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Leader (1850-1860), 7th July 1860, Edition 1 of 2, Page 636

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    • SERIALS.
    • ILLUSTRATED LITERATURE.
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      Untitled Article

      little ones in heaven . These , and other pictures , will remain in perpetual memory . Mr . Langford ' s verses on Shelley are in the true vein . They are fluently and feelingly-written . The view he takes of the poet ' s life and characteris the correct one . Much of Shelley ' s life , and what errors were iii it , were merely the natural and inevitable reaction against a corrupt state of society and opinion . By thought and poetic production he had well nigh worked himself free from the chains of early association . But mysterious Death set his seal upon the unfinished work and forbade " further progress . The occasional poems of Mr . Langford are fair samples of lyric effort , and all are marked with a melody of utterance which gives pleasure to attention , and cheers the critic ' s labour . The poet ' s talent lies in the reflective direction as well as in the descriptive . He can penetrate " the dimdiscovered tracts of mind , " as well as the open champaign of

      cultivated nature . Mr . Tatam is a spirit of a different order . He thinks himself equal to the ottava rima , and the telling of a good story in it , ei < -l » t cantos in length , on the average more than a hundred stanzas e-wli but he somewhat overrates his ability . There are , however , good stanzas in the "The Buggy , " and many happy lines ; soine felicitous turns of expression too , and here and there a striking image or an appropriate reflection . But to succeed in this land of composition discipline the most severe is indeed required ; whereas Mr . Tatam has thought it to be the lightest and easiest of writing .

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      npHE English are certainly a wonderful people , tor , in spite or -A . the ever-increasing commotion in public affairs , they continue to advance with unwearied steps to higher ground in Art and Science . Sir IsjlAC Xewton tells us of a comet ( thatof 1680 ) which lia-l imbibed so much lieat from the sun > that if it had been metallic it would have required fifty thousand years to cool down ; and later writers , having applied this figure to the political world , declare that the fearful ferment into " which it is thrown could only be moderated within a lapse of some three hundred years . There is a philosophic precision about the statement which is somewhat startlinir : and ~\ ve can only marvel that in view of a conflict so serious Art should exist at all ! '

      Certain , however , it is that Art exists and flourishes s and that a comparatively new branch , of it—that which is united with and forins a basis for the illustration of literatnre-r—exhibits an almost infinite rari ^ e of de velopment . The ancients ( unhappy men I ) knew nothing of an illustrated book ; nor could they boast even of an illuminated MS . On this point the Alexandrian collection would pi-yse ' ut us with only a beggarly amount of empty shelves . Yet what an immense amount of useless comment would have been spared us if illustration had been the order of the day among Greeks and ' Romans . "

      Take up the single instance of the sufferings of Philoctetes ; ho w happily , if the burin had been in existence , . . should we , haye escaped the infliction of Lessikg ' s attack on Win-KEiiiiAXX in his " Laocoon , " and Hebdeb ' s . onslaught upon Lessing in his " Krititi ' che . Walder ! " Not until the art of engraving on copper was considerably advanced does it appear that even any isolated attempts at the illustration of books was attempted ; and , for the most part , we must , perforce , content ourselves with the rude effigies of a title-page . Our neighbours appear to have been the first in the field—if we may judge from the very beautiful engravings which embellish the " Henriade" and " La Pucelle" of Voltaiee—while among ourselves , at a later period , Stothabd came

      to the rescue with his charming pictorial commentary on Cowpeb , and on others of the poetic brotherhood . Some further examples might be adduced , but the interval is by no means rich in ( specimens of art , and its appeals to the eye as well as the mind , We shall , perhaps , be asked what interval ? and our reply is , the period intervening before the introduction from Germany of the . " Annual . '' Then , indeed , the flood-gates were opened , and most lavish was the supply of pictured volumes . A collection of all the engravings produced during the four years the mania lasted would form a portfolio of much interest . We should there find a mixture of many elements ; much of excellence with much of rubbish , from Tubnek and Calcott to Dick Tinto . It cannot be denied , however , that the effect generally was good , and that a true art-feeling was dis .

      semiuated amongat all classes . In furtherance , too , ot this step onwards , came the first illustrated newspaper , * ft journal which still holds its ground against all competitors . In connection with this organ the talents of some of our best book-designers have been nurtured—Gilbert , Bibkktt Fostbb , Harbison Weir , aud Duncan among the rest—while many artists have been brought into notice by transcripts from their exhibited works . At the present moineitt ~ tlio ; artof embellishing 1 books with engravings is ia-a healthy condition ; it is profitable , and employs much talent and many skilful hands ; and although it cannot be said that it has arrived at its aom 6 , yob we think that in a further article on tho best works recently-published , we shall bo able to show that there is not now much more to achieve . The wealthier classes , wo are glad to perceive , are ndt insensible to so mighty a means of eocial advantage , unmoved by the many tasteless growlers who would cry down improvement .

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      THE Westminster Review for July opens with an exceedingly able and comprehensive article on " Strikes : their Tendencies and Remedies . " The question is so fully discussed as to leave little more to be said about strikes . We are informed . how wages are determined , about the wages of agricultural labourers , the influence of combinations , current errors respecting strikes , co-partnerships induced hystrikes , and the results of co-operation . Following this article is a review of " The Mill on the Floss . " Thearticle is an excellent oneand interesting as a statement of reason *

      , concerning the sex of the author , why " Adam Bede" was believed to be the work of a lady . " Rawlinson ' s Bampton Lectures for 1859 * ' come in for a fair share of criticism . There is a lengthy and important article on " The Post-office Monopoly ; " its history , Sir-Rowland Hill ' s reform , private letters opened by Government , and the irresponsibility of the Post-office , the Times on the wages of postmen , and Marine Mail Contracts—their cost . " The Irish Education Question , " " Germany : its Strength and Weakness , and " The French Press , " are articles whose value and merits

      cannot be overstated . The British Quarterly contains powerful articles on the following subjects : — " Henry Lord Brougham ; " " Prison Ethics ;" " Victor Hugo—French and English Poets ; " " The West Indies-Past and Present ; " " Marshman ' s Life of Havelock / ' " Mansel and his Critics ; " " Church Questions in Australia ; " " Owen ' s Paleontology ; " " Cambridge University Reform , " and " Our Epilogue on Affairs and Books . " t

      The London Review ( quarterly ) for July has he usual number of well-considered and able articles on a variety of important subjects . " Darwin on the Origin of Species" constitutes the subject with which the present number opens . The author is not so fav-ourably treated in this article as he has been generally . " Slave Politics and Economies / ' " London in the Thirteenth Century ; ' * " Limits of Religious Thought ; " " Mansel and his Critics /' aud " The Oxford Essayists , " deserve attention , Frasers Magazine for July opens with an admirable article on " Froude ' s History of the Reigns of Edward VI . and Mary . " The excellent tale entitled " Wheat and Tares" is-continued . There is also a popular arid useful paper on" The Volunteer Course afc ll /

      Etythe SiJiool j > f Musketry , " b y Viscount Bury . " GryGrange * by " the author of " Headlong Hall / ' is also continued / and contains an interesting discussion on music , its great masters and interpreters . " On the Importance of Energy in Life" is one of the best articles on an important subjeclT that we h ^ ve seen ; Csesar , Hannibal , the two Pitts , Brougham , and Bright , are cited as great and sliining-examples of energy , and what can be attained by -it . " The Physical Theories of"the Phenomena of Life , " " An Old Rod for New Poets , " " The Literary Suburb of the Eighteenth Century , " " A Plea for Truth in Advertisement , " " Social and Political Life Five-and-thirty Years Ago , " and " Chronicle of Current History , " are comprised in the valuable contents of Fraser for the current month .

      BlacJcxcooiV s Magazinefor July contains , first ,- -an elaborate article on " The Secret History of the Russian Campaign of 1812 —Sir Robert Wilson . " Then we have Partlll . of the highly interesting narrative oFCaptiun Speke's Adventures ftrSomalrtbundv In an able article on "Poetry , " the poems of Owen Meredith are criticised fully , and with perfect justice to their merits and their faults . " Judicial Puzzles—The Campden Warder , " though omitted in the table of contents , is in the magazine ; and is moreover an article well worthy of notice and attention . The remaining articles are , " The Royal Academy and other Exhibitions , " " Norman Sinclair : an Autobiography , Part VI ., " " An Election in France , " " Erinnys , " and " The Reform Bill and the Tory Party . " We need scarcely add that these articles ; especially the last , exhibit the high talent and popular sentiments for which Blaokwood is distinguished .

      Dublin University Magazine for July contains an important paper on " The French Treaty of Commerce . " The subject is considered in all its bearings on industry arid trade . Following this is a second and very able article on " Palaeontology . In this part wo have a descriptive sketch of the great series of remains of animal life , given without technical language , so thatthe subject may bo xmderstood by every reader . There is likewise a second chapter on " The Work-a-day World of France . " " Vonvcd the Dane , Count of Elsinore , " is continued . " Tennant ' s Ceylon" is an article of much interest and value , Professor De Verieour has written a most excellent and critical article on " Rienzi , " the hero of the historian" and the novelist . The other articles of note are the " History of Jurisprudence , " " The Marshals of Napoleon the Great , " and " Foreign and Domestic Politics . "

      Macmillan ' s Magazino for July well sustains its intellectual eminence . " Swiss-French Litoruture—Madame De Gnsparin , " is the leading paper , and for its historical and critical character will be interesting and instructive to the gqneral reader . —" The Fair at Ready , " by Alexander Smith , is a spirited , descriptive , and amusing , paper . There is also a brief , but well-written and useful article on . " The Social and Economical Influence of Gold . " The Volunteer's Catechism" is a paper very much to the purpose , and likely to bo of service in promoting and improving the great national movewent . " Tom Brown ut Oxford" is continued . " All ' s Well / ' a poem , " My Friend , Mr . Bedlow ; or , Reminiscences of , American . College Life , " " Female School of Art—Mrs . Jamieaon , " and " Garibaldi and the Sicilian Revolution" are articles of a popular character , and eminently interesting and improving .

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      • Tho Illustrated London Newt .

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      636 The Saturdayi Analystand ' Leader . [ Jui . t 7 , 1 SG 0-

      Serials.

      SERIALS .

      Illustrated Literature.

      ILLUSTKATED LITERATURE .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), July 7, 1860, page 636, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2355/page/12/