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No. 400, November 21, 1857.] _ T H E L B...
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LATTER-DAY POETRY. The Revolt of Ilindos...
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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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Meist Of The Time. Men Of The Time: Biog...
an-nraisenaent of contemporaries . Mr . Ainsworth coming into the . list ,, we Retold that his clmracter of Turpin is < a glowing , literary reaht ^' Then we discover that Sir Archibald Alison is a great historian ; that Mr . Matthew Arnold is a ' statuesque and Grecian poet '—whatever that may . mean ; that Professor Aytoua is as serviceable a writer as is possessed by Sfe Tory party ; thai M . Louis Blanc is ' a political theorist , ; ' that Fraac « require ? ' not a Henry T ., ' but a second ' Henry IV . ; ' that one . light SerVpieces are ' instinct with fun , ' and another's , < poems , and no mistake ' Lord " Cardigan is generously permitted to tell all about Limse f ; a distinguished novelist is warned that he is making dangerous experimentsm > ii the public t ^ te ; andit i ^ uh ^ ^^ fJ ^^ Cr ^ n ^ ^^ e ^^^ indeibtedfor a niche' in the present book to the eimnence of his positton rather than to his dazzling qualiBcaticns . Mr . Dickem ' s name afiordsjn excuse for a totally irrelevant hit at the Guild of Literature and Art Mr . Forster , « are sure , ought to be grateful for the patronage bestowed en iis Life ofGoldsmtJiynoY will certain authors , young and old be wantingin devotion to the English M .: de . Mirecburt who has so successfu ly searched history for their ancestry , wbethei- among loyal Scotch ladies ,. or ancient English sentry of competent fortune . Seven lines devoted to Al . ± > astiat , prepare us for ^ vhole pages lavished on some one whom we may be very tanpy to know , but who was certainly unknown to us before . he appeared as a Man of the Time . As biography , we are bound to say the work is of scarcely any value , the statements being wrong or right , to all appeai-ance , by accident . It maybe sought for by those who are praised m it , hoping for no praise elsewhere ; but if foreign opinion be a contemporary posterity , this sort of thing is contemporary insolence .
No. 400, November 21, 1857.] _ T H E L B...
No . 400 , November 21 , 1857 . ] _ T H E L B A . 0 E R . _ . ___„__ . USB
Latter-Day Poetry. The Revolt Of Ilindos...
LATTER-DAY POETRY . The Revolt of Ilindostan ; or , the Neio World . A Boem , By Ernest Jones . ( Eftin"ham Wilson . )—Originally printed for private circulation , witli the title which now stands second , this poem is here issued to the general public with the added designation of > The Revolt of Hindostan , for the sake , we suppose , of . drawing capital from the present crisis . A few pages in the early part of the book have reference to the contest now going on in the East , whicli Mr . Jones considers as a just retribution for the many iniquities which he imputes to us in connexion with India ; but the relevance of . this to the other portions of the poem is by no means clear . Mr . x a ,, u ^» .: no -ttI + v , Amo »;^< i - thpiv Iftnns tn Hiridbstan : next brings
Ainerica and India together in some obscure union ; and finally sketches the pro ^ resa of modern society through the regal , aristocratic , and middleclass stages , to a Paradisaical condition of democratic equality . Having , fcy meau ° of tna prophetic power which ia commonly supposed to dwell in poets , landed the white portion of humanity in this blissful state of earthly existence , Mr . Jones unrols before us a new chapter of disaster , to which ¦ the Indian re-volt is as nothing . The blacks of Africa and America are to rise in ono overwhelming tide of wrath and vengeance , to . pour Vl ™» nn < in . th * Old World , and to vino oft" their long account of suflermg
and oppression by a tremendous act of retaliation . ; After this , we are abruptly taken back to the Paradisaical state of things thoueh how , we know not—and the poem concludes with a vision of the ^ orld t £ i it will ba when kings , priests , nobles , soldiers , and lawyers , ^ shall have vanished froiri the land . In following out this perplexed and dusky scheme , Mr . Jones writes several energetic , and many beautiful , passages ; but the whole poem is provokingly imperfect on account of its obscurity . It is'divided into parts ; but the connexion between not a few of these is imperceptible , and particular passages are often needlessly unclear . This is tho . more remarkable , as Mr . Jones , in managing his heroic couplet , affects
the mannor of Pope , the most terse and translucent of writers . Wo must also object to a certain fanaticism in his opinions . In describing the dominance of th « middle class , or in other words the present phase of society , lie surely overcharges his picture of the miseries and wrongs of the working orders . There is a great deal yet to be amended , beyond doubt ; much compensation to be . yielded , many mistakes to be atoned for . But the middle classes , though tainted with the selfishness that is common to all human beings , are not absolutely the enemies of working men , but , on the contrary , have contributed to their progress by a considerable amelioration of feudal serfdom , and by securing personal liberty and freedom of speech tails into tne inrir xuuuiirubuu
and writing . Mr . Jones same error as , um , whose book we recently reviewed—the fanaticism which cannot or will not recognize a partial good , simply because it is partial . What , also , does he mean to typify by his ) ideal king , who was a human angel for bonovolence , but who was murdered by his people , the de .- ; igning nobles having falsely asserted that he was the sole cause of all the evil which they themselves had wrought ? Strance doctrine , this , for one who says that all kings are plsigues
and curses to the carlh ! Wo cannot avoid a suspicion that this ideal monarch is meant to typify Gharle 3 I . —one of the meanest , falsest , and most heartless men who ever wielded a . seeptre to the misery and degradation of a people . If our conjecture be right , it suggests : i strange comment on the character of Mr . Jones ' s Republicanism . IJut , quitting this branch of the subject , we will leave the reader to judge for himself of the poetical merits of The Revolt of Ilindostan , by means of one or two selections . The following is acutely i ' elt and happily expressed : — 1 iV >» . rJiw 'l ' ii « u >' a tlinl no flin liiuirs s \ vi > nu liv .
Tis through tlio shadow that h 1 h > notes Lhuin fly ; kxi < X yet tUat ahudow , bo it dark as nitflit , JServes but to prone the jtrot / rcss if the litjht . Speaking of an oLd Israelite , who sees a vision of Judea from his deathbed , Mr . Jones writes : — Why bond * he as ono listening ? Ilusli ! Ho hoar . s
The cedars wfuspci'iiiy of their tJumsmuf ytntrs . This is the poet ' s vision of ' tho New "World ' : — Mechanic power then ministora to health , Ami longtiraniug leisure gladden a greateuing wealth .: Drove alchemy , the bnfldedhojm oi . " old ,
Then forms the diamond and concretes tlie gold ; ] STo fevered lands with burning plagues expire , But draw the rain as Franklin drew the fire ; Or far to mountains guide the floating hail , And / whirl on barren rocks its harmless flail . Then shall the eye , -with wide extended sight , Translate the starry gospel of the night ; And not as . now , when narrower bounds are set , See , but not read , the shining alphabet . Unhooded knowledge then shall freely sean That mighty-world of breathing wonders—man ! ' How act and-will are one , shall-stand defined ; IIow heart is feeling , and how l > rain is iniud . Those halcyon days shall witness discord cease , And one great family abide in peace , While ball and bayonet but remain to tell , , That lofty race how low their fathers felL One language then endearingly extends : Shall tougues be strangers still , wlieii hearts are- friends ? But , in that happier ag ; e , from zone to zone ,. One bloom shall brighten , and one joy he known : Earth ' s angel , then , at God ' s supreme command , Waving to north and south an emerald hand , Their [ V ] golden keys receiving from the sun , 'Unlocks the .. crystal poTtals one by one . Again on polar isles the stately palm Beckons the barque along the rippling calm ; And frostsmokes fleeting from each icy cape , To Greenland yield / once more the clustering grape . Then , as the waifs , of . sin are swept away , Mayhap the-world may meet its destined day : A day of change and eonsummition bright , After its loiig Aurora and old night . Xo millions shrieking in a fiery Hood ; jSTo blasphemies of vengeance and of blood , — Making the end of God ' s grea-t vork of joy , And of Almighty-wisdom—to destroy ! ¦ No kindling comet , and no fading sun- ; But Heaven and Earth , uniting , melt in one .
' One of the Million' puts forth a little collection of prose and verse called Vestigia CSaunders and Otley ) , to which he appends a Preface , wherein it appears that these productions are issued in accordance ™ . th . the advice ot friends . When a man wishes to dazzle the public with his lucubrations , bie is seldom in want of ' friends' * to ' . encourage him to take that perilous step ; and their counsel in this matter is not seldom one of the reasons for justifyinfr us in that earnest prayer to "be saved from our friends which often rises in ° the heart , though it may not be uttered by the lips . ' One of the Llillion is nrobablv a jrentlemaii of cultivated mind : but he exhibits no
qualities likely to attract the critic or tbe public . " . '¦ " ¦ . Those who like an exciting : story of love , war , and revenge , told after the manner of Scott ' s tales in verse ^ -that is to say , with , a kind of dashing picturesqueness , mingled with commonplace , and not unsuggestive of a chivalrous spectacle at Astley's , with plenty of l-ed-fire at the wings—will be pleased with the Rev . John Anderson ' s Legend of Glencoe , -which , together with some Other Poems ,, \ s published by Messrs . Longman and Go . The same author issues from the establishment of Messrs . Arthur Hall , Virtue , and Co ., a poein in heroic couplet , interspersed -with lyrics , culled The Pleasures r > f TTnmfi It ? s onftn to no serious obiection , but is written in a style of
received description and obvious didacticism , which is at least half a century behind its time , as far as metropolitan readers are concerned , though . > ve believe it is still patronized by country clergymen and the audiences at provincial lecture-rooms . „ ,. , , , . Eugehie , or the Sjmnis /< Jlride , by Florence De Vere ( Ward and Lock ) , is a drama in doggrel verse , meant to be serious and romantic , but singularly like a Christmas burlesque at the theatres , only that there are no ' points , ' and not even the solace of a bad pun , though some notes are appended explaining that certain passages are meant , to have a bearing on the present day . The nature of the writing may be judged from these two lines : —
Tho pirate ships will never come in sight ; What can be easier , thcu , than them to tight ? It is dillicult to know which to admire most in this couplet—the brilliance of the wit , or the euphony of those three words ' then , than them . ' Tlio same volume also couUiins a comedy called The Lady ami the Lawyers , which we confess we have not had the courage to examine , having been utterly
daunted by Eugenie . ,-, '„ ,,,- ,-r , i ¦ , Gcthsenutne , and Other Poems . By Thomas Galland Horton ( Judd and Glass ) . This is a volume of religious verse , rather feeble and dilluse ; but tho writer appears to be careful and scholarly , and will no doubt bo welcomed by those -whom he more especially addresses . Mleancrc , ami Other Poems . By Hamilton Aide ( Chapman and Hall ) , — - The first and longest of these productions is a talc of that mysterious and much-persecuted race , tho Oagots , and of the first French Revolution . It is sometimes unnlousantlv rugged and marred with atleotatious of style ; but is
often picturesque , lio-werful , and well felt . Sir Ed win Gilderoi / . A Ballad . My Feltham Burgliluy ( John Chapman ) . The oreator part ' of this book is occupied with an Introductory l . ssay and with Notes . Tho story itself is pleasantly told , after the old ballad manner , though tho similarity is rather forced than natural , ami is not always . v .,. ' ,., . « , ' r . /• j / - l- i /~\ u .... /¦> ..... . „ u . r Vz-irmiiin 1 $ . Von ore
foaundc » and Otley ) , and - / torn Jkt Dmnn , and Other ^ 2 / L ^ v ( Idem ) , nothing more can he said tl . a . x that they belong tothe o dima y class oV indiilerent verses , wkich preaLMit no featured tor the cntic cither to approve or to condemn .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 21, 1857, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_21111857/page/19/
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