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476 The Leader and Saturday Analyst. [Ma...
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MISSIONARY AND OTHER TALES.* "X\ f E are...
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• Town and Forest, By the Author of , < ...
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ROBERT OWEN AND HIS SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY* m...
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* Robert Owen and hisSocial Philosophy. ...
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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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476 The Leader And Saturday Analyst. [Ma...
476 The Leader and Saturday Analyst . [ Ma y , 1860 /
Missionary And Other Tales.* "X\ F E Are...
MISSIONARY AND OTHER TALES . * "X \ f E are always glad' to welcome the talented authoress of " Mary VV . Powell ; " there is , . through all her productions , a simple truthfulness , an earnest endeavour to inculcate true moral and religious principles , and afford , for even the most depraved , an outlet from the paths of vice and degradation , into the'sacred walks of virtue and social happiness , that cannot fail to enlist the sympathies of her readers . This popular writer ' s new work , upon which we are now called to give an opinion , is a tale of missionary labours , entitled " Town and Forest . " The hero , Mr . Bolter , a man of an enthusiastic temperament , who is ready to sacrifice his pleasures , his prospects , and even his life itself , in the furtherance of the great workis appointed by the heads of the " society" to undertake the
, spiritual regeneration of one of the most squalid , vicious , and infectious neighbourhoods of London . In the accomplishment of this task , he encounters obstacles which might well have damped the ardour of the most stoical and resolute of men ; he , however , does not flinch even at the prospect of personal danger , which only too surely presents itself before him . He is , in fact , made of that impenetrable stuff which , in days gone by , urged onwards our greatest and noblest of martyrs * to seek the promulgation of their divinely-conceived doctrines even at the faggot ' s blaze . The different phases of this poor missionary preacher ' s character are well portrayed . The true Christian philanthropy with which he enters , heart and soul , into the sufferings of others , offering consolation but receiving none , ever ready to relieve his neighbour ' s
burden , but , worthy disciple of his Divine Master , requiring no assistance in the sustainment of his own ; his conscientious fulfilment of his mission , in spite of the reiterated threats of ruffians , degraded to the very dregs of infamy and crime , his willingness upon all occasions to pnt his shoulder to the wheel when almost superhuman effort is necessary for the attainment of a special good , his expedition to the Hainault and Epping forests , having for its object : the conversion of the gipsies , his return to his old haunts , and subsequent death from typhus fever , brought on by over-exertion in a crowded and contaminated atmosphere , all this is powerfully wrought up , apd ~ brought vividly ta the imagination of the l-eader , and" is well calculated
to leave an impression favourable to the utility of those extensive missionary societies for which England is so deservedly celebrated . The other characters are purposely made subservient to the principal , but they are all drawn with the utmost delicacy and skill , _ as was indeed to be expected ,-from , the-known reputation of the authoress . There is not , moreover , the slightest tediousness in the progress of the story , —no dragging out of speeches to unjustifiable lengths merely to display the author ' s rhetorical powers ; neither is there the slightest deviation from rule in the construction of the language not a sentence or syllable is to be found out of . its appropriate place , the whole being arranged in the neatest possible manner . We have no doubt that this work will receive as much
attention as any of the authoress ' s former productions . A series of tales by the author of " Mary Barton / ' originally published in " Household Words" and " All the Year Round , " but novy reproduce ^ , in a more expensive and imposing form , next claim ois the
our attention . These tales consist of " Right at Last , '' "L Witch , " and several others . We particularly give the names of the two above-mentioned stories , because they are decidedly the most interesting in the volume . The first , "Right at Last , " is the history of a professional man of some eminence , but whose parentage is involved in considerable mystery , even his wife bring no more enlightened on the subject than society in general . Circumstances , however , compel the publicity of family matters , which our hero lias for so many years kept carefully concealed , and the riddle is solved—his father is a felon . Many vexations and annoyances
necessarily follow upon this discovery ; but , in the end , everything assumes its proper footing , and , in this instance , at least , the world does not prove itself so hard upon other people ' s misfortunes as is generally supposed . " Lois the Witch" is a more ambitious and elaborate production . The scene is Iai 4 in New England , two hundred years ago , and the plot is founded upon the mania against supposed witchcraft and diabolical agency , which at that time paralyzed the infant colony . Lois , the heroine , ultimately falls a victim to the popular frenzy , and the story winds up with a most affecting and unusual tragio denouement .
The popularity of these stories has already been tested , and wo have no doubt that they will command an extensive circulation . " Stories of Rainbow and Lucky" are , judging from the present and two preceding numbers , likely to prove a lucky speculation for the publishers . They are not , ns might bo inferred from the title , a series of . tales told by two individuals eccentrically named—or rather nicknamed— " Rainbow and Lucky , " but a continued narrative of the life and adventures of one man , known by the name of Handie ; Rainbow , a negro , occupying a prominent position in the story . Lucky is the somewhat inappropriate appellation given to a little unruly colt , of whose particular doings and disasters we shall know more in a future volume . This tale is simply but elegantly written , and if the forthcoming number is only equal to those already in circulation , the author need entertain no doubt of its success .
• Town And Forest, By The Author Of , < ...
• Town and Forest , By the Author of , Mary Powell . " lllchard Bentley . Right at Last , and other Tales . By the Author of " Mary Barton , " & o . Samson Low , Son , & Co . Stories of Rainbow and Lucky ( The Thrco Rides ) . By Jacob Abottb . Samaon Low , Son , & Co .
Robert Owen And His Social Philosophy* M...
ROBERT OWEN AND HIS SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY * mflE name of Owen is associated , in most minds , simply with the i- crotchets and' errors of his least- practical , times .. Many remember the tall figure and the singular yellow countenance that every now and then came up at public meetings , and in accents extremely positive , but equally benevolent , declared the world to be entirely wrong , without any truth or health in its religion , morals * politics , or social life , and then offered the means by which , at once , the whole scene was to be changed and an entirely new set of principles and practices introduced . The audience generally grew impatient , the chairman anxious to preserve his authority , and the old man all the more obstinate from opposition , until at last with a bland and sunny smile he gave up the contest , attributing the
unpleasantness of his reception to the circumstances under which those who would not listen to him had been brought up , and nothing doubting that in a very short time his principles would triumph , and all mankind dwelL in peace in the co-operative parallelograms lie loved to devise . These futile efforts to gam attention for schemes unsuited to the wants of humanity and the character of the age , together with idle stories of spirit-rapping and messages pretending to come from the inhabitants of the unseen world , constitute all that is usually known or remembered of one of the most remarkable characters of modern times , and of a man who played a conspicuous part in social regeneration , andhad kings ministers , church dignitaries , and philosophers for his friends , * ters The who for the last
admirers , and ^ suppor . man twenty years could scarcely get any sane person to listen to him except from feelings of benevolence , once had all the civilized world for his audience * loaded the mails with his writings , so that their starting was delayed for twenty minutes , was the foremost spirit of committees on national distress , and set every newspaper working to report the oracular messages he was pleased to pour forth Without knowing something of the times in which these things occurred , the history of them appears inconceivable , for Owen never bad any philosophy to unfold that would stand a moment ' s criticism from any one who was acquainted with the elements of political economy , or who entertained rational notions of the character of man . But . the statesmen of George the Third ' s days
illustrated the maxim . that Jittlc wisdom is required govern me world , " public opinion was in the rudest and crudest state . Law was brutal and barbarous ; -punishments sanguinary and vindictive ; manners coarse , drunken , and licentious ; politics corrupt and despotic ; religion without vitality , philanthropy ignorant , and the people in distress . . . . ' This was a fine time for a reformer . There was a conviction latent © V patent , that everything was wrong , and very few had mastered , the elements of any social science likely to assist in putting it right . The judges clung to the gallows as if it was the only way of civilization , and Eldon ' s conscientious love of wickedness harmonized with the propensities of an obstinate and narrowminded King . Still humanity had some friends . The Divine iii man was not without a witness , and many names will occur to the reader more prominently than that of Owen , as sliinini ? brightly through the social and political fogs and miasma ' the reigns of tlreifwcrlaT ^ of ^ reH ^ OTg ^
more hopeful days . Owen was born in the year 1771—the twelfth of CJeovge III ., when our House of Commons attempted by violence to prevent the publication of its debates ; when Louis XV . was busy - preparing the French Revolution by suppressing the Parliament of Paris , and by similar acts of tyranny , and Poland was in those difficulties and intestine dissensions that rendered her partition possible . The active part of Owen ' s life comprised the period of two French Revolutions , the wars of the first Empire , the terrorism of Sidmouth and Castlcreagh , . tho Reform Bill , Catholic Emancipation , the Anti-slavery movement , and Corn-law Repeal . From all these agitations and changes Owen stood aloof , wrapped and absorbed in his own mission . Wo suppose is
he knew that such things were going on , but his biography almost silent concerning them , and in the intensity of hid egotistical benevolence ho never realized the importance of any event , however prodigious , that did not directly affect , his own plans . When four or five years old Owen went to the village school in Newtown , rushing backwards and forwards , so as not to lose a crumb of learning ; for the determination to ho something 1 was thus early developed in his mind . Swallowing hot flummery too quickly , in order to bo back to his lessons , he burnt his stomach , and was thus , as ho fancied , obliged for tho remainder of his life to bo prudent in eating and drinking , according to a theory of dietetics which ho formed iu his childhood ' s days , when he tells us ho reflected seriously on tho nature of food . By seven he became an usher in
the school , read all manner of books , and entertained doubts as to the truth of all the religions in tho world , Ho was not , however , an ordinary studious boy , but fond of games and distinguished for physical activity . At ton he went out to sock his fortune in tho world , and under a Mr . M'Guflbg , a draper , of Stamford , learnt to be a proficient in various business affairs , still , however ; 'keeping up his habits of reading nnd pondering over tho miseries and errors of tho world , From Stamford ho came to London us shopman to Flint and Pnlmor , flharn-doaling folks in the Borough . ' and began tho day by getting himself curled , powdered , and pig-tailed before ho Berved out the bobbins and tnpes . From London ho wont to Manchester , rising in the ' world of wealth up to £ 10 a year , and gradually becoming acquainted with tho , moat intelligent peoplo in tho place .
* Robert Owen And Hissocial Philosophy. ...
* Robert Owen and hisSocial Philosophy . By WliAMM LlTOAS 8 AIUUHT . Smith , Elder , and Co .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), May 19, 1860, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_19051860/page/16/
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