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    666 THE LEADER. [Saturday,

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    THE ROVING ENGLISHMAN. The Roving Englis...

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    SATIRE AND SATIRISTS. Satire and Satiris...

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    History Of Chajtlesl. And The Enqlish Re...

    ; he people among whom he lived , as soon as the field of politics and war opeaed before him , lie zealously dashed into it , as the only career in which he could display his energies to bis j wn satisfaction . The most impetuous of sectaries , the most active or revolutionists , the most able of soldiers ; equally ready and ardent to speak , to pray , to conspire , and to fight ; unreserved , with the frankness of conscious power , and , at need , a liar of such inexhaustible boldness , as to fill even his enemies with surprise and embarrassment ; impassioned and eoarse , venturesome and prudent , mystical and practical ; boundless in the flights of his imagination , unscrupulous where his necessities required ; resolved to succeed at any price ; be was more prompt than any one else to discern and seize the means of success , and inspired all , boni friends and enemies , with the conviction that no one wonld succeed so well , or go so far as he . " Thus it is that Guizot writes- of Cronrwell . This is the judgment passed upon the great man to whom , more than to any ; other that we could name , Englishmen are indebted for their greatest national blessings . But do we not deserve it ? Have not English writers identified the . name of Cromwell

    vrith hypocrisy , tyranny , and cruelty ? Is it not but as yesterday that we ourselves began to cherish his memory ? Understand him we never shall . He is wrapt , for ever , in the mystery which the wise men who heard his "words and saw his face were unable to pierce . Only after two centuries do know the distance which separates between him and the common herd of a * oyal rulers .

    666 The Leader. [Saturday,

    666 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,

    The Roving Englishman. The Roving Englis...

    THE ROVING ENGLISHMAN . The Roving Englishman . Eoutledge . A book of travelling experiences , which possesses genuine and original merit , deserves the warmest welcome that we can offer . In our day , tlie most wearisome writing that issues from the press , is the writing perpetrated i > y the general mass of travellers . Headers have hardly any choice now between flippant and trashy imitators of the school of travel-writing which Beckford founded , and which the author of Eothen and Mr . Curzon have admirably helped to maintain , and the drowsy purveyors of useless facts , the plodding collectors of unnecessary statistics , the dogged dunces who will tell us everything—except the very thing that we most want to know . If we < cannot put up with the slang traveller who makes coarse fun of everything , % ve must resign ourselves to the solemn meditative bore , who sees nothing ,

    and feels nothing , and yet will dismally prose on for hundreds of pages , as if he could do both . People talk about useless novels—we will undertake , at A moment's notice if required , to exhibit books of travels to the public which ¦ are in every moral and mental point' of view more utterly useless reading than the worst novel ever composed . Now , it is the great merit of the work placed at the head of this notice $ hat it never touches either of the bad extremes to which we have alluded . On this account , though The Roving Englishman is not a new book—being merely a reprint of articles which originally appeared in Household Words —we select it here for separate notice . Our traveller , in this instance , writes vividly , observantly , and like a gentleman . He has genuine and special

    merits , and we give him a genuine and special recognition . He is by no sneans a good story-teller ; but he is great at an anecdote—eloquent and unaffected in recording his impressions— -various , lively , and never flippant , in describing his adventures—clear and sensible in recording his own travelling experiences for the benefit of others . He seems to have wandered About , as the old phrase is , " half over the world , " and he has something to say , which is generally well worth listening to , on every possible subject that life in foreign countries can suggest . As a-epecimen of his lively , easy way of gossi p ing with his readers , take the subjoined sketch of an illustrious professional salad-maker- * -and on no account omit to pay special attention to the hints on salad-mixing which follow it : —

    THE GREAT GAUDET . " Theigreafc Gaudet , whom we have mentioned incidentally , was one of the first victims of that French Revolution which has now lasted more than sixty years , and promises to last for sixty more . Towards the close of the last century , this wonderful man found himself an « xile in England without friends or money . Ere long , the most beautiful ladies of the land hung with bright , watchful ey _ es over his labours ; and mouths , accustomed to command the destinies of armies and of nations , watered when he came near . In the houses of the oldfashioned nobility— -as that of the late Marquis of Abercorn—the music would play See the Conquering Hero comes , ' when the great Gaudet entered . The talk of a dinner-table lulled into repose before him . Wonder succeeded silence . What an expensive salad dressingcase I What delicacy of touch over the light green leaves 1 What charming little stories to beguile tho moments of suspense ! How gracefully and pleasantly ho magnified the noblo art of salad-making 1 Tho great Gaudet concentrated the entire force of hia powerful mine

    on salad ; great , therefore , waa hia success . Gaudet , like joy , was sought at every feast . Ho drove in his own cabriolet from dinner to dinner . To secure his services , tho high and nyghty left cards at hia house some weeks before they wore required . Have we not seen with our own eyes a letter addressed b y him to a noble duke , recommending that person to . postpone his dinner until nine o ' clock , uecause ho , the great Gaudet , was pledged to another noblo lord at eight ? Tho fee of the great Gaudet rose to ton guineas ; and none who ato b « a salad grudged the money it cost them . " Near tho city of Borne there lived , about tho samo time , a certain Madamo Drake , who Also illustrated by her own renown the delightful Bulad science . ¦ With German solemnity « ho accepted her mission . It was her beliot that salad , to bo truly fresh , should not bo lexnosod to light until tho moment of its being eaten ; sho , thoroforo , in a dark room mysteriously performed her office . " Thus much I have written , and havo not yet told you how a salad should bo mado . It cannot bo

    ¦ mado by tolling . You must bo born a salad-maker . Salad is a production of taste ; it belongs to tho Fine Arts , and can no moro bo acquired by rule thun can poetry , or sculpture , or painting . You may , indeed , measure , or hew out , or daub off a snlad . You may know thatlottuco requires very little oil and endive very much : that rape neoda beotxoot and celery ; that cold cauliflower is tho basis of a delicious salad uaod very much in Italy , but almost unknown in England ; you may know that four table-spoonsful ot oil should go generally to one of vinegar : that tho milt is a matlor to bo nervous with ; that , above all tlung . i , it ia nocoesary to dissolve thoroughly tho suit in tho vinegar before you add tho oil . All this you may know ; and you may know how to collcot at tho right season tho right herbs : yet , jiovortholess you must bo born n aalad-mnkor , with tho full moasuro of imtivo tact , if you would ehino m tho piofcsaion . It linn oven boon doubted , in tho faco of tho groat Gaudot , whether ono man can combine in himself nil tho qualities which go to inaico n perfect sulad-makor ; because , to complete a snlad properly , is said , in fnct , to require tho muted offorta of four different men : a spendthrift for tho oil , a miser for tho vinegar , u sugo ( for tho aalt , and a maniac for tho mixing . "

    Wo had marked for extract our author ' s Philosophy of Dining , lna Hints to Young Travellers , hia Life in a German House , and other excellent passages . Bwt that old and diro nqcessity of nil Reviewers--rtho necessity of taking -up as little space as possible—compels ua to refer the reader , at once , from , tliia notice to tho book itself . In tuoae days of shilling

    Literaturewhich is too often not even worth the shilling that it asks—we are seldom able to recommend cheap books , as being good books too . This merit the Roving Englishman may fairly claim ; and we say to him at parting — what we never think of saying to Travellers in general—Farewell , Sir ° for the present ; and mind you do not forget to let us hear from you again !

    Satire And Satirists. Satire And Satiris...

    SATIRE AND SATIRISTS . Satire and Satirists . By James Hannay , author of " Singleton Fontenoy , " & c . Bogue . Six lectures on great Satirists , delivered not long since in London , form the contents of this volume . Mr . Hannay treats his subject mainly from the biographical and the personal point of view . He begins with the classical satirists , Horace and Juvenal , and proceeds with Erasmus , Boileau , Butler , Dryden , Swift , Pope , and Churchill , until he gets to the satirists of the present century , and the periodical satire of our own day . By treating his subject on the plan we have indicated , he has been enabled to vary and enliven it by plenty of interesting anecdotes , and by some curious biographical speculations . In less skilful hands , remarks on satire and satirists might have been very instructive and very wearisome as well . But Mr . Hannay has the art of writing attractively—or , in other words , is an exception to the dreary general rule in the matter of lecturing . Throughout his volume he may fairly lay claim to two inestimable literary virtues—he is never pedantic and never dull .

    The only fault of consequence which we have discovered in Satire and Satirists has been caused , we suspect by the author ' s excessive enthusiasm for his subject . Not content with showing his readers what they ought to admire in the intellectual characters of the famous men who form the topics of his lectures , he must also endeavour to elevata the moral characters of his heroes , by laying down , and , what is more , attempting to prove the general proposition that the great satirists wero men with , kindly instincts , and with more than average generosity of nature . In endeavouring to sustain this assertion , he lias to deal , in one or two cases , with some extremely ugly and obstinate facts , whicih it is utterly impossible for any man to refute , but which he endeavours , ( quite vainly ) to set aside by skilful phrase-making . This sort of defect is especially glaring in the pages of the book devoted to Swift , whoni Mr . Haanay actually undertakes to " back as a specimen of manhood , and real honesty , sm &' generosily , and nobility of tendencies against any man . of his time ! 3 \ ow , the popular notion Tand as ,

    we believe the right notion ) about S'wift , is that lie was a mighty genius , intellectually , and , morally , a filthy and cruel man . If we are asked for a proof of his filthiness , we cite ( as once instance , -where many more might be given ) his " Lines in a Lady ' s Dressing Iloorn "—and we ask whether men of noble tendencies -write such dastardly nastiness as that poem contains ? Again , as to Swift ' s generosity—the ihcts of liis treatment of Stella and " Vanessa are on record . Every one knows them who knows anything of books . Yet Mr . Hannay must actually attempt to explain them away to Swift ' s advantage , by saying that " a mysterious destiny compelled bim to make her suffer" ( page 172)—that "he suffered with her "—that " Vanessa flung herself at his head in the teeth , of prudence and judgment "—that we must f ' keep ourselves in a state of moderation about the poor lonely Dean" ( page 173 )—and " that we must go and behave well to our own Stellas and V anessas , if we are happy enough to get them . " Such are the lo gical last shifts" to which a clever writer is reduced , when he undertakes to theorise in opposition to facts .

    Having now exemplified what we believe to be the main defect in Mr . Hannay ' s treatment of his subject , we very gladly address ourselves to the much pleasanter duty of telling him vrhat we admire in his book . Whenever he is not attempting to maintain untenable propositions , he is singularly frank , fearless , and . just in . his judgments . He has the great merit , when he gets into a good train of thought , of knowing also when he ought to get out of it and address himself to something new . His knowledgeilows from him , easily , and is addressed to his audience unobtrusively . He has an artist ' s eye for the picturesque , and shows genuine dramatic feeling in laying the right emphasis on the right parts of a narrative . As a specimen of his style , his information , and Ins easy attractive manner of instructing his audience , we will select a passage from his second lecture , the greater portion of which ia devoted to Erasmus . Here is Mr . Hannay ' s vivid description of the life of

    A SCHOLAR OF TUB OLD TIME . " Good old mother NaturO j liowoyer , ia not easy to boat . Tho old dame loves her boys , and treats lior brilliant darlings fairly enough . Erasmus ' s hood might bo tonsured , but that operation was performed on tho outside of it . Ho remained in fact , in purpose , and in influence ) , a . scholar , a literary man . It is curious to road and obseryo how shy ho fought ot preferment in his nominal profession . CJivo him money , if you liko : lie will tuko a littlo money ; for tho scholar must dine as well ns tlio dunce ; you cannot make soup of laurels : — yea , lie will tako a little raonoy j nteo a jar of wine , if yon choose ( not awtot wiuo , for hia constitution id delicate , and it di ) os not ugroe with him ) , but Bound , lino wine , —giving the preference to Burgundy , if you hnppon to have any of Chat . All ho wants i . i to support life docently , whilo ho writes his books , edits Jliia Grook Testuunout , his St . Jerome , colloctu and

    discourses on Proverbs , or gives a froolooao to his humorous heart , uiidl . iahos beggarly and ignorant monks . Ho doos not want a living ; ho would rather havo n pension—; i sniiilhnpension even . Literature is hia vocation . Tlioy talked onco of innking him a bishop ; * at which , ' say tho biographers , ho laughed . ' Of courso ho did ; and it is very easy to purseup ono ' a mouth into « n ugly stuto of orthodox expression , and talk of his lovity . But it was far bottcr that ho should have laughoi ) , nnd steered uloar of ocolotiinutionl prufbrmont than that ho should have crushed the natural man in him , and temporised , und bi-on hypocritical I Ucttor bo a good humorist than a bad bishop 1 Krasiiiim in opon to ounsuro for failings and weaknesses , liko mankind ( cloricid und luio ); but it is quite impossible to dony , that in his relation to the Church ho snowed much intellectual honesty and porsoual solfdoniul .

    " In his career as a man of lottors ho luul n liard ami ntrango lifo of it for niiiiiy years ; and in informing onosolf of tho particulars , ono moots innumur ^ hlo cuubcs for surprise , and opportunities of uiu . ting on tho uhungud condition of Europe 1 How iiir oil' lio thouo days , though only sonui throo hundred und lll'ty your . i lmvo puisu-d away tiiuco ho looked out from tho garden of Sir Thomas Moro ' ti houso at Clutlsmi , and miw tho old Thames flowing away bonoatli him 1 Ho was iirst in London wliun about thirty-two yours of ago , haying como from Paris , whoro bo had boon reading witli pupils , acting : m tutor to Lord Mountjoy , living at timort In tho castle of a groat lady in tho Low Oouutnutt . Tho life of a scholar in thoso days waa u atrun ^ o uH'uir . Juut as tlio nihiutrul of un earlier day had done , ho waudorod about , bringing with him knowledge ns Aiamumo ; asking liitlo of tho world but nuxlomto pity , biend and moat , in exohnngo for Latia and Greek , fur wisdom und wit . You traco

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 15, 1854, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_15071854/page/18/