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Leader (1850-1860), 1st February 1851, Edition Country of 2, Page 14

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      Mackay's " Egeria." Egeria, Or The Spiri...

      fellow-creatures gradually returns , and he resolves to direct his energies towards the amelioration of society , for which he sees no hope while its present structure remains . He , therefore , becomes in theory a Communist , or something very like one ; and in a farewell interview with Egeria , upon the top of a mountain ( the substance of which he relates to his friend Montague ) , he beholds " a vision of the Past , " with all its cruelties and ignoranceone of the present time , showing the advance which the world has made , and the young dawnlight of new principles now purpling in the orient of our horizon—and , lastly , one of the world as it will be , wherein all the aspirations of the most generous thinkers are embodied . We subjoin the two latter visions , as a good specimen of Mr . Mackay ' s poetical power and political belief : —

      " I saw the actual world Spreading beneath me all its climes and lands . 'Twas robed in purer splendour . Time had wrought Beneficent changes in the hearts of men ; But a great problem which the ages past Had never posed , was clamorous to be solved;—How mighty populations were to live In narrow area , by the ancient rule Of competition—each man against each ? And whether union , often tried by men For purpose of destruction , war , and wrong , Might not , if tried for purposes of peace , Construction , industry , and mutual aid , Lead the sad nations of a world effete From darkness into light—from sea to land!—The mighty truths were gushing into flower ; Old evils lived , but deadly war had sprung Betwixt the embattled hosts of Bight and Wrong , And Victory was sitting in the cloud 3 Uncertain of the issue . When this passed , A brighter vision broke upon my soul—The promised reign of righteousness had come—The lion and the lamb lay down in peace , The nations turned their swords to pruning-hooks . And studied war no more . The Law of Love Made other law a useless formula . Labour was pleasure , Duty was delight , God was sole king , and every human heart Gave Him allegiance . I beheld no morei And , turning to Egeria , kissed the hem Of her white garments . 'Mortal man , ' she said , ' Too long bewildered in the mazes dim Of false philosophies , —thy path grows clear ! Descend again into the world of life And take new guidance . Let philosophy Atiune as erst thy solitary hours To harmonies , unheard by worldly ears ; But let true Piety thy guardian be , The guide and the companion of thy days . '"

      Mr . Mackay ' s poetry is not of a kind which requires deep or subtle criticism , because it is not in itself deep or subtle . It is rather the reflex of a temperament poetically inclined , than the fervid utterance of an original soul , burdened with the mystery of its sensations . It is preeminently noncreative : but , like a lake among the towering hills , it answers the heavens quietly and purely . A loving and observant eye for Nature—an honest and manly enthusiasm in the cause of truth and right—and a cheerful faith in the progress of the world ( excepting when he declares that evil is in

      itself a good thing ) , —such are the characteristics that throw honour upon Mr . Mackay ' s poetry , and are the sources of pleasure to his many readers . " We must , however , be permitted to advise him to meditate deeply over every word which he commits to paper , and not to mistake any set of syllables which happens to fall easily into rhyme and rhythm for the mounting fires of poetry . Especially let him avoid such expressions as " rapturous minstrelsy , " and " feathered people of the boughs " ( see page 11 ) , & c . They huve been linked with insincerity and pretence , and carry with them an atmosphere of untruth .

      lhe minor poems accompanying Jtyerta are already , we believe , well known to the public . Reflecting' with a generous sympathy the longings , enjoyments , and sorrows of the masses , in verse which all can understand , they must needs be favourites far and wide .

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      Books On Ouh Tablk Historic Certainties ...

      BOOKS ON OUH TABLK Historic Certainties reivecting the Early History of America , developed in a Critical Examination of the Hook of the Chronicles of l / i (! Land of Jicnarf . By the . Ucvei'vud Arintuiclum N « mvlijjht . J . W . I ' uikor . This brochure is a parody on the new historic criticism of the Gospels , which in the IiuikIh of St . rati . sn anil Do Wette Iiuh revolutionized theology . 11 h intention , like that of its prototype by Archbishop Whately , Historic Doubts respecting Napoleon lionapartts , i « to disprove , by a pretended rcxinctio ad absurdum , the value of » method which ruinu the credibility of the Gospels ; but although shallow , people may clap hands over hucIi a triumph of ridicule , all serious thinkers will detect the sophiHUi . The historic trtUiinony in favour of the Uuupels can stand no sort of compariuou with that of the existence

      of Napoleon or the French Revolution , and only in jest could the parody be allowed . Unfortunately ndentent dicere falsum quid vetat?— " who objects to a he wrapped up in laughter ? " —and so the parody is made to bear a grave conclusion . , The Reverend Aristarchus Newlight has humour , and some of his etymologies are very ingenious—notably his explanation of Napoleon —( or Noel-opan as he calls him)—meaning Godless Revolution . No answera to the Greek negative yy ( in mfs-io * , & C . ) , the Latin we or non , the English no , the German nein . El , as every one knows , is the name of God : Noel , therefore , is the same as aBeocgodless . Opan actually occurs as the

      , name of a wheel in Ezekiel , in Exod . xiv . 25 , and many other places . In its contracted form it denotes a period or revolution of time . " It is impossible , " says Dr . Newlight , " to resist these little obvious , but on that account more striking evidences of the antiquity of the document . The framers of the story of Napoleon were , I fancy , aware of the true etymology of Noel-opan . Hence they represent a great literary bugbear ( Lord Byron ) as signing his name Noel Byron , just as Shelley is said to have written a 8 ta <; after his name in the album at Chamouni . " As a learned and laborious joke we can commend this brochure , with a caveat , however , against its

      intention . TomKntf * Help to Self-Educators . Interpreting Subjects of History , Art , Politics , Literature . First Quarterly Part . Office , 19 , Southampton-street . This is a penny periodical with that rare thing—a definite scheme , and a good one . Addressed to those who are educating themselves , it professes to help them in their labours by taking up large subjects , and expounding them by means of extracts from authoritative writers , and by comments . In Political Economy , for example , an analysis is given of Adam Smith and John

      Mill—interspersed with extracts . In History , a view of Britain under the Romans , with extracts from Dr . Giles . In Politics , a review of the English Constitution , historical and expository . In Art , Schelling ' s celebrated Oration is the text-book . The extracts being selected to serve a distinct purpose , become doubly valuable . The only suggestion we should make respecting future numbers is the desirableness of not falling too much into extracts ; the professed object of the periodical being to educate rather than to inform , principles should be dwelt upon , and mere details of information used only as supplementary .

      A CJiristmas Offering . Original Poems by Richard Friend . Dover : J . Johnson This tiny volume is the production of a youth , who , like many thousands before him , has rushed into print pre maturely . It is impossible to decide from the writings of a boy what he will do as a man ; very often , in such cases , the badness of the productions are promises for the future , because they show that he is thinking and writing for himself , and not mimicking the smooth mediocrity of others .

      Letters On The Laws Of Man's Nature And ...

      Letters on the Laws of Man's Nature and Development . By Henry George Atkinson and Harriet Martincau . John Chapman . The Cotton and Commerce of India Considered in Relation to the Interests of Great Britain ; with Remarks on Railway Communication in the Bombay Presidency . By John Chapman . John Chapman . The Jtntediluvian History , and Narrative of the Flood ; as set forth in the Early Portions of the Book of Genesis . Critically examined and explained by the Jievertnd 1 £ . 1 _) . ilcndell . J . S . HodBon .

      The Signification of Colours in all Ages , including an Explanation of the Mythological and other Remains of Antiquity From the French of M . Portal , with extra notes , introduction , & c . Jiy Kliliu Rich . W . Newberry . The IVar uj' the Churches ; or , the Real Nature of the Quarrel between the Church of Rome and the Church of England , with very numerous Historical Reflections and Illustrations on the State of Christianity in England for the last Thousand Years , showing the , Effect a Revival of the Penal Code would have upon the Social Condition of the Empire , and its numerous Religious , Civil , and Political Interests . By Junitia Oivilia . James Gilbert .

      The Duty of England ; A Protestant Layman ' s Reply to Cardinal tVisnnnn ' s " Appeal . " John Chapman The Girlhood of Shakespeare ' s Heroines . Tale 3 . ( Helena , the Physician ' s Orphan . ) By Mary Coivilen Clarke , W . II . Smith and Son The North British Revimo . No . 28 . Hamilton , Adamn , and Co The Artisan . No . 2 . Vol . 9 . Matthew Soul

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      — V The Prisoners Of War. You Read, Lust...

      — v THE PRISONERS OF WAR . You read , lust week , how I proposed to manure my leisure with excellent guano in the guise of the " Christian Fathers ! " No plan could be better . It Avii 3 eleiir that I hud a long period before me which would be barren of oflicial occupation ; the theatres had comfortably nettled down into the uniformity of " every evening , " and my post became a sinecure . To a man of aspiring mind idleness is death . Repose ? " There will be repose enough in the tomb , " as the philosopher Nicole judiciously remarked . How , then , was 1 to imitate the industrious insect , and ' improve the whining hour , " when the words every evening , " consigned me to privacy and insignificance r Obviously by Home edifying study . The vellum-bound folios , labelled dhrysostomi Opera ,, allured me . The subjects treated of by the goldenmouthed sage are not , perhaps , of the gayest , nor does his style spnrklo with _ pleasantries ; but if he be open to irreverent criticism in respect of quality , Inn pretensions to quantity are imposing enough — there are some fourteen hundred different works owning him aa

      author ; so that a man ' s leisure , be it never bo indefinite , may find ample food there—if he happen to like it , and if his thirst for knowledge of Greek writers be as unslakeable as mine . I attacked the fourteen hundred works with the vigour of a boy let loose in a confectioner ' s ! Deep was I in tha t substantial treatise On the Priesthood ( wcpi UpacrvvqA —which , as the publishers say , belongs to the books " suitable to the present crisis "—and was on the eve of making glorious mems from i £ when out flames the bill of the Princess ' s with the announcement of

      The Prisoners of War , just represented at Windsor and now offered to her Majesty ' s subjects in London ( as in old days Moliere brought his troupe and his genius , crowned with the bravos of Versailles , before the miscellaneous public of Paris ) . Ua-itaiut . I exclaimed ( keeping up my character as a Hellenist ) —this must be looked to ! Douglas Jerrold is not only my friend , he is the wittiest man in England , and must be attended to before all the Christian Fathers extant . Besides I have not seen that piece for some years . Let us see what the wittiest of wits and the best actress in England can do for

      once . I went : I saw : I screamed . So did the audience . There was the comedy—not by any means clear as to its story—but sparkling like a diamond with its thousand facettes — epigrammatic , humorous , sarcastic , pathetic . There was Mrs . Keeley—the best actress in England in one of her best parts—her appearance was the signal of one immense , hyperbolical , unimaginable guffaw ! Picture her to yourself in the costume of our mothers , the waist under the arm , the white dress with its skimping skirts , the bonnet

      —but no : language relinquishes the attempt to describe her bonnet ! Go and see that article of female adornment ! Go and see her as Polly Pall Mall , if it is only to relish her reading of that love letter through her tears—and what tears ! what sobs ! what nature and what intensity of shopkeeping grief in the look , in the gestures , in the tones , as Beaver interrupts her , and she tries vaguely to suppress the torrent of her woe , which bubbles up at last in utter abandonment ! You can ' t see such acting as that often , and had better make a sacrifice to see it .

      But , though I always remember The Prisoners of War mainly in connection with Mrs . Keeley , let me , in justice to the rest , say that all were good in it . Keeley—looking as if he had stepped from the pages of Gilray—has some wonderful jokes to utter , and you know that nothing confided to him loses its value . Charles Kean plays Lieutenant Firebrace pleasantly ; and Mrs . Kean has the laudable audacity of dressing Clarina so that we think of our mothers , and wonder how men could go into raptures about

      them ! Indeed the dressing of the piece and the general 44 getting up " is very creditable , and gives positive zest to it . I enjoyed the play so much , that Chrysostom has been closed ever since , and in a few more days will probably furnish a resting place and a solitude to some erudite epider with a theological turn of mind . The more so as I hear gossip about * active preparations " in more than one quarter—a p ' ay at Old Drury , a Comedy by Bourcicalt at the Princess ' s , and a Melodrama by the same at the Olympic ! Vivian .

      The Cadi's Daughter. On Monday A New Ope...

      THE CADI'S DAUGHTER . On Monday a new operetta irr one act , under the above title , was produced at Drury Lane . The subject is Blight enough . Abdallah ( Mr . Rafter ) is a young merchant : Salek , his opposite neighbour , a barber . Both pride themselves on the superiority of their sex , and affix placards declaratory of their opinion over the doors of their respective shops , lhe Cadi ' s Daughter ( Miss Eliza Nelson ) , a coquettish young Turkish lady , and Vistua , her atte nda nt ( Miss F . Morant ) , resolving to cure the presumption of the youths , commence an attack on their hearts , and having induced them to ask their hands in

      marriage , the Cadi assumes the disguise of a decrepid ugly old woman . The Cadi having demanded the fulfilment of their contract , the ladies resume their proper shape , and promise to befriend the youths , and save them from such a hateful alliance , provided they reverse tho offensive placards . This is performed , und tho lovers made happy by receiving the objects of their loves . The music is a mere string of ballads , one duet , and a chorus , quite in tho popular vein . Tho ballads sung by M iss Nelson , with great piquancy and expression , proved thoroughl y successful . The encores were vociferou s , though not submitted to without opposition . Miss

      Nelson wis loudly called for at tho fall of the curtain . This piece is , however , unworthy of the bo ards of Drury-lane Theatre . At a moment when there is an outcry for a national opera , and when we app eared to have emancipated ourselves from mere ballad opera , it surely is not for Drury Lane to hurl us back upon the worst and least artistic school of composition . The compromise made by Bulfe and H arnett is really such as to advance tho taste for , and encrease tho chances of English lyric composition ; but hucIi productions as tho Cadi ' s Daughter only serve to impede its progress , and even to bring the bare proposal for the establishment of . a national lyric drama into contempt .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 1, 1851, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_01021851/page/14/