Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 31st December 1853, Edition 2 of 2, Page 18

Page 18
Page 18
18 of 24

On this page

  • Text (2)
  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Moore And Journal Writing. Memoirs, Jour...

      oone out of that moment ; the corpse alone remains ; and we who nave noth ing tut the cold corpse " wander" it could ever have had living value . There Is something in . the recording of praise , which , when it is read in after years , seema to imply a greater weakness than really exists . Intolerant as , our vanity always is of the vanity of another , the intolerance is sharpened in such cases . We get a volume crowded with details of admiration ; we read them jn an hour , and forget that they represent \ jjears ; we cead them afiioid , and forget that they were written in the ebullition of the moment . * .. ' ¦ . _' Journals—and this is their real vice—are necessarily false . The most truthful man that ever lived could not write a truthful journal , unless he confined himself to the merest skeleton of facts , and then it would only be a selection , not a picture . We believe that William Wiiberforce was a truly religious man : but the deep disgust with which we read his Journals , the is hoi ejiaueu

      pamtul sense or nypoerrsy wnien lorcea itseir upon us , jei , although now some fifteen years are gone since we read the Journals ; and their effect has been to render the image of that man for ever unpleasant in our eyes . We need all the testimony of his life and friends to counteract the effect of his Journals . We will say more : we , too , have kept Journals , and honestly declare that on our reading them at some years distance our impression of our own character was , that it was an odious caricature . Indeed ,, it is this vivid sense of the moral impossibility of writing a journal truthfully , which has of late years made us desist . For purposes of after reference , we still keep a Journal , wherein dates and bald facts are occasionally entered , and we find all the advantages of a Journal thus secured with none of the drawbacks . For it is a drawback , and a fearful one , to be constantly attitudinising to an imaginary reader on your own life and actions—it is a danger , and a under the mask to

      fearful one , to tamper thus with truth or secresy—suppress , to feign , to exaggerate , to lie ! Moreover * we should struggle against , and not encourage , the habit of making our own thoughts and our own actions of such dominant importance as to deserve daily chronicle . There is no danger of our neglecting ourselves ; there is danger of our neglecting the work which lies before us . We reprobate the practice of Journal-writing ( m any form but that of mere memorandum-keeping ) , because it has a vitiating influence on the mind , and earnestly warn our readers to bethink them of this . As strongly < lo we counsel men who are celebrated , or who hope one day to be , not to let such Journals exist , lest they fall into the hands of Biographers ; for certain we are , that no such permanent damage can be done to the reputation of a mon aa + « Vtava r > r » r < iniis -niiKKnat . ion of his Journals . Letters are bad manas to have ious publication of his Journals . Letters are bad

      , cop enough , written as they are on the spur of the moment , in the heat of temper , and the haste of business ; but Journals are still worse , because they have a more deliberate air . With this protest , we pass to the consideration of these volumes , as regards their attractiveness . Setting Moore wholly aside , we think they are agreeable volumes of gossip worth reading once . They have some good stories , \ bon mots , and personal glimpses . But Moore had no great talent for Journalising , and hence we must read with large " skips . " They are not for an instant to be compared with Haydon ' s Journals . « dord John , who has been roundly abused for his negligent editorship , far more than we think he deserves , contributes very little to these volumes . From tke Preface to the sixth , we extract a good passage on the question of

      Moore ' s vanity : — " There is much truth in the maxim of La Rochefoucauld , that' what most offends us in the vanity of others is that it jars with our own . ' Every one says to himself , ' There is a man so absorbed with his own merits that he does not perceive mine . ' Still there are different kinds of vanity , and each partakes of the character of the person in whom it resides . Of these kinds the worst is that which makes little display , but is continually at work in depreciating others that our own superiority may become conspicuous . A vanity of this kind is largely mixed with envy . It is an envy too the more odious , as it is not content with hating some single person , or aiming at some single advantage , but hates every person who is admired and loved , and every quality for which a person is admired and loved . This kind of vanity cannot bear tliat a girl of eighteen should be admired for her beauty , or a child of three for

      its prattle . Any thing that attracts and absorbs attention is gall and wormwood to it . _ But . above all , when that particular merit which competes with its own supposed eminence is admired , nothing 13 spared to injure , to depreciate , to depress the person thus endowed . The most sacred bonds of friendship , tlio strongest tics of affection , aro broken to indulge its boundless passion . Truly did Mr Sheridan suy , that ambition and avarice are not so destructive in their rage or so furious in their career as vanity , lie must have meant vanity of this skind . There is another kind of vanity , which is in many respects the opposite of that which I have described . It is open and ingenuous , taking for granted that all the world adopts its own estimate of its own excellence , and therefore in excellent humour with all the world . If

      the world sneers and depreciates , a person or tins character ascribes the sarcasm to the malignity of some one , or 8 omo fow , and goos on satisfied and happy as before . Vanity of this kind is often joined with much kindneBs , und even with simplicity and candour . It is compatible with a high appreciation of the works and acts of others . It ofieu overflows in benevolence towards family , friends , neighbours , and mankind in general . " I own it appears to me that an open confession of this kind is preferable to a humility which is often nothing better than hypocrisy . It is difficult to believe , that a poet , an orator , or an hintorian , whose faino is an echo to every effort of his genius , can be ignorant of his own merit . When Horace

      says—? Exogi monumentum acre- perenniuB , ' and . When Ovid , in the same spirit , exclaims' ' Jainquo onus exegi quod nee Jovis ira nee igni . s , Nee potent fnrrum , ncc edax abolero vetuatas . ' I applaud their manly candour , and acknowledge the truth of their prophecies . It is tho fcaino with Dante , Milton , Ariosto , and many others . They knew their powers , and woi o too honest to nffdet ignorance of them . Hut when Mr . Burke , who munt have- been conscious that his eloquence whs stamped with genius and fraught with tho treasures of a rich imamdustriouH

      gination represents himself as nothing more than an plodding member of Parliament . I cannot fail to perceive that ho ia mocking his hearers , and that ho pretenda to fk . humility ho docs not fool . ,.. * ,. " Now it would bo folly to deny that ) Moore had a good opinion of Inn own powers , and that ho was delighted with every tribute , oral , written , and printed , to hit ) talents . Jhitjhin love of p : iiise w « b joined with tho mont generous and liberal dispensation of praiao to others . Ha relished tho works of Byron and of Scott an if ho hud been himaolf no competitor for fumo with thorn . Another man , in bin position , upon seeing tho hospitable mnnuion of Abbotaford , might have felt eomo envy ut the InrgonesH of tho possession acquired by tho pen of u rival . Bui Mooro only felt that it was a pomtion duo to genius ; and , when tho frail fabric of Scott ' s fortune tumbled to tho ground , fomented with ennnine sympathy tho downfall of n prosperity to which ho himaelf had ncvor uupired , but winch ho considered tho right of tho i Author of Wwrorloy . '"

      This is very true , and the more worth saying , because people in general are so hard on the vaiiity of others , not discriminating between ihe vanity which is innocent delight in self , and the vanity which is aggressive upon others . Consider for example , this naive self-admiration of John Hunter ' s-: — . ¦ ¦ •¦ .: ' ¦¦ ; ¦ 7 ¦ ¦ . - ¦ . '¦' . '¦ . , . . ¦;¦ : . ¦ " John Hunter once saying to Lorc ^ HolIand , * If you wish- to see a great man you have one before ' you .- I consider myself a greater man than Sir Isaac Newton . '' Explained themvhvthat discoveries which ' lengthen : life and alleviate sufferings are of infinitel y more importance to mankind than any thing relating to the stars , & C . & C . " You ' smile perhaps ; do you see any harm in ft ? Not more than in Cobbett ' s advertising , " On Monday next will be published Tusser ' s Five Hundred Points of Husbandry . By William Gobbett . With a portrait of Myself . " . . , We said there were some capital mots in these volumes ; a few may be selected . Here is onefrom the ever-welcome Charles Lamb :

      " Charles Lamb sitting , next some chattering woman at dinner ; observmghe didn't attend to her , 'Tou don ' t seem ( said the lady ) to be at all the better for what I have been saying to you . ' '« No . Ma ' am' £ he answered ) , but this gentleman , at the other side of me . must , for it all came in at one ear and went out at the other . '" Here is an exquisitely humourous touch from Luttrell , worthy of Lamh : " Kogers calling on Wflkie the other morning ; when he entered the room , WHkie exclaimed * * and your goat ; ' on which B . turning round saw that a goat had followed him out of the street , and came upstairs with him . Luttrell said it was not aa uncommon thing ; for goats-to follow people in this manner ^ and to affect to belong to them . " This also is perfect in its unconsciousness : " Kemble's opinion of Kean ' s ' Othello : ' ' If the justness of the conception had been but to the of the execution it would have been perfectbut the whole to 01 uie il wuuiu jiuvb jjeiiuuiuut uuie

      equal brilliancy ; , thing equal - tne eruiiancy- -exwuuun . ueeu , me w ^ ming was a mistake ; the fact being that Othello was a slow man . '' " Every one who knows anything of A . W . Schlegel knows what a coxcomb he was ; here is a glimpse of him : " Pinedat Lord Lansdowne ' s : company , Lord Auckland , Macaulay , Kogers , Schlegel , Charles Murray , & c . Rogers seated next Schlegel , and suffering manifest agony from the German ' s loud voice and unnecessary use of it . Got placed between LadyjLansdowne and Macaulay very agreeably . In quoting Voltaire ' s * Superflu , chose si' necessaire , ' I remarked that it had been suggested , I thought , by a passage in Pascal's 'Lettres Provinciales ; ' and Macaulay agreed with me , arid ( remembering , as he does everything ) repeated the passage . ' " Had some talk with Schlegel after dinner ; asked me , if a man conscientiously ,, andwithout any intentional levity , published a book in England expressive of his disbelief in the

      Scriptures , and giving the reasons of his disbelief , how such a book would be received ? Answered , that aa to the : book , I didn ' t know , but I knew well Bow the man would be received ; and I should not like to be in his place . In speaking of Pope , wliom I , of course , praised , but whom he seemed not to have much taste for , he exclaimed , ' Yes , to be sure , there are some fine things in him ; that passage , for instance , "Upon her neck a sparkling cross she ware , " charming ! So much for the German's appreciation of Pope . Intimated that Goethe ' was jealous of him m consequence of some Indian poem that lie ( Schlegel ) wrote or translated . Rogers and I in doubt whether we should go to Lady Grey's or Lord Burghersh ' s music : decided for the-latter . Told me , that on his asking Schlegel , in allusion to Goethe's death , « Are there any German poets now left ? 'Schlegel blurted out , ' / amaGerraan poet : 'throwing his arms open pompously as he said it . " -

      Goethe jealous of Schlegel ! Sydney Smith , who was , take him all in all , our greatest English wit , figures often in these pages . The following is charming : " Told of Leslie , the Scotch philosopher , once complaining to him that Jeffrey had 'damned the North Pole . * Leslie had called upon Jeffrey just as the latter was , going but riding , to explain some point ( in an article for the Edinburgh Revivw ? I believe } concerning the North Pole ; and Jeffrey , who was in a hurry , exclaimed impatiently , as he rode off , ' O damn the North Pole ! ' This Leslie complained of to Sydney ; who entered gravely into his feelings , and told him in confidence , that he . himself had onco heard Jeffrey * speak disrespectfully of the Equator .. ' This also is good : "In talking of O'Connell , of the mixture there is in him of high and low , formidable and contemptible , mighty and mean , Smith summed up all by saying , The only way to deal with such a man is to hang him up and erect a statue to him under his gallows . The followin g observation is noticeable ; it agrees with all physiological

      deduction : " Rogers mentioned an observation of John Hunter's , that wherever there was but one boy with a number of sisters , tho boy was sure to be effeminate ; and John Hunter used to give it ns a proof of Homer ' s knowledge of human nature , that ho makes the cowardly youth , Dolon , in the night scene , * sole brother of tive sisters . '" We close with a subtle remark : " Quoted an excellent mot of somebody to Fontenclle , on tho latter saying that ho fluttered himself ho had a good heart— < Yes , my dear Fontenelle , you have as good a heart aa can ve made out of brains . ' "

      I2g6 The Leader, ,,' [Saturp^ ^

      I 2 G 6 THE LEADER , ,, ' [ Saturp ^

      Two Novels. Alderman Ralph': Or , The Hi...

      TWO NOVELS . Alderman Ralph ' : or , the History of the Borough and Corporation of WiUowacre . By Adam Hornbook . 2 vols . Price 5 s . Gco . Routledge and Co . Maud ; a City Autobiography . 3 vols . Price 10 . 9 . Gd . - . I *"""* Fob purposes of critical contrast , it would be difficult among the books on our table to select two better than the novels before us . Alderman HaW * as characteristically manly and mannish , aa Maud is womanly and womanis , one smacks strongly , and the flavour is pleasant , of our old novelists ; other as strongly , and the flavour is less commendable , of our modern en - and but episodically ™

      lating library . One deals largely in local politics , love ; the other has some episodes , but its story is all love . Ono introtu us to the squables and incidents of borough politics , tho other into tho iny , teries of **¦ sentiment" not always of the most intelligible kind . lj » c o meters in Alderman Ralph are sketched with objective vigour ; *» ° ^ Maud , on the contrary , are what the critics call subjective . L"A , [ as it presents itself to the observing mind of a nian * and a ? it presents ^ to the romantic mind of a girl , may be seen indicated in these two w ^ As a critical exercise , wo advise the reader to take up these two d in succession . They are both amusing , but from different reasons , j

      are both faulty , but their faults are diilcrent . terest ol Alderman Ralph is ono example , among manv , 'of how little the int ^ a story depends upon the magnitude of tho topics it employs , ana how ^ upon the treatment . Justns in life we see tho passions roused an ( i . ^* nfc j tf the stretch by things intrinsically insignificant , so in fiction the real P j , em to display tho passions in action without much regard to what r ^ lfl <) . iy , Borough politics call forth tho qualities of human nature as ettcci ^ , national politics . What is the nation , to tho parochial mind , but an " Pi °

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 31, 1853, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_31121853/page/18/