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Leader (1850-1860), 6th August 1859, Edition 1 of 2, Page 918, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      918 THE LEADEB , ( TSb . 489- Aug . 6 , 185 9

      Untitled Article

      To my aad spirit , whose percipient beam Made cause and consequence but one appear , The salt that season'd ^ Luxury ' s meal might seem TTo draw its flavour frbnr a human tear : And I might marvel , when I sawthe clear Bright household fire , it breatn'd no deadly smoke To Kill the smiling : circle ' s happy cheer ; Nor of red mine-blast , and quick ruin spoke ; Nor sent up mourners' sighs the merry laugh to choke . "Ah careless owner of those hidden caves , Whose dull neglect so swells pain ' s dread amount , At least , " 1 cried , "thon should ' st protect thy slaves from being struck at once from life ' s account By hundreds , when the fire-damp bursts its fount , And the foul thing they breathe , which thou call ' st air , Is merely death ! Can luxury so blunt Thy soul to Thought ' s keen edge that thOu dost spare To know thy own earth-hell ? Go , but for one hour , there , condem

      " And try what 'tis to breathe I Wert thou n'd To spend small fractions of thy silken day , Sound by those dismal vaults intensely hemm'd , Where e ' en a candle bluely dies away . Into a corpse-light—would ' st thou then delay To rend the rocks and pierce the upward soil With shafts , which might some pulse of air convey To those , whose lungs nave been thy ghoul-like spoil , That thou might ' st breathe perfumes , while they for breath did toil ?" « The Angel said , " Yon languid"lord of pain Is too far off thy pleading voice to hear , And God Himself , perchance , might scantly gain Amoment ' s audience from that sloth-dull'd ear . " Then fell I into musings of strange fear , Because I saw the many feed the few , And higher beings have : the costlier cheer : " What if this rule , * I thought , " prolong its clue ,. And man feed nobler worlds than those his gaze can view 1 " May not unseen and subtle powers of air Quaffthe fine juices of his heart and brain ? . Why is that yearning sigh , that sick despair , That deep soul-sinking , and mysterious pain , I note in him , if none that loss can gain V ' And higher still its flight my boldness played , Asking "Doth God His own Creation dram ?" Certes , I heard some mortals unafraid Say , " All created things ' God for Himself had made 1 " My Teacher said , " Gro not beyond thy sight I One step in the dark betrays thee o ' er a steep . JBvil—the giant shadow of God ' s light—Perplexes angels I But one thought may keep Tlxee humble . . . "We from different stands may leap To contrary-, conclusions . Wherefore dream The Maker smileth 'while Sis creatures weep ? Is God , indeed , as happy as . men deem , : Or hang not all the cares of all mankind on TTjm V >

      Upon that tablet of his mind : . He eyed the prospect vast , ¦ And yet he gave a furtive glance Unto the danger postI And I could see remenaber'd fear . Made safety more excel . Grateful upon the guide he look'd And said , You ' ve led me well !" And I could fancy that his eye Some deeper thoughts did tell . ; Or haply my own bosom said , " My path of life , like this , Oft leads nay frail uncertain feet Along a precipice . How oft my dizzy brain must reel While coasting an abyss ! ** But there ' s a Guide that's always near , __ Wherever man hath trod . Who sees for me , when I myself Dare look not on the road . Fear not , my soul , God leadeth thee ! Then blindfold follow God !" These examples of Mr . Townshend's views and poetry are more extensive than we can generally afford to exhibit ; but Mr . Townshend is no common man , and his verses are not commonplaces , but instinct with originalit y ,-both in the regions of thought and feeling . lie is the angel that troubles the waters , if he does not always succeed in healing the bathers in the else stagnant pool .

      This is , at any rate , an extensive survey " question to which all of us must give some kind of answer . We are thankful that Mr . Townshend has stated it so fully and so strongly . w " e are not equally satisfied with the other portions . " . Love , " and the " Law of Love , " are made up of songs and sonnets , scenes and lyrics , which may suggest the kind of solution they supply to the " Mastery of Evil , " but the poet has not taken the trouble " to point the moral , or adorn the tale" with such positive teaching as most -will find needful . The following poem , however ^ must be given : —

      TRUST . I sat upon an . Alpine height , Whence I could see ana hear A traveller on a dizzy path . Who crept , and shoot with fear , And eyed , the dreadful precipice To which his path was near . And well the traveller , though bold , Upon thftt ledge might shrink ; Right down below hls'very feet The gaping gulf did sink ; The path was but a thread , and near'd Each moment more the brink . His fearless guide beheld the man , And said , « This path will go For a long time thus dizzily , Or worse j-r-for you may throw Soon from your outstretched hand a stone Three thousand feet below . *• I aeo you arc no mountaineer , J , see your head , doth swim , And I mus $ for your safety core Upon this mountain ' s brim . If any guide his oharg-o should , lose , 0 woo indeed to him I " Take my advice , and lot mo bind Tour oyos , lest you should boo The further perils of tho way 5 I'll lend you warily j I answer for your Hre with mine—Now ffive your hand to mo t' Then I sow how the traveller Stood like a little child , And lot the other blindfold him Upon tho mountain wild , jLecfby tho guide he , round tho gulf , Thon trusttftally defiled . To know howffuido and man would faro 1 foUow '< t- * oT I ftnew Tho mountain well—and oamo again Upon tho wanderers two , Whore Italy , tho beautiful , Burnt nobly on tho view . ( 3 o 1 beheld the careful pair Xteaoh . novr a broader rood ; Who gulcjta thontook the bandago off , An 4 . tptho 1 (» ti : * ngcr ahow'd V ^* llw « s fla # > and hpw too phUna Benokth tttent ffle « nVd * nd glow'd . Yot 1 rtonid have poou tho travollor's face , Tho mingled fcollnmj oaut

      Untitled Article

      A LIFE FOR A LIFE . By the Author of " John Halifax , Gentleman ; " " Woman ' s Thoughts about Women , " &o ., &c . In 3 vols . —Hurst and Blackett . A new novel by the author of "John Halifax , Gentleman , " in this dull time of the reading year , leaves little chance of success for the minor novels that now and then are mysteriously ushered into the world by their fond and anxious parents . l A Life for aLife " is a more thoughtful book than " John Halifax , " yet it will not become so popular . John . Halifax ' s honest manly face , it is true , gains the reader ' s heart from the first , and when " he marries , the interest in him does not

      he goes , to Salisbury on purpose to find out the name of the person before he marries Theodora . Salisbury is a place never to be mentioned to - old Mr . Johnston , and as . the accident occurred there it appears to . Urquart that the person he killed might be the brother " never mentioned" of his betrothed . He goes there ; finds it is the case . The marriage is put off , * and he goes to Liverpool as gaol chaplain 5 but finally it gets abroad , and he hands himself over to justice —pleading guilty of manslaughter . This act causes thousands of people whom the good doctor has befriended to flock round him , all of whom speak in loving terms of him , more especially as it has never been doubted for one moment but that

      young Johnston was thrown from his gig and killed —being a worthless drunken fellow . ^ He is imprisoned for three months , and some time after he marries Theodora , and they migrate to Canada . This is a bold and an original story , and required all the talent that the authoress possesses to keep the reader from reflecting that the heroine should marry a man that has murdered her brother , and when we say that Miss Muloch has done this we have bestowed the greatest praise it is possible to

      bestow on any work of fiction . Throughout the whole story there is arguedvery forcibly—the doctrine of a life for a life , i . e ., " blood for blood , " old Mr . Johnston being in one instance very much shocked to hear Theodora argue that if a man should accidentally kill another man in the heat of passion or otherwise , it is much better that he should devote the remainder of bis life to doing good than be sent to his Maker before he has had time to make that repai'ation that is so noble when given in a true and repentant spirit .

      cease . His home presents a lovely picture of quiet English life that very few but Miss Muloch could describe * The hero of "A Life for a Life" is not a man that haa fought the great battle of life and , like John Halifax , made nimself a position . Yet there is more reality in the former ; greater depth , of thought and less romance , for , after all , Jonn Halifax lacks reality . There are plenty of men that make fortunes by the sweat of their brow ; but have they all his good qualities ? The story of " A Life for a Life " may be told without diminishing the reader's interest in the work , which is more than can be said of most

      works of fiction , It is related from the diaries of Max TJrquart , the hero , a Scotch regimental surgeon , about forty years of age ; and Theodora , the second daughter of the Rev . Mr . Johnston . She is a young lady that is looked upon bv her family as being too thoughtless to be trusted with any serious matters , as she always says openly and boldly whatever she thinks , not upon all occasions , it should be stated , with the decorum that is supposed to belong to a clergyman ' s daughter . Max Urquart is introduced to the Johnston family at a neighbour ' s house , and notices the original expressions of Theodora ; sees the little notice her sisters pay to

      her ; and as he is of a philosophic turn of mind , thinks that her mind is far superior to that of her sisters , if it were trained in the right direction . He has a friend in the army , a Capt . Treherne , who is jjaying his addresses to the younger daughter , described as a lovely , gay , and thoughtless woman , through whom he learns their name , which , by a singular coincidence , is the same as that aperson who , twenty years ago , was killed in a scuffle with him . This circumstance throws the poor doctor into the greatest alarm , and he vows to himself never to see them again , but before he can make up his mind to leave the camp , old Mr . Johnston meets with an accident , and he is called in to attend him ,

      as their family dootor is away from home . He then finds that there is a painful mystery hanging over the family about an only son " that papa never allows us to mention , " as Theodora tells him . He here also finds to be true what he first thought on seeing Theodora , viz ., that her intellects were of a higher order , and her general character far greater than that of her other sisters . But this name of Johnston still makes him feel very miserable in her presence . Aa by some means rhow is not explained by the authoreis ) , ho " fancies" and " suspects " . —and that is all—that Henry Johnston is ( for ho is never supposed to know ) the ' name of tho man that he killed in tho affray at Stonehonge ; as some time after this

      Untitled Article

      MJLLICENT NEVILLE . A . Novel . By Julia Tilt , author of the " Old Palace , " " May Hamilton , '' &c . Iii 2 vols . Lionel Booth . THE SEMI-DETACHED HOUSE . Edited by Lady Theresa Lewis . Richard Bentley . " Miixicent Neville" and " The Semi-Detached House" are "both good novels , but very , different in style and character . " Millicent Neville" is the best of Miss Tilt's productions , and one of the most readable novels of the season . It is original in thought , healthy in tone , and altogether a first-rate hovel .

      It is a domestic story of" great and truthful interest . The first chapter opens with Milly rejecting one suitor and accepting another ; not that she does not love the one she refuses—he has too many good qualities for her to think of him otherwise than as a good , honest man . She tells him that— "I cannot be yours , indeed I cannot ; I like you—love youvery , very much ; but—but—I never thought of you in this way—never—never . " So she accepts his rival , because he is handsome . ; and bitterly repents , when too late . However , ho dies ; and she marries

      Norman , and they live happily together . The story is very slight , as is the case in most novels that are worth reading . Miss Tilt does well to rely on her Sowers of character-painting . The home with the rst husband presents a wonderful contrast to that with the second , It is n pity that we are not given more of the latter . In conclusion , we may say that " Millicent Neville " is a great improvement on tho " Old Palace , " which we noticed about twelve months since j and we cordially recommend it to our readers .

      " The Somi-Detached House " is a novpl of very slight texture , but very amusing . Aunt Sarah fl only fault with the house is that it is somi-dotached t the idea that Tomkinson or Hopkinson . ( should live live under the same roof as my Lady Cheater is something too horrible for Aunt Sarah , who knows Court well , and speaks with admiration of " His Koyal Highness . "' It is , however , proved to Aunt Sarah , before long , that it is of littlo conseauonce what name a nerson owns so loner as they

      pay their tradespeople and behave themselves witli ordinary decorum—that a person ' s namo does not make thorn bettor or worse ; that in some instances people trade on their title -, and that ho . is good who does good . The hoUd ' wnoss of living for appearances is fearfully exposed by Lady Z-owis , and on tno whole wo think a " Semi-detached House " is very amusing , and contains a good deal of satire that will toD strongly against the titled and tho untitled , " aristocracies . "

      Untitled Article

      NORTHUMBERLAND , AND THE BORDER , ty Walter White . gimpnmn and Bull . The manner in ¦ which Mr . Wlxito spent his holiday between tho Tyne and the Tweed has boon produotive of an interesting volume . TUo reoolleo-

      Untitled Article

      TWO NEW NOYELS .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 6, 1859, page 918, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2306/page/18/