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"Feb. 4, 1S60.] The Leader and Saturday ...
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BUBBING THIS GILT OFF.* A MONG the ilovv...
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* - Rnbhinq the Qilt o.f. A West Knd Boo...
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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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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
The East Coast Of Africa.* I N The Year ...
Z ^ fco . of the real state of things , and ? oon found ?«*• Jjj , - . lihi l of Portal W suppressed the trade , and they could not BS ^^? SS | = || totrrie were seized by the PortoRWese , to supply the ( so rolled ) 3 £ i ^ e ^/^^ T ^ , ^^^^ . S & the Por £ u-uese Mr . McLeod describes the treatment « , f the poor creates when once on board French vessels as m > ld and humane , wSKe Sitions of their so-called :, eft « g « J « g ^ rUi £ £ ' performed in Keunion , and every care is taken \ ^ ™ \ %£%£ ! I . l & i ^ iS ^^ ri ? i ^ s ^ -Srs ; ^ s = r taa-iir , W ^^^^^ -W . dealer who ™ T Governor-general of the province . when , he «™ ved ; but 1 i ^ ucce ^ or , Colonel Almeida , was a man of a d i fferent stamp and at o ^ ice ittended to the Consul's . complaints . He superseded ? he Governor " , who had almost openly engaged in the ^ laye Sfe ^ ^ ««^ - ^^ i « a 5 s- ' ^ m ^ y ^^ ^ ' ^ t *^^ . insults He could not procure a servant , and had , \ wtn ms wS and her Lid , to do the whole work of his house . He could ot obtai ^ provisions , and the whole family were several times ^ imminent danger of starvation . He was kept a prisoner ^ luVho sfthr Uh f ^ r of violence from persons hired by the llive ^ eX . s and hk house itself was more than once attacked f A ' e Govenor apparently was powerless to protect him for all the « Sn-s wefe leagued together to drive the Consul away ; ad when at " last , he sent a guard of soldiers they made themselves sch a nuisance hat the protection was dearly purchased . 1 he Position of Mr Mcleod seems to have been greatl y aggravated by the stran-e conduct of the commander of a British cruiser vising Ueporrwho ^ when appealed to for protection by the OoiibuI , who then Ihou-hthi . nself assured of safety , immcd . ately set sail . His uositio ^ worse , the Governor avowing : his maWHty t () ° p ? o \ ect Mm-hia wife , and her maid , brought to the very doors ^ f dea th by ( over , in which condition he could obtain tor them neKi mSe nor iervnnt , and any longer residence at Mowimbique . be ni perfectlv uselbw . Mr . McLeod left the place »> May , 185 b , on board Her Majesty ' s ship By hi , for Natal and . thence , « 4 -the Mauritius ^ of which he gives an in teresting description—and toucz , ^ iffu ^ Ilffid Mr . McLeoa ; . book without beinp convinced of the subsfmitiul accuracy of his statements He is ev - dentlv a .-entlemmi of a somewhat quick and lively temper , but at tho Smo time not disposed to wilfully exaggerate or set down aught in mXo . We slioulS hope , thoi « fi > r « , that our otfn Govermnent which imwt lonff ainee have known the tenor of his story , has nlrea V dTwn the nttqnfion of . our ancient ally , Portugal , to the fi 3 os wiUnUod by its representatives in Africa ; but if not , thej « KXion of Europe , enlightened by the rove . luUons of » Jr . McL « od , will demand a thorough reform from the Court ot Liabc . We must add . that Mr . McLeod gives some interesting par c of our own Colonial possessions in Africa , and has collected aiiiobb of information as to the resources and capabilities of the whole ot Eastern Africa , which venders his book in Iho highest degree in- te ? e ting to all persona seeking a fiehl . fep co . niiicrcij l entorpriBe or anxious for the suppression of the slave trade , and the civilisation and conversion of the poor African .
"Feb. 4, 1s60.] The Leader And Saturday ...
" Feb . 4 , 1 S 60 . ] The Leader and Saturday Analyst . ^ 17
Bubbing This Gilt Off.* A Mong The Ilovv...
BUBBING THIS GILT OFF . * A MONG the ilovv Htorary names that arc-rising into »; ote , we jt \ know of none more promising than thafr ot the , mithoi oj this volume . Mr . Hollingrshond ' s contributions to Household Words were innrlcpd by a distinctive character and poouliur merit , which hoou spread abroad the secret of their authorship . Many ot
them like the " City of Unlimited Paper , " were reproduce ! in half the newspapers in the kingdom , and enjoyed a popularity rarely won byanonvmons articles in a weekly magazine . Some ot these » treat - ii . ri- of city life , and taking-a view confessedly one-sided of . c «» . rnniurcial inonds . - wererecently vepublislied with the title ot " Under Bow Bells i" the present volume also consists of essays collected from various journals , but all sufficiently related in subject and purpose to form a coherent book . ' ,. , ^ .. ^ « .. . .. '¦ ., ¦«¦ Like the previous collection , " Rubbing the Gilt off presents Mr . Hollinosheacl as a satirist of wrongs and abuses : but of wrrtngs and abuses of a different kind . The objects of attack are here nolitical Thev extend from the absurdities and anonvahes . of . our supposed free trade tariff , to the bad -logic of our colonial theories , the vices of our system of patronage , and mysterious diplomacy With a playfulness , a whimsicality , a power ot expression and a genuine fancy entirely his own , the writ or ' torches these dry themes , and turns them into things of living interest . Nor is an earnest purpose ever ^ lost . «^ ht ot . Mr . Hoilin «** head is a disciple of that school of . political phil .-sophy , which " from Bentham to Mr . Stuarfc Mill , has already exercisL-il sv ¦ areat an influence over the minds of our legislative reform cms , and which is destined to effect infinitely more than it has yet done in destroying the old empirical system of government . But he has lust : that which most disciples of . that school are waning in . nnd wlucli is indeed a rare gift--the power of promulgittjng princ pies m a form at once popular and scientifically exact .. It is no exoneration to siiythat such a writer will do more for the immojhate dissemination of truth than a . whole section of abstract philosophers . After all it is not the date at which a truth was discovered , l . ul the time at which it became popularly known , which marks real proyress , either in morals or political . philosophy . 1 low many communities have been ruined by false theories of money , since Locke and Now ton expounded the true principles of monetary science ; how many corndealers have been stoned since Sir James Stewart demonstrated the absurdity of the prejudice against tbrestallers ; hpw ^ many kings and communities have solemnly bound themselves in the trommels-ot protection since Adam Smith gave to the doctrine of free truue-its perfect development ? What we wont are writers who can take these things Out of the character of esoteric doctrine . and convert them into items of popular knowJedge . ^ his is not to . bc . ^ t , j , ttby the clumsy device oT tales with a moral— - Illustrations of Pohtu-al Economv ; " Kbmarices « GC the Ba-nk CHarter ,. or . other ^ weekly . diaguiseddidacticessayRjfur is notthe sugared ^ pill the founda lonot e ^ clrldish horroT- of the doctor ? Mr . Hollingshead s stories and sketches are really stories and sketches . 1 hough imp ymgtruths of the highest importiinee in pal . tics , ^ h ey are ^ hv ays . humourous and amusing . Allthe tracts which the ^ Ballot bociety ever did or ever can issue , will not be so well calculated- to insin . mte their views into the minds of the ihany as Mr . ^ Holhngsliead ¦ s ntory of William Manacles , the liberated convict—William Msinacle . 3 , the friend of the people , who was brought in ior the Borough ot JVnnbor by the money of Mr . Snarlington , a practical but serious ( olcer upon ' our elective system : nor would a dozen papers read before the Society for the Ameudinent of the Law do aa much towards spreading sound opinion on n given topic , as rach a story as " the Pet of the Law , " or such a sleetch as " How to make a Madman , published in a popular journal of large circulation . 1 he paper Intitled "Miidfoi ? on Colonies " comprises the whole theory ot fore gn markets as laid down in our soundest and driest p hilosophers ; but few men can rea . l Kicardo , or understand him if they do ; while Mr Hollingshead makes the theme a pleasant p « ece ot « atire . Ah a specimen of Mr . Hollingshead ' s style , we-cannot do totter than quote the conclusion of his sketch of a Iloyiil Novice . exhausted by the attempt to master the coiuplicatod details of n K yal liousehold : — - " We can imagine our bewildered monarch cxluiustq . l with the labour of the ¦ survey retiring to a vacant apartment ( if such a i > luce could be lminU ) fndookU . g over the list of hi . host of attcmhu . tR , attendants' attendants Jnd iervnutB of attendants' attendants . Ho iinds there the namcB of muruborB of the first . families in the laud , who carry out the old eutlal Custom of waiting on the sovereign ; and who . as there arc no castles to be sacked , and as there is no plunder to be hud arc content to receive a JSinmoii-vlaoe remuueratjon in the form , of suljiry . varying from forty pounds to four thouaand pounds per annum , and paid every quarter ... it ot the Civil Mat portion of the taxes . I Jo looks over that bmuo Civil Liat , nnd finds that , although he is its head ami . centre , he mxivos f . ir Uib twn disposal lesk than oncsi ^ th every year , the rest being absorbed before »{ TOuohoa him by the Hiirrounding circles . Indignantly lio rings a bell , and Tanswered , like Lord JBat « nmn , by a proud young porter , page equerry Iroom waiter , and K . U . B . The bewildered monarch , considerably awed , £ aks for u gluw of water . Pour-nnd-twonty bells ring in suOochhich .. each ono ¦ summoning another , until at last the man is roached whose duty it is to J , the water , after the Asiatic BysU-ni of ca « ttv . m fu 1 work . ng-onlor , S by all the advantages of a Bu » 0 rlor civilisation . 'I ho wator , r ti l » limo oonBiUorablo delay , id paesod on from hand to hand , until it roaches tho « xi ) aot « and bewildurod monarch , llu 8 t « es the whole organisation ot a Kfu ncc-tho . eXt unbroken chain of relative flunkey « n ; « - -v « ryb « tly SomblnK oTOMbody else ' s hair ; everybody brushing everybody else * coat j Jvcpybody lioiring out everybody clso ' s coffee ; everybody handing « vcryffly eTse a shoihSrn ; over / body attw . ah . g everybody o so abroad : every , JCdy waiting upon everybody else at dl . n . or ¦ , everybody laughing at every-Ky 3 Ji i jSlcts ; and sonnotlinos ( for qvarrols will iinso in the very best rcguliitufl i unices ) everybody kicking pvtiryboUy else down stairs . Finally , wo can i la iue our bowjitforod monarch so ' much alarmed at tho ijinoiu . tof Setail tfe t exists For him to'maBtor , and at tho number and variety jj f In-Uviduallsms of dUFer . nt ae « rec « of imnc . rtauoe Urn hu has to c ^^ S , StfeSnK ^^^ SV * pV 1 ! A ^ lci' ^ to & i : RiSW - ! 3 i oruiBo in tho Haltlo or tho Mcdltwrranoaw . Ab a col ! ootion- of pap , ops which through nil tlioir . "l ' ' " ^ fende * devolop * rolItU" nyHtom with « m oupno « tn « M nnd a con .
* - Rnbhinq The Qilt O.F. A West Knd Boo...
* - Rnbhinq the Qilt o . f . A West Knd Book for all lloadorfl . By John IIojLLiNoe » ii 3 Ai > . London : J . 0 . I-Iotton .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 4, 1860, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_04021860/page/17/
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