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¦Ng. 438, August 14,1858.] THE LEADER. 8...
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HADJI IN SYRIA. Hadji in Syria; cr, Thre...
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3?HAMLEIGH HALL. Framleyh Hall. 3 vols. ...
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BOOKS RECEIVED THIS WEEK. The Works of L...
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A Book for « Corner. By Leigh Hunt. (Boh...
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/flfltiv (2I *4a ^Ut MlW*
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Her Majesty's Theatre.—-Mr. /Lumleyr who...
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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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Two Books On Pictures. Artistic And Desc...
flueuce that actuates and spirit that guides the reverend gentleman , are so admirable in feeling and fenerous ill sentiment that we would earnestly ave them impressed upon the minds of all the gentlemen connected with art criticism ; thus . writes the reverend author : •—" The writer has endeavoured to criticise in no exel usiye spirit ; to appreciate excellence of every kind , at the same time he has wished to see with bis-own , eyes , and to -write
Nullius add ictus jurare in verba magistri . The first step towards understanding a man seems to "be to look at him from , his own point of view ; and never to condemn him , because he has not the merits of another . To see no grandeur in Rubens , because his flowing outline has not the symmetry of Raphael , nor his liberal colour , the depth and warmth of Titian—to' find fanlt with Gian Bellini , because he has not the freedom or science of Michael Angelo—to despise even the minute reproduction of Gerard Dow , because it has none of the energy of Tintoretto—to carp at the dry ness or harshness of the Van Eycks , because they have neither the suppleness nor softness of Andrea , the grace of Corregio , nor the glow of Giorgione—to forget the -wonderful truth of Holbein , because his facsimile portraits have neither the romance of Titian nor the penetration of Leonardo—to think , in short , little of one man because he has not the
soul of another involves , in the first place , a complete loss of all the enjoyment that a wider range of taste wonld giv « , and , moreover , displays an absolute ignorance of the first principle of all excellence and all originality—do your best ; and dare to be yourself . " Impressed with suck large vievs , and imbued with sucli generous pliilosophy , how could the writer's work be other than satisfactory ? We will noy take the last sentence from our first notice , omitting one word and substituting another ; thus Mi- Blake is one of our best art-critics . "
¦Ng. 438, August 14,1858.] The Leader. 8...
¦ Ng . 438 , August 14 , 1858 . ] THE LEADER . 811
Hadji In Syria. Hadji In Syria; Cr, Thre...
HADJI IN SYRIA . Hadji in Syria ; cr , Three Years in J & 'usalerri . By Btrs Sarah Barclay Johnson . Philadelphia ,: J . Challen . Every man ¦ who occasionally loiteis at second-hand book-stalls knows what a random , dip in the " sixpenny box , " in the hope of lighting upon something rare or curious accidentally dropped there , is most likely to produce . If it be not a . volume of old sermons , it is a hundred to one \ i \ xt the expected prize in his hand will be a " Howadji in Egypt , " or a " Month iu Mesopotamia , " or a " ¦ Scamper from Gravesend to Grand Cairo , " or a " Cantab in
Caiidia , " or a " Lawyer in the Levant , " " Smith in Smyrna , " or " Jones at derieho , " or " Beyrout and Bade Again , " or " Figs and Gilaf , " or some one of the minute variations of which such titles are susceptible . The manner and sentiment of such books will be found to be reducible to one or Uvo tjpes . There is the audacious imitator of Eothen ; who scorns all vulgar details of steamboats from Marseilles , sca-sickness , exorbitant hotel-keepers , troublesome custom-liouscs , rapacious consuls , and dashes boldly into the thing—wakes you up in Cairo as if you hau been there all your life , or startles you on the opening of his first chapter with "
Buckslieesh , O stranger ! so said the dark-haired cameldriver , as we were lazily lounging- / ' & c . This kind of traveller is always sentimental , vague , metap hysical , and addicted to strange words . The evenm «* with him " greys" and " glooms , " the liver " shimmers" and " sheens , " the fields arc " greened with golden plenty . " lie asks the palm-tree "what it sings iu its melancholy waving—waxes philosophical upon the infinite and the ihiito , and is not above writing a comic chapter by way of change . There is also the matter-of-fact traveller , who rises early , and after performing" ablutions and partaking of a hearty repast , consisting of omelettes , rice , figs ( lie never spares you one item ) , goes down to see the innrvels which liis guide-book has described before him . Better than this is the heav y traveller ,
who reports learnedly upon the manners , religion , history , commerce , & c , of the country ; but of all bores , tho gentleman or lady who travels iu the East with a view to confirming Biblical history is iy far the worst . We know what he or she will say at every stage of the pilgrimage . At , Cajsarcn we near that " it was here that . Paul spoke so eloquently before Felix Agrippa . " At every point about Jerusalem we are favoured wit h such ejaculations aa "Gcthsamc J what magic is there in the name ! Who is not familiar with the sad story connected "with its sacred soil F" At Jericho , or at Tyre , we exclaim again , " How deplorable the change , and complete the desolation following the curse of an offended dcitj 1 " At Bethlehem " a multitude or associations come thronging in upon the soul at the mention of that namo which will never cease to be
cherished in the inner sanctuaries of the heart /' The recollection of the sepulchre will never fade from the enthusiastic voyager ' s mind " while memory performs her functions . " The sight of some group of natives justifies the information . ' that ce with the Mahommedans the shaving of the head is never neglected , leaving only a small tuft of hair , by which they believe Mahommed will one day elevate them bodily to heaven . " And forthwith , a promos of the bare mention of the name of that " self-styled Prophet , " we open a dreary chapter with , " Mohainmed was bom at Mecca . a . d . 569 . "
Poor " Mrs . Sarah Barclay Johnson" is a specimen of this latter class . She is no doubt a very worthy and pious lady , but unfortunately her book is not readable . She has nothing new to tell , and wearies her reader intolerably with scraps of guide-book knowledge . National peculiarities which she details are frequently no peculiarities at all , as where she describes the collection of octroi duties at tlie " Jaffa Gate , " in Jerusalem . As a specimen of her political economy , we may mention thai she considers this " heavy tax : " as falling on the country
people who bring in their wares , and therefore accounting for their dread of the soldiers who collect it . Mrs . Johnson ' s search for Scriptural coincidences and evidences of Biblical truth is laudable enough , but it should not be forgotten that the best cause may be injured by unreflecting zeal . It is not by discovering that customs described in Holy Writ are still in existence that writers like Volney and Voltaire are to be met , or '' the infidel" convicted of obstinacy . Such coincidences prove nothing but that the Scriptures are of Oriental origin , which not even " the infidel" denies . The " truth of the
Bible" must rest on other arguments . In manuscript , Mrs . Johnson's record of her " Three Years in Jerusalem" might have been valuable to her famil y and friends , who , if the excuse for publication m the preface be not an idle and a hackneyed fiction , did hex no good service in sending it to the printers /
3?Hamleigh Hall. Framleyh Hall. 3 Vols. ...
3 ? HAMLEIGH HALL . Framleyh Hall . 3 vols . Hurst and JBlaekett . We take it that the object of the-writer of .-these volumes is to show-the ' effects of constitutional timidity and morbid diffidence on the "fortunes , character , and mind of an . individual . In this , though the writer has only partially succeeded , he has , nevertheless , in the delineation of his hero , worked out very cleverly a character by no means removed from , the everyday walks of humanity , and one which , if all its qualities have not been met
with m the same individual in our peregrination through life , certainly in their separate peculiarities they have been encountered in separate persons . The herb , Maurice T ) ehmcre , the victim of a too sensitive and shrinking nature , arising from deficiency of physical robustness , combined with a too delicate mental organisation , is , to his misfortune , arbitrarily placed in situations for which his nature totally unfits him , mainly by the mistaken notion his father , Sir Arthur Dclamere , has of his real character .
The portrait of the stern-minded and able-bodied father is beautifully balanced by the soft , lovable , and pitying character of the mother . After undergoing at home , at school , and in the army all the torments and contretemps which his peculiarities bring upon Arthur Delamcrc , we find bun suddenly in love with Eugenia Churchill—a ch arming-creature , affianced to Captain Mortimer Grcnvillc , his tormentor at Eton , and in after manhood his foil in all that regards manly externals . This love is reciprocated ; Eugenia begins to discover the superiority of the sterling qualities of the one over the brilliant superficiality of the other , and she breaks o ( T the match . This has a prostrating effect on Captain Greirvillc—who , after in vain trying to provoke
Captain Delamcrc to fight a duel , breaks a bloodvessel ; and while lying in a helpless condition in Sir Arthur ' s house , is rescued from certain death from a , lire , which happens at the mansion , hy the gallantly of Captain Delamcrc . The rescue so works on tho better nature of Captain Grcnvillc , that he acknowledges the error into vyhich he has fallen throughout in considering Captain Delamcrc to be a " coward , " and ho solicits and . obtains forgiveness just before he yields up his breath . There is a collateral love uflair , of great interest , made to spring out of the chief incidents of tlio story ; and as tlie dcnoCuncnt is pleasant , we have no doubt the work will lind a tolerably large audience
Books Received This Week. The Works Of L...
BOOKS RECEIVED THIS WEEK . The Works of Lord Bacon . By J . Spedding , E . L ~ Ellis , and D . D . Heath . Vol . V . Translations of the Philosophical Works , Vol . II . 8 vo . lineman and Co . The Aquarian Naturalist . By T . Rymer Jones . Post 8 vo . Van Voorst . Humble Creatures . By T . B . Hicks . Post 8 vo . Van Voorst . -1 Journey due NorlJi . By G . A . Sala . Post & vo . Ik Bentley . The Mutinies in Ou . dk . By M . E . Gubbins . R . Bentley The Parsees . By D . Frangee . Post 8 vo . Smith and ' Elder .
Durbrool \ By Miss Martineau . Smith and Elder . Stanford ' s Paris Guide . "With 3 Maps . E . Stanford . Guide to Jersey , Guernsey , Sark , cfc . By F . Tally . E Stanford . Guide to Cathedrals o England and Wales . By 11 Walcott , M . A . E . Stanford . The Photograp hic Art Journal . Parts 4 —& W . Lay
A Book For « Corner. By Leigh Hunt. (Boh...
A Book for « Corner . By Leigh Hunt . ( Bohn ' s-Illustrated Library . )—Anything from Leigh Hunt will be welcomed by all classes of readers . This book is , touse this popular favourite's own wonds , " a collection of passages from such authors us retain , if not the highest ,, yet the most friendly , and , as it "were , domestic hold upon us daring life , and sympathise with us during all portions of it . " We here meet with the choicest extracts from the choicest authors— -all old established favourites
—which - will have their popularity extended , if possible , by the fine taste and judgment of the selector , who has introduced each author with a notice such as Leigh Hunt only could have written . The work is charmingly illustrated , and-will be found all that Leigh Hunt himself designed it should "be , namely , " a hook for all-lovers of books at every time of life , from childhood to old age , particularly such as are fond of the authors it quotes ^ and who enjoy their perusal in . the quietest places . "
Pebbles and Shells . By : Elizabeth Wilmshurat French ( R . Hardwicke . )—A first essay by a fair " ' Prentice in the Art of Poetry , " with a modest and retiring ; preface 1 , which is sure to disarm severe criticism . The volnme is , probably , chiefly intended for the circle of the writer ' s friends , and we have no doubt that they will , in the words of the pre & ce , find "some thought , some cadence , that may linger in the memory . " There is promise of this in the " Swallow ' s Song , " with which the volume concludes .
Literary Gossip . —We'have sincere pleasure in announcing that Mr . Prescotti the historian of Philip the Second , as well as of Ferdinand and Isabella , has recovered from the severe attack from which he suffered , which caused so much concern not only to his immediate family and friends , but to the -world of letters generally The first number of Mr . Bentley ' s new review , to be published quarterly , is announced to appear on the 1 st of December next .
/Flfltiv (2i *4a ^Ut Mlw*
Cjjelrta . —» " - ¦
Her Majesty's Theatre.—-Mr. /Lumleyr Who...
Her Majesty ' s Theatre . — -Mr . / Lumleyr who by this time must have been consoled by the liberal countenance of the lower million for the loss of his formerly sole position before the upper ten thousand , as primo impresario assoluto , gathered an ample auditory at the last performance of La Traviata , on Saturday last . This intrepid manager , who , in tho face of strong competition , lias courageously put forward artistic novelties against the trained celebrities of the rival Opera-house , has , we hope , no reason to complain in his own proper person of public
fickleness . The ancient prestige of the theatre he has so admirably managed has , of course , stood him in good stead during the season he last night brought to a close , and his prescience in effecting successive , and we hope permanent , engagements with such artistes as the fascinating Mdlles . Titiens and Piccolomini , and the melodious Giuglini , has been warmly endorsed by a not uudiscerning public , mainly of his own creating . " We must not be interpreted , however , as hinting that this beautiful salle is forsaken by tho rich and noble amateurs because , or as soon as , reduced prices opened its doors to the " public , to fortune , and to fame unknown . " Tho reports of such of out contemporaries as enjoy the pleasure of knowing an
immense circle of noble and illustrious personages By sight , if not more intimately , inform us , from < lay to day , that while her Majesty and Court are absent from London , while tho gatherings in the parks ^ Regent-street are wasting visibly , and brown Holland , blinds invade with dusky pall tho " houses' eyes " of all tho western arrondissements , —a . number of the aristocracy who , if themselves utterly insensible totho chnims of cheapness , are clearly not scared from , their accustomed haunt by its invasion have continued to patroniso Mr . Xumley . The lessee has r all through this very long season , applied unflagging energy , perfect appreciation of the requirements of the public , and , speaking generally , tlio bost of management , to tho maintenance of his posi-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 14, 1858, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_14081858/page/19/
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