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    wfcil&jthe rest of the party walked on to get a distant view of Ben Lomond , Mr . S . and I SttfieTBd-aarselves'to be taken intotlie carriage of oar unknown friends , and carried up to a charming little Italian villa , which stood , surrounded by flower-gardens and pleasuregrounds ^ at the head of the locb . We were ushered into a most comfortable parlour , where a long ¦ window , macks of one cle " ar . unbroken sheet of plate glass , gave a perfect view of the Idch' vvittiBH- its woody shores , with Koseneatfr Casfle in the distance . My good hostr 3 ses Utecallyiocerwhelitrad xnefwith-vkindaiess ^ hut as there * was nothings I real ly needed so much as a Jittle quiet rest , they took n » -to a cozy bedroom , of which the )? gave me the freedom , for the present . Does not every traveller knowwlvat a luxury it is to shut one's eyes sometimes ? The chamber which is cnllel ' Peace , ' is now , as it was iu Christian's days , one of tbfr best things' tfaat Charity or Piety could offer to the pilgrim . Here I got a little brush

    from the wings of dewy-feathered Sleep . "'After ir-while oar party came back , and we tad to be moving . My kind friends exptessed'so- much joy at having met " me , that it was really almost embarrassing-.. They-told me th&tthey ., being- confined'to the-house through ill health , and one of them by lamoness , had'had no hope of ever seeing me , and that this meeting' seemed a wonderful gift of Providence They bade me take courage and hope , for they felt assured that the Lord would yet entirely raakfi an end of slavery through the world . " "We have already referred to the good'sense that characterises some passages of iVtrs . Stowe ' s book . Head this specimen of the honest and fearless / manner in-which she "Writes what she really thinks about pictures by the Old Masters : —

    ' Mrs . B " . says tliat to-morrow morning we shall go out fo see the Dulvnch Gallery , a fine collection of paintings by the old masters . Now , 1 confess unto you thab I have-great suspicions of these-eld masters . Why , I wish to know , should none but overmasters be thought anytliiDg . of ? , la not nature ever springing , ever new ? Is it not-fair to concludo thai all the mechanical assistants of painting arc improved with the advance of society , as much as of all arts ? May , not the magical tints , . which , are said to be a secret with the old masters , be the effect oftiine in-part ? : or may not modern artists have their secrets , as well , for future : ages to study and admire ? Then , besides , how are we to know that our admiration of old inasteffi is . genuine , since we can bring our- tasteto anything , if we only know we must , and try Idrfg ehongh ? " People never like / olives the first- time they eat them . In fact , I must -confess , I have some partialities towards young masters , and a ^ ort'of suspicion that wq are passing . over better paintings at our side , to get at those , which , though the best of their day , iite not'So gritfi as we best of ours- I certainly do not worshi p the old English poets . With the exception of Milton and Shafcspeare , there is more poetry in the works of the writers of the last -fifty years than in all the rest together . Well , these are my surmises , for the

    nre--sent ; but one thing I am determined—as my atbnirution is nothing to anybody but myself , I ' wjll ' keep some likes and dislikes of my own , aud will not get into any raptures that do not -ariste df themselves . 1 am entirely Tirillibgto be conquered by any picture that has the power . I ' wfll'bkanph-resistant , but that is » all ' . " May 5 . ' \ Velt , we saw the Dtilwieh Gallery ; . five rooms filled-with old masters , Hiirillos , Claudes , Rubens ,. Salyator Rosas , Titians , Cuyps , Vandykes , and all the rest of them ; probably not the best specimens of any one of them * , but good enough to-Uegiu with . C . and . I i ; ook different courses . I said to him , ' Now choose nine pictures simply by your eye , and see how far its untaught guidance will bring you . within the' canons of criticism . When he -liad / gone through all the rooms and marked his pictures , we . fodiid he had selected two by - Rubens , two by Vandyke , one by Salvator Rosas , three by M " urillo , and one-by Titian . & ettj successful that , was it nob , for a iirst essay ? We then took the catalogue , and fleeted * all'the pictures of each , artist one after another , in order to get an idea of the style nffe&Gh- ITlind'a oTfiat . cnrio ^ itv + < vs « f » OTaivdo T . rvrrninp's : rATnpmVifci-iner t . lin Tinnt-ir > n 1 fliincru

    tna ' i hao ' bepn said and sung of him . I thought I would see if I ceuld distinguish them by my eye without looking at the catalogue . I found I could do so . I knew them by a certain anSty ^ qaality nt the atmosphere . I was disappointed in them , very much . Certainly they wrace-good ! paintings ; I had nothing to object to themf bxxt I profanely thought I had seen pictures by'modera landscape painters as iar excelling them as : a brilliant morning excels a cool , gray day . Very likely tlie , fault was all in me , but I could not help it ; so I tried the &lurillO 8 »; There-was-aViEgin and . Child , with clouds around them . The virgin was a very pretty girl ; . such aa you may see by the dozen in any boarding-school , and the child was a pretty child . Cal l ' it the young mother and son , and it is a very pretty picture ; bcit call it Alary and tha . Infanfc Jesus , and it is an utter failure . Not such , was the Jewish princess , the inspired poetess and priestess , the chosen of God among all women . " This passage is one of the ¦ ¦ best in the hook ; and , aa wo desire to part with Mrs . Stowe on the friendliest terms possible , we "will now close " Sunny Memories' * -without attempting to make any more extracts .

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    EETTMRS- OF AN AMERICAN . < Lelters of ah Ajn&rican . Makzl y on Russia and Revolution . E < lited by Walter Savage . La *" - Chapman and Hall . Republicans attwenty areas rife as the illusions of that happy age . Republican ^ at seventy are m ore rare .. Wo live in days of we will not say pqlitioal decrepitude ; tho > germs , of youiag life ave hidden in the crumbling spit ; , but of .-weariness ,. if _ nofc of indifljarencoy of doubt if not of disgust . The Attposphere- of public life seems withered by the dry heat of material ^ progress , and , as in certain climates , of America . and Australia , active men are old before they , have known the glory and the delight of . being young . Xh ? s , premature decay of tin * largec and " more , generous beliefs may > be tno j ) UniabraQnt . o £ excessivo orcdulityv of immoderat . o enthusiasm for ' efcerniil pwnciples'j' it may be the lassitude of cxhatisted aspiratirona ; it mny be the « vil and necessary consequence of a reign of order in which ' interests' and

    social tyrnqmHity" ( temprored- by ingenious ccimes- and economical debaucheries ) are an established religion , and human rights and national liber-< ti « ss > a mifiotnevons and abusive rhapsody of words . Suffice it'for tho moment tltktwo recognise : the naiversal . sterility .. We are aware that the world fitifl Keeps "moving at the ordors . of woro than , a metropolitan police , and that our existeoeoJs , t » : ansitioriaL Wo inwry be pardoned a .-passing expression-of regj ; et , tihat wo aro not ouc own postQiutyi ; and with that single rosoi'vation we anot ' content to < join in < tho national responses to that creed'of the nine * Otwnth cewtury , -vmich coJmmenoes , " We believe in atoamors , cotton , and * 0 lcg r « nh 8 . " ^ uoh r however ^ xloos notappoar . to bo / the creed , perhaps we should say tho -ao / wferKjreed , of that oxoopi-ional ^ ropubEoan at sevonty Waivtbr Savachh Landok .

    Wfa ' i ' mHtx in-freedom antl detestation of all forms of hereditary mis « rovernanwt . and ' servility , wax stronger with , years , and burn brighter and clearer ** M * k gflaeral obscurity , He dooa uot comedown from tho placid heights ot . tigje ,. !** . visit with condescending baniioi ) and complacent pitjy tho goneroua folhos of a now generation ; ho dooa not even withdraw from the woar-»» gv . p ^ t ) fcin <) 6 aiJB ( . oil pignay gpvernora to tho grander and more inspiring companionship of heroic suflbrera and thinkers in tho past , whoao immo ^ M l ^ g ^ cUis , are not loss the consolation of old ago than the incentive of yonthi ^ hcMlpcainotrreDire ,, tunquam in porturm , into the calm retreats of phil * Wjhy * Bliil lesa does ho content and console a cultivated leisure with n sadOftrked'wnite nt human agjitutlons , and , like Miohol . de Montaigne , oonsign

    all men and things to one universal formula of indifference . On the contrary , if he seeks repose in the groves and halls of the Academy he mingles gladly with th £ crowd in the Agora , and beneath the grateful shade of the Tusculan plane-trees exchanges anxious glances with the men of the Forum . It may be that the classical robes , which he never quite throws off , lend a certain antique and unreal air to the modern tyrants and patriots whom he denounces with so correct Jin anger , or celebrates with so chastened and dignified an admiration . But for this sculpturesque drapery of thought , sometimes eccentric , always noble and elevated , never moan , we uaay perhaps be thankful . Convictions so ' extreme' could hardly have preserved their freshness and their vivacity in a more modern costume .

    Not long since Mr . Landor collected a mass of his more fugitive writings of later years ( some of which appeared originally in . our journal ) into-a volume , on which he bestowed the touching title " Last Leaves from an Old Tree . " We confess to have shared the doubts of many of the author ' s friends whether the old tree , like many another vigorous oak T would not put out some more last leaves under the influence of a storniy summer , after other and less vigorous trees had shaded , rather tban refreshed us with their luxuriance of useless foliage . Dropping the ' tree , ' we shall not be accused of indiscretion if we con- > sider Mr . Jonas Pottinger and Mr . Kphraim Maplebury , the writer and re ^ cipient of these twenty-three remarkable letters as , if not " LieaveB of an old Tree / ' at least , to adopt the familiar language of fond fathers who have quite made up their minds about the authenticity of their offspring

    " . Chips of the old Block . " With all our faith in the destiny and the duty of America as a nation , we have a gi'ain of doubt as to the classical republicanism of that highly respectable and influential citizen of New England , Air . " Ephraim Maplebury , " supposing that gentleman to ^ be a real entity . It is quite possible that Mt . Maplebiuy might , as he does in these letters , condemn the acquisition of Cuba as a southern speculaiion , and might propose the purchase from England of the Hudson ' s Bay territory . YVliether he . would propose to defend Canada and Nova Scotia- for England against an enemy , in case of any future war , is another question which Mr Maplebury would ( we trust we do him no injustice in supposing ) , probably determine by a rough calculation in £ s . d . We should be delighted to give Mr .

    Maplebury credit for any other considerations where the fovtimes . of his " Mother , " ( as he calls England when he writes with Mr . Landor ' s " fine Roman" pen ) or the Ti ghts and liberties of nations are concerned . Let us , however ; permit Mr . Maplebury to abandon his assumption of a filial patriot , a loTer of _ liberty for its own sake , and a traditional Puritan , and to sink peacefully into the more congenial dress of a cousin of Mr . Cobden , entertaining much the same " views , " a man , without doubt , of strict commercial integrity aud acuteness , and decidedly not enthusiastic about the liberties of Europe or the Tibnonr of England . Wo can afford him some degree of respect in that character , while we reserve the higher feelings of admiration for his sponsor , Mr . Walteb Savagjs Landok .

    There is no sign of age , except of its maturity , its mellowness , and its dignity , in these terse , vivid , and vigorous letters . Mr .. Landor has seldom written with inore force and point : he has often written with more eccentricity , and less continence of style . There is scarcely a page we have not marked for some sentence , which Tacitus Avould hardly have disowned , for that brevity and fulness which indicate at once the hand of the stylist and the self-possession of the master of his thought . With most of the opinions of the writer we need scarcely say the Xcader is essentially identified , though a journal dealing with contemporary practicalities must needs make sonie deductions from abstract opinions , not so much for the sake of success , aafor the sake of existence . We may trust that monarchy in general will some day be " garnered up in our museums and exhibited with the megatheria / ' but to discuss the movements of an amiable and innocuous Court from that point 6 f view would be at once silly and impracticable .

    We may hold that a . battue of the Almanack de Golha would be a summary and effectual process of putting a stop to revolution by abolishing the occupiers of great and little thrones ; but to propose such a " solution of the European question" would be to ihoiir , if not to deserve , the reputation of a G-reenacre at large . We may celebrate the myrtle-crowned daggers of Haimodius and Aristogeiton ( we were taught tyrannicide at Eton , necordinnr to that awful system of Pagan education which the Abb < 5 Gaumc denounces ) , but t » propose tho exploit of those fortunate youths for modern emulation would put us out of the pale of received , we do not sjiy of conventional , opinions . There is scarcely any prominent topic in the politics of the day which Mr . Landor haa not here touched and adorned with the strength and gruoo of a master- The bitterness is Attic , the terseness Koflian , the Bturdiness Saxon , but tho pervading spirit , in the largest senso , humane . We havo no space here for the many extractablo oassacos in these

    twenty * throe short letters on the impolicy and indignity of tho Austrian alliance , on the perfidious conspiracy of thrones against nations , on tho backstairs . intrigues ; of palaces , on tlvo necessity of crippling Russia , on the true came of revolution ?! and the true description of revolutionists , on the theological burlesques of Christianity , on the weakness and vacillation of English ministers , on the restoration of Hungarian and Polish nationalities , on tho corruption of the Universities , and tho Fuseyito fopporios of the Church , on the supposed tailoring propensities of a . " iicld-nmrshml on other holds than those of battle , " on tho impotence and imbecility of our . diplomatists * on the jobbery of our dockyards , on tho importance of the Isthmus of buoz to England , on the policy of America towards Cuba , on tho inoumbr * nces of the British soldier as compared with the French , on tho " sagacity , " tUo power , and tho opportunities of Napoleon HI . There luw undoubtedly boon a considerable revulsion of feeling in this country towards Louisi Napoleon ; nnd this change wo must be allowed to nssuro our

    lirencU tnends , whoso proscription wo denounce and deplore , is not tho mei-o consequence of a supposed political necessity : it is tho frrndunl persuasion that the sometime lodger of King-stroot , St . James ' s , is really animated by friendly rocoHoctions of England , nuil convinced ot tho advantages of onv aflinnco . In another place , however , wo shull any more on-tlAa subject . Mr . Landor speaks of tho present Hmporor of the French in the highest terms of admiration and rospoot . No pen wuh more movero on , the porfidias , tho cruultios , and the crimes-of tho coup-WJtat thiin Mr

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    W * TH E LEADER . [ Saturday ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 22, 1854, page 690, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2048/page/18/