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Leader (1850-1860), 28th July 1860, Edition 2 of 2, Page 8

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      6s8 The Saturday Analyst And Leader. [Ju...

      6 S 8 The Saturday Analyst and Leader . [ July 28 , 1860

      Nothing Like :Home.=* Nphe Present Volum...

      NOTHING LIKE : HOME .= * npHE present volume is devoted to a study and description of JL English antiquities , dating from the remotest period of our national " history . The author aptly observes in his preface , that this branch of research-must necessarily possess "in the eyes of Englishmen an interest not inferior to that formerly felt by the learned in the classic remains of the ancient world . Hitherto , in order to arrive at any satisfactory information relative to the past condition of our island home , its" heirlooms , architectural remains ..

      & c , it has been necessary to wade through so many erudite compositions , as might well have the effect of deterring even the most industrious from making- the attempt ; now that difficulty is removed by the zealous aid of collectors of Mediaeval and Renaissance art , who have thrown their collections open to all who choose to take advantage of the facilities they afford . This work is intended lisa slight contribution to such as are entering for the first time into this field of inquiry , and contains a great deal that is both valuable and interesting * to the reader , so much so indeed , that we shall proceed to give a slight analysis of its contents . tionof the habitations of the ancient

      The book opens with a descrip ' . Britons , which . it appears ; were far superior to those of most barbarous nations , though they were iiot ,: of " course , constructed with a view to many of the comforts of domestic life . We are , however , told "that the Britons understood the art of working metal , of shaping timber , of moulding clay into pottery , of making cloth and manufacturing articles of dress ; " but it does not appear that they applied the knowledge of these arts to many useful purposes . ' When the Romans evacuated Britain , they left behind them many traces of their civilization ; but this part of our history is so welL known that the author passes lightly over it , and comes directly to an account of " Homes in Pagan Saxondoni . " History does not throw much light \ ipon tins particular era , and the information we possess concerning it is chiefly contained in the song of Beowulf , which , composed by a Saxon minstrel , may be

      considered as a truthful exponent of Saxon manners and peculiarities . The author thus describes the celebrated '' mead hall . " or" Heorat , " built by Herothgar , chief of the Saxons ; and which descriptionisof course taken fi-om the poetical , effusion above alluded to . It ; v . as approached by stairs , and when Herothgar spoke he stood ujjcu the steps , and" saw the steep roof variegated with gold . It rose aloit ? and was " *" high , and- carved with pinnacles : " the doors ! were hung on hinges , and made strong ' and fast with bands hardened ; in the fireT The floor , liTte the roof ; was variegated-, the wooden walls were made fast within and without , with bands of iron curiously wrought . The interior , was furnished with many a mead bench ; golden tapestries hung upon the walls ,, and were things of wonder and admiration to all who gazed _ upon their refulgent beauties . " This hall was dedicated to the god ofmne , and the festivities which were held in it were of the most riotous

      and uncontrolled description . : : . ' .- ' -. ' We now pass over to the period of Christianity , when the ecclesiastics introduced a more elevated style of . architecture in the erection of churches , which was in many instances successfully imitated in the construction of domestic buildings . Still the hall was the principal , and , only too often , the sole apartment in a Saxon lininP , - » VidT Kpitft of the admonitions of the clergy , was still devoted

      to purposes of drunkenness and revelry . With the Jyorman conquest commenced an entirely new era of things . " This period , " says the author , " was one of slow but gradual progress ; step by step , by rude efforts of invention , by slight improvements upon ancient contrivances , and by a partial encouragement of art , something more was gained in the appliances and adornments of home , than was required by the mere promptings of necessity . " We have then a graphic description of the mannern and customs of the middle ages , some of which are so obnoxious- 'as to cause us to dwell with peculiar satisfaction upon the cultivated tastes of the

      nineteenth century . For instance , in speaking of the banquet halls belonging to the baroniulcastles , which , instead of being boarded or paved , as is the case in all modern habitations , were simply strewed over with a slight covering of straw and rushes , the author says , ' the straw was allowed to remain so long that , mingled with the refuse of the table , it often became rotten and offensive . Nor was this . the only annoyance to which the inmates were subject ; it was complained that even the hall of the king * was insupportable from the stench arising from an uncovered drain , which passed almost under the noses of the guests as they sat at table . "

      It is somewhat curious to note the extraordinary hour of the day at which our ancestors considered it fashionable to partnke of their ]) rincipal meal , being , as it is , so entirely opposed to modern usages . In the days of Queen Elizabeth , the gentry never dined later than cloven o'clock a . m . ; before her reign an hour earlier , the exact period at which wo consider it fashionable to breakfast . We never read of lato dinners in thq olden time , unless , indeed , as a freak , or from eccentricity . The ceremony of spreading the cloth in the iniddlo ages is somewhat ludicrous ; wo have it thus described : —

      •< Twa ushers entered tho httllt-thoy-botk-knelt-down , and , unfolding the cloth , commenced spreading it on the table at the lower end ; when they reached the middle of the board , they again made a low obeisance " , mul on arriving at the top they knelt a third time with tho ino * t profound reverence .. This ridiculous ceremony was performed cvl'u if the lmll was vacant . " The author then goes on to enumerate , i \ nd give tin a slight history of the different articles of utility , luxury , and refinement , which , at different periods , made thoir ' appeavance in tho houses of our aristocracy and gentry . Ho also presents us with an interesting sketch of tho social condition of

      the trading classes , peasantry , & c , during the fifteenth century , none of whom could he said at that time to derive much benefit from the numerous inventions and improvements which added so greatly to the domestic happiness of their betters . 11 was , however , at the close of the Tudor dynasty thatrthe real era of civilization commenced in England . Men , * in proportion as they began to enjoy the blessings of ir iore liberal constitutions , also engendered a taste for domestic enjoyments . And if . " the exterior of the Stuart homes were less ambitious in style , and the graces of ornament were too readily sacrificed for the useful , the interior could boast of fresh charms and new home attractions . The hall was no longer a

      characteristic feature in the English mansion . Hospitality suffered , but men grew more independent , and found a wider market for their labour than of old . " We will conclude our notice of this admirable little work with the closing remark of the author . ** Those innumerable enjoyments which wo pass unobserved , because we have always been familiar with their presence , were in the old times luxuries ,-of which we can find no trace save in the household records of the great ; and it is by no means exceeding the bounds of truth , When we say that the homes of English artizans in the nineteenth century are surrounded with more conveniences , and possess within themselves more of the accessories to comfort , than were enjoyed by the majority of the nobilitv in the vaunted days of chivalry . "

      * Our Knullmli Home. Its Early History A...

      * Our KnullMli Home . Its Early History ami l'rogrewi . With Notca ou the Introduction of Doiuoptlu rnvonlloim . l . omlon : J . It & JAMKa IVwkkii .

      The Horse And Its Piaster.* W E Arc Taug...

      THE HORSE AND ITS PIASTER . * W E arc taught in an old book , or rathei in a collection of old books , that daily rises in estimation the more severely it is criticised , and the better it is understood , that " the merciful man is merciful to his beast . " Mr . Edward Mayhew has written a volume on the horse in the spirit of this text , and has called upon man , who dcrivesjsuch services from the faithful , feeling creature over whom he tyrannises so unjustly , to mend his manners as a ruler of the inferior animals , and to act in a . manner more rational and kindly towards them . Ill the closing sentences of his treatise lie tells us that " he lias designedly rather appealed to the reason , of his readers , than sought to enlist their feelings . The

      subject was , indeed , a wide one . Man has hitherto been too content to consider animals as something given absolutely to him , to be treated according to his sovereign-will , or merest pleasure . He has not . reflected ¦¦ that , " when be was created lord of this earth , he was invested witlrU title Which has its responsibilities as ¦ well as its privileges . " Mr . Edward Mayhew entered the veterinary profession late in life , and after much exercisers a ^ literary manj and carried into it the feelings and intelligence of his former calling . ~ Hence the noble sentiment which pervades his production ; and . hence its excellence as ^ composition . Besides this , Mr . Edward Mayhew has proved himself capable of some capital artist Work , and has furnished the volume with more than four hundred drawings illustrative of the text .

      Mr . Edward Mayhew is not afraid of the ridicule that he may 2 > rovoko by his affection towards the animal that he has so diligently studied . Should he be accused of wishing to institute an hospital for horses , he replies that something like one exists now in the Royal Veterinary College of Camden Town , and that -what he really contends for is an extension of such institutions ; may we add ; lie wishes fhat every stiflsle ^ htr ^ scale . He would take the noble boast , out of the hands of the ignorant , and treat him according to science . What is there really absurd in this ? Yet the interested will answer superciliously , as they have answered Mr . Mechi in regard to his agricultural experiments ^ and probably , as in that oase , demand a sight of his balance-sheet . But it is not always right to " answer a fool according to his folly . " though sometimes it undoubtedly is . But of this the judicious must judge for themselves . They must not suffer tho fools to iudgc , or rather misjudge , for them .

      True to his old instincts for the stage , Mr . Edward Mayhew commences his argument in a startling and dramatic manner . He begins with the mad horse , both in picture and letter-press . The former is spirited and the latter eloquent . And , after all , the subject is rightly started ; for is it not proper to commence with tho root of all , " the brain and nervous system ? " Tlio poor animal suffering under phrenitis is violent , but not malicious . " Tho creature strives only to injure itself . It may , in its efforts , shatter and demolish tho structures which surround it ; bnt ^ it does so without intention . That is merely the result of it * being carried away beyond the things of tins world by a mighty anguiftlt . It desires harm to no one ; but it cannot l'einain quiescent , and

      endure the torment whioh rages within its skull . There is something more than merely fine writing in this description of the mysterious rapture of tho great agony that pososses tho phrenitic brain . It is only tho extremo of that excitement Which , while genial —( wo use tho word with reference to its root )—1 » pleasurable . Pain is but the opposite pole of an intelligent power whose beginnings and continuationa aro but degrees of dohght , until the fatal limit is reaohed . Mr , Mayhow , in some instances , points to the analogies in the human and brutal developments ; --and suroly these should awaken some sympathies . We are alike kindred to tho animal and the angelic Think of this , and feel accordingly . > Abundant aro tho reasons why , in tho language of tho author , man should establish more than , a brutal mastory over the animal

      • The Illustrated Horse Doctor ; Being T...

      • The Illustrated Horse Doctor ; being tm necurnto nucl detailed nccount , «« coinpanlod by nioro thnu 400 i > lctorlnl rci > rut «! iita < laiifl < if tho various iIImchhom to which "J " uqulnu nicu nro subjected ; together with tho latest inorto of trentinent , uiki «» *« rtMiulHlio iircsurJiitlt / iix , written hi i > Iuin Kntfllxh .. « y 1 £ i » yard oVIavhkw , M . H . U . v . p . W . II . Allen ami Co .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 28, 1860, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_28071860/page/8/