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Leader (1850-1860), 28th June 1851, Edition Town of 2, Page 610

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      been a long while in getting up this tribute to her greatest painter—one in some respects worthy to rank among the greatest . " Better late than never , " says the wisdom of nations ; and at last Poussin has his statue . The account of it , reported in the DSbats , ia immensely mirth-provoking . The city of Andelys had , we are informed , " neglected nothing to give this f 6 te of the Fine Arts all possible splendour and majesty , " and having assembled thousands of " individuals , " all avides demotions , they made speeches , and read the fragment of a poem . " In a word , this splendid dayworthy of a people whose Art is one of its roost eminent glories—terminated by a brilliant display of fireworks in the ruins of Chateau Gaillard . The ruins , lighted by variegated lamps , presented the most fantastic aspects ; while the fireworks let off from the great tower lit up by its million of sparks the banks of the Seine , and the detonation of the bombs was repeated in distant echoes . It was a spectacle of unusual grandeur—c'ktait un spectacle des plus grandioses ! " The grandeur of fireworks , and the exquisite tact which brought them to give Sclat to a really great artist , will delight the English reader !

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      Notwithstanding the intense heat , Thackeray ' s fifth lecture was as crowded as the first : but although he treated of such great names as Hogarth , Smollett , and Fielding , the lecture was less interesting than those which preceded it . He dwelt at great length on Hogarth , and pointed out how much of his success lay in the simple conventional morals of his works ; gave a graphic analysis of the Marriage a la Mode and the Idle and Industrious Apprentice ; and humorously set forth Hogarth ' s pretensions to the sublime in

      historical painting . Smollett was dismissed in a few pleasant paragraphs . Fielding called out the hearty admiration of the author of Vanity Fair ; and amidst the panegyric there were some admirable passages , notably one on the scorn and hatred Richardson and Fielding unaffectedly felt for each other , and the sincerity which may animate even the most contemptuous criticism . The opinions Thackeray stamps with his authority , we constantly find open to question ; but it is not as a Course of Criticism that these

      Lectures have their inexpressible charm , and it would be possible for a man to dissent in toto from the views put forth , while at the same time ho held them to be among the most delightful lectures he ever listened to .

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      LORD MAIDSTONE ' s ABO-EL-KADER . Abd-d-Kader . A Toem in Six Cantos . By Viscount Maidstone . Chapman and Hall . This is an elegant volume to grace a drawingroom table ; but it will create less effect on Parnassus—that peculiar locale caring more for grandeur of thought and beauty of expression than for delicate binding and luxurious typography ! Abdel-Kader is the poem of a nobleman : it has external elegance and a sounding title . As a nobleman cannot be announced without causing us to turn our eyes in his direction , at least for a moment ,

      so this volume cannot fail to attract the momentary attention of those who chance to see it . But if you enter into conversation with that nobleman , you will find , perhaps , that his sentiments , opinions , tastes , and expressions are not of a very lofty , delicate , or ingenious description ; you will find him rather stupid than otherwise , his mind moving in comrnonplacea , with an occasional aberration into foolishness peculiarly his own . Something of this you will find the present handsome volume to be . Viscount Maidstone has written a poem such as thousands and thousands of men could write ; but which no man , not

      absolutely" Impelled by hunger and request of friends , " ought to publish . The world did not imperatively demand it : trunkmakers were already amply provided : and , as to " gentle readers , " every one knows that—•• Bans l ' urt dangereux de rimer et d'fe ' erire , II n'est point de degr 6 s du mediocre au pire . " Poetry is nothing if not exquisite ; and the most charitable cannot pronounce this Abd-el-Kader more than a mediocre performance .

      After a prose introduction , giving an account of Abd-el-Kader * 8 career , Lord Maidstone enters upon his poem , the scheme of which we do not profess to understand . It is sung in a jogging ballad style —very suitable when the singer has the true mastery of his art , but from its very ease demanding greater mastery to produce effect . Any one can jingle a ballad tune ; few can make the verses throb with varying music . Lord Maidstone is not of the few .. His poem cannot be accepted as a good story of Abd-el-Kader ; it is rather a string of verses suggested by the subject , than a poetic setting of of the

      the great Arab chief ' s career . Something Oriental picturesqueness of the scene he may have caught in transient gleams ; but on the whole we found the painting indistinct , the characters null , the wisdom null , the poetic beauty faint— -and no impression of any kind remains on our minds except that of having read a quantity of passable verses . Imagination , fancy , eloquence , delicacy of expression , rhythmic variety—whatever manifests the true poetic spirit—will be sought here in vain . But a single passage , one of the very best , will better illustrate our meaning than columns of criticism : — 1 . " Shots are pealing from the Desert , Atlas in his glens replies ; Crashing cymbals answer trumpet * , Clouds of dust in volleys rise . From the bosom of Sahara , With barbaric pomp and din , Full five hundred chosen warriors ( Khaled ' s band ) are coming in . Part on fleet Maherries mounted , Part on steeds of fiery race ; Snowy haicks , and striped bornooses , Swarthy lithams for each face . From the wings , unnumber'd horsemen Dash at speed , with eag-r cries ; Matchlocks ringing , jereeds glancing , ? Lelies' challenging the skies . All the Deira ' s best are muster'd—Sheikh and cavalier are therf ; At their head rides Abd-el-Kader , Governing the coal-black mare . Pearl of Nedjed ' s tents—unrivall'd For endurance , strength , and speed—Djeroua , the pure of lineage ! Djeroua , the matchless steed ! 2 . "Bv a knoll of shady lethel , With o ' er-hanging palm-trees graced—Like a king he takes his station—On the margin of the waste . Round him throngs a staff of chieftains , Exiles from a thousand hills ; From a thousand glen 9—and dashkrahs Cliff-built , by a thousand rills , Interwoven in Kabailia—Chequering the keen blue sky ; Like white marble , cut on azure Of the lapis lazuli . 3 . " Rather Bhould a brave man wander . Lacking bread , by wood and wild , Rather perish in his harness—Or go forth in arms , exiled ; Craving pittance at the stranger ' s Insolent and niggard hand—Than breed flockB , and pasture horses , In a servile fatherland ! Stony are thy paths ! oh Freedom ! Roughly do thy children fure ! Base convention dooms their slaughter—Tyrants join to strip them bare . Little ease attends the patriot—Gold and gems are not for him ; While the fools he shepherd * , slumber , Ho must peril life and limb . Captive — shortest shrift attend him , Winner—jealousy of friends , Ruler—base ingratitude , — But with life this malice ends . Firm in register of nations , Stands apart the mighty name ; Kvory freeman Icama his story—Warms him at hid beacon flume . Ancient sires , to littt ' ning children Babbling it , in life ' s decay — As the glorious theme progresses Dash whole yt'ars of frost uway . Kindling at tho true recital Of heroic virtue proved , In the furnace of uflliction—And Fabricius-like unmoved ! 4 . " Round their Chief in less'ning clrole « , Now the Desert ' s cJionen wheel ; Dark an night their savage glance * Bright their trappings—brown their steal , lroudl y Khaled gazeth on them I Proudly suppliant—turns he then

      To the chief , with gin nee that speaketh Plain as trumpet—* These are men ! These are dan Zemmoura ' s chosen ! Burning for the promised fight . And I claim the first adventure , Sword of Islam ! as their right . ' 5 . " Fiercely sparkled Abd-el-Kader ' s Master eye of serene blue , Yet before his mental vision Burns the past , in stern review ; And the ten years' war of races Shaped itself , in memory ' s glass ; Stript of patriotic varnish , Grim and cold the shadows pass . Smoking ruins—towers dismantled- — Battles to small purpose won—Leaguer'd bands of blue and scarlet Feats of valour idly done . Fierce and valiant was his nature , But experience had brought Judgments calm , to temper daring , With the stern alloy of thouht . Yet he gazed upon strong Khaled , Young enthusiast , at his side , With , an eagle ' s self-complacence , Or a stately lion's pride ; When the callow eaglet stareth . On the sun witb quenchless eye . Or the tawny cub ariseth , Wrathful , at the jackal ' s cry !" The least-practised eye will discern the frippery of poetic costume which is here employed for picturesque effect , and the poverty of material which this frippery covers .

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      c . knight's publications . Excursion Companion . Cyclopcedia of Lon-lon . CycivpcBdia of the Industry of All Nations . C . Knight , The completion of these serial works , issued mainly with a view to the exigencies of 1851 and the crowds of travellers , calls for notice . They have each a permanent , as well as a temporary interest . Having served the purpose of the hour , they will he placed on convenient shelves for constant reference .

      The Excursion Companion is a volume of charming guides to various places—Brighton , Hastings , Canterbury , Isle of Thanet , Bath , Bristol , Windsor , Eton , Oxford , Portsmouth , Southampton , Isle of Wight , Dorchester , Weymouth , Exeter , Plymouth , Cheltenham , Stratford-on-Avon , Gravesend , Leamington , &c . —written in a style which pleasantly enlivens the dulness usual in such descriptions ; and as persons may desire to have separate " Kxcursione" to pack in the portmanteau without the inconvenience of carrying a stout octavo , the volume is divided into five separate parts , each part containing a group of towns , e . g . Bath , Bristol , Exeter , Plymouth .

      r ftie Cyclopedia of London is in the main a condensation of the four admirable volumes on London , previously issued by Charles Knight , assisted by various contributors . Without superseding that agreeable and instructive work , this Cyclopaedia has a definite aim and an immediate utility . In the London , some of the most interesting papers were on collateral subjects—such as Street Cries onlv

      and Rogues' Tricks ; but in the Cyclopadia those objects which are necessary in a guide-book are selected . Indeed , it may be called a g igantic Guide to London , describing the historical and actual features of the Parks , Gardens , Churches , Palaces , Theatres , Exhibitions , Museums , Asy lums - Schools , Bridges , Docks , Companies , Courts ot Law , Squares , Markets , Clubs , and Railway Stations . It is well arranged , easy of reference , ana

      amusingly written . But by far the most important is the Cyclop *™* of the Industry of All Nations , which is a sojrt oi Dictionary to the Industrial Exposition ; containing a brief , yet suflicient explanation of all the subjects of inquiry suggested by the varied articles the displayed . It is the work of Mr . George Voaa , whose excellent Days at the Factories rm > our readers will remember . He has found . ^ CvclontP . dia linnri mntf » rials _ tlm non \ riffht of WO

      is in Charles Knight ' s hands , adding thereto wW » j ever was deemed necessary for the purpose- ^ comprises also an immense mass of geograp > knowledge , and accounts of the various ^ f ° ^ turing processes , illustrated byengravings . 1 ° visiting the Exhibition with any other purpose > in ^ that of curiosity , who wish to learn something » it , this volume will be extremely welcome » w « j those who do not possess a Cyclopaedia win « it a tolerable substitute , containing as it do «» mdst everything in the way of useful inform ** 1011 *

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      610 & !> $ QLtabtt * [ Satitrday ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), June 28, 1851, page 610, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1889/page/14/