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548 ^__ THE LEAPEB; [Saturday ,
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THE ZULUS. Life with the Zulus of Natal,...
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We should do our utmost to encourage the...
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THE EXPOSITION OF THE FINE ARTS IN PARIS...
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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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Baden Powfxii On Development. Essays On ...
To apply this remark to the question of organic changes , it is alleged tee have no experience of such a thing as a change of species ; but we have experience of the present uniformity of species subject to slight and occasional deviations . This is a known cause now acting . To how great an extent these successive deviations might be carried in immense periods of past time under changing external conditions , we know not . We have not space to give the development of these remarks ; the reader is referred to the Essay . „ - We have so often discussed in these columns the Development Hypothesis , both in itself , and as presented in the Vestiges , that it is unnecessary now to reopen the subject . The reader who opposes , and the reader who the ita guiue
accepts that Hypothesis , will find in Kev . aen xoweu a »» candid as he is able . The work , to which we have devoted the unusual attention of three articles , is very encouraging for those vrho expect Oxford to play her part in the intellectual advancement of our age . We know enough of Oxford to know that , beside the centre of Conservatism and Tradition , there exists a centre of Progress . Not only are hundreds of the youncr and energetic minds in that University devoting themselves to all liberal causes , but several of the older men are as valiant in the service of Progress . Oxford has its faults ; its waste of power and opportunity ; its limitations , which are the swaddlinff-clothes stunting the growth of children ;
but Oxford has also many signal advantages ; and " the splendour and illumination of many minds ' , " the advantage , as old Johnson said , of a great public school , make it a centre of influence to which we must all look anxiouslv .
548 ^__ The Leapeb; [Saturday ,
548 ^__ THE LEAPEB ; [ Saturday ,
The Zulus. Life With The Zulus Of Natal,...
THE ZULUS . Life with the Zulus of Natal , South Africa . By G . H . Mason , of Sidney-Sussex College , Cambridge , and Pieter-Maritzberg , Natal . " The Travellers Library . Longmans and Co . It is well for the " pensive public" that Mr . Mason has not taken in hand to set forth in order the return of Diomed or the events of the Trojan war , for—in spite of Horace and Sidney-Sussex College , Cambridge—he would assuredly have commenced with the death of Meleager and the " twin-egg . As it is , out of 232 pages of narrative there are sixty-nine introductory , and as many more irrelevant . The first chapter opens with a high-flown and traveller to
similitude between a young man setting out in life a eager " gain the far summit of some steep long mountain range , " for the path of life—says Mr . Mason—lies up-hill . With many , however , even the " morning march" takes a downward direction , as in the case of our author himself , and it is only after an arduous scramble that " with measured tread they climb the steep ascent . " To our mind , however , the pleasantest allusion to the ups and downs of life may be found in the lines chalked above his mantelpiece by the assassin-poet Lacenaire : —• La vie est pleine d ' embarras , Tous mes malheurs ici l ' attestent ;
Nous avons des hauts et des bas , Heureux quand ces derniers nous restent . But escaping from this dyspeptic exordium , we finally get under weigh , and -while still sighing a long farewell to our native land we become desperately seasick and dive into the depths below . Here we discover that chocolate is " an almost infallible cure for retching either at sea or on land , " and that life in an emigrant ship tends greatly to develop the organ of secretiveness : — " Number One" was everything with everybody . A plate , a knife and fork , or spoon— even your bed-clothes and dirty linen—were not secure for an instant , unless constantly under your eye . Indeed , so daring had the light-fingered gentlemen become , that a gammon of bacon was stolen from us , and my pocket picked of a small book during Divine Service , the second Sunday we were at sea . And , what was still more amusing , a sheep that the captain had killed for the first cabin table was every bit stolen before the following morning .
We have , of course , all the usual hackneyed descriptions of a moonlight dance on deck , crossing the line , a storm at sea , a shipwreck with " three hundred fellow-creatures struggling in yonder surf , " desertion by the crew , and final safe disembarkation , " when thesea had gone down , and scarcely a ripple disturbed its placid state of rest . " If Mr . Mason ' s object has been simply to answer , once for all , the tedious inquiries of his personal friends as to how he fared during his brief but uncomfortable sojourn among the Caflre tribes of South Africa , he is entitled to some praise for the manufacture of this little book . But should any confiding inquirer take it up with a view to learn something of the productions of the country , the prospects of the colony of Natal , or the manners and customs of the Zulus , the result will hardly inspire him with much admiration of Mr . Mason ' s handicraft . We give the author , however , the benefit of the best extract that presents itself : —
A OAFFIMS WEDDING . Scarcely had we taken our station near the umdodie ( husband ) , when a low , shrill chant came floating on tho breeze from the bottom of a lovely valo hard by , where I discovered a long train of damsels , slowly wending their way amongst bright green patches of Indian corn and masses of flowering shrubs , studded -with giant cactus and the huge flowering aloe . As the procession neared tho huts , they quickened their pace and raised their voices to tho highest pitch , till they arrived at tho said cattle craal , where they stood motionless and silent . A messenger from the umdodie then bade , them enter the craal , an order that they instantly obeyed , hy twos , the youngest leading tho way , closely followed by the rest , and terminated by a knot of marriageable young ladies ( cntombies ) , clustering thick about the bride—a fat , goodnatured girl , wrapped round and round with black glazed calico , and decked from head to foot with flowers , bonds , and feathers . Once within the craal , the ladies and struck air
formed two lines , with the bride in tho centre , up a lively ; whereupon the whole body of armed Caflrcs rushed from all parts of tho craal , beating their Bhields and uttering demon yells , as they charged headlong at tlio smiling girls , who joinod with tho stalwart warriors in cutting capers and singing lustily , till tho whole craal -was one confused mass of dancers , roaring out hoarse war songs and shrill love dittioa . After an hour dancing ceased , and joila ( Cuftre beer ) was served round , while the lovely bride stood in tho midst of tho rnig alone , stared at by all and staring in turn at all , until she brought her eyes to boar on her admiring lord ; then , advuncing leisurely , she danced before him amid shouts of tho by » tandern , singing at tho top of her voice ,, and brandishing a huge carving knife , with which she Horapcd big drops of perspiration from her heated brow , produced by tho unusually violent exercise she was performing . This last was by far the moat unsightly part of their proceedings , and as daylight was fast waning , w « withdrew , in order to regain our distant lrat .
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We Should Do Our Utmost To Encourage The...
We should do our utmost to encourage the Beautiful , for tlie Useful encourages itself . —Goethe . B
The Exposition Of The Fine Arts In Paris...
THE EXPOSITION OF THE FINE ARTS IN PARIS . Letter II . In a previous letter I gave a rapid outline of the first victory ootained by the Independent French School of Artists immediately after the Revolution of 1830 . From that time forwards , it became the custom and the law that expositions should be annual ; but the enthusiastic societies into which the young disciples of Art had formed themselves , soon found that more was wanted to enable them to give full scope to their energies . Frequent opportunities of communicating with the public , were , indeed , not of much use , so long as those who were desired to communicate could not elect a certain proportion of the Jury of Admission . The Institute still retained absolute authority in this matter , and showed itself to be sufficiently unintelligent and vigorous after the manner of all corporations . However , the young school had increased in importance . A notable portion of the public supported it ; and the whole press , with the most
admirable unanimity , came to the assistance of its weakness , and encouraged its hopes . During the whole reign of Louis Philippe , no critic in any journal began the annual series of his articles on the salon , without vigorously attacking the exclusive and hostile spirit of the Academical coterie . The time is now come to do this justice to the principal writers on Art in the French press . Jules Janin in the Artiste , Delescluze in the Debuts , Gustave Planche in various Reviews , Alexandre Decamps and Haussard in the National , Theophile Gautier in the Presse , with Thore , Pelletan , Gdrard de Nerval , Mantz , Arnoux , and many others in different quarters , fought gallantly for liberty of thought in the world of form and colour , and succeeded in persuading the whole thinking public that , if the Jury was entitled to decide on the merits of the works presented to them , it had nothing to do with determining their character , or with influencing individual tendencies . For some time , however , this controversy bore no practical fruits , and a severe censorship in the Arts was maintained by the Institute in the teeth of general disapprobation . which icertainli
I must not forget , however , to recal a circumstance s y pquant , though very natural , and of common occurrence in history . In 1 S 30 , at the very time that the artists of the New School were obtaining from Louis Philippe the institution of annual expositions , they were on the point of obtaining also the privilege of electing the Jury , and even a good deal more . They lost the opportunity by their own unwisdom and want of foresight ; and it is probable that , for a long time , perhaps for a century—who knows ?—it will never present itself again . The consequences of the victory they did not obtain would have been most important , most incontestably fortunate , most advantageous for the enlargement of the domain of Art , and the enfranchisement of French geniusunhappily always muzzled and shackled just when it seems about to redeem its best promises . Louis Philippe in the early part of his reign had not completely systematised his conservatism . He did not see then that in order to uphold a monarchy it is necessary to preserve the idea of authority intact everywhere , and that if the spirit of democracy is admitted anywhere , it becomes of a dangerous example . He was quite willing to revive completely in the liberal sense the institution of the Academy of Painting , the whole system of instruction at the School of the
Fine Arts , and everything that related to the award of the Great Prize at Home . M . de Montalivet , his minister , instituted a commission charged with presenting for royal sanction whatever legitimate or generous demands might be made in the interest of Art . The Young School—if we may apply this name to the vast number of independent talents which agreed in opposition to the narrow system of the heirs of David—were then organised into numerous and truly active societies . One of these , the most popular and the most enthusiastic , called the Free Society of Painting and Sculpture , had endeavoured to express , that whilst it sought for enfranchisement and looked towards the future , it did not despise anything that was venerable and precious in the past , by electing for its two secretaries M , Jeanron , the young commentator of Vasari , and the aged M . de Montabert , author of perhaps the most remarkable work that has ever been written upon Art , and a partisan of the Davidian School , but incapable , from the natural largeness of his mind , of admitting and supporting its narrow views and exclusive pretensions . His young colleague , we must not forget to saywas equally moderate ; for whilst he laboured
, in hia learned essays to exalt the ancient schools and revive the influence of their traditions , forgotten by the Academy , ho nevertheless defended against the unintelligent reaction of his fiery contemporaries the broad and sober handling of David . A good deal might have been expected from a . body that chose its officers on such grounds ; but , alas ! something more is required in negotiations with power than upright views and honest intentions . Xliis poor Society of Free Artists sent to M . de Montalivet , in complete good faith and without any binding instructions , a deputation composed of all its notabilitiesthat is to say , young men , of from twenty to twentyrfive for the most part , chose as their representatives men of from thirty to thirty-five years of age , who nau already acquired some reputation by their works . There is no greater problem than this of representation . Your peers do not understand what you want ; your betters are liable to sec most clearly what they want . MM . Delacroix , Charles Decaisne , Saint-Evro , Sigalon , Decamps , and others , eat in deliwell informed
Deration with a certain number of Academicians ; and it' I am , agreed most harmoniously just to widen the framework of tho Institute so as to admit of their own easy entrance therein , without waiting for the reluctant departure of superannuated genius . Their proposition certainly was made 111 ij spirit oflibcrality and progress ; but the youth by whom they had been deputea could not bo great gainers thereby . Tho new king , in his critical sagacity , must have recognised in this adventure tho likeness of many others with which no was familiar , and no doubt understood at once how far ho should prone thereby . It was not his business to after more than was asked . So the Artistic Conferences were dragged out some time longer , and nothing further came 01 them . Tho Young School remained outside , and continued agitating lor liberty during tho rest ot the reign . It would be a curious study to examine to wimi extent their dissatisfaction influenced tho course of political events . Artisis form a much larger and more nctivo section of the Parisian population tiiHi most persons are awuro of . It has been calculated that tho painters ftloa i ° amount to six thousand iu numberthree thousand of whom are entirely
uc-, pendent on their pencils . This question , however , 1 bIhiII reserve for aiMHI " r opportunity . Meanwhile , any one who reflects on this hint , may flml »" f ° " " ° for cheeking tho stupid wonder sometimes felt or aflbetcd in Kiighi ""> " »" artists—men of taste ox refinement—should over have had anything to < io wu lorrid democrats . Tho truth is , that in tho artistic world—as they hav an
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), June 9, 1855, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_09061855/page/20/
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