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Leader (1850-1860), 14th January 1854, Edition 1 of 1, Page 42, Untitled Article

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      glimpses of * straggle unsurpassed in tbe annals of national heroism . If tre ; believe PiincoTwbroikKow , Russia has been achieving countless victories , marked tij prodfi gf es of-valour , over those pertinacious mountaineers Tvho llaTeno ^ Aalltha vit to confess themselves beaten . The remoteness of the operations ^ aa& . thtt comparative inattention of Europe absorbed in commerce ^ mnreuaontributbd to throw a halo of magnificent uncertainty around tHeBe ^^ iyphittUK ! exploits . Th&Ltesgian chief has been lolled we know not ttanr ^ often liy the pen of" the Muscovite , whos 6 sword , he has , defied and tnpoikeit . ^ ha fcSchamy Xhas- aa many lives as Russian generals have lies to diahtimaL . Accowfindy ; . yeacalfer year , we find him not-onljr not killed nor

      conqnBrsdvbnt&oer more codden in the flashing onset , more obstinate and wary Ittcestttntces , thrift as his sword' and ' ' stubborn as His fastnesses , Sbhamyl has Q » ot taftussia in : ttie ^ Ckucasus what Abd-eL-Kaderwaa to France in Algeria . C ^ Sed : wiltua , vi tolUj sot mysterious , bouadlesa . in , resources , eloquent ,, he Hjin . ^ iBE thie craafitisHfe'tBfcnMpirB fnthnwi « nii . To his followers he i » alinost a prophet . While Western diplomacy has been yielding everything to Russia l&l 2 TOop « $ « Qd * extolling 4 he magnanimous conservatism of ' the Czar , the ^ nueessor * of , Peter thflf > Grireat has . been , doggedly ; working out the A ^ ian fijdfTofTtliAt iiooperiaL testament which bequeathed to fr *» successors nothing fe «* tbanL * he eonane * fc . a £ the world .

      6 WnettiEeicr- theiGreafc- settled obi the ? Caspian he looked towards India . IWien CbtlSerihe * Hi . seized upon "the Grnmear she remembered PeterV will . Thegpvernauag ( class of England has allowed the eastern , coast of the Black Sfi ^ te fSa ^^ to iEe hands of Russia , and it was under English mediation that jSejada ^ alMUBiiioned : Diaghastgm Even now ; when Turkey is struggling for £ ^ j «^ £ i ^ Uaio ^ iiupposed to be defending the independence of her ally , Bossishnvtm ^ permitted to blockade the Asian . * £ bast of the Euxine , just ^^ e ^ na ] B Been ^ encut 1 « d , to seduce by ( favours . and , correction the trading piton £ ^ W oC B ^ tea ^ Gircsssia . . They iave . been long , vaguely dreaming <^ deliyegattcft by Engtanrf ,, bat , ins Asia aa in Europe ^ the promises of BttjgBtt ^ h « to ^ p * O 3 red ^ deceptive ; Wedo not share tne- apprehensions of

      the singular taste to prefer remaining out of reach of the Imperial favours , and he wrote to decline to re-enter Russia , on the plea that he was still studying caligraphy : in short , learning to write . a better hantL Since then , M . Ivan Golovin has published a variety of works in French , some of which' have been translated into Eng lish , laying bare to the heart the corruptions of that hideous despotism : and it rs to his credit that he has * never allowed his implacable hostility to Nicholas , and to tie execrable system of the Russian Chanceries , to wean him from the love of his country and of hi * race . This Is the first occasion of his appearing in tlie

      character of an English writer , and he deserves encouragement in his new career . Had he loved liberty less , he might have lived to be—we- will not say a Brunow , but—an ambassador ; he has preferred the hardships of exile to the degrading livery of bondage . He dedicates the present work to the memory of Alexander Bestoujef , the Kussian soldier-author , who was sentenced to Siberia for participation in the insurrection of 1825 , and after many years found a soldier ' s death in the Caucasus . We inay judge from this dedication alone what sort of reception M . Ivan Golovin * * work on the Caucasus will meet with at the hands of the Censorship in St . Petersburg .

      ^ n ^ SK ^ sfwaj ^ i , ¦ . . ¦ - . '¦" . ' ¦ ¦ ' . ' .. . "'¦' . ;? '' 3 ^^ S ^ ukiu ^ nice exiiemp ^ ore evange&sLs , forget our text ; in the . ardour of ^ ikomktf . . jy ^ JsiaiE . Golavni has peculiar claims upon the ? subject of his preflsnt&wbilc ^ He is a near relative ( a nephew ^ if . we are not mistaken ^ of « J ^ RimstiGeneral Golorur , who was- Gommander-in-Ghief in the Caucun ^^ ronsrI 898 ^ tO W 4 & \ and who gave * -his name to an important Jbrt on the Black Sea coast . He , therefore , may be said to write with , avcertain , authority . He has given us , in a few pages , a j ^ p id and picturesque summary of the Russian war in the Caucasus , from its commencement to ^ the latest date . Xnu ^ rod ^ riciigjj ^^ th ^ workgiof the ^ distinguishied . travellers , ptufologistaj and naturausts who have visited Circassia , such as Bodenstedt , MaritZr-Waimer . DaMontpereux , &och * Spenser , Bayle St . John , we

      obpa ^ WL ^^ h ^ Ta ^ r ^ n ^ t j ^ tMmak readings a minute and accurate'description < xf the whole region ly in ^ hetween the tiro seas . > x We lBaiythft nafiir ^ ai ^ f ^ mme rcia 1 gegources ) tthe v « g ^ taHaand mineral productions of DagEesian ( the . immediate seat- of warj ^ and . of Russian ^ Lrmenia . We are interested to hear , for instance , that the " governing < 3 a » rpf n ^ tinh b ird s t- ^ e aristocrat ic ph its aame from the anmijvfc riTOi > Mifl ««^ wjiogfebmi ^^ flrnr « i ^ xy ^ llent sport to gentlemen who have Wr ** ptesiariBes ^^ mt ho » e . We find—but let us quote our author himself : — ;'; Hfl ^^ ! Gfi ^ i ( ii ^ i ^ i ^ pa ^' aV' of * t » e finest coutttrier in ; ttt ^ worttf . It vies with &nixerbm& ;^ Me . ijhfa ^^ ^ ate ? , and with Iulr for the Beautr of its cnnuwK-,. «;' . «^ ... .. . penr tfae

      *^ I ^ E ^ NicloUia i ^ oii visiting ; tfiat <» nntrj ia 1837 ^ exclaimed , —Tnow nndier-^ fi ^ 'bettieri&mever . ibe iwafds-in Geneaa , — God said ; Let then ta light , and there was | pif *'; J ^ m ^] i !^ waa ^ S § aa ?< ta ' Caocasosmore splendidlj then it does many other ^ Vej&tMli 3 ^ and ljeauty There are , in I fojffi attwi , jwjy ^ f Sb Wes' tind » , the foliiag& of which : two companies of soldiers may oncaxnp . ; ^^ tit ^ -8 fip |^^ e | up' -EHtBa ' 'fE' ^ uie > tree , holloir inside , offering . a room , tbe dimension of ^ iia ^^ p JMyes ^ feet ^ and lt lia 3 f . People , go there to play at cards or to take tea . ' ^^ niW'nios ^ fiestiBiuI ' and ^ tare flowers enamel the meadows , and the most esteemed plants ^ 'WioeSiM ^ BilkjBte tGe two ps » dactions of tne Caucasus which are destined to acquire < fe jg reat ^ B ^ aq > ort * nce .. XBe . prorioce of Kakhetia produces alono 2 , 000 , 000 VedroA of ^ XDoleat'yaati- . . . .

      ' ^ Tnio cocoanroTtl i ^ silk-wonns to a dimension of eight centimetres ; and experleooed ^ ineiL . afl ^ mbard jntee been engaged to go there for the purpose of rearing silk"wwmit ^ r * "TheCircassiims bow Indian corn , cultivate rice , and make , bread with kurnsa , The product of tleir tobacco is valued at 15 , 000 pads ; and their exportation of madder amounts feSO ^ OfeH tHUfe ExeettentJftflBron u gathered ia the diatrict of Bakoii . ' Bussia may w . elL aiiEagg le' for the possession of such a . region , but it is melancholy to-j seer a land , so ; rich by nature desolated and wasted by per-( atnal wsk ¦ . M ^ i Ivai 2 : > Golovin ^ the' author o £ the / worJc we are n © w considering , has ijMKp m H » WHiflBB f emigrairfc for ten years ,. ancL since 1846 * naturalised JSriglisJNinnit Saenjoysithet distinction , we believe , of bein ^ the first Russian 4 naigrani ^ fiia < daredL tor pnbHsh < political works on Russia , and to brand the 8 pnrernnMnta ^ : system . of the Czar . Of a . ^ S ^ Russian' family , a . career of

      dusitmenan lay open to > htm : in . the service of despotism . His brothers are ge necal > Hntithe laiSBiim army , and he commenced public life himself in the Chancesyv ^ £ Jl ^ de Besodrode ^ The story of his abrupt departure from Russia is so characteristic that we cannot forbear telling it here . M . de Nesselrode < x > mplained more than ~ once that M , Golovin ' s writing was illegible , and recommended , him to takefihome lessons in- caligraphy ; it is only permitted to the highest , rank o £ officiakv to be illegible . Even Plenipotentiaries begin Talh round hand . & . t length wearied , no doubt , with these incessant reproofs , M . Golovin asked mr a short leave of absence to Paris , to study < a * JSf a P ^ T- He obtained leave , and went to Paris , and there wrote and published a stinging brochure on the Russian system . When this reached the ears « the Czax , tbe illegible frondeur was peremptorily ordered to return to St . Petersburg , en route , probably , to Siberia . But he had

      + r > . T ! l , F ?? ? tn * Academy of St . PeterabnrB . VoLviiL r Paila . » iT ^ ^ jir ?* " ^ 0111 ? 1 llB 8 , * OTered the art of crossing silk-worms , a proceas througji ^ fc f ^^ Tr ^ 5 P ) end ^ ^ teneM . Baron MeTendorf has macfo him brilliant ft »! £ Ef ( f ' T l f ? rfill 8 siltlle ^^ t of hi 8 invention . But the Polish emigrant baa refused . through patnotiam , andkaa offered his secret to tlw India Company .

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      DOYLE'S FOREIGN TOUR . The-Foreign Tour of Messrs . Bvotcn , Jones , and Robinson . Being the History of what they sate * and did in Belgium , Germany , Switzerland , and Italy . ' By Bicliard Dojle . Pncer 21 # . Bnbdbory andEvans . This book is already on almost every table whereywe go ; a suddenness of success vrhich makes criticism superfluous . Still for those who have not seen the work , a word m&y be necessary . ' The Foreign Tow is a work which only Thackeray or Doyle could have written : it has the strangely bleiwled elements of grotesque Humour , graceful fancy , close observation visible through pervading mannerism , and deliberate exaggeration ^ There is poetry in it—as witness that sunset on the Lago Maggiore ; there is Comedy of the highest kind fashioned otrt of

      minute observation , representing character m ita tj'pical forms—as witness that marvellous Englishman who is calculating how many thousands would be needful to keep up one of the Rhine Castles ; or that English iiobleman delighting himself with the literature of his country in his lonely carriage ; these issalso broad farce—mrce riotous—farce pretending , to be no more titan whimsical exaggeration . The designs are not done justiee to by the engravers' : they want unitj of treatment . Nor indeed are the individualities of the three travellera always sufficiently marked . We recognise them as distinguished one from anotier , but we do not sufficiently recognise them in themselves , the likeness is often imperfect . Perhaps the most marvellous thing in the book is the

      prodigality of mvention displayed ni the forms and faces of ther crowds ; a dot tod a line are enough to preseat individual characteri and thd immense variety o £ characters Doyle contrives to group together is astonishing . With , regard to the . nationality of the types , there is no mistaking the English and German , but the - others are less distinctive , althoug h' some capital heads may be found even -there . In a mere whimsy v having fun aiid exaggeration on the face of it , it may seem hypercritical to notice , any such drawbacks ^ but really one cannot help taking Richard DoyLe . au serietun , he is . 8 O woaderful . Ta those ; who kaow . the value of a large book of . prints as a means of beguiling the- tedious hours of an evening parly , this Foreign Touris particularly recommended ; nor is " it less so to those , who love humous , fancy , and invention ^ It is the Christmas book of 1854 .

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      CASTEIXAMONTE . Castettamonte ; at * Autobiograp hical SJSeeteh , illustrative of Italian Lif& during : the Tnmrrectianof 1831 . 2 VoIb . < 3 . Westeiton . A book of strange eloquence and interest , tinged with sadness ,, as ,-of one in the autumnal evenings of life lo-oking back upon passions denied fruition , loves that were never returned . The writer is an Italian patriot ; one-who in 1831 was actively engaged in the Revolution . of Parma , andi who shared the aspirations and glorious dreams of a nation to be regenerated . He recounts , for us ia graphic narrative the hopes which he tlien shared , the agitations which moved , him " and his countrymen , and the disappointments they had to undergo . It reads like a romance , and is a romance v for , as he say a : ' " ' Is this a biographical sketch , or a novel you are writing ? ' the reader may ask : and the question is in itself condemnatory of my performance ; for every man ' s history well told is a romance , and every fiction , well coatrived , ia real life . * If it is not true , it is well

      invented ' says the oft-quoted Italian adage ; and the inverse sentence must be equallr correct * Jf it l > e well , invented , it is true . ' "I sit down before the glass and profess to paint my own portrait . I may unconsciously flatter and idealise it . But I contend tkafc no artist can do otherwise : that all picture Li portraiture . It matters little , to all but the parties concerned , how like the original the " work is . It is only important to decide how faithful a representation it ia of nature !* "The error must be in the choice of the original or in the manner of its delineation . But I chose my subject upon conviction of intimate acquaintance with it , and reproduced it with what strack . me as servile fidelity , even at the risk that it may be found a tame and painful likeness . ' , tr ^ And yet , even the insipidity and repulaiveness of the picture is by no means the test of its correctness . The glass does not always tell the troth , at least to the eyea that constdt it . © countenance such

      t . \ . nonesriy g ^ my as 1 see it : such as I see it , too , through the medium of long years of bitter experience ; with a sneer , half of contempt , half of envy , for the warmth of genuine enthusiasm and sanguine confidence with which it then beamed . " But while he thus writes the romance of his early life , he writes it witlout the illusions of youth , and hence it is that the sneer of contempt somewhat Mephistophelically mingles with the Faust-like aspirations . This makes tbe book curious . It shows enthusiasm and mockery ; the tragedy and the farce of the revolution : 1830 is coatrolled by I 860 . Imagine a man reading hia early love-letters , and thinking over the follies—exquisite follies f—to

      which am passion impelled him ; imagine the half-tender , i » alf-contemptuous feeling with which , he would looL back on such an epoch in his life , remembering and regretting its fervour and illusions , even while seeing beyond them into die cold reality ; imagine this , and jou have iinaguied the tone oi Castdlamonte .

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      42 THE LEADER . [ Satitkday ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 14, 1854, page 42, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2021/page/18/