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mtOmiag eveniAh » ivahie'X > f bri * ig >? maj > ked by Sheil ' sastyle ^ for they were written , artificially . &v ian .. Epglisli , periodical , which-hesitated to grye the jiame . or nature of its contributor— -then a fierce young Insh , papist . * The sketches are about some Irish judges , barristers , and politicians of the peri 6 d > the whole of whom are now forgotten , even in- Ireland , and they deal -with a'Stetc of- societyas- obsolete -as feudalism . ^ Wtoatipurpesej * then ;> does wid * a « p « biicatiowas » thisifo * ftl ? \ 11 . * nay = bave ; jan ; Irish justification : \ t \ is X 6 tbe : foilowed \ by . some vcduraiGscoatainipg the ^ gr . eatspeeches . Jrisb ' poiiticians . have . had . bad chances of fame . Provincially they are the heroes or victims of exaggerated adulation or-delusive indignation : biit , as personages of the empire , they are only known in connexion with some trarisrriftirary-excttementof a monrenr- * -forgotten and powerless- when the excitement-hasgone . A-n * wher > Grattawiswnotrememberedy what hope can ; * bere < be . foil . ' Sheil ? <; We ? haven the : cof > ini © n of , his contemporaries that
¦ Gfisuttan was . an unsurpassed ^ orator , —and .-he lived in the English age of -orators : andweknow that his- Roman style was accompanied by a classic grandeur of character—in all the wanton wildness of faction his public honour arid private virtue have continued unimpeached . And lie lived and acted in 4 hc history of Ireland , from Lord Ghartemont to Castlereagh ,- he ^ saw the beginning and the end- » f - Irish independence— -the Volunteers and the Union ° Sheil , who caught wUhout ^ ver- understanding his style—just as * some < of tour dramatists wilt still writevirt the-Elizabethan-metre and manner - ~^ was a < very . different sort bfrman- ^ -a- conspirator and intriguer , not , a . statesman- ^ and . .. he lived . through a vulgar and debasing"era-rthat of O'Connell . Shell ' s is still a . name , in Ireland and in London . We remember the singular figure—the heap of old clothes and the brilliant Celtic eye —the startling voice , the weird gestures , the mot and the epigram . But in ^»^ eare more . Irishmen wilrkno w as little about Mm as the y now vemember
x > fUiord Piunkett , and ; Englishmen will be as . vague about him , / one -of . . pasfr . parliamentary personages , as they , at present are about Daniel Whittle . Havs » ey or Mr . Wakley- ^ Sheil ' s eminent contemporaries , yet both already shadows . ¦ - ¦•»«¦ -C 3 No such particular veneration is due as to induce us to allow Mr . bavage to bully us fora place for him in the Pantheon . ! His career was not ehivalric . He commenced-as a passionate patriot , and he ended his Parliamentary career : ssa careful , placeman ¦ . under the Wliigs , votiug . meekly for Coercion . Acts , suspension of Habeas Corpus , and indiscriminate slaughter of poor young trelanders who had gone mad with the poems of Moore and the speeches ofEra met and SheiL' Voting , as a : formality , to the last , for Repeal , which , if it meant anytlrrngrmeant republicanism ; he died , as Lord Palmersttih ' s * diitifiil great fSritish and hyper-Protestant partisan , as Minister at Florence . HeaadoredjO'Connellrwho-deteafced . tlie W 4 dgs ;• but yhe-served
She Whigs . He > used ; toweep when he 6 poke of the wrongs of , Ireland ; b » t fwliatlie tookicare . Jiot . to face was an Irish meeting , and what he contrived liwas to get elected by a borough which was in a Whig duke ' s pocket . He wa § tempestuously poetical ; but he married a rich widow . 'He was a vehe"* n en £ tibefal ; but the Whig whipper-in was alwayssafeof his vote ; arid Lord ^ Pal meretowwas' -always- ^ siare of his ; speech / when ; anybody had = anythkig > to . ^ ay ^ ttgainst Lord . Palcserston . rHeuhast . often been compared to iyistfriend Moore ; and in this respect—this cool desertion of the " cause" they , were for ever twaddling about—their careers were identical ; and , doubtless , the . poetic , as . distinguished from the commonplace , logical , nature , must excuse Lansdownes and Pal
them—at least it has . always done so in the eyes of - merstonsf , to whom ' they were pre-eminent ry useful . It is , indeed , impossible ¦ to expectpnbh'c honesty in-such cases . It is a singular fact thataZZ the brilliant Irishmen have beennpolitically-rather roguish ; . arid it is to be . accounted vfor ^ by ; the circumstance that the capital of the empire somewhat ^ verslMidowSc .. D « bHn .-- * -Yoiucan ^ no-. more , _ in .-our ., age ,, ejcpect . that _ A clever Irish gentleman will pass his life in a practical bewailing over the sorrows of Erin , than in the days of the'Caesars you could exp " ect Spanish or Carthagenian gentlemen to become martyrs to their lunatic nationality . What do we see at this moment ? That Ireland , impoverished even in that staple , has to import her patriots ! Fob isn ' t Mr * Lucas her patriot ? ¦ ¦
^ Mn ( Shell ' s intellectual '< 5 pialtrksatiaiis were not * first-rate . H& triedmany . ^ bmgsyand-got ' the firs t place in no instance . He wrote plays which were :-not < playable—even 'by ' M-iss O'Neill . He tried light literature , —and 'in these volumes you aee with what success . He once worked ha ' rd at the bar , ibut " was ¦* withoutrtllat i robust , ' * man-of-the-world tact—the greatest of all . talents—which produces fehe'pereonal influence- that resrtlts inifees and smiles . tin the House of C © mmonshewa 9 never ¦ more than the partisan warrior , jasefnifor- 'hisrhetorical daring which never'spared a foe , and amusing from the exquisite finesse of"hi 9 "weH- ^» re |) ared phrases . In the proper sense of . the > tepm ha ' was no debater ; on the other hand , he spoke with no party effect ,-for he represented nothing H ^ it aM few hour 3 ' ' work in getting , up a ? speech that would 1 gratify- *» -himself ; and thorrgh he' made some splendid speeches , as that "eft- the Dissenters Chapels-Bill , ehe peroration of-which ' is unsurpassed in our'time , yet'he- ' was no orator , for he ' ahvays set Ivim 3 elf-to tastonish , never to convince ^ hiff Iwarers .
As- a statesman "in council ; 'those * who J knew him well speak » of him . as innocent . n « d . ignorant to the last—never comprehending affairs—never equal to-managing them . ' But , then }* he was' a- great ? ' agita * tor ? " In truth , he Jived on that fame-MihexMr . ' Sheil of T 882- 'l 848 being supported by the Mr , Sheil of 1825-1880 . i . Yet in the Catholic Association -he was insignificant when contrasted wiith the burly potency of that grand mass of virile intellect - ^ O'Uonnell . « 'O ' Gwnnell used to " let him-off , " and talk of Shell ' s " fire-¦ works . " O'Connell could be pathetical , but inot eloquent : powerful , but not / scholarly )• -and Sheil was invaluable to- ^ im- as the-maker'of speeches , whichi ^ the puzxled 1 mt ) b roared applause at ; but ^ hich the students of fttie country'pronounced direct-emanations of insprred genius—speeches which redeemed much - < of" the- movement from vulganty . The Whigs were ftfitontelied that Sheil was considered' 4 n' Ireland inferior to O'Connell :
O ' Clonwell' ^ ms'so ^ vulgar , " Slipil so splendid ; O'Connell only a droll ; Sheil arwtt jittha-oncmere plain talk / the -oilier- all sparkle . And'Sheil was nndonbtttdly . v « n the > oldl'Irish inodel—that of Woufe , Emmet , "Phynkett , Otattun f * Sheil , ' a < so < ^ taking '« better place ( even in Opposition ) in the Howse ^ bf-Oonarwons ' tijJui'O'Oonnelhevxjr . obtaiiied . " But nations are good
judges of the men they want . O'Connell was a man of genius , Sheil only a man of talent ; and just as the coarse Luther made the Reformation , the ornate Melancthon could but illustrate it , so Sheil , famous for no more than the " Catholic Emancipation" which emancipated no one , will never bt * spoken of but as the lieutenant of O'Connell . On the whole , it is the finest trait in Sheil ' s history that he ever reverently recognised the greatness of the massive man who , at . Cpnciliation Hall , put his tongue in his . cheek and hinted to Dungarvon something about " Dicky Sheil . " . ¦ We trust thaf ' Mr . Savage will exercise careful discrimination in his arrangement of the next volumes . One erasure perhaps would suffice .
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TOUR NOVELS . Thorney Hall :. A Story of an Old Family . By Holme Lee . Smith and Elder The Family Feud . By Adam Hornbook . Eoutledge . The Exile ; or , A Tale of the Sixteenth Century . By Philip Phosphorus . Bosworth . Our World ; or , The Democrat ' s . Rule . By Justia , a Knownothing . Sampson Low and Son . In reference to the novel standing first on our list , we must confess to having felt some doubt whether " Holme Lee" might not be an assumed name , and whether the story might not most probabl y have been written bya lady instead of a gentleman . On these two points it is , of course , likel y enough that -, ve may havfr guessed wrong—on a third point , however , which concerns the jnerit-of the book ,--we feel little or no distrust of our judgment , We can confidently pronounce Thorney Hall , whether written by a man or a woman , to be one of the most charming novels of its class which has issued from the English press for , a lonff , long time past . The story , is told in the
autobiographical form , with such delightful taste , simplicity ,, and truth , to nature ; it runs so delicately and smoothly through the book ; and it is graced and recommended ¦ ¦ to the reader in every page by such unaffected ease and masterly clearness of style , that we must decline , in common justice to the author , risking any . attempt to describe it -within the circumscribed limits of the present ° notice . We will answer for its effect ( on the hearts of all readers of feeling , old as well as young—and that is enough . The characters cannot claim the merit , in any case , of being original creations ; but they are developed with admirable truth of observation , and with genuinely artist-like skill of suggestion : they ; lay ; fast hold of the reader ' s ^ attention and interest on -their first introduction , m and look new by mere virtue of unaffectedly natural treatment . The picture of the watch-maker ' s family in the early part -of the book is a real gem ; and there is a love-disappointment , happening to the eldest daughter , who narrates the story of the Old Family , whicli is told : with a tenderness , delicacy , and quiet" touching earnestness worthy of the hiffhest praise and the-eincerest-admiration .
One bTemish ronly have we detected in this delightful novel—^ the death of oneof the characters is . made io take place at the battle of the Ahna . "VVe must own . to somexiisa / ppointmentat finding that the war-fever , which has had so disastrous an influence in making our literature a literature of catchpenny kooks , should have infected , though only in a very slight degree , such an otherwise genuine piece of worfc- "as Thorney Halt . We-ican accept if i Alma , Restaurants , " " Alma Cottages / ' and newly-christened " Alma Joneses , '' as inevitable temporary , nutsanees ; but _ an Alma catastrophe at the end of an excellent novel , is an ill-considered concession to passing public interests , and a blemish of clap-trap on a work of pure and high ait which-it sadly disappoints us to see . Excepting this one defect , however , we have not another fault to find with " Holme Lee ' s" story ; and we have
only to assure our readers ( who must be well aware , by this ^ time , that ivc are not in the habit of misleading them .. by indiscriminate praise of " books on our table" ) , that they may all procure for themselvesan evening ' s reading of the most interesting arid ^ most deligirtful '' l ^ 'driJy ^ oriaejin ^^ Vrojvicy 77 S // 1 Our next book is of a very different order of writing . The Family Feud shows in many passages the promise , rather than the performance , of good things . The author has power and dramatic feeling , but his faculties are at ; present of the ' wild ; and . ill-regulated kind . He has yet to rid himself of some jveiy absurd notions on the subject of Romance-writing , which he defends in . an . unprofitably flippant way in an " Address" to the reader . Mr . " Ailam Hornbook's" present principle of working is not to confine himself to any particular method of telling si story ; but to give the reader the
benefit of variety by speaking sometimes in his own person as author , sometimes in his hero ' s person ( in the way of autobiography ) , and sometimes impersonally , in . the * regular * . narrative form . The hero of the Family Feud , " Cain Colton , " . begins , with , telling his own story ( and . some of it very well , too ) . By the . time we are . getting interested in it , Mr . " Adam Hornbook , " the author ^ pe eps in , and obliges us by silencing the autobiographer , and continuing the narrative in his own person because he is " afraid" that he cannot make his own " hero ' do justiceto his own story Comment is * superfluous on such an absurd misconception of the art of roaianoofiwriting ias this . . Fancy an exhibitor of Punch , stopping the action of his puppets just as they-wore boginningto ainuso the bystanders ; drawing up his concealment of grcca baize ; and saying : — For fear you should
forget , good people , that these puppets are really puppets , and only move because I prill their strings , I-will continue the play in ' my own person' by keeping * -the green baize up , and-giving you a view of me and iny nimble hands . . Purioh , itas .. a < sel ^ -ngent , is all ¦• very well for a little while—but ji sight of the man who makes- Punch inovo is an important addition to vary your pleasure r : and incroaso your interest in tho > dramatic entertain - mont . If any critical persons present , should venture to hint that 1 iu" intorforing ii little with that Illusion of the Scene on which the effect of all works of imagination entirel y depends , don't helievo them . Jt is a uictunj against which I protest , as flowing from the false taste of this artificial and corrupt . ago ! " -What i would the " . Adain . Hornbook" say to such a spcocii as this ? . Probably ho would , answer , iuat nt . present , that it was a most sensible piece , of oratory ; and that the last sentence in particular was hucU a model of eloquent indignation , that ho should bo delighted to introduce it into tho preface to the Family Feud . Wo have , however , a sufHcicntly sincere conviction of his natural capacity , to believe that he Will alter his o [> inion onoiof these days , ' and produce a novel which / ahull 'bo' a work oi tun-
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og 2 THE iLiJft A DUB ,. [ Saturday , '"Vj ^ ' . ¦ ' _^_____ ; I II I l ^ ll II II I Mil I . 11 II
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Leader (1850-1860), March 24, 1855, page 282, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2083/page/18/
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