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Wo 474. Apeil 23, 1859.1 T H E X E A D E...
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GERMANY. April 20, 1859. Twv foHowftft- ...
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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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Wo 474. Apeil 23, 1859.1 T H E X E A D E...
Wo 474 . Apeil 23 , 1859 . 1 T H E X E A D E R . 533
Germany. April 20, 1859. Twv Fohowftft- ...
GERMANY . April 20 , 1859 . Twv foHowftft- rhyme , which appeared in a French SdevHle just before the revolution of 1830 , describes exactly our present state : — J . e ne sais comment on l ' appelle L ' etat pi-escut ; estmi chaos ; Nous avons l'hiver sans qu u gele , I 5 'latranouillite 8 anS rcpos . C ' n ' astpas la paix , c ' n ' est lag ^ ierrc , C ' n ' est pas du froid , c ' n ' est pas du chaud , C ' n ' est pas rkhesse , c ' n ' est pas imsure : Je ne peuxpas trouver le niot . As I cannot pretend to be in the secrets of Cabinets , or rather those Cabinets upon whose wisdom the peace of Srooe depends-viz . those of France and Sardinia the others beinff in reality of no consequence at all in this matter-I must draw upon public opinion and rumour for the subject matter of my letters ;; and I think I may assert that , if your readers learn little from me , they never have anything to unlearn . To read some correspondence in ' English newspapers , one would imagine that the writers were the confidants oi Kings and Ministers or had other sources of information open to them quite unattainable by other students of public events j and , indeed , if facts were found as easily as ideas , the ibi" -nals would be teeming with historical knowledge . But alas ! how much have their readers perused , and how' much are they forced to forget ! It is wonderful
it signify whether the . war be deferred now—it must come , either with or without revolution—but come it must . We have been waiting for it these ten years past . Your readers must not regard these views as mine individually j they are the . views of the people around ine , not uttered aloud , but nevertheless confirmed . The doings of the Federal Diet at Frankfort are enveloped in-mystery , except in matters of trifling importance . It is expected that the Prussian Government will call upon the Parliament for a credit of 50 , ' . vOQ , 000 of thalers . after the Easter recess , if war appears as immiobserved
nent as at this moment . As I have already , -au questions referring to national progress are entirely overwhelmed by discussions upon peace or war . The Bavarian crisis * is past , the obnoxious minister having been dismissed . The King and his Parliament are however thereby on no better terms , but rather worse : Ihe Hamburgians are pausing in their contest between the Senate and the Oberatten . Nobody beyond the walls of Hamburg pays the least regard to it , deserving as it ls ^ of attention as a political studv . There has been more wismaintenance of
dom displayed in the government and these old Hanse towns than politicians dream of . I hat wonderful combination called the Hausa , is still in . want of an historian . The Congress of Political Economists , whose transactions I reported last autumn , has apparently foundered for want of sympathy amongst the people . To the liberal , who has had opportunities of observing the self-sacrifices made by some noble and truly patriotic men in the endeavour to raise their country and enlighten the people upon their true interests , this apathy and absence of all public spirit on the part of the great mass of the German people is -very disheartening .
to observe how these rumours of war have banished every other subject of apolitical nature from the public mind . We began- the year with an economical Congress , a liberal Prince Regent of Prussia , and a liberal Parliament in a nation of ¦ p hilosophers , according to Sir E . Lytton . Before three months had elapsed we had hoped to see Germany peaceably and gloriously , revolutionised . The columns of the newspapers were teeming with ideas , all of which have vanished ~ as though they had never been , nor do tire people seem much the worse for it . People are beginning to cry for less paper and more facts . Our public teachers at present fairly bewilder us , and we know not whither our rulers are going or whither they are leading us . Prussian Parliament
I have nothing to report of the , which , ever since it settled down to business , has been dozing over the marriage laws . The nation , however , is perfectly satisfied , for the Parliament is a liberal one , and the Prince is also very liberal . The only liberal act that I have heard of is the restoration of civil authority to the town of Minden . Since 1849 the police authority has been in the hands of special officials —a sort of spy police , who held supreme command ill the town ; at least it appeared so to me when I was detained there one night under pretence of my passport ' s not being in order , although I had been permitted to enter and remain some time in the Prussian territory with it . Being there caught like a rat in a trap , I was not in the most pleasant humour , and told the Commissioner what the of his master
I thought of his insolence and tyranny . This led to my being taken charge of by six soldiers by command of tlic commissioner or chief spy . I discovered this man was accountable to one in the town for his conduct , and that he was tree to stop and incarcerate any one with whose appearance or papers he was riot satisfied . By the restoration of the civil authority this tyrannical police system is at an end . The people of Minden will , no doubt , be grateful tor this liberality . It . is reported that the Archduke Albrccht of Austria * who has been staying at Berlin some time past , has prevailed uppn the Prince of Prussia to station , in conjunction with Austria , 280 , 000 men upon the Rhine . This report is , I believe , spread by Austrian agents , who are very busy just now in all parts of Germany . They are to bo met with in coffeehouses in favour of Austria
hotels and - arguing , and stirring up . the hatred of the people against the French . Berlin has been filled with petty Princes during the past three weeks . It would seem they had receiS'ed special invitations to meot there the Archduke . Austria is striving tP impress the world with the idea thnt she has the whole Germanic confederation at her back , ready and willing to aid her in maintaining her clutcli upon Italy . But ,, whatever may be views of the Princes , I . think I may say that within tho last three weeks there has been a groat revulsion in the sentiments of the mass of the people . At the commencement of the quarrel the injudicious letters published in Franco , more particularly the pamphlet by M . le Guerroniere , excited the national vanity of the Germans beyond nil bounds . Louis Napoleon has certainly mQst indiscreet friends . Had it not been for these letters and pnmpluts , I am not suro but . that ho might have had the sympathies of nil Germany with him in this Italian question . The" Protestants of Germany are , however , now cooling down , and boffin to nurceivo that the coming struggle
is not ono of rucc— -not the Gorman ngainst the Italianbut a war 'of principles ; it is Protestant Franco and Itnly . and against Papal Austria ; it is civil and religious liberty against despotism und spiritual blindness . It ia the gonerul opinion now that tho German Confederation will hold last to tho principle laid down in tho 40 th Article of tho nilclitionnl Federal Act of 1820 , according to which tho FodonUjon do not pledge thomsolvca to aid any state in support oi' its forolgn possessions , and will therefore leavo Austria to light her battle with Sardinia alone . Tho proposal to disarm before tho mooting of the Congress is rogardod an a more feint . What ana wo to understand by tho tonti -disarming' 1 Do those kings and princes think wo nro so cigTOgiously h \ Uul and foolish ns not to know that ; they have been arming ; for these ton years past , and that , too , not so much against a possible foreign foe as against their ' own subjects 1 Do we not know that those armamants become more and move needful to thorn , ns year uftor year rolls on , and brings kouis -Napoleon jaeaj / ctr . to £ he grave or deposition , what does
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" Fre-Eaphaelitism , " a degree of effective truth , and yet minute finish has been attained by Mr . Warren , which " the brethren" often try for in vain , and which no oil painter but Mr . J . P . Pettitt has yet come near to . We have seen chequered light in pictures a hundred times , but we never before saw the play of it . Here there is not only , it seem to us , the light upon stone and leaf , but the gleam round about them . The luminous little peep in the background , where the sheep lay , is wonderful . Each tree is of course a portrait ; each patch of lichen , too , the observer feels was painted on the spot ; and , as if to show liis hardy adherence to local truth , the painter has given us
even a desolate bare stem , that shoots np straight and leafless as a ruler , parallel to the frame on the proper right of the picture . This work will repay two or three visits , and especially a twilight one . The Dream of Fair-Women" ( 212 ) , hj Mr . E . H . Corbould , has found as many adverse judges as the woodland scenes of Mr . Warren have admirers ; and here , too , we are certainly with the public . The long passage from Tennyson is no excuse for , and little explanation of , this waste of vast technical power upon a purposeless parcel of studies , some of them remodelled from old productions by the same hand . In " Bold and Bashful" ( 240 ) , Mr . Corbould has given the head of the mounted knight an
impossible twist ; but the horse is full of power and spirit , and the wavy golden tresses , and the indicated , rather than outlined , face of the bashful maid are sweetly conceived and coloured . Of Mr . T . t . RowbothanVs eighteen works there is not one ^ that will not find admirers , and , we may venture to say , eager purchasers . They are of an essentially popular style , and , to a great extent , variations of the same song-. Nearly all have . blue sky , blue water , and chalk houses . So many of this pattern are charming that to number them here were impossible . Their sweetness is cloying , and one turns with pleasure to the ¦ At
artist ' s accurate and firmly-drawn beach scene , " Bonchurch " ( 225 ) , a wonderful bit of shore " stuff ;" the most legitimate of all " The East Cliff , Hastings " ( 268 ) , and the - " Killiri , Perthshire" ( 201 ) . The most successful figure piece here is Mr . Tidey ' s " Feast of Roses" ( 171 ) , which evinces high class talent in . drawing , and conveys the calm , subdued effect of evening very effectively . When we have drawn the reader ' s notice to "An Oxfordshire ViLlage " ( 178 ) , by James Fahey , a large and admirable English landscape , with an excellent group of peasant children , we must for the .. present- conclude our remarks on this delightful collection . SOCIETr OF PAINTEKS IN WATER COLOURS , FAL . LM . VLL EAST . The treasures of " The Old Society" will be opened for private view this day week ; the exhibition promises , we hear , though perhaps not so strong . in point of numbers , to be excellent in . quality . With the exception of Mr . Carl Haag , who is in Egypt , it comprises many fine figure pieces by Messrs . Hunt , Tayler , Topham , Burton , and JTripp . The renowned Gilbert , top , contributes one of the finest works he ever produced . ¦ Am ong the landscape painters , Messrs . Harding and Holland are conspicuous ; the former contributes two large drawings in his best manner , and the latter some half-dozen ipf those brilliant morceaux for which he has a celebrity . Mr .
Coast Scene" ( No . 2 ) , " Early Summer ( 6 ) , " Olovelly " ( 205 ) , and a grand one , on which a page might be written , " River Lleder Vale of Dolwydellan , " must be carefully looked at and admired . Mr . J . H . Mole has a great number of interesting and enjoyable domestic pieces . His little " Devonshire Well" ( 213 ) , « AtHampstc . ad" ( 237 ) , " Gathering Mussels " ( 321 ) , " Highland Shepherd " ( the last a beautiful work ) , " Gipsies " ( 334 ) , " The Grandfather " ( 250 ) , are , we fancy , the best . JUiv L . Hughe ' s " Cromwell , " an illustration to Scott ' s " W oodstock , " is a superb painting , but the Protector is far too refined and theatrical to our taste . We incline far more to the Delaroche version ,
NEW SOCIETY OF 1 'AI . NTEBS IX WATER COLOURS . The twenty-fifth exhibition of this now no longer juvenile association—who are of sufficient importance , by the way , to have appeared before Parliament as claimants for a cut at the Burlington House cake—is progressive and very interesting . Of the three hundred and sixty-four works exhibited , so many are worth placing on the pleasing , satisfactory , charming , and improving , degrees of the critical scale , that we can hardly attempt here to catalogue them , much less to dilate upon their respective merits .- To begin with the artists whose names we first encounter on the catalogue . Mr . S . Cook contributes excellent landscapes . His " Close of
Day-whieh is decidedly neither the one nor the other . The " Emente at JLouvain , " by the same gifted hand , is the best picture of a . incite we ever saw . A space before the fine town-hall of Louvain , and the steps of that edifice , which forms the background and is drawn with the artist ' s accustomed facility , are crowded with elaborately-drawn groups of combatants hard at work , From the large foreground figures to the minutest ones in the extreme back , every face is sufficiently , and no more than sufficiently , defined . Not a point is missed , of course , in costume or accessories ; the colour is in perfect harmony , and , ill a word , tho stirring picture is au exhibition in itself . Mr . Wm . Bennett gives three firm and real-hke revelled
river pieces ( 58 , 07 , 104 ) , in which wo ideally . They arc all from the Greta , and toll you so themselves , for thoy faithfully give the ehuracter of that delicious scenery . Mr , McKewan ' s brooks and fells , of which there are many , will arrest all lovers of the wilderness . His " Borrowdale " ( Hi ) , « Mill and Stream " ( 90 ) , " Mountain Torrent" ( 64 > , are his best in our eyes , for avo know and feel their truth ; which wo may not say of tho Levantine efforts by tho samo hand . Mr . Warren , tho President , has not been happy in hid illustration to Mooro , called " The Peri " ( 7 a ) , a stout and inoxprossivo and unotherial blonde , faulty iu more than ono point of drawing . This is flno studof
artist ' s " . Flight into Egypt" ( 233 ) a y night efleqfc , and a far more sueeossftil conception . Passing Mr . E . H . Wehncrt ' s " Fountain at JLiomo " ( 80 ) , an academic study , wo como to the ' X-ost in tho Woods " ( 88 ) , a superb and photographicallyaccurato study of treos , by Mr . Edmund G , Warren , son , we boliovQ , of tho X * residoi » t . This work ; " Tho Avonuo , Uvolyn Woods , Surroy " ( 228 ); and " Kobin Hood in Merrie Sherwood " ( 240 )—( tho last , avo hear , purchased by her Majesty ) . —avIII raiso tho giftod painter to the highest rank among landscape artists . The second picture is , avo may say , the most remarkable and tho most remarked in tho room . Without a trace of tho offensive peculiarity tormed
Newton sIioavs an admirable siioav scene ; and Messrs . Joseph Nash , Duncan X ^ inch , Richardson , Dodgson , Callow , and George Fripp will all command admiration . Tho Avater colourists of this association , as avcII as of the younger one , have either made signal progress within the last tAvelvemonth , or they have made a vigorous effort to prove themselves worthy of State recognition . We have again and again expressed ourselves utterly against the CroAvn protection of any one Fine Art Corporation . It is useless unless iniquitous , that is , partial . Could such small matters as the true ddvnneo of tho fine arts , and tho general Avell-being of their ten thousand professors , fall Avithin the scope of Royal Highnesses and high-born Ministers , they Avonld sec what undue advantage tho Avorld ' s folly gives to those who wear
their livery , and Avould cither dony it to ujl , or throw opon the boon to the universe of compoutors . Lot every society , every man , woman , ana child in tho realm bC'Koyal " ( if it please ) , sny wo ; wear a roso-in its . hat Or button-hole , and put a lion and unicorn over its door ; but the commonwealth demands that tho use of the word and insignia should coaso to carry with it such extraordinary privileges »» » r 0 now claimed by tho Academy . In tho matter of Burling on House avo adhoroto our old proposal that certain public ga-1-loriea should bo built , in which tho various artistic fraternities might exhibit , In harmony or discordantly as they pleased , but without rights of property in the place . Tho allonatlon' of any part of that Dricoloss piece of public ground to this , that , or tho other society , on any pretence , or for any consideration ,. avIII bo neither moro nor less tfwn ft public wrong .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 23, 1859, page 21, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_23041859/page/21/
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