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THE MAGAZINES. We are apprehensive we sh...
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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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Health And Disease. Health And Disease, ...
/ astonish us with the queer ^ compounds foni the Greek which doctors are so fond of , and which are only appropriate so far as they express m an enigma the nature of an equally enigmatical . disease ; he .- does not . affect the mystery of classification ; in tact , in various par ts ' of his work , he pronounces some vigorous sentiments against the " iron bonds _ Qi svstems ; but he gives us a general purvey of the laws of life and health in clear and sensible language , and intersperses his more theoretical disquisitions ¦ with various practical remarks on disease and its Ireatment . Every man—even a professional onewould derive useful information from the perusal of this book ,-which exhibits considerable originality , both in the independence of thought and the manner of dealing with the subject . .. Though Dr . Ridge treats lightly of systems , it must not be thought that he is altogether exempt from the common frailty of framing one of his own . It must however be admitted that his is so simple , that it rather helps than perplexes the reader in the n » ,,, cnl nf \ i * -amrV TTa distributes all the Sllb-¦ ' \ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
, ¦ Jti UOIU \ JM ****** " y * M »* " »— - ———— — - . — stances of the body—organic functions and external actions influencing the human system—into three divisions : we have , for example , hard , soft , and fluid substances ; acid , alkaline , and neutral secretions , and so forth . This is a compendious method , open , no doubt , to criticism , but very suitable to a popular work . The merit , however , of this treatise is , that every chapter on science is charged with its practical message ; it is the union of the two that makes the book so agreeable to read . It is full of useful hints ; for instance , in a chapter on the Senses , the teeth are adverted to , and the author throws out a suggestion with respect to the fitting of artificial teeth , which will be acceptable to thousands of persons who do hot need to put them tp such good use as a City alderman . He tells us that the . principal reason why ar tificial teeth do not fit well is because they are adapted too soon after the removal of the natural ones . If the reader ask why this should be so , he is answered that the gums shrink , and that therefore ; a considerable time should be allowed to elapse jjefore the artificial set are fitted . This is-a very simple and true explanation , yet it embodies a fact that is almost invariably lost sight of even by dentists , anxLconsequently we do not find one person in a dozen who- has well-fitting teeth . Such observations abound in this volume ; it is therefore practically useful and worthy of commendation .
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THE LEADJ 1 . [ No . 441 , Septembeii 4 , 1858 . ••
The Magazines. We Are Apprehensive We Sh...
THE MAGAZINES . We are apprehensive we shall have from time to time to press upon the attention of the monthly caterers for the patronage of the reading public the fact that the Magazines , in some instances , are losing their original character of " light" reading , and acquiring a . reputation for " solidity , " that may 1 > ossibly operate on their audiences , making them ess numerous , and certainly more select . Whether this will be an advantage , commercially considered , it is not for us to say ; but assuredly , if the " grave " is not more generally accompanied with a larger admixture of the " gay , " we fear we shall , at no distant period , miss more than one established literary star from its literary orbit . Bjoackwood ' s—conies first to hand , and affords a practical illustration of our opening remarks . The tablip of contents consisjts pf seven articles j two on . ^ 'Chertio ^ than 49 pages ' out of the 131 , which constitute the number for September ; The subject of Cherbourg , though sufficiently interesting , is by this time very well worn ; the daily and weekly press have pretty fairly exhausted the interest as well as the novelty , and therefore it was a feat of no small hardihood for even such a renowned monthly as Maga to give up so large a space to minute details and descriptions which cannot offer the excuse of novelty , and are certainly of evanescent value . Then we have an elaborate article on " Respiration and SulFooa-. j . iMftffirV . Jffi . ^ Mfih $ \\ 9 . p [ tf t ^^< g > jiTp > , ' e ^ qi ,..,. <> f , l ^ ea f ^ jj ^ ig nfinc ^ ^ ceasing to breathe are treate 4 ''''' nicdi 6 aUyV ' piii ilos 6 < p hically , and , experimentally ; a tough sub j ect at the best , but rendered still more difficult ot digestion to delicate literary stomachs by the closeness of reasoning , the nice calculations , and the illustrative examples poured out upon it ny the able author . " John Company ' s farewell to John Bull" has 14 pages to its share ; this is another article of ° weight , " and will no !; , we fear , afford anything ; approaching to mental relaxation on the part of the Attentive render . Then comes a continuation of
BuiwerV " What will he do with it" novel , which _ refrain from criticising in its present fragmentary form . We light on a " Parochial Epic , amockheroic poem , which brings on the tapis such bygone Cockney celebrities—if ever they had existence at all—as Sir Siniffle Whilk , who is thus introduced : — Sir Srniffle Whilk i a London knight , They say he ' s worth at least a plum . Sir Smiffle Whilk— ambitious he Who thinks the name of shop a sin , Nor tells us if the plum were tea , Or oats , or indigo , or gin . _ , Next we have Mr . Canon Brown the Rector , and Mr . Banks , a pattern Curate , The living becoming vacant , a deputation go to the Patron a noble Duke , to ask him to appoint Curate Banks . The noble Duke , who is introduced smoking a clay pip ' e , thus replies to the request of the deputa"A—' pon my soh ! " the Duke began , " A—shud ' ve been happy beyond bounds—A—a ^—clean'd put when Favourite ran—A—sold it for two thousand pounds .
om e passionate writing , and each part is so detached in its interest that it can scarcely be reckoned a regular serial . The incidental criticism on Shakspeare and Thackeray we fully agree with . The elaborate article on Fishing , entitled " Chalk Stream Studies , " we must leave to the judgment of professed anglers , " Shipwrecks , Waifs , and Strays" is a very small article on a very large subject . TJieold book of " The Lawful Regiment of Women , " is made the means of giving an interesting Life of the Earl of Northampton . The everlasting subject of India is attended to i n an article on the "Oude Proclamation . " The concluding is the best , thoug h ¦ . not perhaps the most entertaming , article in the number ; it is an answer by Mr . Froude himself to the criticism upon his " History of Henry the Eighth" in the Edinburgh Jtevieto . The able writer maintains his peculiar views with rill the acumen and information for which he is celebrated . The scandal of three hundred years since is resuscitated in this contest , and the delicacy and virtue of " the good old times" do not seem to be established by it . This . _ . _ ¦ _ ¦ 1 __ _ T . « 1 « . ' 1 . ? n 4- aw * m \ l a » ciir is vaiuuuie niswiitm coowj
Some fla—a—didn't ask his name—A regular trumpeter , I ' m told-Is first in hand—It s all the same-Sorry you're so immensely sold . " The Rev . Ebenezer Maw , the Rector elect , then comes on the stage , the opposite of Curate Banks ; the brotherly parish soon get to loggerheads under the new teaching , and the parishioners come to hate each other cordially . Sir Smiffle Whilks turns Puseyite , and the result is thus indicated : — Now half the houses are to let , And half the others to be sold , We find our new converted set So different from the sinful old . And sad the memories we recall Of the sweet days that cheer'd our town ; And the deer links * that bound us all To Mr . Banks and Canon Brown ; Here ends the facelice , a odicum rather too small to balance sufficiently the amount of serious matter . With respectr to the articles on Cherbourg , we shall extract the following from the first : •—To a certain august body * Cherbourg must have given many lessons . It must have given them eyes to see , and ears to hear , -what defence means ; must have told them how defence is attained , and taught them that the confidence inspired by strong defence is well bought by expenditure . They will have seen that peace is not inconsistent with preparation , and have heard that the power can best maintain peace which is the most strong , and most confident in itself . It is to be hoped that when nov # - thav Hi « r > ii « q thfi Wavs and Means , the
impregnapaper a . Titan—comes out in more than wonted force this month . There are several exceedingly good articles , and the subjects are well contrasted . The opening contribution is entitled " The Modern English Fulpit , " and it deals with a grave question m a tone of candour , moderation , and complete mastery , ihe writer does not attempt to disguise the fact that the general feeling of dissatisfaction with the pulpit is owing to a want of " harmony between tlie pulpit and the # ge . " He then proceeds to dissect and account for this condition of tilings , and woven ture to say that but few readers will be disposed to dissent from his reasons and his deductions . One main cause of the apparent decadence of religious feeling among the masses the writer attributes to the spread of commerce and the lax system of commercial morality which of late years has been suffered to grow up and diffuse itself without stmt or check . The writer says : — , Society , under the pressure of a vast and prosperous commerce , whilst it -presents * probably , a more general diffusion of material comfort , has been slowly approaching a state in which all that beautifies , softens , and hallows , _ is well-nigh crushed out of its commercial relations , and " is admitted and exercised as a thing ab extra and casually , but which does not attach ever to the man . There is a harsh relentlessness acknowledged , and even justified , by the disciples of commerce , inseparable , it is said , from the principles of trade—and the ground they cover , and the multitudes they influence , it is fearful to . ^_— . a __»_! — . a- » ¦ _ - « j . i 3 R . j > inJ 3 K . i 4 lio **«•* ^ o *\ r Artiftrfltcinii _ t fl ft
bility and capabilities of Cherbourg may arise before them , not as a menace of aggression , but as a lesson and a warning of defence . 1 And from the second , written by an M . P ., we select the following , because it shows that the spectacle will not be lost on the people ' s representatives , who appear to have drawn both warning and wisdom from what they witnessed : — Be assured that I am very far from being , the only member of the Legislature on whom , without regard to party political considerations , what we witnessed that day made an indelible and very deep impression . The results of a century's untiring labour , engineering skill , and enormous expenditure are now visible , as on the eve of completion ; and must force grave consideration on every English observer , with reference to our ambitious , warlike , and fickle neighbours' means , intentions , and opportunities for tho future . I can tell you that not one of our party quitted the shore , at the close of that memorable afternoon's reconnoitring of the Cherbourg arsenal * disposed to undervalue the tremendous ,, capabilities at length acquired by France , or underrate the commensurate responsibility enst upon those charged with maintaining the safety and honour of Old England . My own individual conclusions collected themselves into a single brief sentence—To be Forewarned ia to bo Forearmed . Fbasbr .- —This Magazine is at least always multifarious in its articles * and has something to the taste of all its readers . It opens with a thoughtful , though rambling paper , " Concerning Work and Play / ' A sort of guide-book article on Egypt follows , which seems to have some practical iutoiv mation . but we can ^ I'djyJtidS 0 ° f what is int ended " WTlTis scanty first port ; Ionr ^ rKe ~ oigl » n » clmptcFoT the serial novel " Hanworth , " follows , which , as we do not admire fragmonts of exoiting works , thus served up at intervals of a month , wclmvo not rend . The analysis of Mr . Clark ' s work on the Peloponnesus is interesting . A learned artiolo on Cormorants follows , wbiohf is heavy reading" "to those who take no delight in yorbtil criticism ; nevertheless , it is a scholarly dissertation , and lias some points of natural history that arc interesting . The seventeenth chapter of "Catarina in Venice" contains
waitings of misfortune , and the ravings of despair . It is a simple matter of fact , the morality of which does not now concern us , that the . system ' , as such , whirls on ruthlessly and sublimely indifferent to the welfare of the million , and admits of the exercise of no kindly virtue except sidewise , and in proportion as a man , liberating . himself from the all-crushing thraldom * acts upon the unsophisticated dictates of the heart . It is a dread Moloch to which , for the time being , tho finer feelings of "humanity , the gentler offspring of tho soul , arc daily sacrificed . Rapacity is frequently made to gather and to supply in one relation what benevolence casually and scantily dispenses in another . A kind of subtle Manichoeaniarn pervades the great henrt of society . Get what you can , by any means short of what those around you are pleased to pronounce positive dishonesty , is acknowledged tp be on irreproachable policy ; nny compunction that may arise may bo easily silenced by a quiet reference to some law in political economy , and tho conscience and tho heart may be satisfied by doling out , however , niggardly , in . otherways and , relations , thosubstance which has boon thus acquired . Let it bo noticed that this system ' , thus briefly characterised—tho iimdequacica of which are mournfully attested by tho Ingoing efforts of an expanding benevolence , to chock and to ameliorate , in other ways , its crying ovila— hns beon growing in past years into a dark , hugo , gigantic thing , well'nigh hiding * heaven from view , overshadowing tho earth , and beglooining , for yeara to come , the -whole horizon of thought ! There is , no doubt , much truth in all this , but there is some exaggeration . The commercial taint , which recent disclosures have shown to exist in tho commercial body is , after all , but superficial and cx"trrineous : —Tlrff ^ ffi ^ leTTJf *^ — not to blame- -it is tho abuso of those nrinuiploa which is in fault . Altogether , this avticlo is worth careful study , " Four Essays . of a Modeat Maiden aftor a Husband , " is pleasant reading . " Lcvitu . Bfe'genda" is an observant traveller's e x |> onc . ' > ieQa of Italy and Italian life ; somo portiona ol the ground have boon trodden before , but never in a more genial , penetrating , and good-nature ! ly sarcastic mood . " What befel my Companions ; or , the Memorials of tho Jolly l ) ogs , " » s somewhat
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 4, 1858, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_04091858/page/20/
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