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THE-anaotmcement of a new story by Mr . Tha'CKhrat would be at any time a very welcome'one , but "just now it is peculiarly so , as there is no literary intelligence d £ any kind , and no montlily serial of any mark . We believe we are correct m saying that the author of The Newcomes -will recommence his an 6 ntMy visits in the welKknown yellow covers on the 1 st of November . This is almost sooner than we expected , considering Mr . Thackebat ' s long- lecture season , and his more recent electioneering efforts , which seemed to indicate a growing tendency towards public life . " We had of course no right whatever to . object to this , and . theoretically on public grounds we approved of it highly . Privately , and personally , however , we were getting wrathful and indignantfdr the most selfish reasons , it must be confessed . We wanted a new story ;
and though the lectores were not only delightful , but full of noble teaching we cherished against them a kind of involuntary grudge ,, as delaying the lecturer ' s return to his peculiar province . So again , though we should be very , glad , to , see Mr . Thackebay in the House of Commons , and have no ¦ doubt that . byrand-by , he will take his seat there , we cannot but believe he as quite . as-usefully employed in preparing for a new story as he would be pawning on-those dreary benckesrjust now . To himself , personally , his failure at Oxford must rbe , an immense escape . He ought to be eternally grateful to the few sfotera ^ nrlioturned the scale ag ains t him . Think what it must be to sit in that haikdeseried hall for sixteen hours at astsretch , and listen to Mr .
Glad-^ SXO&e ' s . twrentyrnine speeches on "three lines , of a . single clause da the Divorce Bill , - ; and after all , when-your patience and temper are utterly exhausted , be -exasperated ± o madness by hearing him solemnly claim to be considered peculiarly ( conscientious in his reserved and temperate opposition to the measure . l ? ar better'be / * the -representative of tlie division of Ohilterhi' and waste the midmght oil at home , with 'fragrant -smoke instead of ' musical wind' as a : 3 » elief ifrom mental toil . Mr . Thackeray ' s new story , wHch is to be called The Virginians , will . probably , as the name seems to imply , contain sketches of American life , or at least of American . character , most likely of both . We may be sure , however , jfchat rtahe sketches will be drawn in no unfriendly spirit . Thackebay is
popular in , America , has a kindly feeling towards the Yankees , and said ; when thenq , that , he did . not intend to write a book about them and their institutions , peculiar , domestic , or otherwise . JSut this by no means implies any promise to-avoid American characters in his stories . And we sincerely hope tie means to introduce them , " for in the whole range of fiction we do not possess any-eketoif of . genuine Yankee character such as Thackebay could draw . We fca ^ e onlynshadows , distorted outlines , and caricatures . Tjhackekay , of all writer ^ has the least tendency to . exaggeration . He paints the reality as he gees a ^ . i&e good as well as the evil . ; and pictures of American life and cha-¦ laofcerithufl painted , would be a positive addition to our ; nationalliterature .
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"We have been permitted during the past week to look ov . ex some proof sheets of -the ninth volume of M , Louis Blanc ' s { History of the Revolution , which in--cidentaUyifmniish a decisive reply to certain charges recently circulated with industrious , malice against . the ^ Republican refugees in this country , inotaT » lev attempt ,, as our . readers will remember , was lately made in . Paris to convict them as i a bodyi of cherishing > murderpus designs against Louis Napoleon , fey-associating the names of-some of the most distinguished with those of such worthless creatures as Gbilli and Babtoloiti—mere Italian vagrants beiangingiQ the . lowfisttolass of continental » poh « e agents . How utterly false : s « oh a , ( reprosenttation is may be seen from the third chapter of M . Louis BiatNo ' s new volume , written , we need scarcely say , several months ago , though
atill uapublished . This chapter is devoted to the death of Marat at the hands of 1 jh * rJ 9 eoutHm ^ aiui , heT < aix 5 iOirABLoxa'EiCo 3 iDA'Y , and at the close the author takes occasion to discuss the general question * of political assassination . We axe' $ orry thai ; we have only space . to quote the concluding reflections of this ¦ discussion— -Ta . most interesting and . matuuotiveione—which sufficiently shows * b . e . tUght'in'whioh < eTen'extreme'republicans regard a proceeding so lawless and tiifljtst as assassination . Tho tone that pervades % imorcovor ,, does . honour to Cb ^ am tor ^ 'bj showing that exile , instead of pecvoirting his judgment and om'bitte » inghis feelings , has but < oleared tho one andoalmed the other . Instead
oif < indalging m ifho -reckless vituperation common to solfanterested and selftdbsoibing partisan ^ , he writes with tljfi tempered severity and sfcrongth of truth . The . leisure , ^ afforded by exi le , quiet devotion to his chosen duties , undfctowbed by eKQiting * preoccupations , and the opportunity of'bocoming practically famiBttr-nrrtlv'Englwh 'freedom and-the working of English institutions , have admirably fitted M . ILotns DBlano for his work , ; and the vplumos of his history written in hanishjnen . t . evinoe a rare combination of aoourato research -and tndjWfnl exhibition -with sound political judgment and a fine discriminative rqywtyathy ior"the / faults as well , as thq . virtu . es of both panties in the great Revolution .
8 Dhe following * we tho wfleoticnia with -which ho coixoludos tho chapter ¦ d « m ^ difoTM [ A 3 aA . T ; oiid ^ iiAmi . axxE ' OoiuDAY : — - * clWe may hone repeat in con-« lu 8 V > n # < 4 iafl . Wtfk dU ^ xo-Authoni ^ « I tho fftcts j iist dotailo d , what wo lmvo
already said in another work— -that assassination is a mistake as well as a ierime Wibdeh ought to-be left to aristocrats and tyrants . When Henbi JJL . 'allures the JDuke of Guise into the Chateau de Blois and causes him to < he strangled by the bravos of the ante-chamber , when the Royalists attempt the life of . Napo ^ on . by . an internal maehine—these are crimes worthy of those who commit them , but democracy refuses to be assisted thus . Such means are essentially opposed to its genius and principle . Tor who can , without presumption , arrogate the right of setting himself as an avenger of liberty or as theTSTemesis of destiny , in the place of a whole people , almost in the place of history ? The stroke of a dagger is usurpation . Where is the power answering to that-monstrous right ? What ! then the first comer by raising his
arm may change the course of historic laws ! Any man in the street by pulling the trigger of a pistol may convulse the world ! No , it is not moved thus . Evil , when it exists in the midst of a society , springs from a vast number of causes , amongst which the existence of an individual , however powerful he may be deemed , has only an accidental pre-eminence . To no man is accorded the honour of holding a people ' s life in his own . Begging pardon of Pascal ' s shade , it appears to us that he has wantonly degraded humanity in making the fate of the universe depend on the length of Cleopatra ' s nose . The occasion is
only the surface of the cause , but we too often confound the one with the other . We think to destroy tyranny by destroying the tyrant . Vain thought ! Evil , whenever it exists , is at the root of things . It does not exist because it has a representative , it is represented because it exists . You have stabbed GaeiSAit ! He reappears in the more terrible form of Octavius . Have you compelled Njiro to commit suicide ? You do not escape Titellitjs Marat expires bathed in blood . See Hebart succeeds . It avails nothing to destroy the personification when you leave untouched the principle personified , which always , finds instruments for its work . "
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The last number of the Revue de Paris contains a paper of peculiar interest —a veritable art-criticism by Diderot , one of his celebrated Salons hitherto unpublished . These Salons were , as our readers may remember , detailed criticisms of the annual French exhibition of painting and sculpture ( very like Mr . Buskin ' s yearly notes on the Royal Academy ) , written by Dideuot in the form of letters to his friend and literary associate , the adroit aud courtly Baron Grimm . IFour of these Salons have been already published , those for the years 1759 , 1761 , 1765 , and 1767 ; and M . Walferdin , the editor of the tlie existence of four
present one ( for the year 1763 ) , has discovered more , which he intends to publish without delay . M . Walfjsrdin has satisfied himself that Didekox wrote nothing on the exhibitions of the intermediate years , so that the new Salons , with those already published , will complete the series . It rarely happens in modern times that fragments of such great value are received so long after the death of a celebrated writer . These Salons , apart from the interest attaching to their authorship , and the charm of their style , have a permanent value . Though chiefly known as a philosopher , Diderot was far more of an artist than a thinker ; and , had circumstances
been favourable to the full development of his special power , he would have taken the very first rank as an art-critic . His desultory contributions to the subject are amongst the most valuable fragments of true criticism that we possess . Goethe , it will be remembered , thought his Essay on Painting worthy of being translated by himself . His Detached Thoughts o > i Painting , and the Salons , helped to create a new school of French art , while the latter forms by far . the best history we have of the school that flourished during the latter half of the last century . The special criticism of the Salons is unrivalled for clear and animated description , often rising into the most vivid word-painting , flashing artistic insight , quick and generous appreciation of excellence of every kind . The new / Salon , published in the liecuc do Paris , which is equal in force , insight , and vivacity to aiiy of the previously published ones , contains , among other things , a charming critioism ui' a wellknown picture by Gbeuze , ' The Paralytic '
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AN OLD BLACK WOOD CONTRIBUTOR . Essays contributed to Jilackzeood's Magazine * By the Rev . John Eagles . Black-wood ami Sons . It « 3 a mistake of oqr age to confound transient with permanent reputations , and one sort of success with another , It is supposed that if on essay makes a good magazine ai'ticlo , twelve such articles will make a good volume . This is a great error , and to such an errx > r we owe half tho reprints of tho day . Wo wonder that no superannuated contributor to the T- ' imch hns not thought of republisbingihis columnar disquisitions , pronounced magnificent intheir generation , but a week aftoi * dato unreadable . A similar misconception attends certain speculations in print and pnper , which hnnpeu not
to fail , tiefc u novel hifc a topic of the d « y ; let it , without a spark or genius , or true eloquence , or a touch of literary oircumlitio—evon without it daah of character-painting—associate itself with a popular sympathy , and the author claims a front place in literature , stylos himself a writer , and butter men scribblers , and , like Christopher North , challenges all assailants to come on and die one by one , wriggling upon the point of his pen . Against these delusions no protest can be too emphatic There arc varieties of success—but they do tiot in every case entitle tho successful individual to reputation or to literary eminence . Now , Mr , Eagles , " tho Skotoher" of BlUofaooocl vtm a facile writer , » nd 'gossiped pleasantly from month to month ; he was not very vigorous , but he . had a light olmtty manner , and was for ovei * ready with ft quotation , often tvitQ , loften pedantic , rarely / i ? econdiba ,. aad not untfreguontly
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Qatics ^ are not tlie legislators , but the judges and police of Jitepabiore . They do not ^^ make laws they interpret and try to enforce them . —JSdtriburffh Review .
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¦ . . ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ t W 9 JIE LEJ . BIJ 3 , [ KT 3 u ^ a 7 . J a AiJGnrsT ^ 2 ? 1857 ^^
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 22, 1857, page 810, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2206/page/18/
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