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April 5, 1851.] STfttf &*£&*?? 323
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RECENT POEMS. Poems of Early Years. In N...
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I " COLUMBUS. r "' Der Starke iat am mKc...
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BOOKS ON OUR TABLE. Gilbert's Popular JV...
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The Three. Trials of fjo' idi:; Sunshine...
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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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Pulszky's Hungarian Traditions. Tales An...
proveB the s periority of man—what marks his different from the basts ? Nothing else than that he may be taught to b row . The exclusive prerogative of man is to incur de s . The friar was looked up to by his friends as a learned man , and he often used to say to those who attentively listened to him : ? A day will come when the truth of this distinction will generally be acknowledged , when civilization will be tested by the use the nations make of this greatest human prerogative—their credit ; when the communities which have no debt will be called barbarians , and those will be the most powerful rulers of mankind , the missionaries to carry civilization all over the world , who have the largest national debt ; though there will always be narrow-minded fools to preach financial reform , unaware of the constitution of mankind , and of their glorious privilege . '"
We must also find room for this piquant ADVENTURE WITH A . ROBBER . " Prince Frederic Schwarzenburg , the son of the celebrated Field-Marshal Schwarzenburg , used often to relate his encounter with the notorious robber Haburak . The prince once accompanied a lady from Hungary to Vienna . They journeyed on the mountain-roads between the counties of Gomor and Torna . Heavy showers had greatly damaged the roads ; evening approached ; the tired horses had reached the ridge of the woody height , but could not be urged on further ; and the travellers were thus compelled to seek shelter for the night in the inn of Aggtelek , a hiding-place of ill-note for robbers . The carriage halted before the house , and the servant inquired whether room could be afforded . The publican replied , that there was one room for the lady , but that
I * * L i " . " On the morrow the lady continued the journey with her companion . The weather had cleared up , and only the puddles in the lanes and the drops of rain glistening on the branches reminded them of the clouds of the previous day . After they had ridden about an hour they suddenly heard the discharge of a rifle close to them in the woods . Haburak stepped forth from the bushes , and bid the coachman ' halt . ' " The horses stopped ; the Prince drew forth his pistols . But Haburak , without heeding his threatening mien , rode close up to the carriage door and said : — " « We yesterday sacrificed our comfort that the rest of this lady should not be disturbed . Now I will see whether it was worth the trouble . ' " With these words he lifted the veil which hung down from the lady ' s bonnet , and looked for an instant into her face . The lady blushed , and the robber said"' She is really very pretty . ' "He tutned round , plucked a wild rose from a bush close at hand , and offered it to the lady with these words" Accept this rose kindly as a keepsake from the pooi robber Haburak ; and if you sometime hear that he has been hanged , pray an Ave Maria for his soul . ' " The lady took the rose , and the robber vanished . " Two years later newspapers related that the robber Haburak had been caught ; that he had been tried at the assizes in Torna , convicted of desertion and highway robbery , and hanged . "
the gentleman could not be accommodated , the large guest-room being over-filled . After some visible reluctance , he owned that the gang of Haburak was drinking there . The lady became terrified , and entreated the Prince not to remain ; but it had grown dark , the rain was pouring down , the horses were worn out , and the steep descent of the road was so dangerous that it was most hazardous to proceed . The Prince tried to reassure the lady ; so she locked herself up in the room assigned to her . Her companion , wrapped in his white officer ' s cloak , under which he kept his pistols in readiness , stepped into the apartment where the robbers were assembled , and sat down at the table , facing the window , whilst his servant , likewise armed , kept watch outside the house , close to the window , on the alert in case his master should vant any aid .
" The company consisted of about ten or twelve men . Their rifles leaned against the wall ; their axes lay upon the board , on which stood the wine-jugs . They drank , sang , and talked over their adventures , and did not take any notice of the newly-arrived guest . The Prince mixed in their conversation , took wine with them , and listened to their cinversation until it had grown late . Suddenly he rose , ailed the publican , threw a gold coin on the table , and said : ' This is for the wine these good folks have drunk ; they are my guests . But now , ' he continued , addressing the robbers , ' it is time to sleep . In the adjoining room is a sick lady : the entertainment has lasted long enough : I cannot allow any one longer to occupy this room , or disturb the lady ' s rest by noise . "
' At this imperative command one of the robbers jumped from his seat , and contemptuously laughing , cried oul : * Does the gentleman fancy that because he has a cairiage and four , and plenty of money in his pocket , he hm the ri ^ ht to command us ?' 'An uproar followed . The men vociferated : 'We arj poor lads , and , therefore , we are masters here . ' " ' We are no timorous peasants , who take off our hats toevery gentleman . ' " ' We have yet money and credit enough to swallow a daught when we are thirsty . ' " ' We do not accept any gift from people who fancy tkemselves better than we are . ' " ' We will not be ruled '
" All this was almost simultaneously uttered , with a bud tumult , from all sides . All the robbers had got up . The Prince mechanically caught hold of his pistols , and threw off his cloak . " ' 1 am a master of the craft in which you are but apprentices , ' he exclaimed with dignity . ' You are robbers , I am a soldier , and fear neither the mouth of a rifle nor the edge of an axe . ' " During this uproar a man of middling height and strong ly-marked features had risen from the bench beside the stove , where he had quietly sat during the whole time , without partaking of the wine . He now said in a commanding tone : " ' Silence !' " The robbers grew speechless at this order , and again sat down to the table .
' Mr . Officer , ' continued the man , ' ' t think that you frighten uh . I too have been usoldier , and have most probably smelt more powder than you ever did . I am Huburak . If 1 desired to do you any harm a single whistle would Hufiice . The table at which you have sat would be overthrown , the candles extinguished , and before you were aware of what was going on you would l >« a dead man , no less than your servant there at the window , who thinks he watches us , whilst we watch him . •> ut , I Haw you help u lady out of the carriage , and take her to the adjoining room . We never will disturb a lud y ' n rest ; we war with men , not with women . For the present we shall leave this shelter ; yet , remember , " , that it in the first time for u fortnight that these men have been under u roof , and that the couch there below ••>» the dump oak Ichvch is by no means comfortable , l' . irewell !
' Friends , let us go , ' he callod to his men . They took u l » uieir arum and went . 'The Piiuce wuh greatly struck by the whole pro-<;
April 5, 1851.] Stfttf &*£&*?? 323
April 5 , 1851 . ] STfttf &* £ &*?? 323
Recent Poems. Poems Of Early Years. In N...
RECENT POEMS . Poems of Early Years . In Nine Chaplets . By a Wrangler of Trinity College , Cambridge , A . M , Pickering . Lelio ; a Vision of Reality . Hervor ; and other Poems . By-Patrick Scott . » Chapman and Hall . Flowers of Poesy : a Collection of Miscellaneous Poems . By William Saltmarsh . Brighton : Fleet and Son . There is something so pleasant in the exercise of the " accomplishment of verse , " and something so far removed from mercenary motives in the publication of verse , that no one has a z'ight to complain of the quantity of volumes which fatigue the press : unless it be the hapless critic who alone is compelled to read them , and even he ought not to raise a very loud complaint , for he must acknowledge that the reading of very few pages suffices to convince him whether the volume be worth reading or not , and if it be worth reading he has no cause to complain . Among the volumes lying on our table—some of them to be reviewed hereafter— we have more or less read the three named above . The first we read through ; the second we read less steadily ; the third we skimmed . That is one way of enunciating our criticism . Poems of Early Years are the productions of a scholarly , thoughtful mind , and are therefore readable in spite of all the reservations which criticism may make with respect to their style ; Lelio is an ambitious metaphysical poem , with enough merit to lure the reader on in spite of its obscurities , and with evidences of power greater than the work ; Flowers of Poesy is a collection of verses , exhibiting elegance and fancy , but somewhat prodigal of the commonplaces of poetry . Poems of Early Years are of various kinds and various merit , including some translations . There is an over elaboration in the style which mars the effect—as if the author were afraid to trust his thoughts to their simplicity , and this sometimes leads him to write lines which Ins cooler judgment must , we feel sure , condemn , . . . •—" The earth lies mute and panting , while the air Swoons warm and luscious in the dreamy glare . " That is Keats run mad . No fault of the kind mars this poem : — ' PUPIL AND TUTOlt . " ¦ Was aber i « t deinc Pfliclit—die Fordeiuiiif den Tapes . ' " ( JOKTHH . " P . What shall I do lest life in silence pass ? T . And if it ; do , And never prompt the bray of noisy bruss , What need ' st thou rue ? Kemember aye , the ocean deeps are mute , The shallows roar ; Worth is the ocean ; fame is but the bruit Along the shore . " P . What shall I do to be for ever known ? T . Thy duty ever . J * . This did full many who yet sleep unknown . T . Oh ! never , never . Think ' st thou perchance that they remain unknown , Whom thou know ' st not ? Uy angel trumps ia heav ' n their praise in blown : Divine their lot ? " P . What ahull I do to have eternal life ? T . Discharge aright The simple dues with which the day is rife ^ Yea with thy might . Ere perfect » r . hein « of notion thou devise , Will life bo fled ; While he , who ever acts hh Conscience cries , Shall live , though dead . " Still finer is this of |
I " Columbus. R "' Der Starke Iat Am Mkc...
" COLUMBUS . "' Der Starke iat am mKchtigsten allein . *"—Schiller . " He stood upon the deck by night alone , And heard th' uproarious waste of ocean moan Beneath the gusty darkness round him thrown . " The soughing winds amid his hair took way , And damp his beard and brows with briny spray , Yet steadfastly he watch'd the west alway : " Until at length he said : It is a light ; It must be , and on shore : so low , so bright , So steady ! God be prais'd!—ho ! land in sight ! " And soon throughout the crew from man to man . In startling shouts the rapt ' rous tidings ran ; And wild for joy were they that light to scan . " No words can paint their triumph : yet I ween , Had night not veil'd his visage , they had seen A bitter smile disturb his even mien . " The self-same tongues , that but few hours ago Had counseled straight return , and sought to show The folly of his scheme , their certain woe ; " Vain upstarts , who hadjecr'd , aye menac'd him , And faint hearts with desponding looks and dim-All mix'd their rash breath with his soul ' s deep hymn " Exulting boastfully , that they had shar'd Success , which ne'er had been had he not dar'd Despise them , and hope on when they despair'd . " Within themselves the Great must ever seek Both impulse and reward : all else is weak To what their own calm soul and conscience speak . " And thou—would'st thou Columbus-like aspire To walk new worlds of thought , and high and higher Exalt thy fallen soul on wings of fire" On God and self do thou rely aright ! And through the day His cloud shall cheer thy sight , And His fire-pillar guide thy steps by night . " Strong , direct writing that , such as we do not often meet with now . In Lelio we meet with nothing of the kind . A haze spreads over the whole , and we feel quite relieved when Hervor opens upon us its careless , jaunty doggrel in this strain : — " Black , black ' s the colour for me—There ' s a joy in the tremulous light that lies Like a shaken star in mild blue eyes—There ' s a bliss in each that ' s beautiful too , And they change their grace when they change their hue , From quiet to queenly , from brown to blue , In Mary or Hayde * e ! But though my heart bends to each fierce attack , It falls at a glance from imperial black , Subdued by the regal light that flashes Its edicts forth from the long-drawn lashes . " There is spirit and felicity in some lines of tlie poem , but the author takes advantage of all the licences of his lax style , and is by far too careless as to what he shall let pass .
Books On Our Table. Gilbert's Popular Jv...
BOOKS ON OUR TABLE . Gilbert ' s Popular JVarrulivc of the Great Exhibition . By 1 ' oter Berlyn . James Gilbert . Por those who wish to know all about the rise and progress of the Crystal Palace , this neat little handbook is the very thing . Mr . Berlyn has performed his task with laudable industry . He has drawn together and arranged a large amount of scattered information regarding tho exhibition in a pleasant form . As an elegant and trustworthy handbook , the narrative deserves to be popular .
The Three. Trials Of Fjo' Idi:; Sunshine...
The Three . Trials of fjo ' idi : ; Sunshine and Shadow ; the . Phantasmal Reproof , and oilier . short , l ' oems . J 5 y Calder Campbell . \ v . Sholwrl . The . History of Mohinmneilism , and its Sects . 15 y W . Cooke Taylor , IA A ) . J . W . Parker . Chanticleer ; a Thanksgiving Story of the . Pe . nbndt j Family . Hy CorueliuB Matin ; iv . H . I ) . II . Mussoy and Co . On the . Causes , Symptoms , and Treatment of Spermatorrhoea ! Hy i \ l . Lidlcinutid ; Translated and Kdited l . y Henry J . McDotig-All . John Churchill . Chemistry of the Four Ancient Elements—Fire , Jlir , Liarth , and //' tiler : an KuMay founded upon Lectures delivered bofore her Most CJraciou . s Majesty tin : Queen . By Thoiiian ( iriflith . s J . W . Parker . The Dublin Review . April . IMchardaon mid Son « . Tturation ; its Nature and Properties , with Remarks on the . Evidence and the Expediency of the . Repeal of the Income Tiijc , By Alexander <; it > bon , Kmi . II . Colborue . P / ipcrs for the Schoolmaster . No . 2 . Sinijikin , Marshall , and Co . Lt ' . Fnllct , Journal l ) u Grand Monde : Fashion — Polite Literature ¦— lieaux Arts . April . Hiinpkin , Miiinhull , and Co . Ifilloughbtf s Illustrated Standard Edition of iShakspenre ' t Works ' 1 ' art 7 . Wilioiijjliby and Co . Adventures of Don Quixote de la Mancha . Part 10 . Willoiifjhby and Co . The . Arabian Nights' Entertainments . Part . ' . I . Willnujjliby and Co . A Biographical Sketch of / f r . (' . Macreadi / . Esq . Jiy W . J . l ' ox . M . r . Willouffhby and Co . V / ia People ' s and Ilowitt ' . i Journal . Part 21 . \ Villoutfl » l > y and Co . Trio Struggles and jlilivntures of Christopher Tadpole . H y Alliort . Smith . Part 7 . \ Villou ({ hl » y and Co . The Public Right to the . Universities . II . L . Green . T / ki Uambler . April . itnriiM and I . umbert . Penny Maps . Chapunui and Hall . Familiar Thin us . Nc 1 . JIall , Virtue , and Co . Household Words . Household tXai nt ' tv :
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 5, 1851, page 15, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05041851/page/15/
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