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Leader (1850-1860), 9th June 1855, Edition 1 of 2, Page 548

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      Untitled Article

      To apply this remark to the question of organic changes , it is alleged toe have experience of suck a thing as a change of species ; but we have experience of the present uniformity of species subject to slight and occasional deviations . This is a known cause aow acting . To how great an extent these successive deviations might be carried in immense periods of past time under changing external conditions , we know not . We have not space to give the development of these remarks ; the reader is referred to the Essay . We have so often discussed in these columns the Development Hypothesis , both in itself , . and as presented in the Vestiges , that it is unnecessary now to reopen the subject . The reader who opposes , and the reader who accents that Hypothesis , will find in the Rev . Baden Powell a guide as

      candid as he is able . The work , to which we have devoted the unusual attention of three articles , is very encouraging for those who expect Oxford to play her part in the intellectual advancement of our age . We know enough of Oxford to know that , beside the centre of Conservatism and Tradition , there exists a centre of Progress . Not only are hundreds of the young and energetic minds in that University devoting themselves to all liberal causes , but several of the older men are as valiant in the service of Progress . Oxford has its faults ; its waste of power and opportunity ; its limitations , which are the swaddling-clothes stunting the growth of children ; but Oxford has also many signal advantages ; and " the splendour and illumination of many minds " , " the advantage , as old Johnson said , of a great public school , make it a centre of influence to which we must all look anxiously .

      Untitled Article

      THE ZULUS . Life with the Zulus of Natal , South Africa . By G . H . Mason , of Sidney-Sussex College , Cambridge , and Pieter-Maritzberg , Natal . " The Travellers Library . Longmans and Co . It is well for the " pensive public" that Mr . Mason has not taken in hand to set forth in order the return of Diomed or the events of the Trojan war , for—in spite of Horace and Sidney-Sussex College , Cambridge—he would assuredly have commenced with the death of Meleager and the " twin-egg . As it is , out of 232 pages of narrative there are sixty-nine introductory , t with hihflown

      and as many more irrelevant . The firschapter opens a gsimilitude between a young man setting out in life and a traveller eager to " gain the far summit of some steep long mountain range , " for the path of life—sajS Mr . Mason—lies up-hill . With many , however , even the " morning march" takes a downward direction , as in the case of our author himself , and it is only after an arduous scramble that " with measured tread they climb the steep ascent . " To our mind , however , the pleasantest allusion to the ups and downs of life may be found in the lines chalked above his mantelpiece by the assassin-poet Lacenaire : — La vie est pleine d'embarras , Tons mes malheurs ici l ' attestent ; N ~ ous avons des hauts et des bas , Heureux quand ces derniers nous restent . But escaping from this dyspeptic exordium , we finally get under weigh , and while still sighing a long farewell to our native land we become desperately seasick and dive into the depths below . Here we discover that chocolate is " an almost infallible cure for retching either at sea or on land , " and that life in an emigrant ship tends greatly to develop the organ of

      secretiveness : — cretiveness : — " Number One" was everything with everybody . A plate , a kaife and fork , or spoon—even your bed-clothes and dirty linen—were not secure for an instant , unlesa constantly under your eye . Indeed , so daring had the light-fingered gentlemen become , that a gammon of bacon was stolen from us , and my pocket picked of a small book during Divine Service , the second Sunday we were at sea . And , what was still more amusing , a sheep that the captain had killed for the first cabin table was every bit stolen before the following morning . We have , of course , all the usual hackneyed descriptions of a moonlight dance on deck , crossing the line , a storm at sea , a shipwreck with " three hundred fellow-creatures struggling in yonder surf , " desertion by the crew ,

      and final safe disembarkation , " when the sea had gone down , and scarcely a ripple disturbed its placid state of rest . " If Mr . Mason ' s object has been simply to answer , once for all , the tedious inquiries of his personal friends as to how he fared during his brief but uncomfortable sojourn among the Caff ' re tribes of South Africa , he is entitled to some praise for the manufacture of this little book . But should any confiding inquirer take it up with a view to learn something of the productions of the country , the prospects of the colony of Natal , or the manners and customs of the Zulus , tlie result will hardly inspire him with much admiration of Mr . Mason ' s handicraft . We give the author , however , the benefit of the best extract that presents itself : —

      A OAFFBE WEDDING . Scarcely had we taken our station near the umdodie ( husband ) , when a low , shrill chant came floating on the breeze from the bottom of a lovely valo hard by , where I discovered a long train of damsels , slowly wending their way amongst bright green patches of Indian corn and masses of flowering shrubs , studded with giant cactus and the huge flowering aloe . As the procession neared the huts , they quickened their pace and raised their voices to the highest pitch , till they arrived at the said cattle craal , where they stood motionless and silent . A messenger from the umdodie then bade them enter the cr « al , an order that they instantly obeyed , by twos , the youngest leading the way , closely followed by the rest , and terminated by a knot of marriageable young Iadios ( entombiea ) , clustering thick about the bride—a fat , goodnatured girl , wrapped round and round with black glazed calico , and decked from head to foot with fb-wers , beuds , and feathers . Once within the craal , the ladies

      formed two lines , with the bride in the centre , and struck up a lively air ; whereupon the whole body of armed Culfres rushed from all parts of the craal , boating their shields and uttering demon yells , as they charged headlong at the umiling girls , who joined with the stalwart warriors in cutting capers and singing lustily , till the whole craal waa one confused mass of dancers , roaring out hoarse war songs and shrill love ditties . After an hour dancing ceuaed , and joila ( Cufl ' re beer ) was served round , while the lovely bride stood in the midst of the ring ulone , stared at by all and staring in turn at all , until she brought her eyes to boar on her admiring lord ; then , advancing leisurely , she danced before him amid shouts of tho bystanders , singing at the top of her voice , and brandishing a huge carving knifo , with which she scraped big drops of perspiration from her hooted brow , produced by tho unusually violent exorcise she wua performing . This last was by far the most unsightly part of thoir proceedings , and as daylight was fast waning , wo withdrew , in order to regain our distant hut .

      Untitled Article

      We should do-our utmost to encourage the Beautiful , for the Useful encourages itself . —Goethe .

      Untitled Article

      THE EXPOSITION OF THE FINE ARTS IN PARIS . Letter II . In a previous letter I gave a rapid outline of the first victory ootained by tlie Independent French School of Artists immediately after the Revolution of 1830 . From that time forwards , it became the custom and the law that expositions should be annual ; but the enthusiastic societies into which the young disciples of Art had formed themselves :, soon found that more was wanted to enable them to give full scope to their energies . Frequent opportunities of communicating with the public , were , indeed , not of much use , so long as those who were desired to communicate could not elect a certain proportion of the Jury of Admission . The Institute still retained absolute authority in this matter , and showed itself to be sufficiently unintelligent and vigorous after the manner of all corporations . However , the young school had increased in importance . A notable portion of the public supported it ; and the whole press , with the most

      admirable unanimity , came to the assistance of its weakness , and encouraged its hopes . During the whole reign of Louis Philippe , no critic in any journal began the annual series of his articles on the salon , without vigorously attacking the exclusive and hostile spirit of the Academical coterie . The time is now come to do this justice to the principal writers on Art in the French press . Jules Janin in the Artiste , Delescluze in the Debats , Gustave Planche in various Reviews , Alexandre Decamps and Haussard in the Rational , The ' ophile Gautier in the Presse , with Thore , Pelletan , Gerard de Nerval , Mantz , Arnoux , and many others in different quarters , fought gallantly for liberty of thought in the world of form and colour , and succeeded in persuading the whole thinking public that , if the Jury was entitled to decide on the merits of the works presented to them , it had nothing to do with determining their character , or with influencing individual teudencies . For some time , however , this controversy bore no practical fruits , and a severe censorship in the Arts was maintained by the Institute in the teeth of general disapprobation .

      I must not forget , however , to recal a circumstance which is certainly piquant , though very natural , and of common occurrence in history . In 1830 , at the very time that the artists of the New School were obtaining from Louis Philippe the institution of annual expositions , they were on the point of obtaining also the privilege of electing the Jury , and even a good deal more . They lost the opportunity by their own unwisdom and want of foresight ; and it is probable that , for a long time , perhaps for a century—who knows?—it will never present itself again . The consequences of the victory they did not obtain would have been most important , most incontestably fortunate , most advantageous for the enlargement of the domain of Art , and the enfranchisement of French geniusunhappily always muzzled and shackled just when it seems about to redeem its best promises . Louis Philippe in the early part of his reign had not completely systematised his conservatism . He did not see then that in order to uphold a monarchy it is necessary to preserve the idea of authority intact everywhere , and that

      if the spirit of democracy is admitted anywhere , itbecomes of a dangerous example . He was quite willing to revive completely in the liberal sense the institution of the Academy of Painting :, the whole system of instruction at the School of the Fine Arts , and everything that related to the award of the Great Prize at Ronie . M . de Montalivet , his minister , instituted a commission charged with presenting for royal sanction whatever legitimate or generous demands might be made in the interest of Art . The Young School—if we may apply this name to tlie vast number of independent talents which agreed in opposition to the narrow system of the heirs of David—were then organised into numerous and truly active societies . One of these , the most popular and the most enthusiastic , called the Free Society of Painting and Sculpture , had endeavoured to express , that whilst it sought for enfranchisement and looked towards the future , it did not despise anything that was venerable and precious in the past , by electing for its two secretaries M . Jeanronthe young commentator of Vasari , and the aged

      , M . de Montabert , author of perhaps the most remarkable work that has ever been written upon Art , and a partisan of the Davidian School , but incapable , from the natural largeness of his mind , of admitting and supporting its narrow views and exclusive pretensions . His young colleague , we must not forget to say , was equally moderate ; for whilst he laboured in his learned essays to exalt the ancient schools and revive the innueace of their traditions , forgotten by the Academy , ho nevertheless defended against the unintelligent reaction of his fiery contemporaries the broad ana sober handling of David . A good deal might have been expected from a body that chose its officers on such grounds ; but , alas ! something more 19 required in negotiations with power than upright views and honest intentions . ± h | 8 P - Society of Free Artists sent to M . de Montalivet , in complete good faith ana without any binding instructions , a deputation composed of all its notabilities most

      that is to say , young men , of from twenty .. to twenty-five for the part , qnose as their representatives men of from thirty to thirty-five years of age , whonau already acquired some reputation by their works . There is no greater problem than this of representation . Your peers do not understand what you want ; your betters are liable to see most clearly what they want . MM . JJCiacroix , Charles Decaisne , Saint-Evro , Sigalon , Decamps , and others , eat in deliberation with a certain number of Academicians ; and if I am well liitonneu , agreed most harmoniously just to widen the framework of tho Institute so as to admit of their own easy entrance therein , without waiting lor tlie roluctimc departure of superannuated genius . Their proposition certainly was made in a spirit of liberality and progress ; but the youth by whom they hud been doputwi could not bo great gainers thereby . The now king , in his critical sagacity , muse have recognised in this udvonturo tho likeness of many others with wlucii 10 was familiar d doubt understood at onco how far ho should pioic

      , an no thereby . It woe not his business to offer more than was ntsked . So the ArUC ; £ Conferences were dragged out sorno time longer , and nothing further ciuiK . u them . Tho Young School remained outaide , and continued agitating lor uuc " ^ during tho rest of the reign . It would bo a curious study to examine to * ' » extent their dissatisfaction influenced the course of political events . Ari » i form a much larger and moro active section of the Parisian P onul ' uion ft i no most persons are uwnro of . It has been calculated that tho painters iuu amount to six thousand in number , three thousand of whom are entirely pendent on their pencils . This question , however , I shall reserve tor aiwi opportunity . Meanwhile , any one who reflectB on this hint , may " , . "" ,,.., for cheeking the Btupid wonder sometimes felt or affected in iMigl * i h "» " artiste—men of tasto or refinement—should ever have hud anything to uo horrid democrats . Tho truth is , that in tho artistic world—as they Have au

      Untitled Article

      648 T HE LEADEB . ; [ Saturday ,

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  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), June 9, 1855, page 548, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2094/page/20/