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Mat 3, 1856.] _ THE LEADER. 427
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EXHIBITION OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY. The pri...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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A Batch Of Books. An Essay On Liberty An...
struct an equilateral or any other triangle , than a syllogism . He boldly brings forward the arguments of the Abolitionists , arraying them in stately rank along his pages , and promises by many a complacent implication to bowl at them as a child bowls at nine-pins . But we are miserably deceived . The Professor , even when he aims well , fires badly , but in almost every case he shies the argument , and , leaving his antagonist ' s objections far behind rides on in a cloud of his own creation . We have seldom met with propositions more feebly supported or handled , or deductions more illo < ncally drawn . The assumed degradation of the Negro race forms the basis of Professor Bledsoe ' s theory . He does not ask to be allowed to make
slaves of the white man—no ; " he merely insists that those only who are already unfit for a higher and nobler state than one of slavery , should be held by society in such a state . " Who told him they are unfit for a higher state than slavery ? " We ought to cease inflicting injury upon others , " is a quiet maxim of Dr . Wayland ' s . " Here , " writes the Professor , "it is assumed that slavery is an injury to the slave . " The question of slavery , asserts the Professor , " is not a pure , it is a mixed science ; facts can no more be overlooked by the political architect , than magnitude can be disregarded by the mathematician . The man , the political dreamer , who pays no attention to them , may be fit , for aught we know , to frame a
government out of moonshine for the inhabitants of Utopia ; but if we might choose our own teachers in political wisdom , we should decidedly prefer those who have an eye for facts as well as abstractions . " Facts , Professor Bledsoe ? Tearing children from their parents , parents from their children ; forcing them to labour beyond their strength , cruelly scourging and torturing them—are these not facts ? But we must dismiss the book ; its author has not recounted the real difficulties of abolition ; instead of an apology for the slave system , he attempts its justification upon natural grounds , and the result is a mass of declamatory verbiage . Evening Recreations . ( Longman and Co . )—Mr . Gurnev , the editor of this volume , thinks that much good may be done in the way of lecturing if educated gentlemen would come forward more frequently , and volunteer their services . " I am particularly anxious to claim the help of intelligent laymen for this work , because their special vocations would often suggest subjects of the best kind , and because many of the working classes are more afraid of something in the sermonising style if the lecturer is a -clerffvman , " the said working men being practically in the right , since ,
when clergymen lecture , they almost invariably preach . The lectures , we presume , are collected to show what may be done by volunteers if they would but come forward . As , however , six out of the eight lectures in the volume are delivered by ministers , and a seventh by the professor of political economy at Oxford , we do not see that he has very strongly supported iiis position . . Things not Generally Ktiozcn . By John Timbs . ( David Bogue . )—Mr . Timbs has collected into a neat little volume many important results of scientific investigations and antiquarian research , more particularly in connexion with " common questions" not very commonly answered with pre--cision . Why bridesmaids wear scarlet on Valentine-day ; how the Gretna Crreen privilege originated ; what was the origin of the pawnbroker ' s three gilt balls , are items of tea-table gossip which he p leasantly discusses . The book forms a little cabinet of scientific and statistical facts , at once useful and entertaining , and not the less authentic , we hope , because some of the statements are beyond , not of course our belief , but our comprehension . "It has been calculated" is irresistible evidence , and we submit .
The Tricks of Trade . ( Bogue . )—What will our readers think of a volume specially written to explain in what way everything they eat is adulterated ? There ' s death in the pot ; we must say it a < iain . Sometimes , however , knowledge is life . Our fears exaggerate , and make our ills appear freater than they are . " The adulterations practised with food may be ivided into two kinds—those which are physically harmless , and which only have the effect of defrauding the purc haser , and those which are positively noxious . " These latter are not so extensively employed as we are sometimes apt to imagine . However , this little book , which is anonymous , may be consulted by nervous tea-drinkers who are anxious to know at what rate they have been poisoning themselves for the last half-century . Friendly Societies Assurance Companies . By Arthur Scratchley , M . A . — This is a valuable treatise , with an appendix , on Copyhold , Life , . Leasehold , and Church Property , based on sound calculations . It also contains rules and regulations for the formation of Copyhold Enfranchisement and Freehold Land Societies , and may be received as a safe guide by those interested in the purchase of land . .
__ ^ The Whist-Player , by Lieutenant-Colonel B . ( Addoy and Co . ) , is dedicated to the Army ami Navy Club , " it being generally admitted that justice is no- ^ tohcre so impartially administered as by a court composed of British officers . " Whatever the indignant Great British public may say of this axiom , the bright little book of Lieutenant-Colonel B . contains some good games and rules . The lieutenant-colonel treats his whist party as though it were subject to the articles of war . In one rule ho decrees , that " whoever shall , by word or gesture , show app roval or disapp roval of his partner ' s play during the game , shall forfeit one point , " & c . Excellent discipline is suggested here , but could Bunyan ' s best man bo reduced to perfect immobility under the torture of his partner ' s bad play ? Statistical Fieiv of the Population , Religions , and Languages of Jittrope , Transcaucasia , and Turkey in Asia , in 1855 . By E . Kavcnstein . ( Stamford . ) —The object of the book may bo explained by an extract : —
Amongst tho latest developments of tho ago , the idoa of nationalities ia one of the most important —an idou which ia not arbitrary , but one resulting from profound historical antecedents of common origin , language , manuera , and religion . It is tho science of statistics that will load to tho working out and realisation of this great idea , and we trust that tho ensuing pagoa will somewhat contribute- towards tho solution of this momentoua question . Mr . Ravenstein states that the yearly increase of population in Prussia is 1 . 38 per cent . ; in Russia , 1 . 10 per cent . ; in Austria , 0 . 99 per cent . ; the British Isles , 0 . 30 per cent . ; in France , 0 . 21 per cent ., & c , while in Ireland , Baden , 4 cc , the population has of lato been decrcaaing .
Tales , novelets , and moral biographies swarm under the influence of tht " season , " like insects under a June sun . In the Parlour Library Cooper ' s Jack Tier is reprinted . The Boomed Ship ( London , Willoughby and Co . ) makes its third appearance , and is ready for a new generation of readers . We need not saj more of this interesting Arctic tale than that its author reasserts the au < thentieity of the facts related , Mr . John Palisser ' s Solitary Hunter ( Routledge ) abounds in wild adventures , improbable achievements , and unprecedented escapes . The Autobiography of a Beggar Boy ( William Tweedie , Edinburgh ) also comes before us a second edition . Our duty is performed if we advise the reader , if he has not seen the work , and wishes to learn something of the struggles which penniless children have to encounter in the campaign of life , to purchase it . It is curious and original .
The Two Cottages ( Henry and James Parker , London ) and The Poor Folk at Home ( James Nisbet , and Co . ) present pictures of cottage virtue , and cottage vice , and try to impress upon our minds how much happier men and women would be if they dtd ' nt quarrel , steal , and murder ; but would go to church , hear the preacher , and do as he bids them . A week at the Bridge of Allan , by Charles Rog ^ r , L . L . D . ( Adam and Charles Black , Edinburgh ) , i 3 a useful manual for those who wish to pass a week or so during the summer in this " delightful neighbourhood . " Leaves from a Surgeon's Note Book , by Frank Thornton ( Riddel and Co . London ) , is the first number of a series of stories , or " sketches from life % n intended to illustrate the value and importance of Life Assurance . To Be or Not to Be , by Blanche Shakspeare de Trepka ( J . Kendrick , London ) , contains two poems , one to the Emperor of the French , the other to Lord Palmerston , preceded by a letter to the author , from J . Boleslas Ostrowski .
The War and the Newspaners , by the Rev . C . Kennaway ( Henry and James Parker , London ) , and Pretensions of Prussia , by J . D . Durham ( Houlstonand Stoneman , London ) , are pamphlets resulting from recent events . The first is intended to blame the indiscreet plain-speaking of the press during the war ; its presumptuous criticism of the plans of the campaign , and its malevolent remarks on the incapacity of generals and officers . The second more modestly offers " suggestions pn the right conduct and wise policy of the war , and the results to be anticipated from the victorious progress of the Allied forces . "
Mat 3, 1856.] _ The Leader. 427
Mat 3 , 1856 . ] _ THE LEADER . 427
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Exhibition Of The Royal Academy. The Pri...
EXHIBITION OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY . The private view of the Royal Academy—which is , strictly speaking , a private view , and not the hot squeeze through which you perspire , pencil in hand , at those great public events , the " private views , " given by separatist societies of British painters—took place yesterday . Our deliberate notice of the exhibition will follow , in due time , this necessarily brief and rapid account . We shall take the order of the catalogue in selecting a score or so of prominent works from the twelve hundred frames , and more , on the walls . The first is Mr . Robeuts ' s " Christmas Day in St . Peter ' s , at Rome , 1854 , " ( 10 ) . It is a very large specimen of the technical class , " Interior with figures , " in which this painter ' s works occupy a distinct position . We pass over about fifty pictures , of no particular merit , and come to Art- Scheppeu ' s " Portrait of Charles Dickens" which commands universal attention . A little further on is a
, picture in continuation of Mr . E . M . Ward ' s series of subjects from the history of the French Revolution . It is called " The Last Parting of Marie Antoinettk and her Son" ( 75 ) , and represents that celebrated scene with a gloomy emphasis on its attendant horrors , and with a dry precision of detail which gives reality . This is one of the pictures requiring time and study before a fair judgment on its merits can be given . The principal work of Mr . Stanfielo comes next in our resume . " The Abandoned" ( 94 ) is a title which refers to the drifting hull of a large ship , without masts or rudder , abandoned by her crew , and silently borne over the waste of waters . A passage from Washington Irvinc ' s " Sketch-book" has suggested this noble picture . " The Greeting in the Desert" ( 101 ) is the larger of two Eastern scones , contributed by Mr . Lbwis , the water colour painter , and finished with his wonderfully neat , light , feathery touch . It would be difficult , were these pictures behind a glass , to say far from
whether they were in oils or water colours ; and , so having expanded with the change to a freer material , tho style of Mr . Lewis appears even more microscopic than ever . Sir K . Landseeu paints a large Newfoundland dog , which has rescued a child from drowning , and seems to bo barking for surgical assistance . There is a strong appeal to general sympathy in this picture , which , being painted by Sir E . Landsbkk , is of course painted w ith great ability . It is , however , less carefully finished than his ordinary pictures ; the dog ' s head , though a fine study , has evidently been painted in haste , and the child is a mere sketch . Another picture by Sir Edwin , " Highland Nurses" ( 203 ) , contains tho incident of a wounded deer , stretched on tho heather , and tended by two fawns , which are licking the hurt . " The Emperor Charles V . at Yuste " ( 175 ) , by Mr . Elmokb , is an illustration of the scene described in Mr . Stirling ' s " Cloister Life of Charles V ., " preceding the Emperor ' s last illness . We leave tho composition for future criticism , and come to Mr . G . Jonkm ' s official despatch — we mean historical picture — of " Trukkce , 28 th of February , 1845 critic
( 18 G ) , which , to use the language of a noblo and gallant , who was present , is " , and no mistake . " " Peace Concluded , 1356 " ( 200 ) , is tho chief of the five contributions by Mr . Miixais . Humour baa been already eloquent on the subject of this work , which represents a convalescent officer reading tho announcement in tho Times of tho conclusion of peace ; his wife sitting on tho couch alonff which ho lounges with exquisite eenso of home ; his children playinir at his feet . It is the depth and stillness of feeling in this picture that bumeB the spectator , who is unable at first to account for tho emotion with which it fills him . The expression in tho wife ' s faco will find objectors among those who refuse- to obey their own instincts , and will demand a special and clearly demonstrative expression in a pictured face , where they would never loolc for it in a real one . Tho peculiarity of this lady ' s faco , in tho picture before us is that it bespeaks a holy rest and calm , —a peculiarity which is . surely more striking on canvas than it would bo in real life . In the other pictures byMr . Millaih there ia the aamo faithful adherence to nature . " 1 ho Blind Girl
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 3, 1856, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_03051856/page/19/
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