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Dec. 20, 1851.] ®pe afflJlW. 1213
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BOOKS ON OUR TABLE. The Cabinet of Seaso...
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A Sauntkkek.— The words " saunter" and "...
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fnrtfnlin.
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"We should do our utmost to encourage th...
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TO ALEX. SMITH, "THE GLASGOW POET," ON H...
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PATIENT LOYE. My weary heart is sorely t...
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THIS NEW DRACJON OK WANTI.KY. A SOCIAL R...
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.
Clara Harrington. Clara Harrington : A D...
Tbable ; it might have been made profoundly E ffecting , had the authoress seized the occasion for painting woman ' s love overriding moral judgent . It is impossible that Clara should have for "" moment been blind to the moral obliquity of her husband , the more so as his crime had its impulse n a motive she could never sympathize with . He must have stood guilty before her eyes . But it is that she should love him
uite possible nevertheless - , love him in the face of all that he had done to destroy her affection . Loving him she might perform these sacrifices . But the art of the novelist would have been to paint these two contending impulses—the moral impulse and the affectionate impulse—and to make us feel the nature of the struggle and understand the victory . The picture so painted would have had reality . As it is every one must feel that it is a mere fiction .
In the treatment of the characters there is little individuality . Dr . Weston and Leonora are the merest lay figures . Sir Frederick Buckton is outrageously unlike life , and his visit to Clara is the sort of thing we expect to find in a very bad farce : every accent is false . Lady Ashford is the bestdrawn character in the book , and she reveals something like genuine dramatic power . But we end as we began , the book has its charm , let criticism say what it will .
Dec. 20, 1851.] ®Pe Affljlw. 1213
Dec . 20 , 1851 . ] ® pe afflJlW . 1213
Books On Our Table. The Cabinet Of Seaso...
BOOKS ON OUR TABLE . The Cabinet of Season : a Library of Freethought , Politics , and Culture . Vol . 1 . The Task of To-day . By Evans Bell . J . Watson . Waiting the time when we can notice at length this bold expression of opinion , we may announce the existence of a new shilling library , which , every friend to complete freedom of opinion should warmly support , without inquiring too narrowly into the particular views anyone work in the series may advocate . It is desirable that all sincere convictions should gain utterance and attention . Nothing but evil , and bitterness , and error , can ensue from the opponents of freethought and democracy persisting in misrepresentation , or in that unworthy strategy which lays hold of a nameless and unrecognized advocate , and proclaims his opinions to be the opinions of all . The object of the Cabinet of Reason , which Mr . Holyoake edits , is to bring together in a portable form such works as may take the place of accredited expressions of the " extreme left" of politics and religion . The , Museum of Classical Antiquities . A Quarterly Journal of Architecture and the Sister . branches of Classic Art . Vol . I . J . W . l ' arlier and Son . It is little creditable to our lettered and artistic circles that Periodicals like the present are so few and so ill-supported . In Germany , in France , even in Italy where books are so few , there can always be found a sufficient public for works of this grave
kind . There are assuredly as many persons in Lngland , who interest themselves in these studies ; but somehow they never managed to keep a good periodical in existence . The Museum of Classical Antiquities is the latest attempt . It is a handsome work , with valuable illustrations , and some good , though unequal , contributions . A press of matters more cogent , and of more passing interest , has prevented our reading all these contributions ; and we must defer till a more leisure period anything like an estimate of their contents , for the present restricting ourselves to an announcement of its existence as a quarterly journal .
A Sauntkkek.— The Words " Saunter" And "...
A Sauntkkek . — The words " saunter" and " saunterer" arc singular records of mediaeval practices and feelings . " Saunterer , " derived from "la saiute terre , " is one who visits the Holy Land . At lir . st a deep and earnest conviction drew men thither , drew them to visit , — -in . the beautiful words which Slinkuncarts puts into the mouth of Henry TV ., and which explain so well the attractions that at one time made it the magnet of all Christendom , —to vinit , I say , " those holy tic-Ids , Over whose acres walked those blesaod feet ,
Which fourteen hundred years ago were nailed , For our advantage on the bitter cross . " By degrees , however , the making of this pilgrimage degenerated into a mere worldly fashion , and every idle person that liked strolling about better than performing the duties of bin calling , assumed the pil - Ki'im ' o staff , and proclaimed himself bound for the Hol y Lund ; to which very often he never in earnest K ( 't- out . And thus this word forfeited tlie more honourable meaning it may once have ; pos . sen . scd , and the " sauuterer " came to signify one idly and unpiofitably wasting his time , loitering here and there , with no iixed purpose or uini . ' — Trench on the Study <>/ ' Worth .
Hoitsi : I ' i . ay . —A horse belonging to one of the hirge brewing establishments in London , at , which a K n'at number of pigs wen ; kept , used frequently to neat . ter the grains on the ground with ThiflmiMilh , atidi s ¦ Koo m-ad ji'pljjucUmtt \ v'jtihinhitV ' iV-ii ( Vh , 'li <» w < iuM aWise t ; Without injiwy mend pi unfit : iteinio-the Wtttur ^ tMVuglii - J' & uwWson ' ti J ! % wt , ( if Aubmiu \ ¦ < , ii < ; i . inn ; , i / 1 ;¦ 11
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"We Should Do Our Utmost To Encourage Th...
"We should do our utmost to encourage the Beautiful , for the Useful encourages itself . —Goethe .
To Alex. Smith, "The Glasgow Poet," On H...
TO ALEX . SMITH , " THE GLASGOW POET , " ON HIS SONNET TO " FAME . " Not vainly doth the earnest voice of mart Call for the thing that is his pure desire ! Fame is the birthright of the living lyre ! To noble impulse Nature puts no ban . Nor vainly to the Sphynx thy voice was raised ! Tho' all thy great emotions like a sea , Against her stony immortality , Shatter themselves unheeded and amazed . Time moves behind her in a blind eclipse : Yet if in her cold eyes the end of all Be visible , as on her large closed lips Hangs dumb the awful riddle of the earth ; — She sees , and she might speak , since that wild call , The mighty warning of a Poet ' s birth . George Meredith .
Patient Loye. My Weary Heart Is Sorely T...
PATIENT LOYE . My weary heart is sorely tried—I long , I long for rest ! The darkest shadows by me glide , For eyes and lips do frown and chide , Till my poor soul , like timid Bride , Steals softly to my dear Lord ' s side , And weeps upon his breast ! Our household deities retire , And strife and discord rage ; My words add fuel to the fire — My gentlest ways are spurn'd in ire , Till hope and love almost expire , And stricken faith doth halt and tire , As if oppress'd with age ! I gaze out on the evening skies , So calm—so grand—so fair : — A subtle influence through me flies , A new light dances in mine eyes ; And to my soul ' s half-utter'd cries Pure spirit-echo quick replies , And undulates the air . In . sacred words , it seems to say ( While breathing on my brow ) , * ' With Patient Love pursue thy way , The hearts that now are led astray , Instinctive feel thy gentle sway ; Endure a while—a holier day Is dawning , ay , e ' en now !" Glad voice of hope ; with soul subdued , I bend me to thy will;—Impatient thoughts no more intrude , "Upon this sweet dilating mood , Put olden memories , gentle , good , Around my central life are strew'd , And joys my being III 1 ! I think me of the ancient time , When one brought vie reproof—Then wildest passions were in prime , And blinded pride would madly climb ; "When to each soft and pleading chime , I answer'd with a frosty rime , And kept my heart aloof ! Yet , patiently , the loving look Bent o ' er me where 1 stood ; It would not let me be forsook , Hut read my soul as 't were a book : Beneath its shade my life it . took And in that bless'd , ( secluded nook Have grown all things of good ! Turn back , strong heart , turn back again , In patient love abide ; Thy words of peace are not in vain , Tlie pent up good , that long hath lain , "Will one day burst , like summer rain , And water all thy life ' s broad plain , Till ' harvest home" betide : — Turn back , brave heart , turn back again , In patient love abide ! Chorley . Mahik .
This New Dracjon Ok Wanti.Ky. A Social R...
THIS NEW DRACJON OK WANTI . KY . A SOCIAL RKA'KJ . A'l'lON . I am ! i young man of domestic habits , studious tendencies , and commercial occupations ; or , in other words , J live with my mother , dole on natural history , iuu \ gel , my bread in an office . iVly scientific researches ( l , he innocent cause of all I have now to relate ) are exclusively directed to the
subject , of reptiles . 1 have studied alike ( . lie anatomy of the Asiatic boa constrictor and ( lie HriUfch eft ; and am ready at . a moment ' s notice to calculate the exact poison-power of any serpent in any part of the : world you choose to mention . < My tastnuuftiy ad-ninii oiUl one ;• 'hut- 1 o . Iih'I , help ill , JidnHlifiaiifLniiruEihiiit for Hi All I'lciiow W . tit M ; I iauiM . j [ . Mtf ^ i <> iil < 'iU ) L y i ailt . ;» C 5 h ( i'd'it . ( ViF (;|» t , i iK » H , 'tMi < l tliui 1 hlivd a , trduiuriMoufe mc & iwl > gfriUvaiifctj i > iu conitawtiou ' < Mt h
them to make public . Without further preface , here it is : — I live in the pastoral village of Stoke Muddleton , which , as everybody knows , is within easy omnibus distance of London . The other evening , while I was taking a walk , a labouring man accosted me , and asked if I would like to buy a live snake . Of course I would !—if he had offered a live boa constrictor for sale I would have mortgaged a quarter ' s salary to get it . The reptile in this case was only a common , harmless , English snake , between two and three feet long—one of a large family , residing , if I may use such an
expression , in a wood near our neighbourhood . The man asked four shillings for it : I gave Mm the money . He recommended me to carry it home wrapped up in my pocket-handkerchief : I took his advice . I felt a calm sense of triumph as I walked back to the house with the first live specimen I had ever possessed—with the nucleus of the great reptile menagerie I was now determined to form , coiled snug in my own bandana , and lightly pendant from my own finger and thumb . Little did I then think that I had tied up in that one email bundle the requisite materials for producing the public misery of all Stoke Muddleton .
That night I said nothing to my mother about the snake . I stealthily took him up to my bedroom , and put him into an empty hatbox , humanely cutting an air-hole in the lid before I shut it down . Then I went to sleep , full of trust and tranquillity . In the middle of the night I awoke ; and , experiencing a strong , but unaccountable desire to have a look at my snake , got up and struck a light .
When I state that my mother ' s bedroom is under mine , that she is a light sleeper , and that I took particular pains not to wake her , it is , perhaps , unnecessary to say that I knocked down everything within my reach in searching for the match-box . However , I lit the candle at last , eagerly opened my temporary snake-cage , and the next instant found myself sitting on my bed , covered with a cold perspiration of horror—the reptile was gone !
I believe I was frantically rolling about in the Hue under my bed , feeling for the runaway snake , when I heard my mother ' s voice , hysterically desiring to know whether I was not taken dangerously ill , and casually adding that she was frightened out of her wits at the noise I was making . I calmed the maternal anxiety , bounced into bed again in despair , dropped asleep , and had frightful dreams , which , however , fell so far short of the reality that was soon to follow them as to be not worth mentioning . Let me pass on to the next
g . Shortly after sunrise I began to search the bouse—no snake . Then I went into the garden , and there I found him , apparently breakfasting on snails . How lie had got out of the room 1 had not the slightest idea ; but now he was in tlie garden , the next thing to do was to fix him there . This 1 loudly imagined I could cJl ' by turning over him an old cage that had been used to keep bantams in , and covering the : cage with a cloth . Thai ; done , 1 went in to breakfast , told my mother all about , it , and set oil ' to business , iecling pretty sure of the snake till I got back again . Fatal security ! And now let us shift tlie scene to next door , the house of Mr . Frostick , of the well-known firm of
Fro . stick , i six ley , and rrostick . Mr . Froslick is at business : Mrs . Frostick , a most , charming person , is upstairs in tlie nursery , fondling her first child . She has been amusing herself with that kind ol thing for the last , three hours , and is not . tired yet . ? She : is so fond of her baby , she hardly knows what to do with it next . Something of this sort is passing through her mind in reference to the infant at ; the present moment . " What shall I do with my baby now ? 1 have washed my baby , kiKscd my baby , suckled my baby , dressed my baby , dandled my baby , stuck a pin by accident , into my baby , laid iny baby on the floor , the bed , the rug , the chair , and iny own knees ; made my baby laugh ,
and t : iy , and go to ( sleep , and wake up a ^ itin . Nothing , 1 imagine , in now It'll , for me to do but l . o a ' u- my baby . " Acting on this sweet , and sanitary impulse , Mrs . Frostick advances with ( . lie infant , to the , window , and , buoyant , with maternal bliss , smartly throws it , open . What , ( starts up on the parapet before her ? What creel , and hissing shape of terror Hies out like a . jack-in-thc-hox before her eyes ! Horror ! unspeakable honor ! It is my siiakr , , my linfomal ; £ Hjclat > ou < Ksudkic , that 1 i < v IcN ^ ilr . / vrnjJiiiwMilniOiit . ' whatever cawi cjyniincJ 'to his hooper piieimse Hi !; " : > 'i ¦ '> / """• ' """ ' : " '"¦' ; i "IH i'l !' M'ei'Hftury -W sa _ V ilim / 'Mrk ; I'WsliHt'in . Y . ered a piercing scream , and , clasping {[ i 0 |> aby' to ' her
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 20, 1851, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20121851/page/17/
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