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918 THE LEADEB. pSTo. 489. Aug. 6, 1859
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A LIFE FOR A IiIFE. By the Author of " J...
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TWO NEW NOVELS.
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MILLICENT NEVILLE. A Novel. By Julia Til...
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NORTHUMBHRLAND, AND THJfl BOUDEK. By Wal...
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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Transcript
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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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The Three G-Ates. In Verse. By Chauncy H...
To my sad spirit , \ vhose percipient beam Made cause and consequence but one appear , The salt that seasonal Xuxury ' s jrneal might seem To draw its flavour from a human tear : And I might marvel , when I saw the clear Bright household fire , it breath'd no deadly smoke To kill the availing circle's happy cheer ; Nor of red mine-blast , and quick ruin spoke ; j Nor seat 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 , " thou 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 , " And try what 'tis to breathe ! Wert thou condemn'd To spend small fractions of thy silken day , " Round by those dismal vaults intensely hemm'd , 'Where e en a candle bluel y 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 have been thy ghoul-like spoil , That thou . might ' st breathe perfumes , while they for breath did toil ? " "' The Angel said , " Ton languid lord of pain Is too far off thy pleading voice to hear , And God Himself , perchance , might scantly gam A moment ' s audience from that sloth-dull'd ear . Then fell I into musings of strange fear , Because I Baw the many feed the Tew , And higher beings have the costlier cheer : "TVhatif this rule , " I thought , " prolong its cine , And man feed nobler -worlds than those his gaze can view ? ** May not unseen and subtle powers of air Quaff the fine juices of his heart and brain ? "Why is that yearning sigh , that sick despair . That deep soul-sinking , and mysterions pain , I note in him , if none that loss can gain ? " ' Arid 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 yaa . de I "
Upon that tablet of his mind : He eyed the prospect vast , ¦ „ ' . And yet he gave a furtive glance Unto the danger past 1 And I could see remember'd fear Made safety-more excel . Grateful upon the guide he look'd And said , " You ' ve led me well !" And I eould fancy that his eye Some deeper thoughts did tell . * Or haply my own bosom said , * ' My path of life , like this , Oft leads my frail uncertain feet Along a precipice . How oft my dizzy brain must reel "While coasting an abyss ! 44 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 Ieadeth thee I Then blindfold follow God •" These examples of Mr . Townsheiid ' s views and poetry are more extensive than we can generally aflbrd to exhibit ; hut Mr . Townshend is no common man , and his verses are not commonplaces , hut instinct ¦ with . originality , both in the regions of thought and feeling . He is the angel that troubles the waters , if he does not always succeed in healing the bathers in the else stagnant pool .
My Teacher said , "Go not beyond thy sight ! One step in the dark . betrays thee o ' er a steep . Evfr—the giant shadow of God ' s light— - PerplexeB angels ! But one thought may keep Thee humble . . . "We from different stands may leap To contrary conclusions . "Wherefore dream The Maker smileth while His creatures weep ? Is God , indeed , as happy as men deem , Or hang not all the cares of all mankind on Him ?" This is , at any rate , an extensive survey " of a question to "which all of us must give some , kind of answer . We are thankful that Mr . Townshend has stated it so folly and so strongly . We are not equally satisfied with the other portions . " JLove , " and the " Law of Xiove , " are made up of songs and sonnets , scenes and lyrics , which may suggest the kind of solution they supply to the "Mystery of Evil , " but the peeif 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 eat upon an Alpine height , Whence I could see ana hear A traveller on a dizzy path . Who crept , and shook with fear , And eyed the dreadful preoiplce To which bis path was near . And well the traveller , though bold , Upon that ledge might shrink ; Right down below his very feet The gaping gulf did sink : , The path was but a thread , and near'd Each moment more the prink . His fearless guide beheld the man . And said , " This path will go For a long time thus dizzily . Or worse;—for you may throw Soon from your outstreton ' d hand a stone Three thousand feet below . " I see you are no mountaineer , I see your head doth swim , And I must for your safety care Upon this mountain ' s brim . If Any guide hia charge should lose , 0 woo . lndecd to him 1 ' Take my advice , and lot me bind Your oyea , leBt you should see Tho further perils of the -way ; J'U lead youwnrUy I I answer for your life with mine-Now give your hand to me I v f Then I saw how the traveller Stood like a little child . And lot tho other blindfold him Upon the mountain wild . 1 X . ea by the guide ho , round tho gulf , Then trustfully denied . To know how guldo and man would taro 1 follow'd « -ior * know The mountain well—and came again Upon tbo wanderers two . Whore' Italy , tho beautiful , Durst nobly on tho vtow . Go I behold the oarelul pair Reach now ft broader road t Tho guide then took tho bandage off , And to the ( stranger aliow'd That all ww safe , and haw tho plains BenoAtb , thorn gloam'd and glow'd . You should hayo soon tjko traveller ' 3 fugo , TJ » Q jmlnprlcd , foollnc ™ on » t
918 The Leadeb. Psto. 489. Aug. 6, 1859
918 THE LEADEB . pSTo . 489 . Aug . 6 , 1859
A Life For A Iiife. By The Author Of " J...
A LIFE FOR A IiIFE . By the Author of " John Halifax , Gentleman ; " "Woman ' s Thoughts about Women , " & e ., & c In 3 vols . —Hurst and Blackett . A new novel by the author of " Joha " 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 . " A Life for a Life" is a more thoughtful book than " John Halifax , " yet it will not become so popular . John Halifax ' s honest manly face , it is true , scains the reader ' s heart from the first , and
he goes to Salisbury on purpose to find out the name of the person before he marries Theodora . Salisbury is a place never to b e mentioned to old Mr . Johnston , and as the accident occurred there it appears to ITrquart 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 ; 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 throVm from his gig and killed — -being a worthless drunken fellow . He is imprisoned for three months , and some time af ter he marries Theodora , and they migrate to Canada . This is a hold and an original story , and required all the talent that the authoress possesses to keep the reader from reflecting that the heroine should many 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 argued-rvery 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 ki l l another man in the heat of passion or otherwise , it is much better that he should devote the remainder of his life to doing good than he sent to his Maker before he-has had time to make that reparation that is so noble when given in a true and repentant spirit .
when he marries , the interest in him does not 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 has fought the great battle of life and , like John Halifax , made himself a position . Yet there is more reality in the former ; greater depth of thought and less romance , for , after all , John 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 Urquart , 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 by her family as being too thoughtless to be trusted wjth 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 faimly 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 Oapt . Treherne , who is paying 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 ojperson 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 doctor 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 orderj ana 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 , As by some means ( how is not explained by tho authoresB ) , ho " fancies" and " euupeota "—and that is all—that Henry Johnston is ( for he is never supposed to know ) the name of the man that be killed in the affray at Stonohengo ; as some time after this
Two New Novels.
TWO NEW NOVELS .
Millicent Neville. A Novel. By Julia Til...
MILLICENT NEVILLE . A Novel . By Julia Tilt , author of the " Old Palace , " " May Hamilton , '' & c . In 2 vols . Lionel Booth . THE SEMI-DETACHED HOUSE . Edited by Lady Theresa Lewis . Richard Bentley . « . ' Milmcejst Neville " and " The Semi-Detached House" are b 6 th . 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 fisat-rate novel .
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 Jias 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 you- — very , 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 , he dies ; and she marries
Norman , and they live happily together . Tho story is very slight , as is the case in most novels that are worth reading . Miss Tilt does well to rely on her powers of oharaoter-painting . The home with the first husband presents a wonderful contrast to that with the second . It is a pity that we arc not given more of the latter . In conclusion , wo may * say that " MUlicent Neville" is a great improvement on the " Old Palace , " which -we' noticed about twelve months since ; and we cordially recommend it to our readers .
" Tho Semi-Detached IIouso ? ' is a noyol of very slight texture , but very amusing . Aunt Sarahs only fault -with tho house is that it is somi-dctachea f the idea that Tomkinson or llopkinson should Uvo live under the same roof as my Lady Choster is something too horrible for Aunt Sarah , vmo knows Court well , and speaks with admiration ot " His Royal Highness . " It is , howovor , proved to Aunt Sarah , before long , that it is of little consenuflnco what name a nerson owns so long as they
pay their tradespeople and behave , tliemsolvos witli ordinary decorum—that n person ' s name dooa noc make them better or worfle - , that in some instances p eople trade on their title j and that ho is good who does good . Tho hollowness of living for appearances is ibarfuUy exposed by Lady Lewis , and on wo whole wo think a « Semi-detached House " Is very amusing , And contains a good deal of Satire tnac will tell strongly against tho titled and tho tintitled " aristocracies . "
Northumbhrland, And Thjfl Boudek. By Wal...
NORTHUMBHRLAND , AND THJfl BOUDEK . By Walter White . Ohiipman and Hall . The manner in which Mr . White spent his holiday between the Tyne and the Tweed has been productive of an interesting volume . Tho reoollofl-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 6, 1859, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_06081859/page/18/
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