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' o^mm^ is, isss^ _ y/ifM£¦[*¦# / 9&?
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MUSEUMS EOR THE PEOPLE. A good museum is...
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THE EAQLE'S COAT AND AVAISTCOAT. Mr. San...
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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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! The Akfipk Jb^Rixtli Notion. Spjik^Eek...
an excusefor Her degradation , and to pander to the ^ tition of Russia because Busiaia is strong and iriBotent . In furtherance of thia policy every effort has beenmade to thrb \ v discredit on-tte . G 6-^ ernnient of th © POrte , to ridieMe the religion of the Turks , and to deride the nptiori offa Christian crusade on belialf of a nation of ihifidels . To maintahii ^ e / integriiy-of Turkey has been scouted as the dream of blind enthusiasts . The independence of Turkey is an idle theory , and the time is conieibr hurling ^ back the Mahometan invaders upon their desert fastnesses in Asia . ; Vienna seeks to bis avenged , for she still remember ^ the
day % heh the shout of the Moslem wa ? heard around lier walls , and Biissia seizes ujpon an opportunity for the completion of her ambitious schemes . The extinction of the Ottoman dominion has been regarded as an accomp lished fact . . Prophecy has beeix called ii to . the resette , aad we- are invited to the contemplatiori of a JSTeo ^ Grreek empire ^ erected' upon the ruin of a power whose fate was sealed at its birth . A party jaas been organised , letters havO been written , a journal established , and * ho exertion ; hits been scared in the promulgation of their' -views ' . , ¦
'Xt m | ^ - tniiie ' .. to- consider whether the Greeks are worthy of the lofty honour thus graciously accorded them by their advocates . It ; is worth while to niqiiire whether the prospects of a new Byzaritihe empire are so brilliant as to outwei g h the > strinjg <& ttfcconsiderations in favour of ^ he maintenance of ifokey . -It was in Pecember , l $ 33 , that the youthful son of tfce King of Bayaria was placed upon tEe tlirpne qjf & re $ ce . There is no question that the Greeki were indebft ^ d , for ^ their freedom to the necessities of a jpOlitical crij 9 ffe far more than to their own fitness for emancipation .
It was in yaiii to cOniiect the Greeks of 18 $ 3 with the Greeksi of the a ^ e of Periclei and Aspasiawith the men who sat at the feet of Socrates ; or , in days still later ,- were nerved by the eloquence of Demosfcheiies . It baffled , the strongest ^ fforts of imagination to recal in the subjects of King Othq the natural descendants of the poets , philosophers / and Historians , to whom the nations of Western Etirope are indebted for their earliest culture . ' TKd twenty years that have elapsed
since that last crisijs in their eventful history have failed to reiider them more worthy of our esteem . A Government supported bycorruption—a State enfeebled and insolvent—ra nation witti whom piracy is a trade and robbery a habit— -are the Component elements Of '; the kingdom of Greece . It is neediest to dwell on the familiar details of mai-administration which have marked tho Government of Otho . The difficulties which beset him were gigat itic , and he has sunk beneath their weight . He lias broken faitli with the Powers
who placed him on the throne , and with the people whom he was sent to govern . His finances are hopelessly disordered ; his rule despotic ; his subjects oppressed , and his court a nui * scry of backstairs intrigues . But this is not all . "the worthlessness and incapacity of a monarch may be redeemed by tho' character of a nation . It is possible that tb . e Greeks may still be mindful of the glories they have inherited— -may still bo worthy ' of political emancipation . , still able to
establish and maintain a new empire jn the East . Such hopes , however noble and enthusiastic , are utterly without foundation . You might as well Keck for grapes among thistles as for men of honour , integrity , and self-dependence among the \ degenerate and mongrel populations of Greece . I it you travel through the country ^ ii is almost at the peril of your life , and you witness or experience barbarities which are imagined to linger only mnongiUoflava ^ o tribes of Africa ., The quicjeness
« m versatility wMch , o , re tho birthright of a Qivrit navo been por verted to the lowest purposes . Cunning , fraud , and thieving arc tl \ e arts by which they hve . » Tlioir words are hot behoved , tlioir « oi \ our is held as cheap tts that iPunipa jldes which has passed into a proverb . ' The roguery ol tho merchants and traders'in the citvis excljiuiged for opou robbery in the country district . Jho Piracy practised in the lioVant is iindrfni-JUBhcd . Mvtry , nation in its ¦ tarn eufters from wio ( yroaira of the Archipelago : Daring , Uti-JJ ' rupuloiiH ,, and never ! resting " ' thq pursuit tif Hour lucrative occupation , they becomti tho rrtW-« era of enormous wealth , and are acftte ' ely lowered *•* 1 J » o opinion of tl « 3 ir coimtrymen because of tlio Cleans
by which it waa acquired' . ' . Such are the mM whOmi Mri St ! « Tohti ai ^ d \ % jr ^ ^ o nld Mh r ^^ d flfl tho Tjegonerators of Wi « East . A ' gjrtfad Iitttori < 5 ittifiriion 4 & given them
ib fulfili For a third time in the history " of the world they are to preside over the cOmnaencement of a new era , and to complete the civilization of the world . Europe is invited to assist in this glorious enterprise , and the opportunity is now afforded by the weakness of the ^ Turk . it is almost incrediple that such delusions -should pe fostered in the face of Such facts as we have already stated . It can only be acco ^^ ed for , on One supposition : the theory is puib forward by Russian gold , and forms a portion of an
elaborate scheme ibr throwing discredit on thel cha ^ i-acteif of the Turk ; It is easy tp say that the " preservation of the Turkish empire" is an absurdity —to talk of the corruption of the Turkish Government , the condition of its finances , and the polygamy and immorality of . the people ; On the very fowest grounds , the Greeks are not a vdiife better , but rather worse in every one of these resnects . and their , immorality has sunk
into a systematic and ^ toinat ^ irjal profligacy . We are no -blind devotees to- ' J * fhe ^ farli as it is in TJrquhart , " but we are reatfy to go the whole length witb . him in denouncing the visions of Mr . St . iTohn and his ^ ends ^ --liberal philanthropists ^ - as a piepe ^ of ^ Russian iritrigue , of which they are themselves , we doubt not , the most signal dupes . Nothing would please the Czar better for the while than to see vonstantinople in possession of a people quite as weak as are the Turks , and inspired with no deadly hatred towards the Muscovite . We must once more leave this
subject j but webope , before long , to enter , with more abundant details , into the question of the relative merits of the Greek and the Turk . Meanwhile , we feel sure that our readers will not suffer themselves to be deluded by the visions of enthusiastic schoolboys and flighty pedants , or the wild theories of purchased schemers .
' O^Mm^ Is, Isss^ _ Y/Ifm£¦[*¦# / 9&?
' o ^ mm ^ is , isss ^ _ y / ifM £ ¦[*¦ # / 9 &?
Museums Eor The People. A Good Museum Is...
MUSEUMS EOR THE PEOPLE . A good museum is reading made easy for the people . In the olden time , a picture poijated out theliostelrie , and the sign was quickly known by the common people . Jfut it is wrong , to say that the ignorance of letters alone caused the custom . I ^ S origin lay cleep in the nature of man , which always loves to come near the truth of things , and which sees , likeness more readily in the painted image than in tlie mental representation
by a set alphabet . To this day , those who can , fet pictures instead of lettered representations , 'he wealthy cover their walls with paintings , and buy books rich in engravings . When they lose a great man , they are not content with reading of [ him— -they put his portrait in their gallery , or his statue in their hall . The poor cannot do these things , nor even buy books . But pictures would , above all things , suit , their habits and inclinations . Pictures , or models , or specimens , tpach quickly through the eye . It requires no alphabet to make a boy know well the form of the mastodon Avhen once he has seen tho model of it . Show
him a picture of Curtius leaping into the gulf , and the story is graven on his thought for ever . Let him learn geology from well-laid Bpecimons of roek , and he bears it better in mind than if ho road through treatises for days . Tho , everyday habits of a man forced to toy , hardly for bread unlit him also for that freeh application , needful for th inastery of literary lore . But take him through , a museum , and the nntired oyo catches at the new pbjecj ; , and of itself does the fresh task . From idle observance the mind comes round
to . ' curiosity , and at work ho renacmberA the : varied objects ol the museum as a relief to his thoughts . The lecturers at tho Museum in Jermyn-streot noticed with surpriso caoh Monday qvoning , that their hearers wore mostly-working inen , and that working mow wore mably their visitors . I ^ u ^ they should not )> o surprised . A boy of the lower classes has boon used to observe frpm his very youth , " . Not with blinded eyesight poring over miserable books" have his days of vounar activity boon passed . He hnu boon out
in jcho tjtirongpd streets , Jopking on tlip faces Of ' men wiw the cunning eye of w vagabond living by hiswits , and inspecting HhopB . and goods with the distinctive glanco of a purchaser to wliwn tho buying of a cheap pennyworth ia a financial oporation of . a critical , , kiijid .,,,, ftwh a man , learne more in a museum' than the . nvero poholar . Ho lcatns ( juickly , t ' oi his life jiaa bpqn f ? pewt iri daily obaervation . It la a pity that anything should rebtric !; hifl OpporfcuiWes f reading the' odlytiookB who ^ tb Ww ^«| £ © lie c « ji easily ' tiri'dorstand . > , -
. ]?*? w » nt of popular museums springs not from individual apathy , but from the want of organization . Mr . Lawson is not , the only man willing to give private collections of instructive instruments and materials for the use of the people . There are , ahnost in every town of England , men who have spent zealous lives in amassing treasures of ancient interest and modern use . Some of these > men are old , and would gladly see their curiosities , in trusty hands . In more than one case the donations have been offered to Government , and refused for want of houseroom Our
local museums have the same excuse for no progress , but they have less excuse for t heir general wani of proper order . Liverpool and Manchester have museums , in extent and arrangement utterly unworthy of the greatness of the towns . In Birmingham the names of the donors of the articles are the best shown portion of the exhibition . ^ Newcastle is distinguished for its excellent local institution ^ Ipswich , York , and Belfast , have respectable museums , but deficient in arrangements for popular attraction . On the whole , there is not a single museum throughout the country to which we could point as a model of a good school for the people . Gardens to teach
botany , and glad the eye , are equally wanted . Good wages are now given to the worker ; he is above the want of physical comforts ; let us in time refine his thoughts and elevate his amusements . When God planted this world , he made it a museum full of beauty as of use . The man who has learned even instinctively to feel the loveliness of a landscape , will appreciate those curious beauties which likewise appeal to the eye from the cases and stands of a museum . Once win a popular liking for museums ,
and the people will come into them on vret evenings as naturally as they crowd the green lanes on a fine Sunda 3 v IJike those commons which adorn the face of England more than its widest parks—for they show the living respect for olden right of the poor , while the parks tell but of human pride—let the museums become , not the haunts of a few silent students , but the ready rendezvous of humble people . Let the homely wonder of the worker be awakened there , and
the joyous exclamations of children at each new marvel be an audible catalogue of its contents . And if it be at first a meeting-place for idlers , or a resting-place for women with children in their arms , let us be patient . It is good for them to be there ; and even if lovers' whispers are heard in the mediaeval court , the precincts will not be profaned . By natural degrees men advance from humanity to learning , and the man of feeling becomes the man of thought .
The Eaqle's Coat And Avaistcoat. Mr. San...
THE EAQLE'S COAT AND AVAISTCOAT . Mr . Sandpobd , the American charg 6 d ' afFairo in Paris , has won great praise in his own country , for the decision with which he has taken his place amongst the diplomatists in the capital of civilization , with no armour more complete than that of a plain black suit of clothes with a white waistcoat . Tho effect of this subversive costume upon the gorgeous appendages of the representatives of other states , appears to have been
alarming . Ahe cliar ^ e * of Venezuela , a small man apparently , with difficulty supported the golden embroidery that surcharged him ,- and the Swiss charge * drew comparisons between the gentleman en ¦ hoxt / rgeois 'representing the greatest Power in the world , and the gentleman in gold representing the insignificant government of Venezuela . Other ambassadors , however , were less agreeably touched . The'Due do G-iucho , who repmsentH the French Government at Turin , uttered some impertinences , and Vel y Pasha ., the Turkish Minister , a man held in high respect , appears to h } W , Q . ' boen equally displeased at tho innovation , and at the state of things which made that innovation a practical sarcasm ; for , he exclaimed , / Ah , what : is this ; you look like a crow'in this crowd of golden birds . " The Emperor , however , seized an occasion shortly afterwards to take Mr . Sandibrd by the hand , to send a friendly and
private message to a mutual acquaintance iti America , and , in short , to appreciate the inntitutionfl of the Itcpixblic ; by not ( jutting Mr . Sandford , although lie wovo a whito waistcoat and a black coat : upon "which , an American contemporary , the Cvncinnixttb Gazette , ' lauds Louis JNTapoleon an a man of the world , a true statesman , who iti acquainted with American institutions t > » mftn , therefore , understanding the motive which dictatod Mr . Maroy ' a order , —in ehort ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 15, 1853, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_15101853/page/13/
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