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    gB PTEMBEB ; 18,-1852. THE STAE OF PEEED...

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    Smitee

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    REVIEWS. Pictures op Travel in the South...

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    Mackenzie's Australian Emigrant's Guide....

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    Infanthood and Childhood; a Popular Guid...

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    Death-Beds of Thomas Paine and Voltaire....

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    W The Secretaries Of Trades' Unions And ...

    jcoal teal on its introduction mto France on the same footing as the HHlH *" coalj an m to re 1 uest that J on inform the memoririafealfsts that the subject to which their memorials relate , has klongtong engaged the attention of Her Majesty ' s Government . I am , sir , your most obedient servant , ,, " , ' - *!• Waddixgton . T To Mr . Jude , Newcastk-on-Tyne . T The advantages to be derived to the Colliers from this rneassumre , are cxpeetec to be great , it being calculated that more tthaithau one million . additional tons of coals would be imported

    ffroufroin this district alone mto France , if such duties were so rnodiffiediied as requested , and when . the Collieries in the midland disttrictricts of England , have by the ready transition by rail , deprived Ithethe collieries here of their usual sale in the London and other imawarkets , it becomes tlie duty of all interested'in the welfare of 1 thi this district to seek a new market for the surplus produce of the iiniiniines , and which would remove the cause of those serious reduductions iu the wages of the Miners , which lias operated so ininn ' nriously upon them of lute .

    1 The attention of the other collieries in thisdistrict is earnestly dii directed to this subject , seeing it so closely interests ail those wl who earn their bread in tho dreary mine , that they may follow ui up what has already been done by Haswell , Leaton , Deleval , "WWest Bramlington , and ; other collieries , and thus by an inci creased pressure from without , the object sought may be obti tained . All further information may be obtained on application ai at the residence of the Secretary , High Bridge , Newcastle-on-1 Tvne . Martin Jude , Secretary . *

    The Halifax Short Hour Committe held a meeting " at the I Labour and Health Inn , " on Monday evening last , called by 3 Mr . Uriah Hmehliffe , sen ., in consequence of communications i received from Lancashire relating to certain movements going ( on amonythe factory operatives in that district , in order . to i obtain some improvements in the present factory act , with which , however , they the Halifax short time committee decline to take any part until the differences existing among the friends in Lancashire are reconciled . Their respected chairman Mr . James , Fisher not being able to attend in consequence of other engagements , Mr . Ainley was unanimously appointed to preside . The meeting * adjourned to next Monday evening after passing unanimously the following declaration :

    In seeking to obtain' an efficient ten hones Bill at the hands of the Legislative , the first and greatest element is unanimity in the leaders ; it is for want of this element that the failure of the agitation of 1850 may be mainly attributed ; therefore , we as a committee deeply regret to observe the same discordant spirit manifest itself daily at the present time in the two central committees of Laucashire , comfiosed as we both are of former friends and allies , with whom , we nowever , years past acted with-pleasure and success . Believing i % to be necessary before engaging

    in another agitation , that an efficient measure , that a better feeling should actuate the minds of those taking an interest therein than that which seems at present to prevail , when the differences are settled , we feel confident that Halifax will not be behind , the most zealous district in working for the cause of the factory operatives . But at present the Short time committee can be no party in wasting the money of the factory workers of that district in a worse than useless agitation , which must be the case so long as the two parties iu Lancashire are in antagonism to CELCil oijllGV * Halifax . Sept . 20 th , 1852 .

    Gb Ptembeb ; 18,-1852. The Stae Of Peeed...

    gB PTEMBEB 18 ,-1852 . THE STAE OF PEEEDOM . 109

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    Reviews. Pictures Op Travel In The South...

    REVIEWS . Pictures op Travel in the South op France . By Alexander Dumas . London : Offices of the National Illustrated Library , Strand . Scott , when speaking of his marvellous facility in-throwing his ideas into language , says : " When once I set my pen to paper , it will walk fast enough . I am sometimes tempted to leave it alone , and sec whether it will not write as well without the assistance of my head as with it . " Now , we surmise , that what Scott was tempted to do , the great « Alexander " must have succeeded in accomplishing , for , OR that ground

    alone , can we account for the quantity and the quality oi his works . It was lately announced that the novelist James , had just issued his seventieth work ! but we imagine that Dumas' must number seventy times seven . We think the books of this writer , who beats the sea serpent hollow for rapidity of circulation , must number more than the works of the miraculous improwisatori , Lasse de Vega , who left the world twenty-ome million , three hundred thousand verses m print , besides a large mass of manuscript . According to his friend Montalvanhe furnished the theatre with eighteen

    , hundred regular plays , and four hundred religious , dramas . He composed one hundred comedies in the space of twentyfour hours each . He also wrote twenty-one vols , of miscellaneous works , and five epic poems . Pretty well that , for a man who died at the age- of seventy-two . But , we should not marvel if the great Alexander's achievments were to transcend those of Lasse de Vega , the Spaniard . ^ It has been said that Dumas will sup on pork chops , over-night , and , making a Pegasus of the night-mare , concoct a drama , or romance , out of the horrors of his dreams , which work wil

    be finished before he gets out of bed the next morning . Others , again , say that he has a literary manufactory , like the musical one of Scribe ; the French composer , where one will furnish the plot , another the situations , another descriptive passages , another dialogue , and another the denoument , and so forth . But of course all great- men have their detractors and we know that it is at the Nelsons of tlie human race that

    envy aims her darts the thickest and deadliest ; their blazing stars and glittering glories serving as targets ; and how can the great Alexander hope to escape , with his breast all a blaze with orders ? The merit of invention has been denied to Dumas , and certainly ' he never hesitates to appropriate anything he can lav hands on , of any one ' s plots , or thoughts , hut we must say that he makes the most out of nothing ot any author we are acquainted with . No-matter what his

    subject may be , he always manages to sustain the interest , and keep the reader on the qui vive . His works make a grand pyrotechnic display , which is very brilliant and very hrief in * duration . He thoroughly understands the meaning ofDanton ' s " Audacity ! again audacity !! always audacity !*! That is his chief- quality , audacity . By virtue of audacity he is the : long - of the feuilleton , the facile prmceps of the boudoir an & circulating library , and the dashing ; astonishing daring , sparkling , great Alexander , whose lust for notoriety ,

    Reviews. Pictures Op Travel In The South...

    indefatigable activity , princely prodigality , and conquests by the sword eclipse those of his Macedonian namesake . On looking upon the innumerable works or books of Dunias , one cannot but regret that he does not concentrate his power ,- and produce one great and lasting work—that he does not conserve the many brilliant flashes of lightning that his mind emits , and weld their fire into one good , effective thunderbolt , which might , when hurled , strike a glorious blow for freedom and . hmnanity . George Sand has demonstrated that present

    popularity is compatible with future fame , and that new novels may be things of immortality . But then , she unites the heart of the artist to the hand of the worker , the persistency and patience of . real genius , to the facility of tact , and the aptness of talen ^^ yhich Dumas does not . It suffices for him that his saymgs & nd doings shall occupy the gossips of France , and that daily profit shall enable him to luxuriate in oriental splendour . Praise and pudding ! Behold tlie acme of Alexander ' s ambition !

    These " Pictures , " like most of his other works , are light and entertaining , picturesque and pleasing , but have little that is worth remembering .. ; , To our thinking , one of the best of them , and one of the most interesting is his visit to Reboul , the baker-poet of Nismes , known in this country by some beautiful verses called the Angel and the Child . "

    There was one thing at Nismes , I was even more anxious to see than its monuments—this was its Poet . I had a letter from Baron Taylor to him , with this singular address : — " N . Keboal , Poet and Baker . " Some of his verses , which I had read , appeared to me very good . On awaking in the chief town of the Gard , my first visit was to him . " This is where Beboul lives , " said my guide . " Do you know if I am likely to find him at home ?"

    My guide inclined his head , so . as to get a side look through the half-open door . " He is in the shop , " replied he , and went away . I remained a moment thinking , with my letter in my hand . In my reception by this man , which would be most * clearly shewn ?—his natural disposition or his social position ? Would he talk to me of poetry or flour , the academy or agriculture , publishing or the harvest ? I knew that I should find him a great man ; but would his manner be unaffected ? I entered . " Is it M . Reboul I have the honour of addressing ?" " Himself . "

    " A letter from Taylor . " . " What , is he doing ?" " He pursues the artistic mission he has undertaken . " . I examined the man while he was reading the letter I had presented to him . He was from thirty-three to thirty-five years of age , above the middle size , with an almost Arabian complexion , glossy thick hair , and teeth of ivory . On coming to my name , he looked from the letter to me , and JL then perceived he had magnificent eyes , as powerful and soft as those of an Indian , made to express love and passion .

    " Sir , " said he , " I am under very great obligations to Baron Taylor , and do not know how I shall be able to thank him sufficiently . " I bowed in my turn . " But , " continued he , " will you allow me to be candid with you ?" " I hope you will be so . " " You come to see the Poet and not the Baker , I suppose ? I am a baker from five in the morning till four in the afternoon from four till midnight , I am a poet . Do you want any rolls ? I can give you some very good ones . Do you want verses ? Come back at five , and I will give you some very bad ones . " " I will come back at five . "

    I left meditating on this mixture of simplicity and poetry . Was this mannerism or nature ? Did this man play a part , or did he simply follow the two-fold nature of his organization ? This I was about to learn . . I came back at the time appointed . Beboul was waiting for me at a-little side door . His shop , which was still open , was left to the care of the woman who had taken his place in the

    morning , and he came forward to meet me . He had changed his dress ; the one he wore was extremely simple , but very neat , something between that of the people aud the middle - class . We ascended a little winding staircase , and came to the entrance of a loft , on the floor of which was piled up , in separate heaps , different sorts of cheese . We turned down one of the little vallies which these mountains of food left between

    them , and ten steps brought us to the door of the room . " Here / ' said Reboul , closing it behind us , " we are separate from the world and its realities : now for the world of illusions . This is the sanctuary prayer , inspiration , and poetry , alone have the right to enter it . In this room , plain as you see it , I have passed the most pleasant hours of my life , —those in which I write and reflect . " ' The room had an almost monastic simplicity ; the curtains o f the bed and windows were white , while some rush-bottomed chairs and a walnut-wood bureau composed the whole of the furniture . The library consisted of two volumes—the Bible

    and Corneille . " T begin , " said I , " to understand your two lives , which , till now , appeared incomprehensible . " . " There is nothing more simple , " replied Reboul , " the one assists the other : . while the arms work , the head is at rest , —while the head works , the arms are at rest . " " Excuse what I am going to ask . " " Go on . " " ' Are you o f a good family ? " " I am the son of a workman . " " At least you have received some education . " " None . " " What made yon a poet ? " " Misfortune . " I looked around me ; everything seemed so calm , so quiet , so happy in this little room , tl ' iat the word misfortune , seemed to have no echo there .

    ' You are trying to find some explanation of what I have fust said , are you not ? " said Reboul . " And I acknowledge I find none . " " Have you never passed over a tomb without knowing it ?" "Yes , indeed ! But the grass was greener and the flowers sweeter there . " , ¦ " It was so with me ; I married a woman that I loved : my wife is dead . '

    ' I stretched out my hand . He continued— " I was m grea ' grief ; for . which I vainly sought some alleviation . I had mixed hitherto only with men of my-. own class ; gentle and compassionate , but vulgar-minded . Instead of saying to , me , Weep , and we will weep with , you , ' . they tried to console me ; the tears which I longed to shed , flowed back to my heart and deluged it . I sought solitude , and , finding , no . one who could understand me , poured forth mygrief to the " Almighty . . . My lonely and religious lamentations took a poetical-elevated characterwhich I had never remarked in my words . "

    , , " Yes ; it is so , " said I , lis if he had been explaining the simplest thing in the world , " and I understand ^ now . It is thus that true poet ' s become so . How \ many men of talent only want a great misfortune to become men of-Genius ! "You have

    Reviews. Pictures Op Travel In The South...

    told me m one word the secret o f your life : I know it now as well as you do . " * ~ - * ¦ ' - % ; - - * . * * . ¦ * * * * * " You have an entire kingdom in the stage , " said he , " as for me , I have but a garden . But never mind , I will cultivate flowers and wreathe them into a crown which shall be thrown to you . " Cl You did not come here to make me compliments , but to give me some verses . "

    " Do you really wish it , or do you ask from curiosity and politeness ? " I thought we knew each other too well for such questions to be necessary to either . " " You are right ! I am ready , When I tire you , you have only to bid me stop . " While hie ' was reading , I watched him : his countenance had assumed a new expression—that of faith . An earnest internal conviction was displayed on the exterior as he read on , and according to what he read . We passed four hours in this way : he pouring out a flood of poetry , and I constantly asking for more . " Now , let us go and see the arena ; in doing so we shall but change the style of the poetry , only I reserved the best to the last . "

    Mackenzie's Australian Emigrant's Guide....

    Mackenzie ' s Australian Emigrant ' s Guide . London E . Mackenzie , -Fleet-street . This exceedingly cheap and useful compendium will be found invaluable to those about to emigrate from their native land . In its pages will be found faithful and important advice on the choice of a ship , outfit , preservation of health during the voyage , the best way to proceed on arrival at the destined port , with a hrief and interesting account of the several Australian colonies . We have read this " Guide , " and can safely aver that though of small pretensions compared with some similar publications , it is trustworthy , and sufficiently full to impart all the information necessary for the great mass of voyagers to the Antitodes ; and as such it has our warmest recommendation .

    The following brief extracts illustrate some of the CURIOSITIES OF AUSTRALIAN LIFE . Opossums are of different sizes , from that of the kangaroo as large as a man , to the smallness of a rat ; they leap on their hind legs , outstripping a horse , and have pouches in their bellies to preserve their young from danger or the weather : one species springs from tree to tree . Here is an animal that the learned term Ornithorynchus paradoxus , found in the mud of swamps and rivers , that has the bill and feet of the duck , the body , habits , and fur of the mole ; and the internal structure of a reptile . The eagles are white , and the swans black ; the

    owls screech in the day , the cookoo at night ; the birds are beautiful , but songless , and some have brooms in their mouths instead of tongues . The emu is common , and the gigantic crane feeds on flesh and grain at the borders of the rivers and lakes . Parrots crowd the woods . Bees are without stings . The wild dogs , called dingoes , are the great annoyance of the shepherds ; they are the size of a fox , but in hatiits resemble the wolf ; they do not bark , but make a very disagreeable loud noise ; they are hunted , and their brushes ornament the cottage walls . The bat , jerboa , and snake are discovered ; the last

    flies from man , but if pursued or injured , turns on its enemy , whom , when it bites , it poisons . Flies are amazing from their quantity , and mosquitoes are very particular in their attention to strangers . What they sting ought never to be rubbed , as it only creates a swelling and increased pain ; but a little oil applied soothes the irritation . Oxen are chiefly used in ploughing ; and a wood plough , made ot the hard native wood , is found cheapest , and best for the particular circumstances of the soil . The ears of the corn are only cut oft ' , as fodder is not

    necessary for cattle , and therefore would but increase the farmer ' s trouble to cut it . Corn is not grown for exportation , and therefore there is often a great waste . The vine for wine and dried fruit requires little attention tobacco for home use and sale is raised on any spare plot of ground ; the mulberrytree , both for its luscious fruit and for feeding silkworms , is grown ; the olive for its delicious oil has been so successfully cultivated , that an export trade has set in ; cotton will rise into an article of eare with the owners of tlie soil . Coffee can be

    Infanthood And Childhood; A Popular Guid...

    Infanthood and Childhood ; a Popular Guide to its \ Management and Treatment . By Jacob Dixon . . London : Houlston and Stoneman . This little treatise is one , o f the books which , all mothers s ought to read . In it they will find some valuable hints rela- - tive to the treatment of children . The value of Mr . Dixon ' s s pamphlet becomes apparent when we consider the fearful loss is of infant life consequent upon the ignorance of mothers in n the matters of which he writes . The author avoids all pro- ) - fessional technicalities , and gives his advice in a homely man- iner , which all can understand . There is . here no attempt to to deal in the dogmatisms in which quacks so often seek to hide do their ignorance .

    Death-Beds Of Thomas Paine And Voltaire....

    Death-Beds of Thomas Paine and Voltaire . BvBv W . W . Broom . " " It has ever seemed to us extremely pitiful that the defenderaers of orthodoxy should descend to the childish custom of seekinging to blacken the character of those who deny those things whichicl they themselves believe to . be true . Why , if they believcev < their opponents to be wrong , do they not seek , by argumemen and discussion , to point out their error / and lead them baciacl to that path , in the pursuance of which alone , they say , lie lie salvation ? Their idle tales about the death-bed repentancence of such men as Voltaife , Paine , and Hume might , if trudrue

    compel us to despise them , as men who all their lives haihai taught what they did not themselves believe , or that the tei tei rors of death had caused them to pretend faith in that whiediic they did not believe . In either case , orthodoxy is in no waway strengthened , if its defenders are unable to refute the doctrhurnu of these philosophers .: This vile custom of slandering a d < a dd parted" enemy , the author of the-pamphlet before us full full exposes ; We take the following extracts : "¦/

• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 25, 1852, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_25091852/page/13/