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July 22, 1864.] THE LEADEi' ^j.
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S.YDIiiWIIAM. l'Al'EKS No, I. Ttovuca ar...
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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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Betters- Of An American. <Lelters Of Ah ...
Landoc ' s in 1852 . The amenities of Bath \ vei * e forgotten , and the friendship of the usurper iuuignantly rejected . He does not allude to that unpleasant incident at this date , but contents himself with a , passing protest at the destruction of the Roman Republic . What will the French proscription , say to these compliments and to these remissions from a republican pur saw / , like Mr . L an dor , without , the journalist's excuse ? It is noticeable that Mr . L » ndor dedicates these letters , in a few words of emphatic eojnnaendation , to Mr . Gladstone , as one who " at Naples perceived the causes- of revolutions , and exposed , them . " We have only room fbr a few brief extracts in this place , but we shall endeavour to commit further depredations on the letters elsewhere .
HOOK UN KXN . GS . " IJcai ? the court-calendars , run over the red-letters of kings ; against which of these letters does your finger touch the initials of an honest man ? Look at Spain , whose planks we < are > collecting , wreaked and- rotten * Look wherever else you will across-the Atlantic , anddjtfro will discover no- potentate on the whole mainland whose signature you , would endoBSfi-U ) . tbe value . of a , cent .. Spain ,. formally , the inas . t honourable of nations , is nojv . the TOPSt - dbhoaourable , and . bcr queens bear the same character as her kings . The people hath liw » t alike the , civilisation of the Moorland the fortitude of the Goths . A few generations of Bourbon kings-have been sufficient to efface the character of the nation . And yet this worthless- race is that which some- hundreds of Frenchmen , peubapst a . thousand or motej ¦ would rsolaea on the , throna of France I" *
EO VIS : » AFOfcEMT ; " 'JGbfr heir of Napoleon the First i & Emperor of Irasce ; The people , almost unanimously , havte'Oiuled him to tho throne . They were indignant at . being defrauded ; by their representatives ^ , an _ d , fond of . my clever trick , were amused at seeing them scattered . Ttie French revolution is at last complete .. Let the virtue of Napoleon the Third be but equal to his sagacity , and Europe may then expect more bkssjngs at his hand than ever she experienced of mi > orio » -from : his- uncle This-is much , very-mueb indeed ; and what is thera winch cat * indnee-uB to hope , it ? What is * there ? Ws interest ; the pri m * : mover of- men aad nations . ...... " TUerfi is . one palace on earth jn which the hungry courtier is . less attentively listened to than the man of calm reflection . In that palace my distant voice may perhaps be heard ;
it is the only one I am desirous it should enter . Confident is my hope and- my belief that the wisest , and , sincohis'accession , the most consistent , o £ rulers will open a newer- ' and widerand ; : more indestractibleroad to his , ambitiom Ha may acquire a far more glorious name in history than the proudest and mightiest of liis predecessors ; his title rnay be the Nagpkon of Peace . ...... " Unfriendly as I confess I have always felt toward the Emperor of France ,, because of his treacherous . invasion of the Romatt Republic , yet , long before that time , and ever since , I saw clearl y * although not to the bottom , his deep sagacity . Firmly do I believe that , a statesman of equal-Ability is nowhere is existence . Surely he ,, who .- has almost attained the gl /) j : yof . a . Crprawell ,. vvill never condescend to be littie better tbap a Richelieu ,. He has avoided ^ and will continue to avoid , the errors of his uncle . The , ouc might havebroken up the Russian empire : the other will . " . ......
TilE Dim OE MES AND OK NATIONS . u . Let every man tow to himself , and- to his God , that the order of the Universe shall not he disturbed by anarchy ; that God alone is Unity ; that , if the-lows of men are violated by merii H 4 & . lawa shall take their-place ; that , if lessee offences ar « punished , greater shall be- ; thatj if the incendiary of a corh-stacJc suffers death for it , the incendiary of a province shall undergo , the same pnalty ; . tha ] t every city is bound in duty to prosecute him , and every man in ever , y city to lift up . a hand against him . By these resolutions the . people of ' Europe inay at last recover from their'fallen state : until they are carried into execution , ib is vain to expect ? , it-is unmunlv : to be anxious-about , their welfare . "
TYKANSICIDB . " Assassination ( villanous term for glorious deed ) is the natural , death of tyrants ; but to -what ? a , condition must a . people be reduced when the profligate and . the coward are ministers ofju ^ ice . Oufihttliistp . be ? But there are circumstances in which I would ¦ ag . tin ask you , ought it not to be ? . What , if u million . arc held in' bondage ; what , if they must cut the binder ' s throat before they can ciifc the bonds ? Which is best ? that a million should endure-a life-of ignominy-anil servitude , or one man endure one blow ? If hesuiFer , it is for aimoinent ; if they suffer , ib is for ages . Punishment , forages would not repay his guilt ; theirs is mainly his . Another such will spring up , you tell me . No doubt ; have not weeds and brambles sprung up' in your homestead jear after year ? and have not you extirpated them until none are left ? 1 ' erscveranco is manly , is heroic , is godlike : all good results from it . The fruits of the -earth are irrigated by the sweat of the brow ; no curse is there in this denunciation , l - Why sitteat thou idle ? ' is tho gravest of rebukes . "
JOBBERY . " Recently I have heard ( whether true or fulao it is tho business and duty of others to determine ) that a piece of land nenr Southampton was wanted for a signal-station . It belongs to a gcntk'nuiii of high family and equally high honour , a gentleman in the service of hur Majesty ^ Mr . Levcson Gow « r . The incniiUble thing irt } a thing without precedent ^ 4 . Uting which stands quite alone ,. this gentleman asked for it no moro than its intrinsic valne ~ -iiv < $ hundred . pounds . . Ho vws informed , by a . poison in office that , for a decent gratuity ,, he migbf obtain fifteen , hundred . Indignant an the proposal , he made it known immediately to the head , of tho . department . No notice was taken , " The- fallowing passage on Italy begina like a strum of 6 ne music : —
ITALY ; . u Nwar-mwo sluill wo t % vo revwlt Umb . coutjml t ^ y of cont » ' 4 Europe , wherp the great niflatw » M > d thfl grctttp * ' scholar with a « Uiqk « qf tljo pencil resuscitated , saint and martyr , puwOed ) U < sau , ty , ( liguified , decrepitude , gavo uifaupy foreknowledge , then sullied out together , aud ; caugh , t < the frosh air fanning um : cjowijed I'du ^ ii . Novor ahull we soo again tljoso other lovely placm of which the loveliest is Verona , But tho generous heart in ovary laud bents strongly ( on Italy . From Italy wo rttcoivcil , togQthor with n ) inor gifts , tlio first ruiUxncnt ^ of oloquonco , tlio first omotiuns of patriotism . If nho conquered our ancestors , it was to , civjllpo them ; if she ruK'd them , it was under the tribunal of tho lows . Italy is the common country , and ought to bo tlio common cnr < j , of all tlio civilised throughout the wwldi Tq negloot lior in the heaviness of hor sorrows , in her struggles , fur lift ) , is di ^ gvHcuful . The ligayaafc ought to raiiup firrtfc toh « x aswataaice , but thnvly , services inuy be rondertjdu to , her by tlio moro romot 4 ) . My fouiw throb rnoro stx-ongly tlnuv my liopos . In th « i ^ gony ot ' -dcepoiution . tho oppro « sed . of l £ w < oi ) o may , burijfc forttli . not , shn . ultancQUsly . Vahj »)/ , Uq Ihpy Iwk around for holn . or eyinpiUiw- '
Wo ' -haiKe already far- exceeded ow limUei . Without accepting all their opinions , andi taking- exception to . a certain occasional extravagance , we recommend ' these lottei ' s as « . strengthening anil refreshing study for political r . eudorsi
July 22, 1864.] The Leadei' ^J.
July 22 , 1864 . ] THE LEADEi' ^ j .
S.Ydiiiwiiam. L'Al'eks No, I. Ttovuca Ar...
S . YDIiiWIIAM . l ' Al'EKS No , I . Ttovuca are chuogod since tho gweatuat conijueroi- of tlio awe stretched his ong ^ lu glance-iuto the fur wt'sfc and opiod out these pleasant little islus ; fruitful and fair then , but aavago and suapicioua of tho foreign foot —a sort of ^? ifo 1 11 * ' 1 * 4 ntM uu ' ' > ta flocks , and hortb , and green pastures —the arlu oj . lifti flourishing } in Buahimm ahnpliciliy , aad artistic ambition satisfied with a t . uugh . ahipld and a handsome apear . Bud the hiutV and bony old Julius VMW * , « pdilBt 1 lMi , tc li though l « j might li / ivo been fuahionablo enough to deoovato 1 »» vxllu with n few ApollwH « ud Vonuaes ; lie cauic , su . w and con-( j ^ uneO , with im , ey . e to bueinces , and looked upon uo jFroiu a cplonist ' a point « f viuw . J uagmg , ^ Qw his , Uaapatwhes , tUo kcun old oolouww wvwt have aeeu
there was good stuff in us barbarian islanders ; one could fancy he lilc « d the tough work they gave his legions in the waves at Dover , for your Roman's ideal of a man was " a fighter , " and not a bad rudimentary organisation either . But now , if we could catch a real old Roman , and lead him in triomph along the Strand , as he served our Caxactacus , how we should make him stare at his colonial produce , and how we should enjoy paying off the old grudge with the malicious whisper , that while he and his cousins ' the Greeks have retired to the Museums- and live only in history , thfi rude islanders have
been spanning the globe and holding up the light of knowledge to the nations . Xhink how tlie Spartaa . blqod has been tamed , and the Attic salt lost its savour ; . why , y ; our . modem , Athenian couldn't be trusted with the Parthenon , family- plate , such was his converting propensity . What ' s Phidias to me oc I to Pericles , says your modern acropolzOan stonemason , as he builda ia a metope for a chimney , or chops up some torso over which , the great sculptor of all time had sighed and thought his life away . What a strange , developernerit ,, that these heir-looms o £ art should come to be but so mjich stone in their own home , while to us , the once barbarian islanders , they have become priceless , treasures . — -the sacred ,, inspired records , of immortal art *
Look , too , at " the Eternal City , " sitting on her seven hills like anv idiot miser ov . er the ruins of his treasure . The chair of Hadrian , filled by the august autocrat of all the consciences , who , oddly enough , protects : kfe palace , with , the sacred works o £ Pagan art , and garrisons the capitol with . an » Antinous and a Yen us more safely than with legions . Home , isr still a sarme to , which art-pilgrims flock to breathe a charmed air and . wait , for inspirations , but the art-life of Rome is sustained by foreign blood ; theory of " sculptor Rom anus , sum , " is become as empty as " civis Romanus ^ " & c . ; the one calls up Gibson ,, the other a French grenadier . The centre of dogmatism ,, the , city of forbidden books , where native talent exhausts its re « sources in the manufacture of Pietas and Virgins in . endless copies , and every kind , of veritable antique , cannot be the birthplace of the ; new and the strong , in . art ; allthece is solemn , suggestive , grand , bwt nionunjental}—the Hades of ark
This loss of power in the ancient centres , of civilisation seems , to-suggest a necessity : for change and renovation ; we must have- new races , new climates , new food , and new social conditions to secure that advance to which we all aspire . We speak of the march o £ civilisation ,, andsu-eh it , is ^ the old camping , ground is forsaken for fresh fields and pastures new ; we can g © back to the old , resting-places by the tracks and the beacons that still remain ,, but before us . lies the enticing Canaan of our hopes , the blue myste- > riou . 3 , distance that cheers and tempts us ever with the desire , to « x ^> LoFe .. We can measure our advance in our railways , steam-ships , and . telegraphs ,, in the Titan Teachings of science , hi the love of nature and lxuniaaifcy ,. and in . the struggle . for free thoughts * with a frank , and pure expeessioa of' them . Yet for- the consummation so devoutly to be wished , experience-would lead us to look still westward for the next remarkable events of civilisation ,, reuijeuibering , also that some o £ the most important applications of science as well as the iu , ost daring experiments in . social economy have been made ., and ace now progressing , in . thue- new world of the Anglo-Saxon race . Precious are the moments in a nation ' s life when the tide-is to be seized :
and happily for us the " situation was perceived wkon the idea of the ' 51 Exhihitibn . axoafi ^ That wilLbe chronicled as an even t iu . our ., blstarv , different fronx any that had preceded it . Its . origin was eminently characteristic of the age , arid its success shewed the people were ripe for it . Full of enterprise to tax the most ardeut energy , inspired with a warm feeling for thq universal benefit of the race , and ennobled by the determination to sink , all prejudices of race and soil in . such a communion of the nations , —it was a council of . art and industx'y . Wherever we may choose to trace tbe first and full conception of this scheme } whether in the-collective thought of that little knot of old Adelphi labourers , or in the one higU head to which the command w , as , aftww ^ aXds so gracefully yielded ,, the grandeur and opportune fitness , of the ideft touched
every mind "with one-conviction . ; all felt the motive to be nobl < j t manly , generous ,, worthy the , best eCoitts of . a people first in maulunery , n » anu , facture , and comjuaerce ,, and not , second ia art , science ,, and literafcmje . Themai'vellous success that , attended all stages of its progress , the-stri ^ ggles thai ; broke down every obstacle , the enthusU & m and delight that , bui'sb upon the , workers when their task "was done ) will never bo forgotten " ,- ^ a-gigantic effort was xuade to show the world our power ; the million yielded to . th ^ charm , took up the idea , aad even called the place their own . Her . e . would seem to bo the strength of ujjy . similar undertaking ; not iu , the mere show of the historical and the beautiful , which require a cultivated wind and a tutored eye , a refinement o £ an , ajsthqtic kind that tlie " pollo ^ 'a-re not yet ready for . The sensation of amazement aad wonder fades with . I'epetitwn as rapidly as any other ,, and even the beyuty of one that we love bpcomes iuvLuhle before thp bright ideal . of the heart , —wo all demand apwe stirring interest of out ow , n .
If yoa wUl visit the , Sydenham . Palace as a . man , of the , wvld » ,, to seo how tho people toko it , you , will . notice how thjey wandqv with vagatUi . wonder amongst , the beauties of , axt * Byzantine may be Egyptian ^ a » d , Mioresa ^ uo Italian , for all they cave . Oa every side you . will , ueav the j ^ opjular voicq exclaim , " It ' s all very : pretty , and must have cost a sight oil money , and we should like it very , well if we could understand it . " Tho renl objects ol iutwrest presented to the shilling visitor are the eating and drinluwg , courts ,, where he can be taught tp contemplate the . requirements of his inner maw , after- which , by an easy suggestion , you will iind lain amongst ; tho atM / fod animals , intensely taken up , with the strange and questionable shapes of his follttw-innn ; ho can do without Blumonbaeh , and l ' ritchiu-d , or oven LntlH \ in *
liWir own gi'cat progenitor here , because ho can make hw own coj » p < U' » 3 O us i , like the , monkey at th # looking-glans , ho , cuu sludy his own viow of tho , developo »»*) nt theory on the spot ; he is touched wilh a iolJow-fculmg a # ho , eJicluiuifl before the ehiuip / uuee , " irt \ w not a n > a » and a brother ! ' Next ! you find him in Uio migratory bosom oi" liia family , reposing after lua . labours ,, taking the air of the gardouri , and ugain renlly enjoying the brass band : thq last glimpse you get of him is in his nmtunil element—tho crowd ait th <> railway uLntiuu , vociferating how glad h « is to have scon * t , —u , u . d that uq likoa it ah » iio » t as well a ^ Cventorno !
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 22, 1854, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_22071854/page/19/
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