On this page
-
Text (2)
-
-mi ¦ T$tiM } : i,.E ±jMM ... ... ,_ J^^...
-
INDIA, CHINA, AND JAPAN. A Visit to Indi...
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
It Will Scarcely Be Denied That The Revi...
t & have one will " wij & Etfo , # Wc ^ lu ^; ^ e . , lairger scope , love or . hatred ? AnA we refer tSfhose p ^ ges o *^ an ^^ nfldels—pages which form the . larger proportion of "what he has published-rfor OTOof & at the Idea of God which both the logic and spirit of his discourses keep preg ^ V ^^ f ^' - 'p ^ r ^ 'if . - ^ iai of a God who hates his enemies , a God -who teacher love byf fierce denatfciations ^ of < wrath— -a God who encourages obedience to his precepts by efaborately reVealiag to us that bis own government is ia precise opposition to those pr & iepts . ' We know ^ the usual evasions on this ., subject . We know Dr . Gumming wonld say that even Rdman Catholics are to be loved and succoured as men ; that he would help even that " unclean spirit , " Cardinal Wiseman , out of a ditch . But who that is in the slightest degree acquainted with the action of the human mind , will be- ; l & ve . that any genuine and large charity can grow out of an exercise of love which is alwaystohave an arriere-pensie of hatred ? Of what quality would be the conjugal lo % T of a husband who loved hisspouse as a wtf « , but hated her as a woman t 3 n the lighter Style how graphic is this picture of the Clergyma a Sunday : — . Pleasant to the clerical flesh under such circumstances is the arrival of Sunday ! Somewhat at a disadvantage during the week , in the presence of working-day interests and lay splendours , on Sunday the preacher becomes the cynosure of a thousand eyes , and predominates at once over the Amphytryon with whom he dines , and the most captious member of his church or-vestry ; * He has an immense advantage over all other public speakers . The platform orator is subject to the criticism of hisses and groans . Counsel for the plaintiff expects the retort of counsel for the defendant . The honourable gentleman on one side of the House is liable to have his facts and figures shown up by his honourable friend on the opposite side . Even the scientific or literary lecturer , if . he is dull or incompetent , may see the best part of his audience quietly slip out one ^ one . But the preacher is completely master of the situation : ndLohe may hiss , ho one may depart . Like the writer of imaginary conversations , he niay put what imbecilities he pleases into the mouths of his antagonists , and swell with triumph when he has refuted them . He may riot in gratuitous assertions , confident that no man will contradict him ; he may exercise perfect free-will in logic , and invent illustrative experience ; he may give an evangelical edition of history , with the inconvenient facts omitted : —all this he may do with impunity , certain that those of his hearers who are not sympathising are not listening . We had marked several passages for extract , but " our limits" ( this time a real excuse ) forbid . In the same Review there is an article on the Position of Woman ^ which the reader might possibly shun , if the title suggested to him many pages violent in protests and vague in declamation . We assure him the article is nothing of the kind . It is something never yet presented on that subjecta laborious collection of facts respecting the laws to which woman has been subject inl > arbarian nations , both ancient and modern , and a presentation , especially complete of the Roman laws about women . The industry with which these data have been collected , and the interest as well as the entertainment of the facts themselves , make the paper extremely valuable , as well as very amusing . It is just the article from which to cull abundant extracts ; but as we wish the reader to weigh the whole of the facts presented in it , for the sake of the philosophic purpose directing their colligation , we shall Qiily draw upon it for one amusing sample of what reads like the Paradise for Husbands . The writer is speaking of the Hindoo marriages : — Marriage having been effected , the husband is commanded to keep his wife in such subjection , ' * both day and night , that she by no means be mistress of her own actionB . " " Jn every stage of life a woman is created to obey ; " and the husband is expressly authorised to enforce obedience from his wife by means of tho " lash , or the small shoot of a cane . " But even complete self-abdication , and the most degrading submission to the will of her lord , are only a small part of what the , Hindu sages exact from , her ; . Jhough her ,, husband may be , enamoured . o f another ^ woman , though he may be •' " crooked , aged , infirm , offensive in . his . manners , choleric , a drunkard , a gambler , or a debauchee , " yet he must be constantly revered as a god by a virtuous ¦ w ife . . . . A woman has no other god on earth than , her husband . The most ? excellent of all the good works she dan perform is to gratify him . Thia should be her only devotion . . •' . ' . When her husband sings , she must be in ecstasy . If he dances , she' views him with delight . Tfhe speaks of science , she is filled with admiration . When t / t his presence she must'bealways gay . The article ou Theism will interest many . It is more remarkable for the candour and force with which ifc puts objections , than for the solutions offered ; but tho tone is throughout philosophic and the matter thoughtful . Drunkenness not curable by Legislation is a valuable paper , but would have been more so with greater space and a more abundant collection of facts : at present the amount of argument predominates over what is most needed , namely , facts . The argument is excellent both in temper and thought ; but wo want facts . The Maine ! Liquor Law , which the teetotal fanatics nre trying to get established in England , would be one of tho greatest curses of which at present there is any danger from Legislation . One consideration alone is appalling , from the known consequences of fanaticism : — Too members of the Temperance Society bind themselves not to vote for any candidate for office who is not sound on the prohibition question ; and , reciprocally , wo have Mr . Ncal Dow , Mayor of Portland , the . original author of the Maine Law , ¦ writing of tho present Governor of Connecticut , " Our governor is as true as steel and as firm as a rock . He will not appoint to any office any man who is not a true friend to tho Maine Law . " If a man in authority differs from them , they flood tho country with violent tirades against him . Governor Seymour , in tho exorcise of an indisputable prerogative , vetoed tho bill last year in Now York . The Temperance organs spoke of him as a hardened despot , and tho American Temperance Union published 8800 " strictures" on his conduct . The poorest article in tho Review is one on an excellent subject , The London Daily Press . Tho first part ia a jumble of facts without philosophy or picture ; tho second part is takon up with a history of the Times , which reads like a plaidoyer in favour of that journal , and yet , to our thinking , misses its real merit . Among the curious facts here narrated is one which reads amusingly at the present time . After relating the spirited opposition of the Times in 1600 , the writer says : — -Stxeh conduct as this on tho part of a mere journalist was not to bo endured , and accordingly every effort was made by the Govornment officials to prevent tho Times
. from obtaining early information relating , to the ; progress of the war , To _ such en extent was this petty system of warfare carried , that , at one jperipd , the Ttmes packages from the Continent were always stopped by Government jot the outporte , while those for the Ministerial journals were allowed to pass . The chains of foreign vessels were asked by a Government officer at Gravesend if thiey had papers for tte Times ; if they had , all such were regularly stopped . The Gravesend officer , when explanation was demanded , said , he would willingly transmit the foreign papers to the Times with the same punctuality as he did those , belonging to the other newspapers but he was not allowed . After repeated applications on the subject at the Home Secretary ' s Office , Mr . Walter was informed that he might receive his papers as a favour from Government . This , of course , implying the expectation of a corresponding favour from the editors in the spirit and tone of his publication , was firmly rejected ; and " he in consequence suffered for a time ( by the loss or delay of important packets ) for this resolution to maintain , at all hazards , his independence . We have only noticed two Reviews , and yet see the extent of space already covered ! Either we must despatch the rest in a sentence , or leave them till next week . The latter is the better plan , and shall be adopted .
-Mi ¦ T$Tim } : I,.E ±Jmm ... ... ,_ J^^...
-mi ¦ T $ tiM : i ,. E ± jMM ... ... , _ J ^^ JJ ^ iM ^
India, China, And Japan. A Visit To Indi...
INDIA , CHINA , AND JAPAN . A Visit to India , China , and Japan , in the Tear 1853 . By Bayard Taylor . Low and oon Mb . Taylor ' s narrative is rapid and slight , but leaves vivid impressions on the mind . It is less an account of manners than a description of architecture and scenery . Neither the monotonous life of the Hindus , nor the grotesque society of China , seems to have influenced this traveller ' s imagination so powerfully as the pure glories of the Pathan mausolea , or the crimson sunsets of Asia . He records his intention , at Bombay , of criticising the socja ] aspects of Hindustan under its English masters ; but that object is only partially fulfilled , while the Taj Mahal , the Khuttub Minar , and other remains of the gorgeous Moguls , " who designed like Titans and finished like iewellers , " are delineated in elaborate pages of word-painting . Mr . Taylor does right in following an instinct . He is essentially an artist , and only treats effectively of men and civilisation when they contribute colours to a picture . Thus the Chinese at Shanghai , moving through the evolutions of a martial drama , come into the foreground like actors in a farce ; but Mr . Taylor ' s pen is blunted when it touches subjects of political importance . From Suez he proceeded down the Red Sea , between the purple and violet shores of Egypt and the Sinaitic peninsula , with the summit of Horeb clearly defined against the heavens , and even the peak of Sinai faintly visible amon « - its companion clouds . On the second day Mocha , the coffee-town , was in view , and on the third the steamer launched into the Indian Ocean , sweepino- through the pale-green waters that froth round the Arabian shoals . At Aden Mr . Taylor was critical . That tourist , he says , was perfectly correct who designated it as " hell with the fires put out ; " moreover , its naval value has been exaggerated ; for , like Gibraltar , it would be useless without a fleet . We wonder to what maritime fortress—Sebastopol , Malta , or Cherbourg—this remark could not be applied . But , we have already said , Mr . Taylor satisfies us only when he writes in pencil . The first glimpse of India , with its blue ridges , blue rivers , and tracts of palm and ? ice , excited him as deeply as if he had been a young traveller ; but the ripest imaginations are the most quickly moved . In Bombay his American eye was pleased with the signs of " go-ahead" civilisation , rails , inailcoaches , and London luxuries , though still the streets were thronged with Eastern pomp , with palanquins , bridal processions , Parsee children decorated with gold and silver , and parsee women with floating robes of orange and yellow silk . In the gardens of the city , beds of rich flame-coloured flowers , the milky , pendulous bloom of the Indian acacia , and the stems of palms , shining in the sun like golden pillars , appeared as superb avenues to the inner East . But here also are the dark caves of Elephanta , where the mute thoughts of other ages are embodied in sculptures and hieroglyphics , which not even the Egyptologers affect to comprehend . These twilight sanctuaries Mr . Taylor describes with pictorial effect , but it was at Agra and at Delhi that he was inspired with his most poetical admiration of India . It is to tho credit of the British Government that they preserve the splendid works of the Moguls in their original perfection , allowing no damp to dim their colours , no fractures to disfigure their arches , no taint of ruin to creep over their exquisite tracery . The Pearl Mosque , Akbar ' Palace , and the Xaj Mahal , though wrought with ideal delicacy , have lost , by the lapse of time , not even the fine polish of their beauty . Inlaid blossoms of cornelian , with petals of bloodstone , silver filagrees , Florentine mosaics of jasper , agate and fapis-lazuli , balustrades of white marble , fretted into patterns of lilies , irises , and tulips , as aeriel as laco , and gilded domes incrusteel with gems , remain unsoiled and sacred , with fresh roses dail y strewn over the tombs , and lamps fed with perfume in the shrines . This circumstance alone refutes tho frenzied extravagance of those philanthropists who repeat Burke s saying , that tho influence of the English in India is as that of tho jackal and the tiger . Tho country bears , in parts , tho evidences of neglect , and Mr . Taylor discourses on the shortcomings of the Government ; but , with every other traveller who writes with a sense of responsibility , he testifies to the beneficent institutions that have been introduced . To show that his book contuins materials lighter than the political , or even the picturesque , we will quote a story picked up in the palace of Akbar : — " One day , " so bogan tho old man , " Akbar-Slmh nnd Rajah Bcer-bul wore sitting togothor . Akbar suid to Beor-bul , What would you do , if n groat misfortune full upon you ? ' Said Beor-bul , « I should give myself up to ploamiro . ' ' How to plonsuro , ' said Akbnr , ' when you wore unfortunate V ' Still , ' cmid Boor-bul , ' I should do it . ' Tho next day Akbar said to Boor-bul , ' Take thia ruby , nnd keep it till I call for it . ' Now it was a ruby worth millions of rupees , such as there novor was in tho world , before nor since . So . Beor-bul took tho ruby home to hia daughter , and bmlo her keep it careftilly , for it belonged to Akbar-Shuh 5 and eho locked it up in a cheat with three locks . _ 1 t " Then Akbar sent to tho greatest robber in the place , who was condemned to aio , and had him brought before him . Robbor , eaid ho , ' 1 -will give you your life , « you can do one thing for mo . ' What is that ? ' said the robbor . 4 You must stoui from my Minister , Beer-bul , a ruby which I have given him to keep , ' said Akbar-
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 6, 1855, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_06101855/page/16/
-