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Leader (1850-1860), 9th September 1854, Edition Town of 2, Page 857

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      and Verse , " which many have already appeared in the Nonconformist and other periodicals . Mr . Langford is not ambitious . He does not , so far as we can judge from his own words , lay claim , to the rank of Poet , for he tells us , in a short and modest preface , " it is hoped that in the present volume the reader will find pleasant matter for an hour ' s reading in Sunshine or in . Shade . " Some of the " Lays " are pretty enough , but we cannot help telling Mr . Langford , that to talk of men " walking in the sublime " may be very necessary for the purposes of versification , but that , as a phrase , it has no meaning whatever . In the second stanza of the same lay there is an obvious deficiency in ear . It is quite painful to read lines like these : —

      " All things that worth the winning are , Are won by toil alone . " In short , the first lay , " Laborare est orare , " is nearly the worst in the set , and we strongly advise Mr . Langford to cut it out altogether ; or , at least , to place it in a less conspicuous position . The Last Days of Disertli is a poem , in six cantos , and is an . attempt to reawaken an interest in the old British legends , and in the history of Wales before it became a conquered country , flow a Welsh bard fares in these bad days may be learned from the following description , extracted from the Chester Courant . For 80 years Jolo Fardd Glas had "been one of the most laborious writers and distinguished bards of his day . He had won prizes

      at the yearly festivals , and , on one occasion , another gained a prize for a poem written by Jolo Fardd Glas in a workhouse . " It was two miles froni the degrading scene of his deathbed , th ^ t to the place where the bard was to take his final rest ; and there he was taken in a cart , milch like a malefactor taken to the gallows ; and in Caety Churchyard , among the paupers of Pen-y-Bdnt Workhouse , lies the once celebrated Jolo Fordd G-las . " And yet the bards to whom this pauper traced his descent , whose name he inherited , \ yere the soul of I Velsh ; nationality- In these stirring days , when events crowd thick arid fast , so that hours are as yearSj we lose our interest in the past . ; The author of Diserth has made a praiseworthy and , we hope , a successful attempt to remind us that Wales was once a country ' . The Third

      NapQleontean ^ Robert Story recommends the poet Laureate to fl deal no more in fiction , ' * to spend no more time on . '¦' . ' myths" and inventions of tie brain , but to take for his text the real and the present . He eveti condescends to sketch the plan of a poem which will cover Alfred Tennyson with immortal laurels . The subject is to be Napoleon the Third . Here is a speeiraen of Mr . Robert Story ' smuse : —^ 7 " Sing him fo a prison faken , And when fear his . We would claim , Lo ! his captor ^ awetland shaken By the spelKvirord of his name— - . Spares it— -the donation dreading Which would folljiw his blood-shedding . " Oar readers will thank us for declining to quote any of the " Songs of the War" which occupy the l-est of the vdume .

      Next on our list are three books on Sporting , Mr . Mayhew , yrho writes about the management of dogs , is a veterinary surgeon , and lays before the public the result of several years' experience . He hopes to induce a more careful study of pathology , a subject "which , he tells us , is " at present not properly taught , nor rightly understood by those who profess to alleviate canine afflictions . " The book is purely scientific . . ¦ ¦ In a shilling volume , published by Routledge , Mr * Blakey gives us some practical directions about shooting , * hich we strongly recommend to the reckless young sportsmen who are as dangerous to their neighbours as to the birds , and to the ignorant ones wh <> wish to learn something of their art ; Fish and Fishing in the Lone Glens of Scotland explains itself , and is what it pretends to be—an account of the salmon streams in the north , written in an unaffected Guide-book style .

      Of Famous Persons and Fanions Places , by N . P . Willis ; a portion has already appeared in Penc ' dUngs by tlte Way ; the rest is of the same char , ractei ' , very clever , very picturesque , very amusing , but full of what we can only describe as " snobbisms . " In thfc eyes of the democratic Willis , a noble lord is the moat perfect of human beings , and he loses no opportunity of telling us how the aristocracy of England acknowledged , in his person , the dignity of the Republic ! It is a noble lord who introduces him to Professor " Wilson ; as ho sits at dinner , he looks round upon the aristocratic company at table , and " thinks he never saw heaven ' s image double stamped ns man , and noble so unequivocally clear . " Lord Aberdeen is an espeoial favourite " Lord Aberdeen haa tlio name of being the proudest and coldest aristocrat of England . It is amusing to see the person who boars such a character . Ho is of the middle height , rather clumsily vnndo , with sin address rnoro of sobor'dignity than of prido or resovvo . With for

      a . black coat much worn , nnd uhvaya ^ oo largo him , a pair of coarse check trousers , veryill vnade , n waistcoat buttoned up to hm throiit , a , nd a . cravat of tho most primitive neglige " , lua avistocrncy is certainly not in his drosa . His manners' are of absolute simplicity , amounting ; almost to want of stylo . He crosses ) haa hands behind him , and balances on his heels ; in conversation his voJco is low and cold , nnd ho seldom smiles . Yet there is it certain benignity in his countonnnco , and an indennublo superiority and high breeding in . his simple address , that would botmy his rank sifter a few minutes' conversation to any shrewd observer . It is only m his manner towards tho Indies of the party that ho would bo immediately distinguishable from vnon of lower rank in society , " This palpable weakness , however , by no means diminishes tho charm of tho book . It is not ofl ' onsivo . Wo know that we shall come across it , oftoii and often , ns soon as wo have read through tho first half-dozen pages , and

      so wo make up our mind to bear our futc . The next extract must conclude our notice of tho book . It is three -o ' clock in Regent-street . " Look at these otjuipagoa and thoir appointments I Murk tho exquisite balance of that ciarot-ootfiod chariot upon its sm-i > i £ a—tho Jinoswiiy of its sumptuous hummoroloth in whiah tUo un-snnluiK coiielnnan sits Imriod to the middle— -the exact fit of tho saddle ^ sotting into i ° l -i . tno horses' bucks ho as not , to break , to the most carolens oyo , tho Kino lines which oxuimt action and craco 1 Soo how thoy stand togothcr—nlcrt , liory , yot obediunt to the « wiiguc ot a silken thread j « nd as tho oouchmiui wes you stud y ing hia turn-out , observe the imperceptible ( col of the ruins and the just-visible motion of his lips , convoying to the quiok oarsw ins horsoa tho premonitory , and , to us , inaudible sound , to ¦ which , without drawing a iiau- s DroaUtU upon tho tnwos , they piuv their lino hoofs , and expand thoir nostrilw impuuenuy i vJomo nearer , and find a spcol-c or a raiatiil huir , if you oun , on theso gloasy coats ! woservo tli < , nico fitnosH of tho dead black harness , tlio modest went upon tho panel , the « m « n » p ! , P ° ?* y llitQ in tllQ wheels , and , if you would venture upon a freedom in mnimera , look in through tlw window of roso-tintod l « B » , and soo tho « i . lcndid cushions nnd

      the costly and splendid adaptation of the interior . The twin-mated footmen flv to the carnage-door , and the pomatumed clerk who has enjoyed a tete-a-tete for which a Prince ifoyal might sigh , and an ambassador might negotiate in vain , hands in his parcel The email foot presses on the carpeted step , the airy vehicle yields lightly and recovers from the slight weight of the descending form , the coachman inclines his ear for the half-suppressed order tram the footman , and off whirls the admirable structure , compact , true , steady , but magically free and fast—as if horses , footmen , and chariot were but the parts of some complicated centaur—some swift moving monster upon legs and wheels . " Walk on a little further to the Quadrant . Here commences the most thronged promenade in London . These crescent colonnades are the haunt of foreigners on the look-out for amusement , and of strangers in the metropolis generally . You will seldom find a town-bred man there , for he prefers haunting his clubs ; or , if he is not a member of them , he avoids lounging much in the Quadrant , lest he should appear to have no other resort . You will observe a town dandy getting fidgetty after his second turn in the Quadrant , while you will meet tlie same Frenchman there from , noon till dusk , bounding his walk by those columns as if they were the bars of a cage . The western side towards Piccadilly is the thoroughfare of the honest blmt under the

      passer-y ; long portico opposite you will meet vice in every degree , and perhaps more beauty than on any other pave in the world . It is given up to the vicious and their followers by general consent . To frequent ir , or to be seen loitering there at all , is to make but one impression on the minds of those who may observe yon . " The two sides of RegenUstreet continue to partake of this distinction to the end . Go tip on the left , and you meet the sober citizen perambulating with his wife , the lady followed by her footman , the grave and the respectable of all classes . Go up on the other , and in colour and mein it is the difference between a grass--walk and a bed . tulips . What proof is here that beauty is dangerous to its possessor ! It is said commonly of Regent-street , that it shows more beauty in an hour , than could be found in all the capitals of the continent . It is the beauty , however , of brilliant health—of complexion and freshness , more than of sentiment or classic correctness . The English features , at least in the middle and lower ranks , are seldom good , though the round cheek , the sparkling Up , the soft ' blue eyes , and hair of dark auburn , common as health and youth , produce tfae effect of high and almost universal beauty on the eye of the stranger . Thp ' - iarest thing in these classes is a finelyturned limb , and to the clumsiness of their feet and . ankles must be attributed the w ^ nt 6 f grace usually remarked in their movement ' s .

      " Regent-street has appeared to me the greatest and most oppressive solitudein the world * In a crowdof business irien , or In the thronged and mixed- gardens of the continent , the prev occupation of others is less attractive , or at least rnov'ewithiii our reach , if we would share in it . ' Here it is wealth beyond competition ,, exclusiveness and indifference . perfectly unapproachable . In the cold and stern , mein . of the practised : Londoner , it is difficult for a stranger not to read distrust , and very difficult for a depressed miad not to feel a marked repulsion . There is ; no solitude after ' all like the s 6 Iitude of cities . " ' O dear , dear London' ( says the companion of Asmodeus on his return from France ) * dear even in October ! Regent-street , I salute you ! Bond-street , my good fellow , how are you ? And you , oh , beloved Oxford-street , whom the opium-eater called ' stoneyhearted , ' and whom I , eating no opium , and speaking as I find , slhall ever consider the most kindly and maternal of all streets—the street of the middle classes—busy without uproar , wealthy Svithoutostentation . Ah , the pretty ankles that trip along thy pavement ! Alt ! the odd Country-cousin bonnets that peer into thy windows , which are lined with cheap yellow shawls , price one pound four shillings , marked in the corner ! Ah ! the brisk yoang lawyers flocking from their quarters at thebackof Holborii ! Ah 1 the quiet old ladies living in Duchess-street , and visiting tliee with their eldest daughters in £ he : hope of a bargain "!

      Ah , the bumpkms frorn Norfolkj just disgorged : by the Bull and . Mouth—the soldiers— -the milliners—the Frenchmen—the swindlers—the porters with four-post beds on their backs , who add the excitement of danger to that of amusement ! The various shifting motley , group that belong to Oxford-street , and Oxford-street alope ! What thoroughfares e q ^ ual t . hee in the variety of human specimens ! in the choice of objects , for remark , satirej admiration ! Besides , the other streets seern chalked out for a sect— -narrow-minded , and devoted to a coterie . Thou alone art catholic—all receiving . Regent-street belongs to foreigners , cigars ^ and ladies in red Silk , whose characters are above scandal . Bond-street belongs to dandies and picture . -dealers . St . James ' s-street to clab .-loungers and young men inl the guards , with mustaches properly blackened by the clre of Mr . Delcroix ; but thou , Oxford-street ,, what class can especially claim thee as its own ? Thou rnocke . st at oligarchies ; thou knbwest nothing of select orders ! Thou art liberal as air- —a cliartered libertine ; accepting the homage of all , and retaining the stamp of non « . And to call thee ¦ * stoney-heartea !'certainly thou art so to ieggars- —\ a people who have not the WHEREWiTirA . ii . But thoa wouldst not be so respectable if thoa wert not capable of a certain reserve to paupers Thou art civil enough , in all conscience , to those wlao have a shilling in their pocket ^ tlaoso who have not , why do they live at all ? ' "

      M . Rabbe ' s neat and lively epitome of Russian history was worthy of a better editor than it has found in Mr . Dun

      " Tho ancient inhabitants of Russia , so far as they can be traced , wore descended from two different peoples , t , ho Slavonians and tlio Finnish . Tho formor settled in tho neighbourhood of tho Volga and tho Dwina ; the latter in tho y ichVity of tho Dnoipor and tho higher banks of tho Don . Lithuania « , nd Poland wore tho principal homes of tho Slavonians , only a aipglo branch of them spreading to tho Dnoiper . The Slavonians of tho Danubo , having been driven , back by tho Bulgarians , returned to tho north , and located themselves beyond tho Dneipar , on which they built Kief . A Slavonian colony advanced to tlio Volga and founded Novogorod . A . cuntuvy passed away , of which history lias prescrvod no record . Those Slavonians at length reappear , surrounded by Finnish peoples . At that epooh the Russian empire wa 3 founded hy tho Varangians , &c , &o . The other three English books on our list aro ropublications . Messrs . Dolman produce tho two first volumes of Lingard ' s History of England , in a cheap form , and in double column type . Tho book is too well known to need any x'ecommendation from us , and wo hope that it will have the success it deserves . The edition of Pope ' s works , with a Life written some years ngo by Dr . Croly , is a nicely printed and compact little volume . With Murray « edition , of Gibbon our readers are already acquainted . Adieux au Monde—Mcwoires de Celeste Mogador , we reserve lor ft more extended notice .

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      rilRENOLOGY , PSYCHOLOGY , AND PNJS CJMATOLOGY . Phrenology , I ' v / oholocjt / , and Pnmmatolaffl . My Introviaor . J - ° »» P « n « n . ^» compounding of ologto is necessary to ^ y ^^^^ lT ^ of training the whole being- introvfeer , tho niUliorww , p oducos an agree . ble toKt-book . Tho phrenological definitions arc unproved .

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      September 9 , 1854 . ] THE LEADER . 857

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 9, 1854, page 857, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2055/page/17/