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Leader (1850-1860), 23rd September 1854, Edition Country of 2, Page 15, A NEW TRAVELLER IN" AFRICA. Life and Lan...

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    • 3Pfft>t*fYftt1*l> JL Jinrmill K ?
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      September 23, 1854.] The Le A D E R. 903

      September 23 , 1854 . ] THE LE A D E R . 903

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      Sritica Are Not The Legislators, But The...

      Sritica are not the legislators , but the judges ana police of literature . Th . ey do not make laws -they interpret ana try to enforce them . —Edinburgh Review .

      Our Last Small Fragments Of Literary New...

      Our last small fragments of literary news have all been exhausted . We have not a single paragraph—not even a sentence left—to offer to our readers . In this lamentable emergency , we venture to ask their indulgence for a substitute for our usual summary of news about books and authors , in the shape of a letter from an esteemed lady correspondent which reached us a day or two since . The letter will be found to refer to a subject of some literary and critical importance to the reading-public in general ; and on that account we think tliat it may with perfect propriety be introduced in this part of our columns . We print it without altering a word—suppressing the signature , however , by the amiable writer * s own desire : —•

      ( To the Editor of the Leader . ) Sik , —I and my daughters live in retirement at Mulberry Wick ( a place you have no doubt heard of ) . We have a railway-station near , a healthy gravel soil , an excellent clergyman , and the best society—but that is not exactly what I want to write about now . It is a literary difficulty , if you please , which I am surej with your gallantry ( excuse the apparent familiarity of the phrase ) , and your wonderful knowledge of books , and critics , and all that , you -will be most happy to help us out of . I and my daughters are very fond of reading—especially novels . We look

      into the advertisements of n « w books an the papers , and read the opinions of the press tacked on to them , and order at the library accordingly . Our great difficulty is , that , according to the opinions of the press , every new novel seems to be thought more perfect than the One going before it . There does not appear * according to the opinions of the press , to be such a thing as a fcad , or even an indifferent , novel ever written now , by anybody—and yet I and my daughters ( and a great many highly intelligent people , friends of ours , besides ) have read , within the last two or three months , a great many books which seemed to usto speak strongly—shocking trash . For instance , the other day we saw ia -the Times this advertisement : — P UL S AT 10 K" S . & 4 JSq & joI . 3 y the Authoress of " Heart-Strik & s . " " This novel is the work of a Teiy superior intellect . " —Standard . " A tale of unbounded interest . "—Messenger . * ' Replete with vigorous thought . "—Sunday Times . "¦ Pulsations ' will' sustain the brilliant reputation of the authoress of Heartstrings . " —Atlas . " The reader is fascinated by the rich and powerful exhibition , of human character . "— - John Bull .: " Impossible to lay this thrilling story down . "—Atlienceum ( Boston ) . Well , sir , being told in this way by the press what a beautiful book Pulsations was , of course "we got it ; and when we got it we could none of us read it through . My husband , who took the book up , and who does not mind setting himself in opposition to the press , said the authoress of Pulsations " wanted a good stick across her back . " I thought it was shocking stuff ; so did my daughters ; so did our neighbours , who tried it after us—and yet here are the clever gentlemen who write for the papers fascinated by it , and finding it t ( replete with vigorous thought , " and so forth ! It appears to be just the same with other kinds of literature , which bitter experience makes us afraid to try , because the gentlemen of the press ( as quoted in the advertisements ) seem to be so rapturously excited about them . " Have you

      a Scat _ at Church ? by tine Rev . John Boffijt , D . D ., Author of Why do you snore in Sermon-time ? Sfc . * $ -c , " has a tail of quotations from the religious journals in its praise , which is too long to fit into my present piece of notepaper . As for tlie new Spasmodic Tragedy ( as I hear they call it in London ) , " JJcaih- Screeches a 7 id the Stars , by W . Randolph Dojsbs , " it seems to liave " thrilled" one critical gentleman ( who says that " Dobbs is a true poet" ) , and " enchanted" another ( who says that "' Death-Screeches' are brimful of burning thoughts" ) , and " astonished" a third , and so forth , until we really dare not order the poem , from a fear that we should only expose our own ignorant incapability of judging like th « critics , by finding " Death-Screeches" ( to use one of my husband ' s phrases again ) nothing but—Bosh .

      Pray , sir , oblige us with a word or two of explanation and advice on this very distressing subject . Are wo all fools who are incapable of knowing a good book from a bad one ? Or are the critical gentlemen so inveteratcly good-natured , as a class , that they cannot find it in their hearts to say a word against nny book , howo-vcr bad it may be ? Also please tell us , if you can , what guide wo are to tako next to teach us how to choose the best works only among the new publications—for we arc all at sea now , in consequence of the opinions of the press . I don't want my name published ; but , supposing you have not time to answer my lottcr , if you wcro to print it , perhaps somebody else might . I am afraid I express myself in rather a confused way—but I can't explain more clearly , fox my husband is shouting for his tea , and I have got to tUo bottom of my paper .

      Our amiable correspondent—who expresses , as we believe , the opinions of many other readers of her class—may bo easily and briefly answered . Sho nnd her family need xiot distrust their own capacities , and need not by nny means imagine that the critics , us a class , ore at all overburdened with good nature . The solution of the difficulty which has perplexed her is simple enough , —tho opinions < of the press are not always quoted correctly in the advertisements ) . The little errors thus committed , it must bo understood , only occur when tho review of the book ( Advertised is unfavourable to it . Alien it happens , by a remarkable coincidence which we will not attempt to explain just now , that the slight mistake ( ucoiduntally made , of course ) is always of such a nature as to convoy an impression of tho critic ' s opinion exactl y the opposito of tho impression which ho wishes to convoy hunsolf . Belonging ourselves to that rave nnd superior order of gomtleinon of tho press who are really overburdened with good-nature , we will refnun , for tho pr esent at least , V q ; U expressing ourselves as fully as wo might , on this subject . Wo prefer giving our correspondent one word of advice instead .

      Let her , instead of paying attention to those opinions of the press -which , are advertised , pay attention to the opinions of the press which are fairly printed in their proper places in the newspapers , from the manuscripts of the contributors—especially when these said opinions are followed by extracts which enable her to judge for herself before she ventures on buying or borrowing any new book . Fallible as the critics are , she will not read a tenth part of the trash then that she Is deluded into reading now—while she may at the same time claim the merit of helping to discountenance and destroy a mischievous and dishonourable system of puffing which lowers the character of the good books , and is of no real use to help the false pretensions of the bad .

      A New Traveller In" Africa. Life And Lan...

      A NEW TRAVELLER IN" AFRICA . Life and Landscapes from Egypt to the Negro Kingdoms of the White Nile . By Bayard Taylor , Sampson Low . and Co . We have a kindness for all African adventurers for Brace ' s sake . Every man -who travels towards Central Africa in these modern days , and prints an account of his travels , xecals to us , by associations more or less vivid , the delightful time when we first read Bruce in a sunny corner of the playground , and when a new world and a new race of human , beings seemed to be disclosed to us . As we opened Mr . Taylor ' s book , and looked at the map and the table of contents , the strange people who once delighted and amazed us in the narrative of the first Abyssinian traveller—the lovely Ozoro Esther , the fierce and crafty Ras Michael , Bruce himself in his wandering character of " Yacoob the white inan "—seemed to live and breathe in our memory again ; and we secre tly resolved that even if the new book did happen to be a "bad one , vre would still deal gently and foibearingly with it , because it had reminded us of Bruci .

      Half an hour ' s attention , however , to Mr . Taylor ' s pages was enough to show that he stood in no need of any special indulgence , even from the severest critics . One or two not very heinous faults of taste , a little too much of the American freedom of style , and an occasional diffuseness in passages of his narrative Tvhich had been better if treated briefly , or better still if not touched at all , are the only defects with which we can charge him as a -writer of travels . His merits are palpable enough to speak for themselves to most readers of any intelligence . In many places , he -writes eloquently , easily , and with a vivid feeling for the picturesque ; he has a lively sense of humour and does not indulge it too much ; and , best of all , he can feel sincere enthusiasm for the beautiful in Nature and Art , and is not ashamed to own it . In these days of flippant and foolish travel-writing a traveller who has in him a capacity for hearty admiration , and who possesses sense enough to express it honestly , is sure to be received as a welcome guest , on that account alone irrespective of all other considerations , at our library table .

      Mr . Taylor's journey fceglns on the Nile , which he ascends to the Cataracts , noticing the different places of interest on the banks of the river as he passes them , in his boat . He proceeds by the Nubian Desert and the White Nile to Khartoum , penetrates to the populous negro kingdom , of the " Shillooks , " and there , having reached a point of Central Africa beyond which modern explorers have hitherto failed to penetrate , unwillingly turns his "back on the mysteries and dangers of the unknown regions , and sets his face again towards civilisation and the north . We have marked many passages for extract—more , we fear , than there will be space to insert—as specimens of the vailed narrative , always readable and often interesting , of Mr . Taylor ' s journey . The first sample we will present to the reader is an excellent and graphic description of

      BOAT lira ON THE NILE . " In the first place , we are as independent of all organised governments as a ship on thoopen sea . ( Tho Arabs call the Nile Jil bafir , ' the sea . ' ) Wo are on board our own chartered ' vessel , which must go where wo list , tho captuin and sailors being strictly bound to obey us _ We sail under national colours , make our own laws for the time being , are ourselvea the only censors over our speech and conduct , and shall have no communication , with tho authorities on shore , unless our subjects rebel . Of this wo have no fear , for wo commenced by maintaining strict discipline , nnd as wo make no unreasonable demands , are alwayscheerfully obeyed . Indeed , tho most complete harmony exists between tho rulers and tho ruled , and though our government is tho purest form of despotism , wo flatter ourselves that it is better managed than that of tho Model ltepublic . " Our territory , to bo sure , is not very extensive . The Cleopatra is a dahaliyeh , seventy feet long by ten broad . She has two short masts in tlio bow and stern , the first upholding tho trin / cect , a lateen sail nearly seventy feet in length . Tho latter carries tho beli / cdn , a small sail , and the American colours . 'JTlio narrow space around the foremast belongs to

      tho crew , who cook their meals in a small brick furnace , and sit on tho gunwale , beating a dram and tambourino j and singing for hours in interminable choruses , when tlio wind blows fiiir . If there is no wind , half of them are on shoro , tugging us slowly along the banks with a long tow-ropo , ana singing all daj long : ' Ayli hamkm—uyh hamhm V If wo strike on t \ sand-bank , they jump into the river , and put their shoulders against the hull , singing 1 hatf'liat / lee salt V It' tho current ia slow , they ship the oars and pull ua up stream , singing so complicated a . refrain that it is impossible to write it with other than Arabic characters . There are eight men and a . boy , besldoa our stately ralis , Hasmui Abd ol-Sadik , and tho swarthy pilot , wlio greets ua ovary morning with a whole round of Arabic salutations . " Against an upright polo which occupies tho place of a mainmast , stands our kitchen , a high wooden box , with three furnaces , Hero our cook , Salamo , may bo eeen at all times , with tlio cowl of a blue canoto drawn o-ver his turban , preparing tho marvellous dishes , wherein his delight is not less than ours , Salamo , like a skilful artist as ho is , husbands hia resources , and oaoh day astonishes ua-with now preparations , so that out of few materials ho has attained the grand o 3 imux of all art—variety In unity . AoUmot , my faithful

      drncotnan , has Institution hero , and keeps one eye on tho vessel nnd one on the kitohon , vvJulo botwoon tho two ho does not relax his protecting caro for us . TUo approach to Iho oubin is iliuikod by our provision clients , which will alao servo as a breastwork in case of foreign aggression . A Jiugo filter-jnr of porous eurthenwaro stands against tho baok of tlio kitohon . Wo Jcoop our fresh butter and vegetables in a box under it , wlioro tlio nvveot Nik-wntor drips cool and clear into an earthen bawin . Our bread and vegetableo , in an open basket of p « Imll . ules , are suspended benide it , nnd tho roof of tho cabin supports our pou try-yard ana p ' gew-lumm ? . Sometimes ( but , not often ) a log of mutton mny be ( icon hanging Irom tuo riUgo-pole , which oxtondit over tho deck aa a support to tho nwnln # . , 14 Tho cabin , or mansion of tho executive power * , Is about twonty-hvo feet long . Its Uoor is two foot below tho deolc , nnd its colling live fovl « l > ov « , no that wo are not cramped or orowded in any particular . Uofora the cnlninoo Ih n nort of portico with n broad , cushioned itcnt on each Mo , and » ido ~ ciwul » K » to nliut out tlio « . » ... 'I / iw phwo i « dovoUxl to pipoa and meditation . Wo throw up the awning , M tli « Hfl lit pour in < hi all wdai , and look out on tho 4 o » orL rnountnliw wl . ilo wo inlwlo tho Inoonw of tho ha « t . Our own ro » In cabin » s about fen feet long , and newly pnintfld of » brilllnnt bun colour . A broad divan , with cushions , extend * along oaoh aide ' , aorving « s « ™« l >«« " ^ 'W « ft *> ^ M - I *™

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 23, 1854, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_23091854/page/15/