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No. 490. Aug. 13, 1859.] THE LEADER. 941
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LITERATURE.
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LITERARY NOTES OF THE WEEK.
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^ . TT is rumoured in publishing and lit...
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"The assemblage of Italians, in Rome, fr...
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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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No. 490. Aug. 13, 1859.] The Leader. 941
No . 490 . Aug . 13 , 1859 . ] THE LEADER . 941
Literature.
LITERATURE .
Literary Notes Of The Week.
LITERARY NOTES OF THE WEEK .
^ . Tt Is Rumoured In Publishing And Lit...
^ . TT is rumoured in publishing and literary circles 1 that negotiations are on foot for the purchase of the Literary Gazette by the proprietors of the Critic . We shall be glad to have to congratulate the veteran of the literary press on falling into the arms , and uniting its aged existence with its young and vigorous cotemporary . The Crztic has steadily pursued its way , and has , under able and persevering management , advanced itself into a distinguished and authoritative position . Its varied intelligence , both literary and scientific , is more abundant than in any other British journal , and it has a staff of contributors who show they are well fitted for passing in review the entire literature of the age , as it issues from the ever-teeming press . ... his next
Had the lamented Bayle St . John lived , work would have been a biography of Rabelais , which , we believe , will be completed and edited by his younger brother , Mr" . Horace St . John . W " e hear that the labours of the author have been with a view to show that the world-famed humourist has been misrepresented to English readers by his translators , especially by the witty and learned Urquhart . Mr . Hotten , the bookseller , has recently published a " Dictionary of Slang , " and so rapidly has it gpne off that he is about to bring out a second edition . With respect to a statement that he had received offers of assistance from Lord Strangford , Mr , Mohckton Milnes , and others , he writes to the Critic : " I am reluctantly compelled to give a
1832 , about six weeks in advance of the Penny Magazine , was received with a degree of acceptation which astonished me and my friends . Assisted by my brother , I entered on the career . With his graphic and elegant papers , that publication became soon more successful than I had ever any reason to expect . It went on , and goes on now , with a degree of popularity which has astonished and surprised all who a . xe connected with it . Having gained the public ear in 1832 , it has not lost it in 1859 . " The adjudicators of the prizes for the best essays on the Causes of the Decline in the Society of
Friends have been prevented from arriving at an earlier decision by unforeseen hindrances , and by the large number and extent of the essays submitted to them , and by their exceeding desire to deal justly . It hasj after careful consideration , been determined that an essay , bearing a motto from the epistle of the York Quarterly Meeting of the year 1855 , should receive the first prize ; and one , bearing the motto verbum , vita , lux , the second prize . The author of the first essay is Mr . J . S . Rbuntree , of York ; of the second , Mr . Thomas Hancock , of Nottingham .
partial contradiction . I am , , preparing a second edition of my work , but I have not the honour of an acquaintance with the gentlemen you mention as interested in . the reissue , and I have certainly never received offers of assistance from them . " Speaking of the gift of the City of Paris to Lamartine , the Paris correspondent of the Star says : " Poor Lamartine seems to have far more difficulty in proving himself a pauper than a poet . The Conseil d'Etat is throwing many obstacles in thp way of the generous intention of the City of Paris , and it seems doubtful whether , after all , the author of ' Jocelyn ' will be enabled to shelter his head in the Petite Muette . Calculators and
combiners and putters of that and that together , who abound in vast numbers here , have discovered , however , that there is antagonism at the bottom of all this , and that the man who will not receive succour from the Emperor shall not receive it from any other quarter . The City of Paris and the Conseil d'Etat are always at daggers drawn—it is their natural state ; and so Lamartine must wander away again with stick and wallet to one of his own beggar ' s huts or shanties , the chateau of Saint Point for instance , where lie may hide from the storm until the City of Paris consents to buy MilJy orMonceau , the other beggar ' s bothie which he owns , back from his creditors . "
A letter from Paris say s :-r- " Guizot has just arrived from Val Richer in order to finish the third volume of his memoirs ; and it is so near the 24 th , the day fixed for the great Orleanist meeting , that it is not astonishing to learn that Thiers should have just come back to his hotel likewise , in order to finish his volume , too . " We may hero mention the appearance of a very carefully executed work by M . Leonco Anquez , professor of history at the Lycee St . Louis , and but just
issued by Durand of . P . uris—namely , "A History of the Political Assemblies of the Protestants of France , from the Peace of La Uoclielle in 1573 to their Suppression by the Treaty of Montpeiier in 1622 ; ' * including , of course , the long discussions relative to tho first and second edicts of Nantes , Professor Anquez has evidently devoted much time to his work—which , however , only occupies a moderate sized volume ; and it is executed in no controversial spirit , but with thorough historical impartiality .
In connexion with tho inauguration of tho OhainbQrg ' d Institution ut Peebles , a dinner took place on Tuesday night , in the now hull of tho Institute , at which Mr . William Chamberu presented the deed of gift to the Provost , Magistrates , and Town Council of the borough . In the speech of the evening he said : — " I never was , and never will pretend to say that I am , the originator of choap literature . All I prosumo to claim is , that about 1832 , there was an extraordinary aptitude for tho purchase and reading of cheap literature . Most of it was very poor , and not of a quality which ought to have been addressed to intelligent readers . I endeavoured to turn the tide of popular taste , and got for it that material for which there was a craving ; and in that attempt I was successful . Chamber a' a Journal , which was originated in tho month of IPebruary ,
"The Assemblage Of Italians, In Rome, Fr...
" The assemblage of Italians , in Rome , from all quarters of Italy , presented a scene at once interesting and instructive . It proved , in a practical and forcible manner , the success of the efforts which had been made for many years , by intelligent patriots , to propagate a spirit of unity . The Republicans generally , indeed universally , adopted the idea so early embraced by Garibaldi , during his first visit to Rome , that the Italians ought to feel like brethren of one family , members of the same nation , with Rome as their metropolis . Italians , therefore , eainein from all directions , and entered , it may be said ,
by all her gates ; yet compared with the native citizens of the capital , these formed but a small number , although the enemies of the Republic were guilty of a double falsehood , in their misrepresentation of the case : first , by pretending that the defenders of Rome were not her citizens , but overawed the inhabitants , and acted contrary to their will y and , second , by calling all other Italians ' foreigners . ' Under these false pretences the Pope called in foreign sovereigns to interfere , and restore him to power ; and under these false pretences it was that France , Austria * Naples , and Spain answered , and the deed was performed by the first named
power . . , " By a course of falsehood , hypocrisy , and selfcontradiction , France proceeded to accomplish what had been planned for the overthrow of a sister republic . This will be evident to one who reviews the successive steps in diplomatic negotiations , in military movements , and armistices , a series of acts of false faith , such as can hardly be paralleled in any other page of history of double its length . And , what is peculiarly painful for an American , the part which our own government performed in the disgraceful drama , the dark and bloody tragedy , was one which will for ever discredit us : for , while our Minister at Paris recognised the French Republic of 1848 , without delay , Mr . CasSj Jun ., our Charge in Rome , never recognised the Roman Reand visited the French
public at all , but often openly , head-quarters , during the siege of the city . It is true that , on the one hand , we are told that his instructions from Washington were , not to acknowledge the new Roman government , unless there should be a prospect of its continuance : but , on-the other * any man of sense must see that there was , at least , equal reason for sending similar instructions to our Minister in Paris , and for his delaying his recognition . We inay , indeed , say more than this : for , in the circumstances then existing , the simple act of recognising the Roman Republic by our government would probably haVe secured its permanency . Louis Napoleon ' s unprincipled course would then have drawn remonstrances from us ,. and he could hardly have proceeded through it with success . "
Mr . Dwight then proceeds to blame the American people as more guilty than their government . " Few , " he says , " even ofthe wisest and the best men iu the United States duly appreciated the cause of Italy . " We have to regret the same apathy of feeling among ourselves at the present crisis;—but events have a force which will ere long compel a kindling of finer emotions . The father of Garibaldi was a sailor ; his mother
was a model for women . He is indebted to her for her patriotic teaching . His infancy was passed in Nice , where few men , he anys , knew how to be Italians , and where the language was scarcely spoken . His elder brother , Angclo , wrote to him from America , advising him to study his native tongue , and ho began accordingly to read lloman and Italian history with much interest . Subsequently he embarked in the Costanza , under tho command of Angolo resantc , whose good oxhimnis
THE LLFE OF GEN BKAL GARIBALDI . Written by himself . With his Sketches of his Companions in Arms . Translated by his friend and admirer , Theodore Dwight . Embellished with a fine engraved portrait on steel . — Sampson Low , Soa and Co . The importance of this work is manifest from the title , and there are few indeed who will not be curious to ascertain the details of a life so honoured and so heroic . That such life should be sketched by his own pen is an advantage that cannot be too highly estimated , and indeed gives infinite value to the book . The manuscripts , from which the
autobiography was composed , were placed in the translator ' s hands in the year 1850 , but he was prohibited their use until lately , when the crisis seemed to demand their publication . In relation to Garibaldi's " sketches of his companions" there is a point of interest . They were-written in 1850 , while resident on Staten Island and employed at daily labour in the candle manufactory of- his countryman and friend , Sig . Meucci . They would have been more in number but for the fatigue consequent of his regular day ' s -work . The account of his wife , Anna Garibaldi , is especially interesting . She was a brave woman , valiant and fearless as her husband .
The translator refers to a former work of his , _ a brief history of the Roman Republic of 1849 , in which he had given an outline of Garibaldi ' s life ; but a more extended biography was properly demanded by the American public . Mr . Dwight has for years been on terms of intimacy -with , the Italian patriots , and familiar with passing events in Italy . He believes , too , that Providence has committed to the Italians , " in a prominent degree , the execution of some of his greatest designs , and the fulfilment of some of the most glorious prophecies and promises recorded in the Bible , especially in overturning Popery . " For his hero , also , he has profound veneration .
"if , " says he "there be any personage in history distinguished by extraordinary conduct and gallantry in the field , and , through a long military career , has clearly proved to have derived extraordinary courage , fortitude , magnanimity and generosity , from the pure influences of domestic life ; if there be on record a distinct and decided testimony of any military hero , declaring that ho has been stimulated to fight and conquer , to spare foes and forgive offences , to expose life , and to sacrifice ease and fortune , friends and country , in order to defend tho weak and oppressed , and whose life has shown that this , and not ambition , a spirit of adventure , or tho love of gold or of blood , has been his motive , in a greater degree than Gari-Imldl , when and where did such a man live , and what was his name ?" Respecting the events of 1849 , Mr . Dwight remarks that Garibaldi was then called to the active dofenoo of the Italian republic . " lie was called , in 1849 , to the active defence of the Italian Republic in the City of Home , and performed great and glorious deeds under tho walls of that city , which he- had contemplated in his . childhood with inexpressible feelings of voneration for the pnat , indignation at tho present , and ardent !
desire for the future , mingled with hope and sustained by prayer . The time at length arrived when he was called fro . n the obscure position which he held among tho mountains , with a band of ill-armed and Ill-paid men . patriots indeed , and some of them the remains of his veteran Italian Legion , whicli he had so long trained in South America , but all of them depressed , if not disheartened , by the loss of all in the North of Italy , and the relapse of a targe part Of Europe back to tho old system .
ample had much iiifluence on ; seconu voyage he made to Rome in a vessel ot his father ' s . Take Garibaldi ' s impressions of Homo : — " Roino . onco the capital of the world , now the capital of a sect ! The Rome which I had painted in my imagination no longer existed . The future , Borne , rising to regenerate the nation , has now 1 < wigbeen a dominant idea in my mind , ( ind inspired no witn hope and energy . Thoughts , springing from tho past , in short , have had a prevailing influence on Ke during my life . Homo , which I had before ftd-1 !? tlioui / ht of frequently , I over since have
ove . It ims been dear to me beyond ail things , x not only admired her for her former , power and the remain , of . annuity , bue oven the •»"""' " *» £ connected with her waB precious to mo . l ^ ven in exHe , tuoso feelings were constantly cherished m my hoar j and often , every often , have I prayed to the Almighty to permit mo to soo that city once more . I . rSdod Komo as the centre of Ttaly , for the union of which I ardently longed . " Wo now see tUe sentiment and the idea by which tho conduct of Garibaldi law been inspired ; and most instructive la the passage in wlnob . they are .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 13, 1859, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_13081859/page/17/
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