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    WHftnfUtt %~ >\rlK *

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    Whftnfutt %~ ≫\Rlk *

    Iftmrttnt .

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    Eveby autumn , the Times , let loose from its Parliamentary duties , amuses its ( leisure by a raid into the field of literature . It glances into the literary arrears of the past six months or so , and fulminates a spare column or two , every third or fourth number during the political recess , at some famous book ,, or some new literary notability . Then authors pray and tremble . TV ^ at ; the -weekly or monthly or quarterly journals of literature have said or miay " , say , lias its interest for them ; but the chance of a review in the Times ! To . fiaye one's name blown—it may be , blasted—over the whole area of Great Britain , and round a considerable bit of the planet besides ! It is in vain that people call up the reflection that the Times reviewer , could he be

    seen ' bodilyin . hisi ' oto person , is probably a mere man , like the rest of us , witia thoughts oif a strictly appreciable value , arid often , perhaps i at a loss how / to' finish his sentence ? . It is not the mouth , it is th \ e tremendous trujiipiet ¦ : ; : and . the woir 3 ] b of it is you can ' t blow ; back through the broad end ofiihe ; ianwnpet-f ^ u- p . / yw ean't redargue . Thackebay had some success , indeed ; in thVai ^ mpt to do so-, when the Tiriies attacked his Kickleburys on ^ T te ^ i& ^ ^ itctes . jSl TEKsnysbifj ; on the other hand , must possess Wis soul in silence , suffer , the blast to die awayV and trust to that great squl of the world which isjusfc v ' . ' - ; - . ¦' : ¦ - ; . ¦ . ' ... . ' ¦ ¦ ' ;¦ ' . ; : ¦ ¦¦ . ' ¦ . . . ¦ ¦ . / . ¦ ¦ '' ¦ : ¦ : ' ¦/¦ ; .. ¦ ¦ .. ; . ' ¦ ' < " ¦ •¦ , ' .: :: ' ¦ ¦ . ¦ ' ¦; ¦ ' .. ¦ '¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ : ¦ ' ; ' ¦¦ ' ¦ ¦

    On Thursday the Times had an article on Poetry , in the shape of a review of Baixjby , tihe author of Festus ; Mr . Bi ^ BUBY , -whose V' name of war" is QuaUon ; and Qsraij > Massey . To all the Thunderer was unusually kind ; From certain : passages in the article , however , we infer that the Times , like the author of 'J ^ mtKqn , has taken up . ' . tlacicause of what maybe called the Ut ^ aryJreaction-rTrreaction , at all events , against the tendencies of such recent poets as Batons ? , AiiEXANbteB Smith , and SYiniiEi Yenbys . Speaking of the tehdeticy of tins school of poets to excessive richness of ipaagery ^ and to indirect and occult expression of their thoughts , the Heviewer says : —

    * 'What is the hopefallest remedyfor this prevailing , this epidemical disease of our modern verses ? W * answer confidently , the diligent , the loving study of the masters of poetica l expressionj such " : > ss- Dirjdenj Pope , aniGray , While these aathors are being read , Shelley and Keats must , be put aside . Even . Spenser niay be left on the shelf for a season . The constitution ofour yoanger poetsi wants bracing ; and during a course of ' Pope' or Dryden' the diet of the mind should be strictly regulated . These poetical springs contain iron , and are to be drank alone . Twelve months of such medicine and exercise may work ¦ wonders . " ' ' '' ' " ¦'" ' \ ¦ \ ¦ ' ¦¦ ' ¦ : ' .. ¦" ¦ :. ' ¦' " . This is likely to do > gpod ; it amounts , however , to a direct denial of the doctrine which , since Colebidge ' s time , has been in the ascendant , that the interval between Mixton and "Wordsworth was to be regarded as a kind

    of interregnum in English literature , during which there was no poetry—or little p / oetry , properly so called , but only , by way of substitute for it , a great deal . of Very excellent iniellectiOii ( wit , sarcasm , criticism , declamation , and sucKlifce ) in verse . , Does the ; ZYmcs wish , to refer back our young writers to thia period as the age whose spirit they ought to breathe ? Probably not . The > rdViewer seems only to recommend a course of " Dbydbn" and " Pope ' TaytiJs'ay of a corrective against present influences , and , above all , as a trainingHti . manlydirectness and concision of style . The figure of the " iron ?) is a gooaone ; our yoiiiig poets do want a little " iron , " But why , while referring back to DttTTDEN and Pope , not point also to Tennyson , a true poet ofjtlxe , present , day , in whom poetical genius of the purest order is found , in conjunction with the most exquisite taste for correct and beautiful form .

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    | i , jSeema as if we were on the point of a reaction against the Free-trade doqtrino , which for 30 many years has been our British gospel . Hero we have ' -been interfering with one of our great privileges as Britons-r-tho liberty of getting drunk ; and now an insinuating Cardinal proposes an infringement of our other great liberty—that of reading trash . Trash ! ay , there is the rub ; who ia to say what is trash ? " Chemistry , and history , arid agriculture , " are all very well ; but arc our ballads , and our other items ofu old chapman literature , to be accounted trash ? Heaven forbid ! Tho liberty of trash involves the liberty of much more ; for , if there be any truth

    as a purveyor of educational implements as it likes ; but , above all , let it remove the Taxes on Knowledge , and let Messrs . Chambers , Mr . Chabi-es Knight , and others , labour and compete without let and hindrance . We don't want a Government definition of trash . Let Government enforce , if it likes , the existing laws against all publications that are literally obnoxious to the police-laws , as worse than trashy ; but mere trash must be sacred—partly because nobody can say what is mere trash , and partly because , as a writer in Chambers ' s Journal ingeniously argued the other day , trash is a step upwards , a kind of preparatory region whence wholesame literature obtains recruits .

    The Athenaeum enumerates the following works as announced by our leading publishers in this dull season . From Mr . Murray ' s press we are to have Historical Memorials of Canterbury : ike Black Prince , by the Rev . A . P ^ Stanley ; Inventions of James Watt , by Mr . Mukihead ; and A Thousand Leagues among the Snowy Andes , by Mr . Lx . oyb . From the press of Messrs . Longman are forthcoming The Baltic : its Gates , Slwres , and Cities , by the Rev . T . MuJfEit ; Gleanings from Piccadilly to Pera , by Commander Oi « dmixon ; iheBritish Commonwealth , by Mr . H . Cox ; Lord Carlisle ' s 2 > tar 7 / in Turkish and Greek Waters ; and Mr . Djsnxistoun ' s Memoirs of Sir Robert Strange . Mr . Constable of Edinburgh is to publish a Philosophy of the

    Infinite , by Mr . Cammerwood ; Mr . Bentuey is preparing the Letters of Queen Henrietta Maria ; and Messrs . Biacblwood a new volume of Mis 3 STBiCJKiANtt ' s Lifeiof Mary Stuart ; and Messrs , Chapman and Hall have in the press a new ; serial by Mr . Leveb , to be called Martin of Cro-Martin . The Life and Correspondenpe of Lord Metcalfe ^ late Governor * General of India , Governor of Jamaica , and Governor-General of Canada , announced T > y Mr . Bbnt ^ ey ; from the pen of :. Mr . Kavje , already well kiibwn for his ¦ vyorks on India , is likely to attract immediate attention ; while , in less severe circles , the story of Worth and South , by the authoress of Mary Barton , which is to succeed Hard Times m Household Words , will be very welcome .

    iq Universal exporionce , the very best as well aa tho very worst things going in A community are precisely those that Government would not stamp . And , if there is to bo a censorship , why not apply it = in high places alao ? " not compel Messrs . Mubbay and Lonqmant to have their books c < j ) &v 6 « d as wholesome ? Why not submit our fashionable novels to tJwi . BfcampP Nay , and if what is intelloctual poison is to bo determined by ^ feeqn and searching tests , would Cardinal Wiseman ' s own lucubmniiilB fie more worthy of being let abroad into the public veins ^ an ' ^ jjUwf' ^ oro vulgar productions ? ! N " o , no ! Lefe us have the inquiry , b ^ . a ^ ttneans , fox Its results would bo rich and beneficial ; but nono of your Gofr ^ wiroeint censorship by way of euro t Teach every child to road and ¦ write , and h <^ much else as you can ; lot Government do as much , positively ,

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    We said lately that there were symptoms in a neighbouring country of a severer tone of thought , and even of a religious '¦ sp irit , reviving , as if to make amends for the total prostration of public spirit and patriotic impulsej and for that materializing and corrupting tendency pf all despotisms to encourage soeiaT licence and levity , to treat austerity as treason , aiid thoughtfulness as the garb of discontent . Among these better signs may be . named ihti success of such works as Le JDevoir , by Juwes Simon ; Profession de Hoi du XlXme Siecle , by Eugene Peixetast ; and Le Droit , by Emile de Gibabdin ; all of which have rapidly reached second and third editions .

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    The fourth volume of Doctor Vebon ' s Memoirs , just published , contains some curious correspondence on the ill-omened Spanish marriages between Louis PjijurrE and his time damne'e , M . Guizot . The letters of the Minister remind us of the mot cui'ront in the salons of Paris in 1847 . M . Guizot charged M . db R ^ mus at with having called him an austere intriguer . ' ¦ ' ¦ Intriguant , oui ; replied M . nja RjGmusat ; austere , nonpas !" Doctor Vjkbon has some pungent and characteristic anecdotes of Madllc . Rachei ,. A , mong others , take the following : — " M . lo Gonito MpM , mooting ivr « domoisello Raphel nfc my liousc , said to hor , with all tliat refined , aristocratic grace for which he is distinguished , Madam , you . have saved tho French ikngttage P > Mademoiselle Baohol replied by a most respectful curtsey , and turning to mo , added , ' -This m , indeed , holey , as I never learnt UP It was Urns she modestly rejected a compliment , a ¦ little exaggerated , porlmps , l ) y n somowhat fanciful confession . " ......

    Serious people will I daro sny bo astonished nt a comparison to which my reminiscences lead mo . I found in Mademoiselle Rachel mory than one of those qualitioa of a portotrating « nd practical intelHgonco which had captivated mo in M . Thioj's . Tliero Ss tho satno oloarnosa of views , tho sanio ardour in pursuit of a purpose , tho samo ingenious ru 9 < ss , tho samo winning wiles , tho 3 i \ mo fertility of oxpedionts , tho same philosophical toloration to wliioh vindictiveness and hatred , are equally foroign , which is content to negotiate with enmities , to appoaso grudgos , and to gain over ovory iafluence , evory friondahip that can bo useful . I consider thut , allowing porhnp 3 for « certain elevation of mind , and tho advantages of education , Mademoiselle Kachcl displayw in familiar conversation as much wit ,

    judgment , and good sonso , and perceptions an original and uquto as tho groat orator and Btutosmun of tho monni-chy of July . Tho oratorical art ( I do not moan oloquonco ) and tho dramatio art demand almost the samo atudy and tho unino tricka—oxoopt tho rowju . When slio Ja out of humour , or in a lit of vexation , Mudemoiacllo Itnohel ia eoinotimon » a intompemto in her languwgo as M . Thiord . Ono day she hud a ^ unrrol with mo . I romaiuod . firm : I honrd her mutter tho word canaille ! Wo made Sti up , however . ' Tliis is all very well , ' I » n | d to hor , ' but you havo insulted mo in a wny 1 nvver beforo experienced , you culled mo eanailla / ' / piiy you , ' she luiaworod , with » laugh , * you may aoimiw yourself ono of the family now . ' "

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    Critics are not the legislators , but the judge 3 and police of literature . They do not make laws—theyinterprefcand try to enforce them . —Edinburgh Review .

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    Madame George Sand ' s Story of my Life is at length announced for publication in the feuilleton of La Presse , to be commenced on tho 4 th of October . These Memoirs are already completely written ; and , in their collected form , will make five large octavo volumes . They were purchased by the Presse so long ago as' 46 , but " circumstances" have prevented their seeing the light xintil now . If ,, as we doubt not , these Memoirs are leaves torn from , the heart of the writer , and not merely " paper pellets of the brain / ' tbeir appearance will indeed be an event .

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    808 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 26, 1854, page 808, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2053/page/16/