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1098 THE LEADER. [Saturday,
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A GLANCE AT NEW BOOKS. We arc forced by ...
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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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Russian Shores Of The Black Sea. The Rti...
opportunity of redeeming its character , which hag been somewhat shaken by the unsatisfactory displays of prowess daily exhibited in the Caucasus , and the absurd misadventures of one of the divisions , which ultimately failed in taking part in the last Hungarian campaign , for lack of a properly organized commissariat . "
- THE RUSSIAN ARMY . . "The accounts I received of the war in the Caucasus , from those who had been present , exceeded anything of the sort I could have conceived possible . The frightful mortality among the troops employed there amounts to nearly twenty thousand annually . Of these , far the greater part fall victims to disease and starvation , attributable to the rapacity of their commanding officers , who trade in the commissariat so extensively that they speedily acquire large fortunes . As they are subject to no control in their dealings with contractors for supplying their requirements , there is nothing to check the ardour of speculation ; and the profits enjoyed by the colonel of a regiment are calculated at 3000 Z . or 4000 Z . a-year , besides his pay . It is scarcely possible to apprehend at a glance the full effect of
a process so paralysing to the thews and sinews of war ; or at once to realize the fact , that the Russian army , numerically so far superior to that of any European power , and supplied from sources which appear inexhaustible , is really in a moat inefficient condition , and scarcely worthy of that exaggerated estimate which the British public seem to have formed of its capabilities . It is not upon the plains of Krasna Selo or Vosnesensck , amid the dazzling glitter of a grand field-day in the Emperor ' s presence , that any correct notion can be formed of the Russian army . The imperial plaything assumes a very different appearance in the remote Cossack guard-house , where I have scarcely been able to recognise the soldier in the tattered and miserably equipped being before me , or on a harassing march , or in the presence of an indomitable enemy .
" We have only to remember that the present position of Russia in the Caucasus has remained unaltered for the last twenty-two years , notwithstanding the vast resources which have been brought to bear upon this interminable war , to perceive that the brilliant appearance of the Russian soldier on parade affords no criterion of his efficiency in the field of battle ; while no more convincing proof could be desired of the gross corruption and mismanagement which characterises the proceedings of this campaign , than the fact of an overwhelming force of two hundred thousand men being held in check for so long a period by the small but gallant band who are fighting for their snow-clad mountains and their liberty . " The perusal of Mr . Oliphant ' s volume may go far towards correcting two tendencies in . our public writers—one , that of exalting the might of this hideous and corrupt empire ; the other , that of conceiving it desirable for the " degraded" Turk to be swept away , and the northern races to infuse their vigour into the decrepit nation . We cannot part from this volume without giving at least one illustration of its " manners and customs . Here is a TARTAR EATING-HOUSE . '' We were so long moving about from one set of these affable shopkeepers to another , that it was late in the day before I began to wonder whether we were never coming to a food quarter . Hitherto , since leaving Sevastopol , we had feasted our eyes only , while Richter had subsisted entirely on pipes . Upon his now suggesting that we should go to a cook-shop , we willingly proceeded in search of one , and wove attracted , by sundry whiffs redolent of mutton , to a large corner house , whence arose a cloud of fragrant steam . Here a number of people were standing in the open street , diving into huge projecting caldrons of soup , from
whence they extracted square pieces of fat , which they devoured with great relish while strolling about among the crowd . Not entirely approving of this al fresco mode of" dining , and fearing that we might stand a chance of being run over while discussing an interesting morsel , wo were glad to discover that it was not necessary to present a ticket of admission to a Bagtche Serai soup-kitchen ; so we entered , and seated ourselves on a narrow bench , behind a very filthy plank intended to serve as a festive board . Being- fully exposed to the street , we were in a most convenient position for the loungers in it to satisfy their curiosity regarding us , and accordingly we were mutually edified by staring at one another .
" Our attention , however , was booh diverted to the head cook , who brought us : i boiled sheep's bead in one hand , while with the other he attempted to catch the gravy that trickled through his fingers upon a loaf of black bread . These he set down before us on the cleanest part of the plank we could pick out , and evidently considered that our every want was supplied . We forthwith proceeded with our penknives to discuss the nhcep ' s head , whi-. h seemed to have been previously htripped of everything but the eyes ; and with the addition of aomekibaubs ( square pieces of fat strung upon a reed ) , succeeded in accomplishing a meal , which sustained us for the rest of the day ;—not that it would be possible to starve in Bagtche Serai ; the heaps of delicious fruit with which the street in lined for Home hundreds of yards , would always furnish an abundant , if somewhat unwholesome meal . Grapes , figs , pomegranates , peaches , nectarines , and apricots , tempt the passenger to refresh himself at every step ; while , ; is if in gentlo remonstrance with his imprudence , innumerable fountains of the purest water gush out of the lull-Hide , murmuring invitations to tho thirsty soul which it ia difficult to resist . " This was in Uagteho Serai , tho ancient capital of Grim Tartary .
1098 The Leader. [Saturday,
1098 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,
A Glance At New Books. We Arc Forced By ...
A GLANCE AT NEW BOOKS . We arc forced by the quantity of now publications , and the demand on our space , to give a rapid Hiiinirmry of several works claiming notice ! . The oflieo ofml . it ? must give place to that of indicator—instead of discoursing on tho hook or author , we confine ourselves to a few words which may guide- the purchaser and reader . The reader will like lo If now , for example , what lie ia to expect in Hawthorne ' s Taugleionod Talcs ( Ohiipnmn ; md Hall ) . JVfot another Scarlet Letter , no It / ithcdale Romance , not even tales resembling those Hawthorne has published before ; yet a book both readers and parents should welcome for its beauty and purpose , it is a collection of ancient legends , the myths of the antique world , purified from everything that is abhorrent to '
Christianized moral souse , stripped of the parasitical aftergrowths , and presented "in the shape which tivey may bo supposed to possess in the pun-- childhood of the world . " The old stories aro told as Hawthorne ran tell them . Children are fascinated by them ; and , it' the philosopher will Hinilo over this misconception of the true nature of myths , ho wi I « t nnv rate , thank Hawthorne in Ins children ' s name Cor the HtorieH themselves . In the new and cheap edition of Harold , the last of the S ' a . rou Khm ' s ( Chapman and Hall ) , Jhilwor replies to his criticH , and . jimtilies himself for the anachronisms and errors imputed to him . It is not in our power , taut as eomponere l /' tes . jStill . more beyond our judicial competence \ h the Manual of ' French Cookery , by one mho has ' tested Ike receipts (
Chapman and Hall ); but as far as our ignorance carrieth , we are disposed to pronounce it a treasure for families , the directions being so plain and intelligible . What the results would be can only be intimated by us after an extensive examination of the publishers' kitchen ; and we suggest that a series of Banquets to JReviewers would be the most effective way of securing solid and impartial criticism . The same publishers have added to their excellent Railway series " Beading for Travellers , " a narrative of the Hungarian Emigration into Turkey , by a Honved , which , has an interest of apropos besides its own lively pictures . It has been translated by Bayle St . John , from papers given to him by a young Hungarian soldier . From Turkey to the Cauca-Litt d th
sus is now the obvious route in eraure , an erefore we pass fro m these sketches to the Sketches of Russian Life in the Caucasus , published in the " Illustrated Family Novelist" ( Nathaniel Cooke ) , and preceded by an introductory sketch of Russian Literature . The tales are amusing enough , as setting forth national peculiarities ; but the illustrations are very poor . The same publisher , in bis daring scheme of An Univeral Library , gives us a marvel of cheapness in Chaucer ' s Canter buryrTales , complete , a newly edited text , with illustrative notes by Thos . Wright , and a full length portrait for—two shillings ! We really think this stands alone , even in these days of cheap literature . In the excellent series of educational works which that publisher is bringing out , there are three worthy of general acceptance , not for their cheapness only—although that
is a consideration—but from their careful compilation and exposition . The first is , The Illustrated London Astronomy , by no less a person than Mr . J . R . Hind , a name well known as that of a discoverer . It is intended for the use of schools and students , and is admirably adapted as an intro - duction to Astronomy ; price two shillings . The second in Electric Science : its History , Phenomena , and Application , by Mr . Bakewell , who treats very briefly the historical portion , confining himself to generalities and results . He omits several interesting electric phenomenapassing by Matteucei and Du Hois Reymond ' s researches in Animal Electricity without even a glance ; but although there are some deductions to be made from the work , it is a very useful and popular exposition , well illustrated : price two shillings . The same maybe said of Mr . Jabez Hogg ' s compilation—the Elements of Natural Philosophy : price four shillings , embracing Animal Mechanics , Pneumatics , Hydrostatics , Hydraulics / Acoustics , Optics ^ Caloric , Electricity , and Magnetism .
In the Travellers Library ( Longman and Co . ) we may read that delightful Love Story wliieh setteth forth the courtship and marriage of I ) r . Dove . It is extracted from The Doctor—the quaintest and most erudite pleasantry of modern times , and by many regarded as Southey's opus magnum : Thousands who would never open the Doctor will read this episode ; and of the thousands , many will be doubtless incited to" go to the volume itself . In the same series there is an interesting account of The Chase in Brittany , by Mr . Hope . As they do not " preserve" in Brittany , the chase there is truly a chase , and hence the stirring life of Mr . Hope ' s pages .
There have been many histories of France , and many abridgments of the history for schools ; without drawing invidious comparisons , we may declare that the History of France , by Emile de Bonnechose ( Eoutledge and Co . ) , which Mr . Eobson has translated with care , though , occasionally with too literal an adherence to the original idiom , is an excellent work , clear in style , methodical in arrangement , brief , yet not dry . It has a high reputation in Franco , wliich it deserves . Students will do well to possess themselves of it . In seven hundred compact pages it contains the story of France from Clovis to Louis Philippe . Few will distmte the title of Kossuth as that of the greatest living
orator ; wo think , indeed , that few orators in the history of the world can be placed beside him , due allowance being made for the enormous disadvantages under which lie laboured when speaking a foreign language . XJut without opening the question of rank , it is enough to Bay , that here is a volume of his Selected Speeches ( Triibncr and Co . ) , condensed under Ins express sanction , by Francis W . Newman , who has done it as a labour ot love . Whatever may be thought of Kossuth ' s conduct or opinions , that man must be insensible to eloquence who does not prize this volume , mr . i . , i .. i , 1 .., ^ :,.: « , _ 4 i . « 7 >^ , a , ,., « / •»/* * 7- >» # 7 >/ isi THv /* ii .. tsi . nn between We have delayed noticing the Jieport of a Public Discussion ocvtvcw
, the Rev . Brewln Grant and George Jacob Hohjoake ( Ward and Oo-j so long , that the thousands upon thousands which have been sold ( testily inff to tho deep and wide-spread interest in tho subject ) render our mention of it almost superfluous , tho moro so as , during the discussion , tho suDjec was treated in these columns ; nevertheless , by way of reminder , it may be noted , for tho benefit of all interested in the secularist question , tnai . hero , in a small volume , they will find reported tho whole of tho disci a-Bions , tho proof-sheetH of which have boon read by the two disputanu j , and therefore are to be accepted as their deliberate statements . Jvi llolyoake ' s courtesy is as superior to that of Mr . Brewin Grant , as m »
reasoning is more direct and sincere . Mr Barnard ' s Handbook of Foliage and Background Drawing ( JN » - tbaniel Cooke ) is a little work . emphatically to be commended to all wi are learning to draw from nature . The plan m to teach the studei t o notice and copy tho characteristic lines of each ^ V ^ T 1 ^ vh wed so that having mastered tbe details , let us say of an oak leaf , wlicn vu'vu as- a leaf , lie in enabled , when sketching tho oak tree , to ff . ivo , « ven the freest touch , the characteristic of tfio loaf . The book » proiubcly illustrated . , ^ Now Christmas is approaching , and Christmas books are to temp . < > parent purse , lot noVGeorge Cruikshank ' s Fairy ^^ S ! , ver . In tho Hop o' Wy Thumb ( Hoffue ) we have our old Irio . < »^ J altered for teetotal propatfando , but , we have illustratioiiH hu < Ji aH but Oniiksliiuik could K Lve . They are in bis happiest and > ™ * ' » ' style We doubt whether be lias ever surpassed , them ; ami m h ( H bin to continue the series , wo are almost unammouH in ^ " ^ , OIl leave the stories aH Uo Kudu them , and let Ins genius bo employed y fJio illnntratioiiB ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 12, 1853, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_12111853/page/18/
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