On this page

• Text (2)

  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.

  • 

    780 THE LEADEB.. [No. 437, August 7, 1S5...

  • 

    THE MAGAZINES. The Monthlies are rapidly...

• 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.

    Medieval Architecture. • The Mediaeval A...

    the authors or publishers may gain thereby , but from an enlarged conviction that it is ^ one of those publications that tend to render easier the educational process , and therefore more likely to prove adrantageous to the general mass .

    780 The Leadeb.. [No. 437, August 7, 1s5...

    780 THE LEADEB .. [ No . 437 , August 7 , 1 S 58 .

    The Magazines. The Monthlies Are Rapidly...

    THE MAGAZINES . The Monthlies are rapidly losing their original character as " light reading . " They have , of late , generally taken a more ambitious flight , rivalling , in everything but size and price , the more ponderous Quarterlies . "We do not very much admire the change ; perhaps the " advancing spirit of the age " requires it ; perhaps the higher intellectuality of the present generation , compared by the standard of their fathers , demands a greater proportion of sub-5 *» f » fa ilimino nf cr » li « 1 vnfinmtaiirtn - » . «< -1 ieY « Oinri n \ c * f b UllVIIIUVlUU IHUUUi 1 &

    l ^ s »>*^ , *»»» l » A ** y ^ » V WWAIU ^ VJIU 4 AI \^& V amusement ; but whatever may be the cause , certainly th « change is one that creates in out mind a shade of regret . We miss the Magazine of our youthful days—the pleasant , easy reading , the light , graceful « ssay and sparkling tale ; we miss , in short , tlie days when Xamb and his clique of genial collabprateurs were the prominent and welcome contributors to the serials of their day . But the critic ' s task is before us , and we therefore commence with

    Blackwood .- —The number for tliis month opens with a rery long article on " Gladstone ' s Homer . " The reviewer has gone to work in rig-lit down earnest . Two-and-forty columns of criticism ought "to satisfy the veriest literary glutton , whatever may be its effect on the distinguished author- The upshot is that the work is " damned , " not so much with " faint praise" as with a civil but obvious determination on the part of the reviewer that the world shall . inow he , at least , does not regard the work as an authority , and that he is at issue with Mr . Glad stone on most of his theories and conclusions . The

    article , of course , will contribute to the delectation x > f Grecians to whom it is mainly addressed ; it will , however , be caviare to the million . The " Circulation of tlie Blood" appears to us out of place ; its object is to question the title of Harvey to the great discovery hitherto attributed to him , but in t ] jis doubting age nothing is more common than for critics—especially Scotch critics—to set about depriving one set of time-honoured names of the paternity of great inventions and transferring the laurels to brows that no one before ever dreamt of as worthy of wearing them . Classics and Medicine tiu 5 iucu auuic ui tiiLCUiiuii

    » ' uau , . Lsivuuty properly comes next , and here we have its claims indicated in a very good article on " White's Eighteen Centuries of Christianity . " The original work , of course , will onl y be read by a limited class , and tlie criticism , therefore , . can only expect to be welcomed by a limited few ; but by them it will be welcomed with true gusto . . " London Exhibitions and London Critics , " the . formidable title of the next article , looks something like a defiance to the press— -a daring feat equal to that of running a stick into a hornet ' s nest . We were . prepared for an onslaught upon that brood of callow

    Cockaieys , raw Scotchmen , and Hibernian Jackeens , whicli are too frequently the representatives of the critical power and high ait force of no insignificant portion of the metropolitan press , but we soon discovered our mistake . The article is little more than a popgun assault on Mr . Rusk in and tlie art critic of the Times . The "Byways of Literature" touches upon a question that might have been made a great deal more of had the writer been thoroughly " up " in tlie subject of the cheap literature of the day , or " reading for tlie million , " but still the article is able and tells some good truths . " Kingaley ' a Andromeda" and " What will ho do with . it , " a continuation of a novel , concludes the number .

    Titam—opens with am article on "The Hecent Literature of Painting and Beauty "—as lengthy and irritating as the drone of tlie Scotch bagpipe . " IjeviterLegenda" is a gossiping bit of travel very readable . We will give a taat « of its quality in an extract which we commend to the notice of Cardinal Wiseman in his next " History of the Popes" : — Appear the Pop © \ aloft in a ~ ehair borne by man la red . He is clothed all In -white , and-wears the largo

    and very ugly mitre which look * at near view less gold than gilt . He seems act If he were about to fall forward out of the chair ; the motion of-which is uneasy , at ta & st to the onlooker . The poor old Pope ! he really looked precisel y like a great bambino ( i . e . sontethtng between a toy and a baby ) dressed up for fun , and with a holiday gth cap on . Ever and anon he raised his hand In benediction ; * hil « a weakly smile moved the layer * of fat on hi * podgy old fa « e . So jiasaed dxmn the

    aisle , and into a side chapel , followed by his clankinS guard splendidly marshalled , and many of them looking , as they all should look , high Roman nobles . Tbe Frenchmen were then marched off , and the crowd flowed about at its own free will . So > then I had seen the Head of the Church , and gazed upon the Vicar of Christ . I had beheld one infallible , with power to forgive sins , to bind and loose—the holder of the awful keys . That weak old man in that gilt chair ? I would believe it if I could , but somehow it will not go down . I never could bring myself to acquiesce in a manifest humbug , and the Pope as Pope is a monstrous one . The other articles are of average merit , with the exception of " Behind the Scenes in Paris , " of which eight mortal chapters are given—none of which Candour obliges us to confess are to our taste .

    Eraser . —Our lory friend commences -with a capital article , " The Common-place Book of Richard Hilles , " a manuscript in Balliol College , written by an English gentleman in tlie sixteenth century . ~ We are enthusiasts in mediaeval literature . Of the massive intellect of that famed age the more it i 3 studied the more profound will be our wonder and respect . The wider our knowledge of the strong thinkers of that period the less will be our difficulty in understanding how a Shakspeare and a Bacon took their rise in that ase . ' "

    Telegraph-Cable Laying in the Mediterranean is a minute narrative of the difficulties , and the scientific means of overcoming them , winch attended the submerging the telegraph winch connects Enrope and Africa . The '' Geology and Extinct Volcauos of Central France" is one of those specialties which will have few charms for tlie general readier , hut which / will not he without its interest and value . " Catarina in Venice , part the second , " is of deep interest , of questionable morality , but powerfulLy writteiii . " Concerning a great Scotch Preacher" has reference to Mr . Gaird's claims as a

    popular preacher and sermon writer . The reviewer is evidently disappointed at finding the published sermons bear no proportion in their special merit to the great popularity of the author , and he attempts to account for the circumstance by attributing it to the peculiar arid impressive delivery of the preacher , wanting , of course , in their published form . To those who are curious in word portraits we present the following extract : ¦—His appearance is natural and unaffected . Of the middle size , with dark complexion and long black hair ,

    good but not remarkable forehead , a somewhat careworn and anxious expression , and looking like a retiring and hard-wronght student of eight-and-thirty—there we have Mr . Caird . He begins the service by reading the psalm which is to te sung , and we are struck at once by tbe solemnity and depth of his voice , and we feel already something of the indescribable charm there is about the whole man . The psalm is sung ; by a choir so efficient that the lack of the organ is hardly felt . Then the minister rises , and , the whole congregation standing , offers a pTayer .

    After describing the preliminary prayer , the aiithorgoeson : — Then Mr . Caird begins his sermon . He begins quietly , but in a manner which is full of earnestness and feeling ; every word is touched with just the right kind and degree of emphasis ; many single word ? , and many little sentences 'which when you recal them do not seem very remarkable , are given in tones which make them absolutely thrill through you : you feel that the preacher has in him the elements of a tragic actor who would rival Kean . The attention of the congregation is riveted ; the silence is breathless ; and as the speaker goes on gathering warmth till he becomes

    impassioned and impetuous , the tension of the nerves of the hearer becomes almost painful . There is abundant ornament in style—if you were cooler you might probably think some of it carried to the verge of good taste ; there is a great amount and variety of the most expressive , apt , and seemingly unstudied gesticulation : it is rather as though you were listening to the impulsive Italian speaking from head to foot , than to the cool and unexcitable Scot . After two or three such climaxes , with pauses between , after the manner of Dr . Chalmers , the preacher gathers himself up for his peroration , which , with the tact of the orator , he has made more

    striking , more touching , more impressive than arty preceding portion of his discourse . He is wound up often to an excitement whicli is painful to see . The full de « p voico , so beautifully expressive , alTendy taxed to its utmost extent , breaks into something which is almost a shriek ; the gesticulation becomes wild ; the preacher , who has hitherto held lumsolf to some degroe in check , BGOirts to abandon himself to the full tide of his emotion : you fee )[ that not even Ills eloquent lips can do justice to the rash of thought and feeling within . Two or three minutes in this impassioned strain and tho sermon is done ! Altogether this is a very good number . The Englishwoman ' s Journalis , we presume .

    m-theJFields , a workouse which , say the Marlborou * h street magistrates , gives them njore trouble t Wall the other workhouses in their district put together We cordiallv approve , of the main purposed the Workhouse Visit ™ * Society , which appears to us to be to awaken public interest to the most important subject of pauperism in our workhouses . There are several Notices of Books , among them tlie " Memoirs of Rachel , " which > is not a work we should like to sec hi the hands of every English . family . ° s-

    edited by some strong-minded woman , who is WiT on the disputed question , whether woman shall retain her present domestic position , or come for ward boldly m the field of industry as the rival of masculine monopolists ? Upon that subiect v » are not aualified to enter . The "Gallery of Illus trious Italian Women" contains examples of women with learning enough to set up lalf a dozen modem mathematical and classical professors . The " Work house Visiting Society" is a collection of sketches ' of workhouse interiors ; among them St . Martin '

    The Dublin University Magazene . —Altogether a very excellent number , second to none bflts rivals in variety , and superior to many in talent . The first article from the pen of "Harry Lorrequer " is " Gerald Fitzgerald / ' a serial , to which three chapters are added . The novel is framed rather too much after the Damas -pattern , but it is lively , full of incident , and very readable . < c Indian Commerce" does not go quite deep enough into Ihe subject , and we suppose found its way into the

    Magazine because India is the engrossing topic of the day . " Cheap Security , " by ifartin Tupper , is the article least to our liking- ; the drift of it is based on tlie not very novel suggestion of a national rifle club , and might have been told more effectively in a briefer and simpler form . " French Politics and French Philosophy , " is admirable throughout . The speculations of Hegel , Cointe , Considerant , and Proudhon are ably analysed , and their consequences foreshadowed with great ability . The closing remarks are very suggestive : —*

    We are not prepared to pronoiince beforehand on the fate of the Napoleon dynasty ; vie only see a fragment of the bas-relief : we loolc up on the prancing of horses , on shielded warriors hurling javelins , on brave men biting the dust—these all stand out in stone , but which side is in the right , and whom history will crown , we cannot even conjecture . The conclusion is , we admit , a most lame and impotent one—but what other can shortsighted mortals presume to arrive at . It is enough to know ( and this shall save us from utter scepticism ) , that there are eternal principles at bottom of all this troubled sea of French politics . Dissolute principles' , and an absolute ruler , are but as the great serpent wound round the mountain , with which Vishnu churned the ocean , to extract the amrit , or water of life .

    Beneath all the mire and dirt , the amrit is at bottom in France—her people can never rest—but are undera spell of turbulence , because the scum is a-top , and the amrit at bottom , of that seething ; ocean . Righteousness exalteth a nation—by wisdom kings reign , and princes execute judgment . Unhappily , these are not French principles , as yet . Christianity in France ia but a shadowy thing , a sentiment about h bon Dieu—a vague impression that Voltaire was as great an impo 3 tor as the priests he ridiculed—and a icspect for the genius of Christianity , as set off by the ihetoric of Chateaubriand . This is the sum total of the Christianity of average Frenchmen . What leaven i » this to leaven the great lump of national character ? It is a wonder thnt "with little religion , there is less morality , and no liberty at all .

    " Rides upon Mules and Donkeys" is from an experienced hand . It gives the reader a very clear insight into Egyptian doings and manners , and not Ihe least entertaining and valuable portion is Unit which cleverly hits off the respective attitudes ot France and England in the coveted region ot Egypt . «• Domus Doinorum , " " A Glance ut Irish Art" ( not written in . a too Insh spirit ) , a review ot " Sea Drift , " and several other articles , altogether furnish a feast whicli will satisfy most literary appetites . vise

    The National . —If this Magazine docs not , into the higher regions of literature it certainly docs not sink to the level of tho cheap literature vh " ' now inundates tho lower masses of society . Tho selection of anecdotes , original talcs , and other pleasant reading is judicious , and tho accompanying illustrations aro in several instances of very considerable merit . The Awt Jouhnal . 1 ms some first-class cngmvingj from first-class pictures , principally the work ot British nrtists . Tho " II Penscroso" of Horsley w capitall y engraved , but we have always felt that the monastic appearance and attiro of tho three fore-

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 7, 1858, page 780, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/ldr_07081858/page/20/