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380 The Leader and Saturday Analyst. {jA...
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On the present occasion it opens with a ...
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SOCIAL CONDITION OF ITALY.* O JN" the su...
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¦** Tho Migliahwoman in Italy. Imprcssio...
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KECENT PllENCH LITERATURE.. TVTOVEL^ or ...
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* TJAnnto 8v,font{/ltjne et Industrie li...
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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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380 The Leader And Saturday Analyst. {Ja...
380 The Leader and Saturday Analyst . { jAprix 21 , 1860
On The Present Occasion It Opens With A ...
On the present occasion it opens with a triumphing- article , which it entitles the " Commercial Relations of England and France , '' but which is really a panegyric on the Late Treaty . In its unrestrained admiration of this proceeding- it broaches , some extreme doctrines on the advantages o £ competition , which certainly show the article was not penned by an exporting * manufacturer . The writer does not acton the principle of the Lacedaemonian , who , on being- urged to advoeate a democracy , said , " Begin it in your own fctniily . " There is little really new used in the arguments for free trade , which have become platitudes ; so uriiversallv are they -acknowledged .
The article on Milton is an admirable resume of the late biographies of the great poet , and brings prominently before the inind the . extraordinary intellectuality of Milton .. From his early youth to liis last breath he lived intellectually ¦ . The article on Education is a short and not very liberal article on the subject . " English Local Nomenclature " is an interesting 1 but not very profound article , by a deceased Ethnologist . . The dissertation on " The Duke of Wellington ' s Correspondence as Sir Arthur Wellesley , and Secretary for Ireland , " ¦ reveals a state of public and governmental profligacy so outrageous that nothing' but such evidence would make it believed . .
De Broglie ' s " Church and Roman Empire" is treated fairly , and , if not kindly , at considerable length . The article on the " Alleged Shakspeare Forgeries" is a clear and impartial resume and examination of all that has jet appeared on the subject ; and it rebukes the pert audacity with which a venerable and , we believe , most conscientious commentator of Sliakspeare has been attacked hy a numerous band of unscrupulous critics , evidently urged on by a desire for notoriety , and the gratification of that virulent species of envy which seems peculiar to Shakspearian commentators . We happento know the whole history of this Shakspearian : t » eHc ? e ^ a , which , has been descending from editor to editor ever since one of them
( very unjustly , as we believe ) was accused of piirloining manuscripts from a college in Cambridge . This led to the accusation of another . eminent litterateur of embezzling money intrusted to him ; and it has now blossomed into a charge of wholesale forgery against one of the most honest and respectable of the class . Such virulence surpasses that of the lowest portions of society , and even the spite of the ladies of Billingsgate itself does not extend to such extremities . An article on Darwin ' s great work on " The Origin of Spe-• cies , " and one upon the " Annexation of Savoy , " close this interesting , though : not remarkably able / number of the JEdinburc / h Review .
Social Condition Of Italy.* O Jn" The Su...
SOCIAL CONDITION OF ITALY . * O JN" the subject of . Italy , there is an intense desire in the public to know all , and on the part of travellers and writers to impart all that can be known . The external and political aspects have been frequently described with accuracy and interest ; but these give the outside view and indeed mere outline , of the pictxu-e . What , after all , is the inner life of the people ? What bearing have the political aspects on the individual , on the family , on the moral and intellectual development of the household P How far , too ,. are' they the outgrowth of the inner life , and the index to its secrets P What is ihe action and reaction of each ? What is the manner in which they mutually operate P Such questions are of vital importance , and press for answer . Not long ago Mrs . Sharman Crawford contributed much satisfactory information on some of these points , a . nd now we have before us a work of Mrs , G , Gretton , the utility of which is not easily estimated : for ourselves , we value it at a high rate .
Mrs . Qretton has had singular opportunities for arriving at a knowledge of Italian domesticities . Her uncle , an English merchant at A neon a , invited her thither ; and thus introduced , our authoress was enabled tp mingle with the society of the place . Her experiences , accordingly , are mostly , of Ancona , and her book is mainly occupied with portraits that have consequently a local colouring 1 ; nevertheless , they are bo sharply drawn and carefully as well as correctly taken , that they most effectively symbolize the whole as about the best representative portions that ' may be obtained . Ancona is the principal seaport of the Roman States on the Adriatic , and the first impression made on the writer was extremely favourable . On her way thither , she met with less agreeable
impressions . The decaying ; city of Fbrli > for instance , filled her with apprehension ; > There the grass-grown streets , the ruined palaces , and ragged , idle population , give a more striking testimony to the workings of the dominant system than the most heart-stirring eloquence could achieve . The proprietor of one of the few wretched shops the town contains confided to her , seeing she was English , some confidential lamentations , He spoke of the injustice and venality of all the Government officials ; saying they were all alike , from the lowest iwjpiegato to the high personnge who rules the Pope as well as his subjects . He meant Cardinal Antonelli;—adding , " All is fulling to pieces , Sig-nora ; but who con wonder at it P We are governed hy men who hava no children . "
The italics are not ours , but the author ' s , and at oncp explain the spirit of her work . As to Austrian oppression , this she foatly illustrates by a dramatic scene in her hotel , at dinner . One extremity of the table , was occupied by white-coated Austrian infantry officers , belonging ; to the nrwy of occupation . These rhon abused the waiters in execrable Italian ,. beginning with ' Vbi jpestia . ( Vita , * liano ; " until the entrance of a respectable Italian party , two ladies and a gentleman , at whom they soon began tp talk in an insolent
manner , asking the waiter if he could tell in what light all Austrians regarded the Italians ? " The man's sallow cheek , "¦ continues the ¦ narrative , " grew a shade paler , but he made no . ¦ reply , as he busied himself in . changing their . ' plates and knives , making- as much clatter as possible—so it seemed to me- —to drown the voice of . his interrogator . ' Do you not know , x > ^ ' ?'• . reiterated the officer , steuhp-Fngas he spoke ; ' then I . will tell you : we all of us look upon you Italians as the dust under our feet- ^ as the little creeping beasts we crush every moment of our lives , at every step we take—ha ! ha ! ha ! ' And then they all roared in chorus , and swore , and twirled their moustaches , and called for coffee and cigars . " . .
Not more surely did the . fall of the apple indicate the law of gravitation , than suchinstances as these the general condition of a people . But we must confine ourselves to the particular manifestations in Ancona , where we can trace them in an interior form . Here they are , indeed , instructive . We see at once the system in the details ; how it penetrates the strata of tlie social kosmos , _ and vitiates private manners as much as it corrupts public administration . One powerful arm of the system is ignorance . It pervades all ranks . Talking of the terrors of death , an Italian lady was reminded of the end of the world , and tlie opinions of some that we are not far from it ; whereupon she exclaimed , " Do not talk so — you make me miserable ! Uesides , " she said , recovering herself a little , "I have been told that in the Bible it is ¦ expressly said that for seven years before that dreadful day no . children are to be born ; and that gives ine comfort ; for at every fresh birth I hear of , I say to myself- —well , the seven years at least have not begun yet . "
Tlie same imperfect information prevails on every subject . The pressure Of the system is most felt in relation to the intercourse of the sexes , both before and after marriage . A marriage of the affections is dreaded , and everything done to prevent such . Girls are sent to the convents for education , and are not released from their restraints until their bridegrooms have been chosen by their parents or guardians . These , without previous knowledge , are at once accepted , so eager are the young ladie ' s to quit , their cage and win their freedom . The latter , after marriage ^ they use licentiously . Thus it is that the ecclesiastical system , founded on Obedience , not on Love , produces as many domestic and ; social evils as it does political and governmental ones . Mrs . Gretton discloses thisj "the great social evil " of Italy , with a fullness equal to its importance .
¦ Rightly , in regard to it , the . judicious authoress remarks , that •"' many of the failings of the Italians may be ascribed to . their erroneous ' " system of marriage , their defective education , and other domestic evils , " but that " these evils arc so deeply rooted , it . will require a complete upheaving of the existing framework of society to destroy their baneful influence . " That upheaving has commenced , and . will go on—nor can it cease , until it . overthrows the entire clerical system , which has been truly pronounced incompatible with the customs and civilization of the present day . In the
language of the document'just quoted , " no responsibility in those who govern , no publicity in the administration , no safeguard'before the ' tribunals , canon law above the civil code—these are the inevitable consequences of a government at the head of which g lands a prince , who , bound by religious ties , and declaring 'himself . infallible , is free from all control . " We agree that any attemp t , at modifying the system must be fruitless ; yet this probably will be inado . Ho \ yevcr , ' it is a question only of time , and the galvanized corpse will onlv show its mock action for a brief period .
A portion of this work is devoted to the subject of Sardinia . Mrs . Gretton ' s pictureof Tnrinissuggestive . Some of the old leaven remains there yet , andCavonr is not in favour with the aristocrats , who have failed to reconcile themselves tothechahgelrom an absolute monarchy , under which they monopolised every channel to power and distinction , to ii representative form of government , where absence of title is no barrier to advancement . Mrs . Gretton describes a -saloon iu which the guests were chieUy aristocratic , and illustrates Well enough the prejudices by which they still continue to be animated , notwithstanding the grnnd events which are passing and sweeping 1 away the vestiges of old institutions that had boon so fatally perverted from their original purpose . The perusal of this book is well calculated to confirm the hopes that good men ontortain fortho Italian future ; and adduces besides solid reason for confidence in the integrity of Victor Emmanuel , who has already so faithfully fulfilled the trust bequeathed to him by his lathor .
¦** Tho Migliahwoman In Italy. Imprcssio...
¦** Tho Migliahwoman in Italy . ImprcssioiiB of Life in the Roman States and Sardinin , during a Ton Yvare' ltealdonoo . J 3 y Mro . G . GRijU"roN . Two vola , Hunt and BlaokoU .
Kecent Pllench Literature.. Tvtovel^ Or ...
KECENT PllENCH LITERATURE .. TVTOVEL ^ or scientific works , poetry or irrational quantities , JLY treatises 01 oducation or vaudevilles on the tuno , " II I ' aut des dpoux nssortis , " which do you prefer P We have goods of all kinds at the grout emporium of the Rug Piorro Siirnziu , and at the [ London Agency , No . 18 , King William Street , Blrund . " Kst-ce a votro cuisinier , monsiour , ou i \ votre coehor quo voiis voule / , parlor , oar jo suia Tun ot I ' autro . " Thus , spoko Miiitre Jaoquks . M . Hac ' hkttk , too , is I ' un et I'autre , or rather Van ot los autves , for . there is not a single branch in literature which ho does not tal < o under his protecting 1 wing 1 , every where solofting 1 the best , and working out in the happiest manner some now and usoful idea , The serial now well known under the namo of " Z'Annfo Sotonti / ique et JndHstriollo , " is one of those light conceptions which have soon established thoir claims to popularity , and got at once mto well-deserved colebrity . The volume for 1850 , * boing tho fourth ot tlie collection , is quite as good iia tho pfcoecling ones , and thoautlior ,
* Tjannto 8v,Font{/Ltjne Et Industrie Li...
* TJAnnto 8 v , font {/ ltjne et Industrie lie . Pi \ r Louis Fiauinn . 4 o ( Winoc . 12 o , Uuohott .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 21, 1860, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_21041860/page/16/
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