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. Age ^ fe a&'bythfcJigl » t' *» afeSew *« a'M'this r atees straagfe-reflbctoonsJ The initials of J . A . P . would alone suffice to call attention to < th& * artiole . « n ^ tfce ** Ctonrto ^ H 4 ni ! y / S ^ IlE 4 " fo ^ all iA «» woBldtfa » TW * bptli&itime » tliafe ^ FBOui > JB a ^ d ^ votaig ^ l > fe 14 wiHtomt tstyle t » & » J&storyrofiBttglandunder iki Tudovs * Nejvshfcafctaipap ^ r in -tke ^ Dullih Unuseiwty ' . < Mcujiaeii * eib $ passedtioveiv t ^ ttriag the tiiild Conte » iporary ? andiPc ^ umou * ttp ^ tion- cfA ^ I *~ is Tatfefe * -a series-of'hints-thawatv essays bttt the"hin ** are < goodf the matter < cttribustr Bewi ^ thigjion * SaiK »« aP 4 AK ' -S * BtI . GtOK * , . For our o-wn . pari ,. we believe Shakspeare to . have been , a bad . Roman Catholic , He lived in a time when the people went to . hear the Protestant service said in churches where * hey-had-been wont to hear-the mass .- The great built of the populace musthave been Roman Catholic in all its associations . It has been attempted to adduofii
that the father of Shakspeare was ^ i Roman Catholic , from the fact that he never went to chucph , ; . but , this proves .. nQtbiog , } and .. i 3 little to , the . purpose . The associations . of centuries in the mind of a people are not , displaced in a day . We think that the in-Btincts , the prejudices , the affections of-memory and habit , the inclinations of custom , iiH&femind'bfifthe' great dramatis * , -were towards the old . creed—it * forms * itasupeiv . 8 titiea * 4 t ! fc-dQgma 8 , i But his . intfllleQt-waa ? to . q independent andspeculative to . find « Qmcleie comfort at . any chuxchrdoor ; oand-xwhenevet : he ^ . puts aside popular supersti-. tiojaa , it' is not to cling to newer rituals , but to- adventure upon- philosophic doubts . Si-was , . afc ^ oncej too human and too genial in his nature to be quite independent"of paufitetisyjnpatiuea andtypea ; toakBan « andimpata ( tirB dn < thei desire ^ of-truthltQ . be l $ ]* by .- the ., Chnsptwaiu He waa an , unsettled . . RJoma » , iCatholicr-a , dilatory -sceptic , ( ux the metaphysical , sensa of the word ) ' , but not a hearty Protestant- Hia temperament ifffbr everiat war withhis intellect . As poet , hiB is ever clinging to the sensuous—as of
pt ^ t (» B « ptery « ver iiu ^ ean * - 4 he-ab 3 tract < That ? is » tTWrthittk , u . ainpJo . ; evida « cef ! Of this throughout his . workftfi Th ©< geni » ofl ^ Protestantism of that time was Puritanism . The players of the Globe and . Blackfriars . were for ever , at war with this body ; and JShakspeare was of a temperament far too exquisitely susceptible of sensuous beauty , and wasfartoo convivial and hearty in his 2 tt&ts , toilookw 4 th * ny : loTe upon * asceticism . He- never spares > these .-sewere > Reformers in Ms plays ; and in Troths and Cressida he even goes out of JhiSaWfty , an&xunfe into wilful and ridiculous anachronism , to have a hit at them .., . BKa »^ S 8 WU 8 sptti «* Wng on ,, COHSBMyOiBABB ^ OBEHiaNi-Oy SHlAJtlPmUlKi li ^ A » 4 n » zj ^<^ tfliJa » ow . jhow- iac ^ i e waa » r % btly appreciated by kisfrcOTteinpamnes * :-TJMBb-ik »*; w * auappreciated theie ^ caBibeJittift doubt ; but weiquestion ife it was iso . tkfti £ fcdla . WttHimtBti believe ^ bat ; Spenoer ^ waalbefaaihicmahle poet « fe the , time . ; . bufchei certainly alludes with high honour to Shakspeare . And yet it iales&Jthe pcefHodftyo and i ^ ajesty , o £ , hia , atiin »| dQus > genius . thanitagesmal ^ n ^ igr / E ^ M . huinajHtBrjyJbhafrwve £ nd eyerywhere ^ pr ^ uised . py thpge ' whb . were nearest , to him ,, Spensej ; saya : —
' AAdJiPrthe , man . whQm ; ^ ata ^ e ! selfQvha ( tA « aattA , To , mQpk ., herseWe ,. and , Truth ., to imitate , . - TOth kwdijr-caundery under , Jmjmiftk . ^ s hade ^ > ; . - . .:. Ou » : ^ w 8 ai » fclf \ riHy ., H &c : AB& *« WBifrfl * peafoi otbim aar ~ - "; Tll » t B « me ^ e « i / e . « pirit ,-from-wbofle-pen Ijarg& ^ i ^ avaB-of konie'&nd &u > eete ueeiar&oii ? , &C ; JBRmeyHmdHsrweet nectar are ^ suuely not the ; first tiharaeterjtatics of a bfaitt-fron * whence pgy » orfcd Htodet , Mftobfetb ; and- SnyloekJ and Othello , and Leari '• " "W ^ 'tbii ^ there can . jbe- no doubt of tfce-refe rence in thos e l inear Biit - how-do we «« m ^*» -know 4 ilitt so affeystionately-from all his praiser * as « 4- <* entleWill 1 ?"" Milton even speaks of" © entie Shakgpeare , » Nature ' s chiW ,
TFftrWjV # > hianative wood-notes wild ;" Surely there is something far above the bucolics in his genius ? ~ ebittie ~ pMwae ^ . himTfo tear . " Upon the hfearse of Queen Elizabeth % and a contemporary writer speaks of his ¦ il < i » &Kflttoi * 6 tongue /' 'and hifr" sugared sonnets . "' "We must flcpiecze-in-this on
SHAK . BI'EABH'CySPEPmCk - Wfttventure thftb ^ Uef that ho waasubj *^ to fits , intensely lovs ^ p irita and , gloom » at limes . We doubt if his digestion was not sometimes at war with his good livingp ; Howfrequent throughout his plays are the invocations against evil dreams and restless nights ? TWere else iano strangely given us the whole " anatomy-of melancholy ? ' ' Who else ha » tooeu . fiO . * hoi » ugblyta .. the . heart lofisolitaide . and , Bortowt ? ' How , too , doe » he not . gtaaWflWt thftAoatUsdWQanterior . of-tho ^ omb , of . all the Capulet ^ iwith Juliet ; and . with C ^ ycenqe on the monstrous , abyss of , ocean ; and with the Ghost of , the Royal Pane Mpon . the preternatural horrors of Purgatory . TKe Matgazme altogether is amusing , but that is the best paper in it .
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To notice Reviews after Magazines , is / like coming to the roast after ji light skirmish with entries . ' Tha Westminster ^ presents , a very solid Aspect , not heavy , but demaA < Hhgft digestive leiauro . It opens with an elaborate article on the CouvA »>/ , ^ l « a / ria ^ , a 8 , faU p £ , matter as pf sentences , yet so easily and skilfully presented . t ^^ p ^ e ^ oftditiCM ^ reMte op ^ aZ / no / From Maximilian I . to FBBWM « iKi »> i [^ r-fromitl 49 acto . 184 % thore < is a gallery of imperial portraits sketched-in-ithis .. arbi < 3 ley with' rapid touches painting the social tone of the Courts , and " many anecdotes giving piquancy to the narrative . Dryden and his Time * ag . reeabtyj follows ., and may bo read with the other biographicaJUartiolatjom Victory // ## <^ , antf J ^ warks .-. tho latter questionable in its criticism bu *« use £ al » in « it »« factor . While Xaterature and
History are thus reprcsentedviour political . quje 8 tM ) nfl ,. fiad . a , place , in papers on "Our Army : Us Condition > andhWtints , L ^ rd P&lmeraton -as Pi-emicr , and the Reorganisation of tte Civil Service * Thfe 4 utet o £ . the * e ifljfirj 8 fr > ratc , just what 41 Review article on a current topic . should bo ; the second is just what such an article should not be ; and . lthel ] tUrd ( iw < 5 . have , noib , bad . tinw ito read . Our Army is what such a paper ehouklubo * because titroontainstiamiass of information very necessary , and -not-accessible through' the newspapers , yet of interest to all readers of newspapers . Thte " Fulmeretont * t ^ pery on the other hand , is precisely what tljonewspapers caa , fuA ni ^ h , '» anddofwrnish—a leading Article . In the oldUdfl # <> H <> £ llev i ^ vA . jaucl ^ ajrfcioleS oUVU ^ e . sensations , in our d MHhtiMg a » m , jft » anvMk » Ja ** iat # Kea ^ j » be » , lh ^ , a )? e ( re « ld i * t < aW * , We , wuld
gladly make many extracts firom ,. the article on " Our Army , " but extracts would not convey a proper idea- of- it . "W * will take two , almost at random * by way of varying our own text . Here -is one on ! " WHO GETS THE COWPWISStONff ? ! It is a common mistake , and one which the Times has -lately been led into , to fan . (* fhat army'coinmissiona - are the property of the aristocracy . That the noble families © f this country have pretty well monopolised the Foot Guards , is true ; but people hav-eibut a smallJ conception . of'th ^ jealouay -with ; whi ch the H orse Guards distributes ' its . pateonpg ^ ,. The , fDuie . of-Rottenborough . . yeiy great man ; in his own way but old Squaretoes , of the * ' Senior , " will beat his grace hollow at getting a commisr sion . It is not merely putting the candidate ' s name down at the Horse Guards , and lodging his-commission-money at Cox . and Co ' s . You must get round the back premises . K You must knoW'Somfibody'who . will probably meet , old Squaretoes at dinner next : Friday , and . who will ask . Squaretoea to speak to . the , military secretary in your ^ favour . Squaretaes has . known the military secretary these forty years , and the last command Squaretoes had , he took thfe military secretary ' s son as his aide-de-camp ; and . though now he- is a very plain -. old i gentleman ,- who reads his paper daily at the " Senior .,. " it is quite , extraordinary the number , of commissions he has obtained ; and , many a one , too , without purchase . One of his . grandsons" got a vacancy the otherday in the Rifles , and another hag been promised an unattached company ; not bad thingS'in- their-wayj' considering that Squaretoes has three sons , four nephews , and nine grandsons io the service * - No greater mistake . was ever made than to suppose the Army . belonged to the aristocracy . The fact is , it will not pay the . middle classes to . take it up as a profession , and unless you have been accustomed from your childhood to pass off as a fine gentleman , though without a screw , or that you have plenty of money to spare , the army won't answer . Gunter will tell you , if you ask him , that men who are not of the . aristocracy can . get their sons into the army ; and what is more , that a man is . no more bullied because his father-. is . a pastrycook or a tailor , than if he were the son of the oldest family in England-Here is another on THE PURCHASE OF COMMISSIONS . TMe argument on the part of the people is , that the highest honours in every profession-tihouM'toe-open to allAwhO ' deserve it , and that thepurchase system renders the aqmy a ^ monopoly -Sox , certaitt )« lasse ^ . i That the latter part of ithe argument is not entirely correet is shown at once by what : may be almost termed" the dislike that the manufacturing and commercial classes have of putting their , sons in the army ; and surely-money is . not wanted among them . Of the soundness of the . former part there cauibe nodoubt ; but before . , raising non-commissioned loflScers to ofiieers , render the army such , that a . different , stamp , of men will enlist . The men of like energy , of talent , and often of education , t ; o those who are to be found in the ranks of continental nations , look'out in England for something besides a shilling a day . Australia , Californiaj-the commeroe of thi » icountry , afford , a-refuge and a futurewhich on the Continentri » -unkft . ojva » il AftaflEfti ^ .-areat pr « sent ,-thefii » t thing to , be doneJsi to improve the condition of boti » . men . and ofiiceis . Increase ihe pay of the private .. Don't stop his rations , and his . washing , and his wear and tear of boots and of clothing , and Ms pipeelayj and barraidt ' ilamages , all ' out of his shilling a day . Raise the pay of the nonrcoromiaflioned . office ^ who .. out of his scanty salary can scarcebuy bread for Ms ishildrfinjsfter , paying 3 a ,. 6 dLa week for . a dirty whitewashed . room m a slum at the back of the barracks . Then if as . a means of transition every two steps were given by purchase ,, and thb thbrd to -merit , as displayed either in long or brilliant services , and if * he commission ofeveryv « nan who died ' uvthe service were sold and given to Ma family , the service would derive great , immediate benefit , and the pension list -would be-rend € nped'muchlighter .-; Having already exceeded our limits , we must defer till next week notice of the British . Quarterly , London Quarterly , . and Journal of Psychological Medicine . . —
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VELASQUEZ . V ^ lasgueztiniMs WdrJcs . By . "William ^ Stirling . " ~ J ., "VfrParker and Soni This book is a solid and valuable contribution to the art literature of England . It is written throughout , with great care and earnestness , in a manly , Straightforward style . The-narrative flows easily ; the biographieul illustrations , arejskUfully * . introduced ; the historical learning is modestly displayed ; , and ... th » . teohhicai . knowledge . of pictures ia ; recomjnended to tba general reader by an . entire and commendable absence of art-jargon . In a word , this ; is one . of the good and useful books of our time , wo . have heard it objected to Mr . Stilling that he is disposed to rate Velasquez too highly as a poetical painter ; - Even assuming that this piece of critrcisin has a
fbundationiini truth , the . little defect to which it xefers forms no drawback to the j aieritof / thOf ^ orki ini ., our eatiroAtioni ,. We have no manner . of belief in a piographerwhx ) does , not Ueathis subject with , some honest , human partiality in its favour . If the work—the haKd ^ self-sacrjUicing work ~ -of getti ng materials together for the writing of a man's life be not sweetened from its beginning * nd throughout its progress by an extraordinary kindness for the panj ok br «» r extraordinary admiraiion for what he has done , we doubt Vei ? y , njkuehMwhetheBi that TOonkVwill evor » be . truLy and thoroughly accomjjy 3 Ue < X ,,. no ,, matl ;» n who the doei ^ rofit may be » , or how "judicial" a mind ( as ; he phrase goes ) he may possess .. Eor . it is , not enough that a man s whole mind is in his workwhen ho takes his pen to instruct or annisc ms
, up fellow-creatures . His whole heart- must be in it too , or it is meagre and neffective w . orkv at the very best .. Although . the world will not allow a biographer to violate truth , it will gladly . permit him to draw the friendliest nferences from biographical facts , and will relish his subject all tlio more for his partial way of treating it .- The / moat popular biographic * m tlie English language are partially written by authors who were quite incapable of really treating their subjects judicially ; Brutus is a mighty great man in the capacity of a judge ; moke a biographer of him and ho is interior to Boswell . . _ .. / of
, We find , after reading Mr . Stirling !* ; excellent preliminary sketch painting in Spain , that Velasquez was born in the same your as Vainlykc , the last year of the sixteenth century . The great SpaiuaU . paauUir starteu on his career of study with that wholesome determination to guide ms art rigidly by the realities of nature , which was the intellectual principle ot w » Hie , and which makes the distinguishing excellence of hia workB . xw passage in whkih Mi * .-Stirling describes the youthful studies oi the Master may bo extracted as a fair epeoiinen to present , before wo go farther , oi m « tone and stylo of tho biography : — -
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aSSOe im ^ E HJBUAiD ^ EB .. LSlTiTBa > AY ^
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Leader (1850-1860), April 7, 1855, page 330, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2085/page/18/
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