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Leader (1850-1860), 18th July 1857, Edition 2 of 2, Page 18, LIFE OF GEORGE STEPHENSON. The Lift* qfi...

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      Our Contemporary, The Saturday Review, H...

      sympathy with honest Dogbehr * ? ' The-evidence for suck a supposition is purely internal ; but the zeal with ? which they insist , by implication , that they ire-no * onl ^ wise men , but ' what is morej officers , ' who know the law , and wish to be-correctly written , down in the record , seems almost to justify such a surmise ; Supposing this to be the casei it ? may , perhaps , explain the total abssncebtf humour they evince ; During the French ¦ Revolution the Girondists were accused of federalism , th » signification of which the judges themselves , did not well understand , and one of them , on being asked what it meant , replied , " He was no grammarian , bat it sounded like a very heinous crime . " So the Saturday Reviewers ; being no humorists , and not exactly understanding the

      Circumlocution ; Office , decide , in the same way ,, that it sounds very like a crime . On the strength of that amusing chapter , entitled ' The whole Art of Government , ' they solemnly denounce the author as hostile to the institutions of the couateyi- and ; as the gr-eat cormpter of youth within the realm . The only parallel we know to such a solemn farce is Lord DoNotTGEfHOEE ' s motion in the . ' Peers to bring the publisher of the Examiner before their Lordsliips' bar £ or breach of privilege . We don't know whether his Lordship belongs to the staff of our contemporary , but from the speech he delivered on that occasion we strongly suspeet he must . Surely none but a Saturday Reviewer would have thought a- pleasant ironical sketch on a living peer a fit subject for

      Parliamentary interference . The- Saturday Review favours us with a formal statement of its political creed . After a not very brilliant attempt at wit , the critic relapses into the serious strain , which is natural to him—and to which , if we might venture a hint to a gentleman , of sueh parts and education , we should recommend him for the fiutuce to adhere—and thinks it not immaterial to give a more serious answer ; to the charge in questioni . ' Then follows the political confession of faith > - & series- of tmismsj , of which , perhaps , the moat striking sentence is the following : " " We do not pique ourselves on being the sons of fools , the grandsons of jobbers , and the great-grandsons of slaves . " " Whether that can be fairly called ; a very lively or peculiar faith we leave our readers to determine .

      We have not space to adduce in detail the decisive evidence the article affords- of pur contemporary ' s sectarian spirit , of the narrow and conventional ground occupied by the Saturday Keviewers 3 and the deep-seated ( so deepseated ! ,, apparently , as to be unconscious ) contempt they have for public opinion . One point may suffice . They continually talk throughout the article of some imaginary chque , of which , however , they don't appear to have any very definite idea . What do they really mean by the term ? It seems in their mouths to be nsed with considerable latitude , and . in fact , to be employed

      as a synonym for literary men in general—a conclusion which a glance at the -articles confirms . J ? or that must certainly be a singular and rather extensive clique that includes Mr . Dickens and his admirers , Mr . Thackjeray and his hearers , Mr . Jbbkoxp and his friends , the Times newspaper and ourselves , with the daily and weekly press in general . The term seems to embrace the whole reading and writing public except the Saturday Reviewers . The Saturday Reviewers are , in fact , the world ; and the whole world beside a clique , This is thekind of inverted vision common to self-absorbed and self-sufficient minds . It is the old story of the three tailors of

      Tooley-streefr— " We , the people of England , " & c . What Wea the Saturday critic really forms of the people of England may be seen from the closing paragraph , of his article , in which he states that " the author who is beyond all comparison the most popular and one of , the-most influential writers of the day / ' is- at the same time " the most distinguished buffoon of society . " That one sentence sufficiently reveals the respect the author has for public opinion , and the kind of notion he cherishes of the taste and feeling possessed by the vast- majority of his countrymen . The Saturday Review pronounces the severest sentence on itself .

      (Smi The Liead'eb, [K®. 882*, Jtray 18; ...

      ( smi THE liEAD'EB , [ K ® . 882 * , Jtray 18 ; I < 857 ..

      The Last Number Of The British Quarterly...

      The last number of the British Quarterly Review contains a long and interesting article on . < Bishop Berkeley , his Life and Writings / It is a vivid biographical sketch of one who combined a subtle intellect with the most active benevolence , and who , to the meditative calm , of the philosopher , added the missionary zeal of an apostle . The paper is interspersed throughout ¦ with keen and genial criticisms of Bbthcele-x ' s plulosophical and scientific views . The article on the ' Prenoh Romancos of the Thirteenth Century , ' is a- graphic ,, picturesque r 6 sttm 6 of the traditions , that at tho dawn of modern literature filled mediaeval Europe with tale and song , Tho number also contains a valuable papor , entitled ' Contemporary Notices of . Shakspcaro , ' —a moro minute and detailed summary of tlie . materials tliat exist for a worthy biography of the great poot than has yet appeared .

      The National Review , as usual , contains a number of superior articles , of which those on ' London Strcofc Architecture / ' Critical Theories on the Eourth Gospel , ' ' Lord Brougham , ' and Tho New ParJiament , ' are the inoat striking and elaborate .

      Life Of George Stephenson. The Lift* Qfi...

      LIFE OF GEORGE STEPHENSON . The Lift * qfi George Stepkemon , Railway Engineer . Uy Siunupl Smiles . Murray . Jn many respects this is a valuable work ,. To philosophical readers it furnishes striking illustrations of tho causes which obstruct groat movements , social and . scientific ; to mori' fc ' struggling in obscurity against corporate ignorance and vested prejudice , it reads a noble lesson or encouragement and consolation ? to young men , faltering ' , it gives lessons which should

      supply fresh vigour ; to all men interested in the history and development of our commercial civilization It presents a series of facts of great signifi : cahce ; while to the mere reader for amusement it furnishes a story not less romantic and adventurous than that of many art exciting novel . Mr . Smiles has executed this task , which was-a difficult one , with great skill , and unobtrusive eifect . The earlier chapters , especially , are in--the best style of biography ; and if in the latter part he has allowed biography to give place to history—Stephenson . to iEfcuLsvays—there were probably private reasons for this ; and at any rate his history of Railways is full of interest . The

      only objection we should make to the work , assuming that the deficiency of biographical treatment in the latter part is no fault of his , would be to the frequent and often tiresome repetitions . If before printing a second edition he would carefully go over the work , and strike out all those passages which occur more than once without justification ' of the repetition , he- would greatly improve it . Further , we should , desire an occasional explanation . To persons familiar with collieries there is no need to explain what a 4 Brakesman' is ; but for ourseLves , we must Confess the most profound ignorance of the function performed by that individual . And the same may be said of several other technical details freelv scattered through the work . It

      would be desirable also to explain the principle and method adopted by Stephenson in effecting his grand paradoxical achievement of a road through Chat Moss . At present we are left to guess , from an incidental phrase , that Stephenson having conceived the brilliant , idea of floating the railway , as goods are floated in si ship , carried out his idea by making a floating road : but how he made that road is not plain , to non-engineering minds . Deep and permanent is the interest excited by this Wondrous story of genius . No one can read unmoved the early struggles of this remarkable character—for it was character more than pure intellect which made the greatness of George Stephenson—as they are narrated in this work . The continuous effort , the persistent valour ,, the daring ingenuity and ever-active intellect of this colliery boy , teaching himself , gradually making his value felt by all around him , and finally raisin g himself to one of the noblest positions in lifethat of benefactor to mankind—these must be studied

      — a great in the simple pages of this Biography . The moral lessons of his life are as pregnant as were the : scientific inventions of his genius . He owed nothing to lucky to patronage , to the advantages of education , but till to valour and virtue . He was-essentially a man of noble character : self-denying , farthbughted , steadfast in will . He had to . teach himself everything , he had to conquer every inch of the ground whereon be stood ; and his conquests were not facile , for arrayed against him were , first , his own ignorance , which had to be subdued by silent , persistent endeavour ; secondly , the whole body of engineers and men of science , who had to be silenced by success . There is something tragic in witnessing the hostility and prejudice which obstructed his efforts . The whole corporate prejudice of the scientific world opposed him , partly because it invariably , and by sheer necessity , opposes all true novelties ; partly because the innovator was an ' interloper '

      — -he was not * one of us '—he had never received an engineer ' s educationhe was not even a man of ' liberal education , ' jet he proposed to do what all the engineers of England demonstrated to be . impossibly ; and w > at he proposed to do , he did ; If men could be thoroughly enlightened by ex amples , the mere example presented b y the examination of engineers before Parliament respecting- the feasibility of travelling on Railways at a speed of twelve miles an hour ( utterly ridiculous I ) , and of making a road over Chat Moss ( demonstrably impossible !) , would suffice for ever to smooth the inventor ' s path , and clear it of tho impediments thrown there by corporate prejudice . Unhappily , such examples do not enlighten men ; or but very faintly ; and a very striking illustration of this inefficacy is afforded by the conduct of Mr . Robert Stephenson in the recent discussion of the tubular drainage system advocated by Messrs . Chadwick and Ward . had Uleahich havi lcarried it out

      George Stephenson a new , w ( ng- partialy in practice ) he called upon the public to adopt extensively , But he was no engineer , and all the scientific engineers pooh-poohed him . They would not examine his experiments ; they would not admit his facts . He was a ' wild theorist , ' an interloper . No one can have been more thoroughly impressed with the injustice of this corporate opposition than the son of the man thus opposed ; yet this very son , trained aa an engineer , and forming one of that very body which hod . in its arrogance laughed at and opposed his father , brought all the weight of hid name and influence to support a brother engineer against Mr . Ward , who was likewise twitted with being an amateur , ' a 'literary man , ' ' a theorist / a man' unversed in engineering , ' and so forth . The vital part of tlie question not being by any means what wos Mr . Ward ' s profession , but what was the value of his proposition ? When we see the son of George Stephenson employing tho same tactics in

      the cause of professional exolusivenessj which had so long and with sucu humiliating results been employed against his father , we may almost despair of men gathering wisdom on such points from experience . And yet we do not despair . The progress of the race is slow , but it is sure . Each new story , such ns that of George Stephenson , furnishes fresh influence ; it suggests , to many minds at least , the danger of actively thwarting innovators , however ' wild' their schemes mny be ; it suggests to all minds the inherent vice of corporate bodies , which arc necessarily the incpeporation of mediocrities and tlie status quo . Nor do such , suggestions keep within tho circle of science . In the pages of Mr . Smiles the politician will read many an instructive illustration of the follies and vices of governing

      cIubsos—tho selfishness of their opposition to Hallways being only equalled by tho selfishness of their acquiescence . In this , as indeed in all respects , the present work is thoroughly denaooratic ; in this , and in all lruspuettj , it is a , work of permanent worth .

      Tub Position Of Women. The Indushwl And ...

      TUB POSITION OF WOMEN . The Indushwl and / Social Position of Women . Chapman aiidj Hull . Tu 13 position and prospects of woincn in connexion with their capacities , intellectual and social , receive ample consideration in this soniowhat voluminous addition to tho arguments » n favour of female advancement—a cause repeatedly , and for tho most part inadequately discussed , alternately by tho

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 18, 1857, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_18071857/page/18/