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was employe ^ , in . studying the climate of the Indian Mil countries , and claims with honest pride to have initiated , and , better still , to have been the acknowledged promoter of the movement in favour of sanitary hill stations , and was listened to upon other subjects he now treats of with great attention by Lord William Bentinck in 1834 . Those , therefore , who will hear none but Anglo-Indians upon ' Indian topics will have farther excuse than our recommendation for perusing ^ his energetic and feeling papers upon " The Lopation of British Troops in India ; " The Recreative Employment of the Soldier : " " The Preservation of his Child ; "
the most interestiug . and philanthropic essay upon his Hopeful Encouragement while on Service . This last it . is our hope to meet again in some more popular form . The additional rays that a tropical pathologist , like our author casts upon the position of the wretched being whom we remove from home under the influences of the beer-pot to be used up in India , serve to show that , if England continues the attempt by such means , and without better treatment of her Worn-out tools , to preserve and consolidate a new empire for government ^ by our upper classes , and for the Boeotian happiness of the natives , she is committing a deplorable fraud .
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POEMS . Poems . By Joseph Truman . , Longman and Go . To the poetry of action , the song of adventure by flood and fiefd , has succeeded the poetry of meditation , contemplation , or speculation , in which the poet has delighted to show himself a theosophist or mystic of some kind , or to some degree . In different ways , with more or less of daring , more or less of elegance , in the form of rugged strength or that of well-polished art > Mr . Tennyson aiid Mr . Bailey have been accepted as the representative types of the modern tendency . In the poems of ] &r . Truman , we have a pupil of the latter school , and a friend of the founder , to whom he fitly dedicates Ms little volume . He adopts too , we find ,
the universalist creed of Mr . Bailey , as well as the careless fashion of his metre . But his verse is freighted with so much thought , that we little note the superfluous feet , or the unequal rhythm . The sense is far above the sound ; and though the latter be now defective , the practice of singing will correct the ear of the singer , and Mr . Truman may yet spin his lines as correctly as he now thinks strongly and speculates boldly . Mr . Truman walks . the earth erect , with his eyes raised to heaven , and guides his steps by the stars . There is , however , a human heart in his bosom , capable of loving humbly , as his soul is of daring Highly . The lair young girl at the rustic stile , with the rare true-oval feature , the bloomy tinge on either cheek , eyes of dreamy blue , hair darkest brown ,
Gathered with simple art , behind her ears , can attract not only his attention , but create a sentiment within him . Nay , from her converse , simple as she may be , and learned as he is , he will acknowledge to the receipt of more education than he bestows j deriving from her meek mind , and native woman ' s piety , ' " a , tenderer spirit in his musing moods . " Tins growth , of an individual mind , passing out of the school into the fields , coming into the presence of beauty and simplicity , aud gathering " unawares , " from the contact with the merely impulsive and spontaneous , what Mr . Truman calls , in the spirit ^ of his master , annunciative sense Of things more noble , wider , than the sphere OF solitary intellectual aims ,
becomes the more interesting to ' us from its felt truth , and the stamp which it evidently bears of its having * been a fact of the author ' s experience . What follows upon the statement is in a vein of feeling , and illustrated by a simile , that without further proof would entitle him at once to a diploma from the guild of minstrels as one fitted for the practice of tlio art : t—Ana so the sweetness of her hambloness Unwittingly did shame and subjugate The scholar ' s human pride ; and whero as onco
He toiled and panted beyond all to /( now , Henceforward through all weariness of flesh , And aehlngs of the heart , and memorlos Whioh wniled about his brain till ho wns wild , And what remained of joynunco , ho passed on Inspired to more unsoUlahnoas of life By one and , saintly memory , attd yet soothed By bountiful , divlnost hope . So muoh for the feeling . Now for tho simile : — Onco thus
I watched a woodbine casually set At foot of cedar , the grave stately growth Of many generations , glancing timidly Up all that towering altitude of gloom , Afraid to weave its bright embraces there : Anon the woodbine shoot took heartj and clasped The cedar , and clung climbing on , until The pillaied pile of fibrous foliage dark , From . mossed foundations to the spiry top , Was festooned with the fragrant . saffron flowers
Manifest it is that for this true man al l nature lives , and that he feels her heart pulsing in his own . We must make further acquaintance with him . As we turn over the pages , Sve find some noble lines on the subject of " Rizpah ; " some sweet , delicate , childish fancies in a ballad-lyric called " The Wee Bit Birdie ;• " some deeper reflections still in " Love and Belief ; " some powerful pleading in "A Question ; " and something very original in the following five lines : — Alway imploring palms -we raise toward heaven , As though we drew the consecration down ;
And miss the holy wells that gush hard by . So men mistakiugly look up for dew , The while its blessed mist im bathes their feet . And " beautiful exceedingly" the lines to which thesCare the introduction : — Therefore , if any flower shall breathe for thee A fragrant message from its pencilled urn ; If Spring airs glad thee ; if the sunset bring Into thine eyes the ( ears of solemn joy ; If any radiant passion come to make . Existence beautiful and pure t 0 thee ; If noblest music sway thee , like a dream ; If sorrow to a mournful moonlight turn Thy noon ; if something deepest in thee wake To a dim sentiment of mystery ; If musing warm to worship ; if the stars
Earnestly beckon to immortal life ; Ponder such ministrations , and be sure Thou hast been touched by God , O ¦ human heart . As we advance further in the book , we find the versification improve , but not that the poems increase in value . The metricist gains facility , but the mind struggling for expression , and deriving strength , from the struggle , is lost iu the ease and diffusion of the verse . But we must not criticise harshly a little book , evidently put forth with no other intent than to suggest to those who are favourably disposed to welcome a new singer , that the writer can sing ^—sing sometimes wisely , and sometimes well—sometimes thoughtfully , and sometimes melodiously—but always from ana to the conscience , sincerely even when not skilfully .
There is also a completeness about one poem , unfortunately too long to quote , which is likely to satisfy the doubtful that the harpist t-o whom we are indebted for the " Parable "—( such is the title of the poem)—has already made considerable pro-, gress in his art , and bears about him the talisman of promise , that \ yill hereafter enable him to speak in louder tones with the voice of one authorised to announce those verities in verse whioh prose is not privileged to utter . Our parting counsel to Mr . Truman is not to be in . haste again to publishnot to be anxious to write a new volume- —but to
pause and wait until the genuine inspiration visit mm , by night or day , resigning himself rather to occasional impulse , than seeking to show his fertility by any amount of taskwork , with whatever skill jt may be produced .
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LOGIC AND BANKING . The Logic of Banking . A Familiar Exposition of the Principles of Reasoning , &c . By J . W , Gilbnrt , Esq ., F . R . S . Longman and Go . Mjr . Giliurt sevoral years ago wrote a good book on banking , aucl Inter a book on logio which hus attracted muoh u 1 i . ont . ion . In tho present work ho has expounded tho principles of logio , and lias illustrated them by extracts from his work on banking .. Ho has reproduced tho host parts of the two
works and united thorn into ono . . For tho produotion of a work on , logic ho appears to havo no peculiar qualities nor facilities ; for tho production of a work on banking ho has tho oxporionco of a life engaged in tho business , and accordingly his " observations on tho soionco and art of banking" aro greatly superior to his " exposition of tho principles of reasoning , " No writer has bottler explained tho art , or moro justly described tho principles of tho scienoe of banking . Li connexion with thorn ho examines , as occasion serves , tho inilucnco and bearings of sovoral laws on tho praotioo of banking , and dosoribos the several systoms of banking whioii prevail in England , Scotland , Ireland , tho United States , &o . &o . To statesmen , authors , nnd
reviewers , who " often fall into mistakes when they attempt to describe the practical operations of banking , " Mr . Gilbart thinks his book on the subject " may be particularly useful . " We share his Opinion * and are sorry to learn that years after it was published , and even very lately , several of our leading journalists and of our aiithorities have referred to " America to prove the evils of free trade in banking , " in which such free trade has never existed . " Neither an individual nor a company , " Mr . Gilbart justly states , " can carry on banking ia
America without the permission ol the btate . All the banks in America , are chartered banks . " This important fact is continually overlooked ; and we readily embrace the opportunity to restate it , and declare that the persons who hereafter describe banking in America as free , are either deplorably ignorant or wilfully speak falsely , Mr . Gilbait ' s book on banking is a standard , and its worth will not be increased ,. though its circulation may , by its being made subservient to his book on logic .
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CAMBRIDGE ESSAYS . Camhrhhje Essays . Contributed by Members of the University . John W . Parker and Soil-The present scries concludes the publical ion of these half-amateur , half-prize-cssay contributions to the periodical literature of the day .. The first article is written by A . J . B . Longford . Hope , M . A ., M . P ., upon the subject of ' ; Newspapers and their Writers . " Though proiVssudly bciongiuff to the same party-in politics as the liight Hon . Sidney Herbert , lie is diametrically opposed to this gentleman in his views upon the desirability of abolishing anonymous journalism . His principles
are sound , though his style of eulorcing them is diffuse and wordy . The whole question lies in a nutshell . Idle curiosity may cause a desire iu individuals to know who wrote such and such au article , but there would be . no more real public good produced by making this knowledge open to the world than by compelling Mr . McCabe , the eminent watchmaker , to put the name of each journeyukui upon the pieces of workmanship which he guarantees . In departments of newspapers ( such as that of dramatic criticism ) where the anonymous ' character of the writing is in some measure destroyed by t he
knowledge of who is the accredited critic , tbe open , system of journalism shows premonitory symptoms of weakness . It is not too much to say tliat this section of newspaper writing has lost its intluencc over the public mind , and chiefly from the general belief which exists that a man who is known cannot be so free as a man who is not known . The liionc ^ y article writers are peculiarly open to suspicions of interested advocacy , especially since the melancholy suicide of Mr . Alsagcr some years ago , and it is only the leading article writers who retain their nower undiminished , simnlv because they work
under the corporate title of the journal , and never lift the impenetrable veil which covers them in wholesome obscurity . Mr ; Hope ' s aspirations for making journalism , even to its lowest members , ono of the liberal professions , are well meant , hut , to some cxtont , visionary . Journalists cannot be wised in crops , like barristers or clergymen ; and with regard to their " social position , " they arc very happy as thoy arc . Their independence and force would not be increased by a constaut courso of " simpering in gilded saloons , " and if their profession is not genteel enough , at present , to attract those members of tho anstooracv who feel a call to instruct mankind in tho broad sheet , of type , Ihesa
latter must be content to confine themselves to thos , o milder and moro refined regions of litenUuro , a specimen of whoso products is before us iu tho present volume . Thd second Essay , by Tt . A . Shafto Adair , . M \ A ., upon " The National Dofoncos and Organisation ot tho Militia , " is a mixture of quotations and funk . It is the old , old story of a probable foreign invasion by our buccaneering cut-throat neighbours , I no Frcnoh . Thoro is nothing like leather . Tho ucl admiral , coughing ; and promenading at Hath , suggosts moro ships 5 tho contractor , looking tit tho war-profits niado by his fathor before him , stigtf ^ is moro forts , cmbankmonts , and towors ; while suleum oraolos conneotod with tho military profession aro scon by their admirors to shako their hood " , and
hoard to mutter in olub-houeo corners , inoio soldiors . " Tho mililm warrior may bo n very patriotic individual , but ho is vory costly , us 110 is gonorally taken from labour whioh is throe tunes moro produotivo than that onoo followed by tlio regular recruits of tho lino . While ho m bcniff
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46 THE LEAD E B . [ No . 459 , Janttaby 8 , 185 a
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 8, 1859, page 46, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2276/page/14/
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