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Leader (1850-1860), 29th October 1859, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1199, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      " Comprehensive History of India . " ( Blackie and Son . ) Nos . 19 , 20 , 21 , and 22 . —This serial progresses satisfactorily . It treats , ye may remind the reader , of the civil , military , arid social condition of India , from the first landing of the English , &c ., to the suppression of the sepoy revolt . The story is exceedingly well told . The present numbers treat of the mythology and social state of the people . The engravings are numerous and well selected . They are competently executed on wood and steel ; and will in all amount to more than five hundred . " Cassell ' s Illustrated Almanack for 1860 is published . The embellishments are profuse in number , and executed with accuracy and elegance . The wars in Italy make the subject of many of the engravings . ¦ '

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      Twice Bound the Clock ; or , The Hours oj the Day and Night in London . By George Augustus Sala . — Houlston and Wright . The history of a day and night in London—that is the conception worked out in this work of Mr . Sala , and well worked out , too , with adequate knowledge , spirit , and gusto . Read the description of Billingsgate ; then turn to that of the neighbourhood of the Times office , Printing-house-square and Playhouseyard , and admire the graphic power of the author , the word-painting , the illustrative witticism , the thousand-and-one fugitive associations ^ and all the other etceteras of a full and flowing style . What think we , too , of the picture of Covent Garden at

      six o ' clock in the morning , and those robust drivers of the market carts , with their indomitable energy ? Mr . Sala calls them " vegetable Titans of the rail , railly . " Ere we can answer the question , other pictures throng for appreciation , until London , in its entirety , if not in its integrity , stands before us . Among the papers there is a fine one on Theatrical Green-rooms , as a type of which the author has evidently taken the Adelphi . How well he discriminates , when , having said that "behind the __ scenes is commonplace , " he corrects himself , and' adds— " and so it is ; but it is the

      common-place of dream-land , the every-day life of the realms of Prester John , the work-a-day existence of the kingdom of Cockaigne , or of that shadowy ' land where dwell the " anthropophagi , and men whose keads do grow beneath their shoulders , " Here Mr . Sala challenges a sort of authority from a long acquaintance with the stage behindthecurtain . Equally from the life , too , is drawn a Late Debate in the House of Commons , introductory to a picture of London at Night , with its bals masque's , arid its Bow-street night charges . In all these questions of morals are blended with descriptions of manners , and the whole is as full of instruction as it is replete

      with amusement . Causes of Irregularity of the Pennanent Teeth : their Mechanical Treatment considered . By James Robinson , D . D . S ., Senior Dentist , Royal Free Hospital , &c , &c . 8 vo . —Webster ajid Co . This very important branch of dental surgery could not be in better hands than that of the celebrated dentist who has contributed these able papers to the " Dontal Review , " and now collected them into this more permanent form , Mr . Robinson ' s thorough knowledge of dental science in all its branches , and his deservedly high reputation would

      guarantee the sufflcioncy of the work , but we nre also informed by surgeons of great experience that these papers form an admirable treatise on the peculiar form of disease they treat of . Irregularities of the second denture are much more common than is generally supposed , and the advice of an experienced practitioner is absolutely necessary at the earliest possible period of their appearance . Wo can only call attention to this very clever treatise , which must be welcoino to all those who are desirous to possoss and sccuro that greatest of all comforts and ornaments , a fine set of teeth .

      Inspiration :. How is it related to Revelation and the ' Reason /> With a few remarks suggostod by recent criticisms on Mansel ' s " Bampton Locturos . " — Triibner & Co . That our theology is growing more rational is proved by recent publications . Tho vriter before us airas at bringing into the argument , affecting creeds and miracles , the evidences to bo procured from our own mental condition . Ho might have relieved his discussion of some toilsome ambages

      by aceopting at onco tho scriptural text , that the understanding of niau is in . itself an inspiration . However , he perceives that ideas can only be imported by " inspiration from the Divine , " and thus starts with an assumption which ¦ 1 , 3 all but the highest , Verbal inspiration he carefully guards against , because they aro capable of boing misunderstood . Words are man ' s mode of representing to others the product of his active mental faculties , in like manner as " tho forms of the imagination and tho intellect are given him for tho purpose of

      representing to himself the true and real ideas of the reason which give meaning to every phenomenal and formal idea . " Inspiration , considered as a spiritual communication from a superior to an inferior mind , enlarges the ideas of the recipient , and thus increases the relations of thoughts to words , — hence the volume of inspiration has an expanding meaning corresponding with the gifts possessed by successive interpreters . Readers are misled by the term spirit in Scripture , which is improperly sometimes distinguished by a capital letter , in cases , where it means only the human individual spirit , and not a Divine personality . The infallibility of the Scriptures , in his opinion , does not mean much , infal

      unless we are permitted to include in it the - libility of the readers of Scripture . " On comparing the views and theories which men have formed of the meanings which are contained in the Bible during the successive centuries , both before and since the Christian era , we meet with the fact that widely varying conceptions have been entertained ; one age will have seen both larger and very different truths in them from another age ; the Scriptures will have spoken in various language to the hunian mind of the year 858 from that in which they address it in 1858 ; yet the real words of Scripture unquestionably remain the same , and it is reasonable to conclude that the men in A . r > . 3 , 000 will discern much more truth than we of 1858 in these same ¦

      words / ' . - These few remarks , we believe , give a clearrenough view of the scope of the meritorious pamphlet that now commands our attention . For the details of his argument and its illustrations we must , of course , refer to the work itself . The reader , to whom the subject is of interest and importance , will do well to possess himself of this little work . It is anonymous , but evidently proceeds from a clerical pen , and may be accepted as a proof that philosophy has at length made its way among our divines , and is gradually purifying theological dogmas of some accretions which have served as stumbling-blocks to rational inquirers .

      The Convert of Massachusetts . —John Henry Parker " The Convert of Massachusetts" is the eighth volume of a . series of historical tales designed to "popularise a knowledge of church history , and instil into the minds of juvenile readers a love of church principles . But the writer ' s design will be best shown by quoting the Preface to Vol . I .: — " Care has been taken to secure strict accuracy in respect of dates , events , and geographical and topographical descriptions , as well as a truthful picture of the manners of the country and period treated of ,

      and a correct reproduction of the phraseology then employed . A narrative to be consistent must employ the terms and represent the usages most generally adopted in the period to which the tale refers ; thus if the story belong to a rude age , there will be in it a predominance of the ruder elements of social life ; if to the middle ages , the corruptions of the Roman Church will be conspicuous ; or if the scene be laid in the East , the rites of the Greek Church will be more prominent . But the object of these tales is to give a faithful representation of the condition of the church in past ages . "

      A writer having such a good object in view deserves to be successful . We have read the sketches through , and find that the . writer has worked out the plan very creditably .. As few children nro partial to dry history wo can recommend this series of tales as being admirably adapted for the young . Stilicho ; or , the Impending Fall of Rome : An Historical Tragedy . By George Mallam . —Smith , Eldor , and Co . Tub celebrated Stilicho is tlie hero of this dramatho warrior on whom Claudius expended so much fine poetry ; and Mr . Mnlliuu , though not equal to the subject , has treated it with meritorious care . His versification is as yet crude ; and , before he undertakes another tragedy he should make himself more familiar with tlio vehicle through which his dialogue must bo expressed .

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      A Nkw •' Miiiuoun iron thu Maoisthatks . " — Tho Frenoh Minister of Justice has sent a circular to the various judges , law o . fflcere , and magistrates , which strongly reminds one of tho sumptuary edicts of tho middle ages . They aro invited to abstain from appearing in public in coloured clothes ; they must restrict themselves to a black suit and white cravat . Cigar smoking in tho streets is also prohibited , and they are also told that they must not have country houses , as sleeping out of town is considered detrimental to the " sorvlco . " When those who are entrusted with the administration of tho law are exposed to such official inaportinenco about their " mufti , " can it be wondorod nt that ; doubts are thrown out as to tho authprities tampering with tho discharge of their dutiosP Fancy a Lord Chancellor issuing a letter to tho bench and bar , condemning their woaring of chock trottsors , and having a villa at Barnes or Putney !

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      Phixcess ' s TffEATEE . —The first appearance at thi theatre of Mr . George Melville—an actor we ] esteemed in the provinces—as Hamlet , drew a largi audience on Wednesday last , and we are glad to re cord that the general impression of those best quali fied to judge was , on the whole , much in his favour So thoroughly have the critics riddled the tragedj and the principal character , and so familiar are the play-going public with both , that anything like a really new se nsation is ha rdly to be got out of them , We should not be far wrong were we to Say that each

      adult spectator of Hamlet has some acquaintance with both , and some notions of his own as to the gesture and emphasis , or , in brief , the reading . This he would have c ompulsory upo n the actor , and ( so liberal is the world ) any deviation from it he is apt to esteem heresy or proof of unfitness . On Monday he hears the player deliver certain lines in the first act after his own heart , and , vanity-led , applauds him to the echo ; he condemns him in the second act as an incapable and degraded " muff ; " if chance or preference lead him to lay accent in a different

      place ; start , slide , shudder , Or gesticulate , in a different-manner ; shout or whisper in another key than that of his ingrained predilection . Balancing at the play ' s end , without reflection that Tuesday ' s reading may vary each point of coincidence or difference , our comfortable and self-confident spectator goes straightway to his home or elsewhere , and too often proceeds to condemn the actor , taising either his own private reading or that of some byegone member of the craft as a standard . But the adoption of the former may be both thoughtless and selfish : of the latter , vulgar . The judicious actor

      of Hamlet is he who , avoiding extravagance , suggests or evokes the Hamlet that is in each spectatpr ' s breast , rather than depicts one that a few may quietly accept and a majority will always noisily condemn . Ojf such is Mr . Melville , who , gifted with 3-outh , a comely presence , a fine eye , an agreeable voice , some stage practice , a generally sound elocution , and . considerable taste , contrived on Wednesday to disappoint the novelty hunters , and highly to gratify the intellectual portion of the auditory . The best parts of his performance were-decidedly those in which he least strained his physical and mental

      energies . His defects appeared to be a certain uneasiness of action and an occasional want of repose ; but these may have been partly due to the difficulties of his position as a debutant on the Kennhaunted stage without tho spectacular and melodramatic accessories of the Kean management , and . in presence of as potent an array of judges as tho importance and interest of the occasion could call

      together . It is impossible to say at present that Mr . Melville ivill prove a groat or eminent tragedian . To predicate the contrary were , presumptuous , considering his youth and many advantages . Wo shall at all events bo safe in saying that in many Shakespearian and other romantic characters , ho will—if open to adviceprove an acquisition to tho London boards . . sonsatiori has been

      During the week a minor created by the production hero of a dramatic folly onUtlod '' Puss , " i « which Miss Louise Kueloy exhib mmonso talent . This young actress , who ipnonrs to inherit all the dramatic excellencies ut her f itlior and mother , as well as an amusing personal likonoss to tho former , is tho horonio of the trifle of which we need hardly hero hash up the rtimsv ilot . It is liowovor well calculated to display tho lady ' s talent as an actress of tho Inyenuo order and as a vocalist , and on tho whole makes a most pleasing interlude .

      St James ' s Tkeatue . —Wo are glad to report that this exiled place of amusoment has not alono contrived to survive tho difficulty of gotting recognised by the public , but is ovon on tho verge of popularity . This is due tp tho quaint heresies q £ fc . Leicester Buckingham ' s burlesque ' Virginius , " tho pretty postures of Miss Lydia Thompson , the vocal talents of Misses St . Oasso ana Arden , ana last , not least , the admirable acting of . Mrs . JTranle Matthews and Mr . Lulgh Murray , in Poole s well

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      SERIALS .

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      MUSIC AND THE DRAMA .

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      Mn . fiOl . Oct . 23 , 1859 ; T THE lEiDEB . 1 109

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 29, 1859, page 1199, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2318/page/11/