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Sbptisimcber 16, 1854.] TH E LEADE R. S8...
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A BATCH OF BOOKS.* The literary dearth c...
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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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Toby Journalism. The Coalition Guide ; I...
rary instrument , effective only with select audiences of the sympathising and intelligent , and , hence , its disappearance from the English press , which generally addresses the nation and not parties , and - which , therefore , disdains the personality -which is the essence of squib . Our contemporary , furthermore , lias laboured in this undertaking to revive an old newspaper feature , under this special disadvantage , —that he was remarkably on the wrong side . Your wit cannot get on if his victim is not really ridiculous : and in this instance the laugh happened to bealtogether against the Tories . The Coalition , a collection of the most capable men in Parliament , succeeded the Ministry-which was chivalrous and led by the essentially mean Lord Derby , which was Protestant and -was guided by the essentially Jew , Mr . Disraeli , which was to carry on business and was composed of militia-minded Mr . Walpole , sessionsy Sir ^ John Pakington , oxminded Mr . Christopher , and poetical Lord John Manners—and which ,
finally , ignomiruously broke down in sight of a passive but exhilarated public . These "were the men who , in opposition , resolved to take the absurd point of view , and to laugh the Coalition out of office ! Tins was comic , but it was a presumption not favourable to the intellectual efforts of the falselyplaced Press * The world bailed the paper with pleasure : Tory journalism is traditionally idiotic and cleverness was a pleasan-t change : and the world , being quite easy as to the Coalition standing , could afford to be amused at the jocose efforts of the young Tories . The failure was , however , seriously severe : and this little book will not alleviate it . The Press might have done good national as well as good party work , if it had sought something more than the gratification of the helpless malignity of a clique , And had re-created the Tory party by proffering-on its befcalf an intelligible policy * . That positive work does not seem to have been attempted : and the negative work of damaging the Coalition indicates merely the waste of so much intellect .
• The Press hsis not put down the Coalition . Lord Aberdeen is probably the only man who paid angry attention to the Press ' s caricatures of him : ^—the Ministry , as a whole , remains one of the most powerful which , has ever ruled in England : —and Lord Derby and Mr . Disraeli ^—men who have had their chance , and have failed—continue to be admired , —and despised . The country cannot afford to give a practical triumph to the personalities of the Coalition Guide , —for similar reasons , cannot afford mere smart men such as Mr . Disraeli- The Tories will have their day again—wiien the people are ready for a new encroachment : but In . the meanwhile a Tory party cannot be kept together by extracts from Coningsb y , compliments to Lord Stanley , and caricatures of Lord Aberdeen .
We have classed the Retrospect of the Session of 1854 with the Guide for only one reason- ^ -it is an attack on the Coalition . It "might also be read by w-ay of reaction after the sparkle of the Guide—it is sufficiently lugubrious to prove that the age of squibs is over . It seems a speech , which circumstances prevented the possible orator delivering—probably , let us hope , out of consideration for his contingent audience—because he could not remember it . We hasten to forget it .
Sbptisimcber 16, 1854.] Th E Leade R. S8...
Sbptisimcber 16 , 1854 . ] TH E LEADE R . S 8 S
A Batch Of Books.* The Literary Dearth C...
A BATCH OF BOOKS . * The literary dearth continues . Out of fifteen books on our list , four only possess the claims and charms of novelty . Is genius dead , or is it true that until we have inflicted deserved chastisement on the madman who has called Europe to arms , our authors are doomed to silence ? And yet we have no reason to complain . If the public is not in a mood to listen , it is of no use for wisdom to cry unheeded in the streets , and if writers arc making good use of their leisure , what thoughts will have been ripened ! what a golden harvest will have been prepared to welcome the coming ; peace ! First , then , let us glance at the republications . Messrs . Parker and Son add the works of Sir Thomas Wyatt to the annotated edition of the English Poets . We have frequently taken occasion to call public attention to this valuable series of cheap literature . ! Nine volumes have already appeared—i three volumes of Dryden , one of Surrey , three of Coioper , this one of Sir Thomas Wyatt , and Songs from the Dramatists . It is not alone that wo can
buy a volume containing , sometimes in full , sometimes in part , the works of an English Poet , but that the hopes and promises which Messrs Parker hold out have been fulfilled by the useful and scrupulous labour of the editor , Mr . Robert Bell . The text has been carefully collated , and , whatever exceptions may be taken to some of Mr . Bell ' s criticisms , it will be acknowledged that the general result is alike creditable to the editor , and satisfactory to the reader . Wo would have Mr . Bell exert himself to the utmost . His -will be a rich reward if he produces an edition of the English Poets , which can be purchased by artisans , and command respect Irom scholars . The task is by no means an easy one , and it is no small praise to say that it has hitherto been accomplished with competence and zeal . We must defer a more lengthened and minute oriticisnx of our early English Poets until the series includes a larger number , We cannot , however , dis . miss Sir Thomas Wyatt , without oyering one specimen of his poetry . u THIS kOVEU PRA . YKXII NOT TO HE DISDAIN"Kl > , HICtfUSJM ) , MIBTttLISTED , NOR ITOR 8 AKKN . " Disdain mo not without desert , Nor louvo mo not et > suddenly ; Since well yo wot thut in my licarfc I moan yo not but honestly . Beluso mo not ¦ without cause why , For think mo not to bo unjust ; Since that by lot of fantasy , This careful knot needs knit I must . Mistrust mo not , though homo there bo Thnt fuin would spot my steadfastness : Beliovo them not , ainco thut yo sco ____^_^ r ^' P ° f ' ° t they oxnrtiHH . r * ^ ' ^ J- 'ifc of Admirul Vtaoount Mcmouth . By Edward Oslor , Kan . Uoutlcdgo . —Fern L , eavea J ) 'om tanny ' ti JPortfMio . ( Socoiul Serins . ) Oxv nnd Co ., Sampson , Low , and Son . —lite Convent andtin Mama . Hcteon . —JPoetlc « l Works qf Sir Tltomaa Wyntt . Parker . —itorke a WorJi * . With Lift-, by l ' rior . IJohn . —Lamb ' s Untfliah Uramatia * octa . Bonn . —Cowjpor a Works . Lditcd by Southoy . Bohn . —X & wphm ' a Annbada and Memorabilia . iKwi i . ij » ' ., y . *• B ° l » n . —tf « wi < incfl oj tl / t ( J City , or Legends ofLondon . l ) y fcmtna WhHohewJ . Published nt 18 , N < mn » nn-Btrcct ^ -7 Y « Utemy of JHWaal Literature , vol . 4 . I ' reemnti . —Alico , or the Mi / etcries . By Kir Edward Nulwcr Lytton . Routledgo . —iiu / fcr ' a 1 ' oetnaf Works . Edinburgh . J . Nicoll .
Forsake me not , till I deserve ; Nor hate me not , till I offend 5 Destroy me not , till that 1 swerve : But since ye know what I intend , Disdain me not , that am your own ; Eefuse me not , that am so true ; mistrust me not , till alt be known ; Forsake me not now for no new . " Burke '' s Works , with a Life hy Prior , Lamb ' s English Dramatic Poets , and another volume of Cowper ' s Works are contributed by Bohn—together with two translations , one of Xenophon ' s Analasis and Memorabilia , the other of Philo Judceus . . What a text do these facts furnish for comment ? Up to this time the works of Edmund Burke have been inaccessible to the general ollected
public . C in nearly a score of volumes they have adorned the shelves of the wealthy , but have only been within reach of tbe poor through the medium of public libraries . The artisan can now possess them . How much is implied in that single word ! A borrowed book has nothing to do with yourself ; certainly you can read its pages , exhaust its wisdom , or enjoy its wit , and still it forms no part of your inner life . But once plant it on your book-shelf , let it nestle snugly among its fellows , who have long been your dearest friends , and you can love with the love you lavish on the mistress of your heart . For ever it is there to greet you . You may be worn with toil , almost driven to despair by the fierce battle of life , you may be sick at heart , a prey to all the passions that make wreck of human happiness—you may feel as though the world had left you friendless and alone—and yet ypur books are present with a kind familiar welcome . They are your own . In speechless silence they salute you . Theirs is a friendship which time can neither alter nor destroy . Unchanged and unchangeable they teach sublime lessons of wisdom and patience . Therefore it is that poverty , craving after knowledge , should thank the publishers who supply cheap literature
that is not also " hasty . " We . dp not pretend to have examined the translations of Xenophon and Philo Judus minutelyj and we honestly confess that we are very fastidious in respect to translation , but we are truly glad to welcome our good old friend the Anabasis in an English form . ; .. Though , it was written some two thousand years ago , it still maintains its position as one of the most charming tales of travel that ever was written . It is as interesting as a novel , and . is still an unpretending truthful narrative . The present -. edition contains a geographical commentary by Mr . W . F- Ainsworth , which considerably enhances its value , tia addition to the Anabasis , we are glad to see a translation of the Memorabilia . There are few persons but know something of the wise old Athenian , of whom it was said that men stopped their , ears and ran away lest they should grow old in listening to his talk . But the true picture of Socrates can only be found in the writings of his two pupils , Plato and Xenophon , of whom , one describes the philosopher and the other pourtrays the mp . If any of our readers , who are hot also classical scholars , wish to know who and what Socrates was , we strongly recommend them to buy the translation of-the Memorabilia .
A second volume of Butler ' s works , published by Messrs , Nicholl , of Edinburgh , Sir E . Bulw . er Lytton ' s Alice , and Osier ' s Life of Lord Exmoutft , complete our list of republications . We pass on , therefore , to the four new books . The Romance of the City is the title of a volume of poems by Emma Whitehead . Miss Whitehead tells us , in a short preface , " This book i 3 written to retrieve my position , and to re-establish myself in my profession . " We have lately more than once insisted on the absurdity of people publishing rhymes when they cart lay no claim to the poetic faculty , and , as critics , we are bound to say that Miss Whitehead ' s poems are nearly the worst attempts that we ever read . Had she no kind friend in the world to give her warning in time ? or is it possible that the poems have been praised in private circles ? It is not worth while to give reasons for our censure , ' The rhymes arc simply bad , and have not the remotest claim to "be called poetry . The Convent and the Manse is an American story , and is intended as an attack on the Roman Catholic religion .
A second series of Fern-leaves from Fanny ' s Portfolio is by the sister of N " . P . Willis . It is sufficiently clever , but disfigured t > y what we are obliged to call vulgarity . It contains , however , some amusing and life-like sketches . Wo quote some extracts , and our readers may judge for themselves . Here is
AJT © U > MAID ' S PECtSION . " 1 can bear misfortune and povorty . and all tho other ilia of life , but to bo an old maidto droop and . wither , and wilt and , die , like a tmjRlo pink— I can't endure it \ and . what ' s more , I won't I " Now there ' s an appeal that ought to touch some bachelor ' s hoart . Thoro aho is , a poor , lono spinster , in a nicely furnished room—sofa big enough for tioo ; two arm-chairs , two bureaus , two looking-glasses—everything hunting in couples except lioraelf ! I don't wonder she ' s frantic \ She rca < l in her childhood that " matches were made in Heaven , " and although she ' s well aware that there are some Lucifer matches , yob she has never had a chance to try either sort . She has "heard thut there " ncvox was a soul croatod , but its twin w & a made aomowhere , " bIio ' b a melancholy proof that't is a mocking Ho . She gets tirod of sowing--ahe can't knit for over on that eternal stocking —( besides , that has ajwiow to it , and is only an aggravation to her feelings ) . She has road till her qyea are half blindtnovo 10 it lines tne book the
a nouoay agree wan nor eno , or nrguo point with nor it she don't . If al \ o goes out to walk , evory woman aho meets has her husband ' s arm . To bo auro , they are half of 'em ready to soratoh enoh other ' s oyca out ; but that ' s a little business matter between themselves . Suppose oho foela dovotional , and goes to evening lectures ?— - some rufiianly ooward is sure to scare her to doatli on the way . If she tokos a journoy , alic gota hustkd . and boxed round among cab-drivers , and porters , and bnggngo-maatoru ; hor bandbox gots knocked in , her trunk gets knocked ofl ' , nnd aho a lundod at tho wrung stopping-place . If she wants n load of wood , she has to pay twico aa much as a iimn would , and then aho gcta cheated by tho man that suws and aiilits it . 6 ho lias to put Iior own money into the bank and got it out , hiro her own paw , and wait upon horoolf into II . 1 ' ooplo tell her " liuisbanda are often grout pltigucH , " but aho knows thoro two tinio-i wlion they aro indispeiiflablo . Sho i » very good looking , bla « k hair and oyo . i , lino nguro , singa « n » l , plftya beautifull y ; but eho " can ' t bo an old maid , uud what ' s moro—bum won '*' . " Tho n « xt extract is on
" uissr TiiiNoa . 41 1 iiavic n horror of ' boat' tilings , come th « y in tho ohnpo of bIioo . i , giirmontH , bonnots . or rooniH . IiibucIi « lianic «« my eoul jmuro ruatWjy «» t , .-irtliing ' if I l > o J . I'm puziled to find myself . 1 become stilFand Ibnnal , nn « l « rti < lci » l «» J » y surrouiKiingH . " But of nil tho bo * t things , » i « iro mo tho Infliction of a ' bent room . ' Out upon n carpet too ilno to tread upon , hooka too < lainty to humlh ' , » o <«« that but mock your weary Umbs , and curtnins that dare aiot face a vay of mnill ^ lil I "Had I a house , thoro should lie no ' Ik-hI room'in it . No upholstoror should oxorcmo comfort or children from my Uoor- » ill . Tho <»« o , fresh uir sUould bo wolcomo to ph \ y througl
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 16, 1854, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_16091854/page/19/
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