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be assimilated by : the higher classes of animals . The means of building up their frames is organised matter . Matter once organised , too , and now found many fathoms beneath the earth ' s surface , supplies many of man ' s wants , arid is even necessary to the existence of jsociety in its present form . Life , the most remote in time that we have yet formed any conception of , the life embedded in coal , form ' s part of our life . In like manner , lifethe most remote in space—the life embodied in a tea life , or a coffee bean , forms part of our life , and is as much a necessity of existence , though it became known to us at a late period ,. as the coal we dig from the mines , the oxen we fatten , and the corn we produce by our industry . Departing from the ordinary physiological mode
of treating this subject , we have endeavoured briefly to point out , in plain language , some of the ohief attributes of life . To those who have closely scrutinised the external world with all the aids of modern arts , and have traced life in invisible atoms , and who can draw no feasible line of demarcation between vegetable and animal life , the world is deeply indebted . The multitudinous variety of forms , all nevertheless of one- 'type , which they have discovered and described , fills us with wonder at the- minuteness and yet magnificence of that creation of which man forms a part . It is not our purpose to follow their researches into the beds of the ocean , the forests , and climates of the earth , nor take any special notice of the minute creatures they have made us acquainted with . " We have ¦ fihishp . d cmr brief statement of some of the
chief-attributes of life , and the second important question which arises from its wide diffusion , below man —What is the life above man ? for neither the popular' faith nor scientific discoveries justify the supposition that there is no life higher than his between him and his Creator—we may advert to iereafter .
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T OPEOTECTED FEMALES IN SICILY . , Unprotected Females in Sieilyj Calabria , and o ? i the top of Mount JEtna . One vol . " Routledge , Warnes , and Routledge . A capital title for a book ; as good as the Unprotected Females in Norway , wmeh came from the same pen . It freshens up the subject—at least in appearance . Sicily is known to every man of a wandering disposition who at any time during the year has a six weeks ' vacation , and fifty pounds to spare for letters of credit . The eruptions of Mount iEtna have been described by the forcible writer , have been chatted about by the agreeable rattle ,
hare been discoursed upon by the scientific investigator , and it only remains for the political economist to tell us what effect they have upon the local rents , Men who used to be content with a perusal of the account of the great earthquake at Lisbon , have now experienced many mild shocks of such convulsions of nature , and describe their sensations ¦( in their own inimitably funny manner ) as being very similar to what they felt when walking home from a club-dintier . Calabria lias been " done " by high-pressure tourists , to say nothing of commercial travellers , and its' picturesque brigands ( which we
aec , by the Way , upon every drop-scene at every theatre ) are redticcd by calculation to the prosaic level of a per-centago . As the turnpike-trusts in England are to foreigners , so arc the brigands' fees jabroad to English travellers . There is nothing more } . n it , except a proporty-daggcr to collect this j » roperty-f , a , x , Children pf tlio sunny South—hot-blooded , fiercoeyed , ready with the stiletto even over the family dlnuerrtable if the macaroni lacks its proper flavour ( so travellers used to tells us ) , are now familiar to us jn the persons of Dutch-looking burghers in many parts of our metropolis , peacefully rolling the oliocolato-stiek in the ohooolate-cjin , or
soiling us palatable summer refreshment in tho shape of penny ices . Wo know them all—there is nothing now under the sun . Our most popular and ouv cheapest periodicals talk to us as oomplacently of tho cavahoro , the guroou , and tho ichvostohik , as they would of tho miui at the potato-can round the corner . They are supposod to bo our bosom friends in this cosmopolitan ago , when u dance of Zulu . Kaffirs is considered one of tho stock entertainments of a suburban tea-garden , Whyshould wo look beyond the title'pago of tlio book before us ?•—Because two " unprotected females" are doing fcho journey . Two ladies— mother R . d ^ yjhtor " - ( strong-minded — nob particularly able-bodied — « Uttle raasoalino , perhaps —• tho
youngest good-looking ( so we gather slyly from the pages)—having tried the inhabitants of the snowy North , and finding them attentive but . not rude , go boldly to the other extreme of European civilisation —even into the veritable camp of Don Giovanni himself—and meet with nothing more dreadful than one offer of marriage ! Has gallantry fled , or are Amazons at a discount ? Norway we are not surprised at . ; but Italy ? Shame . Within sight of the Barbary coast , a nd no interesting pirates to carry them off . The whole world is running to utilitarian seed . Mcdora stands upon the sea-shore sighing for Conrad ; but Conrad has gone into the Newcastle-collier trade , and is running a ^ profitable cargo of tobacco under the innocent-looking shield of the friendly WaU ' s-end .
Our unprotected , or rather uninsulted , females , ascend their mountains , their volcanoes , and their cathedrals ; they see the ragged lazzaronL begging in the streets , and the waggons loaded ' with the produce of the fruitful vine ; they visit monasteries , inns , and theatres ; they talk of ladies' legs , and gentlemen ' s clothing ( fie !); they see fat Jesuits , and jolly priests , and they hear the music of the mandoline ; they gaiie upon ruined temples
that stand upon bleak hills , and which , like btonehenge , are picturesque , but drafty ; they are shown old paintings of Madonnas del All-sorts-of-thhigs , but especially of the colours of a Westphalia hanl ; they try if monks will flirt ( for shame . !) , and find that they will ; they wander in orange-groves ; and they are amused with a poncinello show at Naples ; finally , they return home with copious notes , and in excellent spirits , and , as quickly as possible , they tell us all about it .
May the old lady , after this , retire upon her wellearned traveller ' s laurels ; and the young lady take her next journey in the company of a lawful protector ! .. ""' .. •' ¦ .
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RIGHT OR WRONG . Right or Wrong . By Geraldine E . Jewsbury . Two vols . Hurst and Blacketr . It is a difficult tiling for novel writers , now-a-days , to hit upon anything Very .. fresh , or to venture into regions of fancy or life , that have not already been tolerably well explored . But novel readers offashion are exigent . They must have their spring and autumn literary luxuries ; they will no more do without their early and late novel than they will do without early peas or late pineapples . Hence the difficulty of supplying the literary market with anything very original . Writers content themselves
with recasting old . incidents , remodelling old characters , redistributing old situations , and , by the help of style and seasoning , manage to furnish forth a supply of seasonable novels , pretty sure . -to sell , and to have an ephemeral popularity . Miss Jewsbury has already made' for herself an approving public . Her published novels have prepared her readers to receive new works from her pen with pleasure , and though we cannot promise in Right or TFrotiff that : they will find anything very recherc-he , still enough of the genius of the writer and of striking incident will bo found to ensure a
warm welcome to tho work . Miss Jewsbury has selected two main incidentals the groundwork of her novel : the first , thnt of a beautiful girl seduced by a noble libertine through the agency of a pretended marriage ; the second , the temptations and dangers of a Roman Catholic semipriest . Tho first is rather a delicate subject to deal with , but Miss Jewsbury 1 ms shown herself equal to t . hc occasion , and while she fills , the reader with loathing towards tho seducer , and augor at a state of society which afforded facilities for atrocities liko those detailed , she contrives to enlist sympathy for tho seduced . Tho second incident , which has
reference to Roman Catholic dogmas and discipline , will hardly bo understood in its full force by Protestant readers . When thoy find a couple of handsome , healthy , young , and loving persons lawfully wedded , suddenly severed , o mensd ot thofo , because certain elderly people at lion to had deoi'eod that suoh cohabitation was " mortal sin , " to bo punished by bodily torture and death—whon they read of the mental horror and disquietudo of a sensible married inan , who thinks ho has committed " sin" in having violated the laws of his Churoh in this rospeotthey'will only feel wonder that any rational boing on tho faco Of tho earth could bo found to belioy . c in the force or sanctity of trumpery forms of discipline in clii'ocl contravention of the ' Scriptural command to " increaso and multiply , " and only contempt for tlio mental blindness and weakness that are unable cithor
to pierce through the veil of human imposture or to stand up boldly against poor human tyranny . Fortunately the fair sex : of England know very little of monkery or the requirements , of the Romish creed beyond what they collect from description or frpm a passing peep into the interior of some well-frequented Roman Catholic chapel , and sure we are , if they can bring themselves to credit the marital disabilities which hedge round priest and prior , in conformity with Roman Catholic dicipline , they will bless their lucky stars that they can never be placed in the same disagreeable predicament as was the heroine Marguerite by her marriage with Paul the Monk . We have said enough of this novel to render it unnecessary that we should go into further detail of plot or characters . We prefer to close our remarks by sending the reader to the work itself .
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WHO'S WHO IN 1859 . Who ' s Who in 1859 . Edited by C . H . Oakes , M . A . Baily , Brothers . This little concentrated , essence of Court Calendar , Peerage , Baronetage , Army List , Navy List , and Law List , is certainly , to our profession at least , one of the handiest of handy oooks . One of its peculiar features which , if not of absolute value or importance to the public , shows the industry of the compiler , is the column of ages attached to the list of Peers , Peers' heirs ,. Baronets , Knights , and Members of the Commons' House . To give a fair
idea of its contents , we should have to copy a very long table , which would be inconvenient ; but We may say , in a few words , that something about nearly everybody in every profession , who is anybody at all , may be found out in its pages . The last of these comprise the obituary , from which we gather that the past year has removed one hundred and seventy from the roll of notabilities . To conclude , Who ' s Who has become , partly from habit , partly from its real usefulness , an annual necessary to journalists , and to use a phrase more common ^ witb . advertisers than reviewers , We can almost fancy that no library or boudoir-table can be complete without it .
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The Littraryand Educational Year Book for 1359 . Kent and Co . — Here are more , than three hundred octavo pages of useful information for half a crown . It is indeed a most extraordinary collection of matters . The leading tables relate to all books published from the middle of November , 1857 , to the middle of November , J . S 58 , and also a list of new editions and works reduced in price . American and foreign works are alao recorded , and the articles contained in the Quarterly serials . Then we have lists of lecturers paid and gratuitous ; of newspapers , native and foreign ; of periodicals - \ veekl > % monthly , quarterly ; . of societies , clubs , reading-rooms , universities , colleges , schools , institutions , and almost of every point of social interest . The utility of the work is immense .
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BOOKS RECEIVED , Tales from Blackwood . No . XL Diary and Correspondence ofJohnEoelyny F . R . S . By ¦ William Bray , Esq ., F . A . S . A New Edition in 4 vols . Vols , I . and II . H . G . Bohn , The Formation and Progress of the Tiers Etat , or Third Estate , of France . By Augustia Thierry . 2 vols , in 1 . II . G . Bohn , Animal Physiology . By W . B . Carpenter , M . D . . New Edition . II . G . Bohn . Western Central Africa . By R . Jumioson . Effingliam Wilson .
The Origin of Christian Tenets : The Jews of Alexandria . John Chapman . TuiVa Edinburgh Magazine . No . CCCII . Vol . XXVX Edinburgh : Sutherland and Knox . History of France fi-oni the Earliest Times to 18-18 . By tUe Rev . Jiimos White . W . Bluokwood and Sons . Thoughts on Parliamentary Reform . By John Stuart Mil ) . J . W . Parker . Routladyc's Shahspeare . Eilitod by II . StaiuHon . Port XXXIV . IVbruary . Koutlodgo and Co . Extmmes ; or , Men of the Day . A Comedy in Three Aota . By Edmund Fuioonor , M . D . A . C . John
Mitchell . Tho Student ' s IJumo : a History of England , By David Hume . John Murray . Failure of the Forbes Mackenzie Act , By James Stirling ' . Glasgow . Juinoa Miidohoso , Thu Uotnbay Almanauli for 1850 . Algor and Street . Stanford ' * Ntw Map qf Parliamentary Divisions ant ' Jiorowjhs qf ' England and Wahs . Edward Stanford- " ^ . Facts and Fallacies Relating to tho Main uraxnag < Scheme of thv Metropolitan JBoard qf Wor / is , IS . Stanford .
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No .. 4 H Febbttaby 12 , 1859 . ] THE L 1 ADEB , 207
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 12, 1859, page 207, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2281/page/15/
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