings iitteil up by him in his paluco ' t' Huys ten Bosch' £ now a royal pleasure-palace ) , which ho hail built iu the wood of llurloin . Upon Ilia emigration to England , ho had taken this splendid gallery , entirely coinpoKod of cablnctpiecos , with him , and I had tho pleasure of Booing it frequently . at hiarusidoncu iu Cuvcndishtiqnaro . To tho tone of a roiiued goatlomnn nnd jrjjin of tho world ho united a cor tain amiublo alliilility which upoko to und won ovory heart . Tho wholo-aoulod oordinlitv with

    wImcIi UoiUvmya mot mo , wlion I cnino to hit ) dwelling in tho city , or to hit ) country-neat , hastaheen , in tho noighlx > m \ hood of Richmond , has always roniuin « d froah in my momory , Yet n secret trouble Hcomctl to bo woichinn on lib mind . This unwoynnco urono from tho notorious relations of bin niece , Madum Williams Hope , with a DutaU ollicor ol' druftoons , by tho namoofDopff . I had altnictod hia confiduiico , oud ho ono day ticiijud uu auJtlouly by tho hand , led mo to tho window , mid could not , roatrain iiia toiu-u , im ho told u » u that ho must cloao the door of his Iiouho against her . if aho vo » iturod to briug this imtn with hor to England , ' liio larger purt of his coiiMJdorftblo fortune , wliioli hu luid bociuoathed to Henry , tho lildotjtson of tins niuce , and whodiud uiirnarriud , passod , at tliu Uuocuhu ol ' tlio latter , to Adriun , tlio second hod , who left no nialo Jioira . but from whom it dortcotidod to t'runuin , llio third Bon , born several yours uftonvui'da . Tluu third iulioritor is tlio rich and woll ltuown Mr . Hope , now uoltlud » n Turin , und tho only aurvivinir moinbur of that branch of tho wholo dunily . < l A clone examination hito tho origin of tho During liunily tracos It back to a curtain rotor Btuhig , who livod in tho y «« ra from JGOO to J 070 , « U Groniugun , In tho JDutoli nrovincu ot OvoryaBcl . Ono of lu . i uncualora , under th « imum of" Francis lkirliiK , was p «» lor of tho Lutheran church at Uruinen , nnd in tlmt capucity waa oallud to London whurts , nmuiiK otliera , lio hud a non named John . Thu latter , well iKqutiiutuil with clotli-juultiug , auttloti « t Lnrkbcor , iu Dovonalilr * i , and thorn nut up an oatubliohmont for Llm nmiiufuciiiru of thuC

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 12, 1854, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_12081854/page/18/