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256 THE h fi A t) E & C$Ayt;ftBAYv
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BOOKS ON OUR TABLE. Observations on Idfe...
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Wo should do our utmost to enccmrng'o th...
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MAGNETIC EVENINGS AT HOME.—(Concluded.) ...
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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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Palmerston's Opinions. Opinions And Poli...
Mr Francis with any notion of order ; chronology is the corner-stone of his art He ha 8 gone through Hansard / and picked , and culled , not always with commendable discrimination , from what he calls , in choice Xase , " abundance of materials of the best quality' --he has placed above his excerpts a title , more or less applicable—and he ^ has arranged them in sequence of time . By way of preface , he has p laced beforathese extracts what he terms a " Mem 6 ir"Wt which is chiefly a ^ collectlon of dates antl proper names . . : Indeed , that the figures of the Christian ear should succeed each other in exact succession seems to be the most notable principle adopted in concocting this volume . And the result
achieved was inevitable—the book is nearly useless as an assistance to the " public mind , " the laudable intention of the editor remaining ^ unfulfilled . How different that result would have been had Mr . Francis excluded about a fourth of the extracts , and filled up the space with explanatory notes . And how well the public could have spared them , he who ever ventures into these waste places will speedily discover ! What is the importance to us , for instance , of an insinuation , uttered in the heat of debate , that Mr . Hume does not understand arithmetic ; or of ridicule of Mr . Croker , out of which all the point and smartness have faded long ago , and which Mr . Francis would not be at the pains to revive ? . * ¦ _
Apart , however , from defects of arrangement , the book has a certain value . - We have Lord Palmerston ' s authentic opinions on many subjects ; we have glimpses of Lord Palmerston's " character , " although these , from the absence of a running commentary , are rather dim 5 and we have some indications of Lord Palmerston's policy , which , diligently strung together , and placed in their historical setting , are welcome enough . But of Lord Palmerston ' s " career ; " except in so far as indicated in the dates o « rl namas . nf ihp . rwurfis headed " Memoir . " we have no information
whatever . If the Editor only intended his volume as a book of reference , then , we admit , he has partially succeeded , and we willingly give all due thanks for the same . But we must protest against books of reference bearing such magnificent titles ( which stand as letters of introduction to the public ) as " Lord Palmerston ' s Opinions and Policy , " when the editor only proffers a heap of Lord Palmersfcon ' s discursive opinions , and disjointed specimens of a policy , embracing more than forty years of time , and almost all the world in its effects .
256 The H Fi A T) E & C$Ayt;Ftbayv
256 THE h fi A t ) E & C $ Ayt ; ftBAYv
Books On Our Table. Observations On Idfe...
BOOKS ON OUR TABLE . Observations on Idfe Assurance Societies and Savings Banks . In Two Parts . With a Mathematical Appendix and Tables . By Arthur Scratchley , M . A . John W . Parker and Son . Mr . Scratchxey , who was formerly the Sadlerian lecturer of Queen ' s College , Cambridge , and who , as Examiner of the Institute of Actuaries of Great Britaip , must be allowed to epcak witU nutuwity on mattora of Life . Assurance and Savings Banks , has recorded his opinions in this elaborate treatise in a way to secure the attention of all interested in this subject . He examines Life Assurance from all its principal points of view , with an urgent plaidoyer in favour of assurance . He then treats of Savings Banks and the Deposit System , and concludes with a variety of illustrative Tables . The remarks on what Mr . Scratchley calls the Suspension Principle are peculiarly deserving of attention , and meet one of the most pressing objections to assurance . Ttco Stories for my Young Friends : The Ericksons . The Clever Boy ; or , Consider Another . By Miss Frances Brown . Paton and Ritchie , Edinburgh . Sir Christopher Wren , and his Times . With Sketches and Anecdotes of Most Distinguished Personages in the Seventeenth Century . By James Elmes . Chapman and Hall . On the Amendment of the Laio and Practice of Letters Patent for Inventions . By Thomas Webster , Esq ., M . A ., & c . Second Edition . Chapman and Hall . Zoological Notes and Anecdotes . Hichard Bentley . Bentley's Shilling Series—Narrative of the Loss of the Amazon Steam Vessel . Bichard Bentley . the Biographical Magazine , for March . J . Passmore Edwards . Report on the Mortality of Cholera in England , in 18-48 and 1810 . By George Graham , Esq ., Registrar General . Clowes and Son . A Qrammar of Musical Harmony . By John Hullah . John W . Parker and Son . The Earth and Man ; or , Physical Geography in its Relation to the History of Mankind . Abridged from the Work of Arnold Guyot ; with Corrections and Notes . John W . Parker and Son . Letters from Italy and Vienna . Maemillan and Co ., Cambridge . The Reasoner . Part LXVJI . . James Watson , Queen ' s Head-passage . Jtailway Library—Self-Control , By Mrs . Branton . George Routledge and Co . Michaud ' s History of the Crusades . Translated by W . Robson . Vol . I . George Routlodge and Co . Tales of Mystery , Imagination , and Humour . By Edgar Allan Poe . With Illustrations . Henry Vizetelly . The Master Engineers and their Workmen . By J . M . Lndlow , Eaq . John James Besior . Men and Women of France , durinq the Last Century . 3 vols . Richard Bentloy . The Court and the Desert ; or , Priests , Pastors , and Philosophers , in the Time of Louis XV . From tho French . 3 vols . Richard Bentlny . The Podesta ' s Daughters and other Miscellaneous Poems . By George H . Bolter . DelfandTriibner . Robert Owen ' s Journal . Part XVIII . James Watson . Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions , and the Madness of Crowds . By Charles Maokay , LL . D . Vols . I . and II . National Illustrated Library . Travels in Tartarj / , Thibet , and China , during the Years 1844 , 1845 , and 1840 . Translated by W . Hazlitt . Vol II . National Illustrated Library .
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Wo Should Do Our Utmost To Enccmrng'o Th...
Wo should do our utmost to enccmrng ' o the Beautiful , for the Useful encourages itaolf . —Goexub .
Magnetic Evenings At Home.—(Concluded.) ...
MAGNETIC EVENINGS AT HOME . —( Concluded . ) Lettish VI . —To G . , 11 . Lewks , On looking over my notes , I find that I Have hitherto omitted to mention some of our experiments , which ., though perhaps of minor importance in themselves , are nevertheless no ^ ill-calculated to assist in developing the widely-extended range of tho magnetic influence in its action on the human subject . Tho experiments to which I refer , tended to show the power of Animal Magnetism in immensely increasing the muscular energy * in suspending the organic functions of persons in a perfectly wakeful state j and in aiding the painter or sculptor , by a special exertion of its influence in the studio ,, to work from tho " living model . *'
The proof of the increase of muscular energy , to he produced at will bv the application of magnetism , was thus displayed : —While V —~_ ^ the magnetic state , the Count desired me to give her my hand , asserting at the same time , that he would make her clasp it with the grasp of a vice —* . with a grasp from which he alone could free me . The appearance of V——* s hand , Which had evidently never been exercised in any harder work than needlework } rendered this assertion very difficult to credit ; but the event soon proved , in anything but an agreeable manner to me—or , as it seemed , to her—that the power of the magnetic influence had , in this instance , not been one whit overrated . The magnetizer made one " pass " over V——* s hand , when she took mine j and immediately after , I felt it
beginning to close—tighter , tighter , tighter !—until her arm quivered all up to the shoulder ; and the pain I felt from her grasp grew so intense , that— " setting my manhood aside "—I fairly begged to be released from a sensation which most men consider to be a remarkably agreeable one—the squeeze of a young lady ' s hand ! Two deep red impressions of that squeeze left in my skin , and a coldness and distortion of my fingers , which lasted full a quarter of an hour , were tolerably fair guarantees to the spectators of this experiment that I had certainly not «* cried out before I was hurt . " The Count assured my friends who were present , that , if the practical illustration of his assertion which they had just witnessed , were not
sufficient for them , he would be quite willing to experiment On the stoutest boatman they could call into the house from the beach outside , just as he had experimented on me . And he laughingly offered , at the same time , to lay a wager with anybody , pledging him—by merely placing one of V— - s hands on this said boatman ' s chest , and the other against his shoulderblade—to make her inflict such a pressure on the man , as should , in the most literal acceptation of the phrase , reduce him to " roar for mercy . " It is hardly necessary to say that , after what the company had already seen , nobody was willing to take up the Count ' s bet !
The capabilities of the magnetic influence in suspending the exercise ol particular organs , were very curiously exemplified in reference to the organ of speech . While we were all standing , one night , talking round the fire , after the experiments of the evening were over , and V—— - had been awakened out of the magnetic sleep , the Count suddenly made a few " passes" close before her lips . Immediately afterwards , her articulation thickened ; then ceased to be comprehensible : she could murmur ; but
could not pronounce asingle word . In order to verify this experiment by our eyes , as well as by our ears , I asked her to upon , her mouth ; and found her tongue reduced to less than its natural length , swollen to considerably more than its natural thickness , and presenting a curiously twisted , convulsed appearance . On touching it afterwards with the finger , it felt quite hard . Fairly judged by the tests of hearing , seeing , and touching , she was at that moment perfectly and palpably " tongue-tied . "
The third experiment at which I have hinted , as tending to prove that Animal Magnetism might render real practical assistance to those who cultivate the fine arts , requires a word or two of preface , addressed to readers who may never have witnessed the progress of a picture on the easel , or the gradual construction of the clay model from which the marble statue is afterwards formed . Persons in this position , who only become acquainted with works of art in their finished state , have , very naturally , hardly an idea of the technical difficulties which at all stages beset the production of a picture or a statue , whatever the genius , however long the practice , of the producer may be . Among these technical difficulties , one that ranks as
chief , is the difficulty of working from the living model , of painting or modelling from the life . In the first place , it is physically impossible , under any ordinary condition , for any human being to keep in the same position even for five minutes together , without insensibly moving a little , so as to embarrass the artist ; to whom changes of this sort , so slight as to be inappreciable to the ordinary spectator , are always visible . In the second place , the effort on the part of the model to " sit" as still as possible , produces a constant sense of fatigue . Perhaps at the very moment when the painter or sculptor is working his best , the sitter discovers that he or she can si no longer , and must absolutely take a rest ; and the unfortunate artist tin his labour interrupted exactly at the point where his own interests demon of the mode
that it should be continued . The more difficult the position , the more frequent these minor miseries of the studio become . Some 1 when , for instance , the sitter ' s arm is long kept in an outstretched < w jj tion ( most probably by tying it to a support ) , positive injury is sus ¦ by cramps and stiffness , which often affect the limb that has been ma - taincd too continuously in one arduous ; position . Some years sin > serious accident of this kind happened at the Royal Academy . A ^ the " life school" had been standing for a considerable time , with on his arms ( artificially supported ) extended , in the action of holding a ^ He was told to put his arm down , and rest . " I'm afraid , ge ntlcm > ^ was the reply , "that I can't rest , for I can't put my arm down , was fotind that the limb had stiffened in the socket , and the asS 18 t f an J unat 0 surgeon was obliged to be called in to restore the arm of tho uni
model to its natural position by his side . those Such accidents as these , such difficulties in the artist ' s wfty I ( j w above-mentioned , Count P assured us could be entirely obvia ^ ^ magnetizing the " model , " and then using the magnetic influence ^ turn ( or her ) with the stillness of a statue , in the same position—no ^ how difficult—for any number of hours required ; and this , as a " cX 1 ) ° t j , proved , without tho slightest sensation of stiffness being felt »?'
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 13, 1852, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_13031852/page/20/
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