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mB . THE LEADJ! ^ LSatorba^
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A BATCH OF BOOKS. The j&biatA. By Sir Wi...
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^ s <•> * + j0 fl£I t II11H* \
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We should do our utmost to encourage the...
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FRENCH CRITICISM OF ENGLISH PICTURES. [T...
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.
Mb . The Leadj! ^ Lsatorba^
mB . THE LEADJ ! ^ LSatorba ^
A Batch Of Books. The J&Biata. By Sir Wi...
A BATCH OF BOOKS . The j & biatA . By Sir William Domville , Bart . Ciapman and HalL Notes on Duels and Dwelling . By Losenzo Sabine . Sampson , Low , and Sen . Imperial Paris . By W . Blanebard Jerrold . Bradbury and Evans . Notes < m Some Pictures in the Royal Academy Exhibition . By the Author of " Modern Painters . " Smith , and Elder . Synopsis of the Painters of the Hutch and Flemish Schools . By George Stanley . Art Hints . By James Jackson Jarves . Sampson , L , owe , and Son . Moore ' s Poetical Works . Ruby Edition . Longman and Co . Printing . By Adam Stark . Longman and Co . The Occult Sciences . ( Encyclopaedia Metropolitana . ) Oriffin and Co . Manibook of Domestic Medicine . Bonn . Sir Whuam Domville may claim the credit of meeting the Sabbatarians
boldly on their own ground , and vanquishing them triumphantly with their own weapons . His very learned and elaborate work on the Sabbath occupies two volumes . The first is devoted to an examination of the six texts Commonly adduced from the New Testament in proof of a Christi ' an Sabbath ; and includes , towards the end of the book , some consideration of the non-scriptural evidence to -which our relig ious despots are in the habit of appealing , "with a chapter besides on the Origin of Sunday Observance . The second volume is devoted to an inquiry into the supposed obligation of tfee Sabbaths of the Old Testament . The main positions which Sir William Bemville takes up — and -which he defends with singular courage , earnestness , and ability—may be most fitly described in his own words . He
asserts , on purely Scriptural grounds it must be remembered , that the day which we call Sunday , is not the day which the Fourth Commandment ordains to be kept holy—not the day which God blessed and sanctified at the creation— -not the day which God has at any time set apart to be kept holy—and not the day which Christ or his Apostles either commanded or recommended to be kept holy . Arriving at these conclusions , Sir William Domville argues from them that " there can be no necessity for the exclusion of recreations and amusements on the Sunday in order to render the religious services of that day profitable to piety and good morals . " If the Sabbatarians were to be reached by reasoning—perfectly reverent , as well as
perfectly logical reasoning—this book ought , to say the least ot it , to shake them a little in their convictions . But we are ourselves , after rendering the best service in our power to the good cause , persuaded that it is throwing away time to reason with them at all . The writers on the tolerant side of this question have done their part of the work in which the discussion involved th « m—and now it remains for the people to do theirs . If they are willing to remain content with mere grumbling and talking ^ they are unworthy of emancipation from Sabbath restrictions . If they are determined to free themselves , let them bring the question to an issue before the closed gates of the Palace at Sy denham . Let all the excursionists -who wish to . spend their Sunday afternoon in that wonderful building , collect quietly , march together up to the gates and peaceably demand to be let in . The voices of * a few earnest writers and speakers have failed to produce any effect on the deaf ears of the Sabbatarians—perhaps the voices of twenty or thirty
thousand people will be heard . Notes on Duels and Duelling is a very curious book , being nothing less than a Biographical Dictionary of Duellists . The author starts with David and Goliath , and ends with the duel between the unfortunate Cournet and the murderer Barthelemy . All duellists of all times and all nations have their names , quarrels , and manner of fighting , recited at greater or less length , in this extraordinary record . The arrangement , we should add , is alphabetical , so that the reader can turn to any particular duel , and get his information about it , at a moment ' s notice . The volume also contains an Appendix , and some preliminary moral observations on the folly and criminality of duelling ; but its " speciality " ( as the French would say ) consists in the biographical portion . The work should have been called - " The Duelling Dictionary . ' *
Mr . Blanchard Jerrold ' s little volume on Paris does credit , Loth in spirit and execution , to the name he bears . Part of it originally appeared in the columns of Household Words ; part is now published for the first time . The book is full of curious and most interesting information on the subject of social life in Paris . French waiters , French dinners , Frencli rag-pickers , French omnibuses , and French funerals , are among the subjects which supply Mr . Blanchard Jerrold with materials for chapters conveying , in a lively and graphic 6 tyle , information which all visitors to Paris are interested in acquiring . Excursionists to the Grande Exposition will find this little book as useful and pleasant a travelling companion as they can possibly take "with them on their journey .
Mr . Ruskin ' s pamphlet on the present Royal Academy Exhibition jb by this time in everybody ' s hands . We have merely to thank the author for giving us , upon the whole , a fearless and admirable example of what Artcriticism ought to be , and for promising more observations on future exhibitions . The only serious defect of the pamphlet is that it most unaccountably omits all mention of one of the most perfect works on the Academy walls—Mr . Leslie ' s " Scene from Don Quixote . " Is it possible that Mr . Raskin cannot relish the exquisitely delicate and genial humour of this picture ? We could hardly believe our eyes when we looked through the Notes , and saw no mention of Mr . Leslie ' s name . Mr . Stanley ' Painters of the Dutch and Flemish Schools will be found a useful book for purposes of reference , and an intelligent guide to picturegalleries possessing specimens of the Old Masters of Holland . The- volume contains brief particulars of the lives of the painters , remarks on their most striking peculiarities of style , and , in the cases of the principal men , lists of the galleries in which their pictures are placed . We may add , as a recommendation to our readers , that the book is portable and clearly printed .
The author of Art Hints , Mr . James Jackson Jarvcs , ia an American . The purpose of his work is to " embrace both the abstract principles and rules of Art , and an outline of its historic progress and social relations . " Ho desires to " treat of Art as a whole , embracing ifca goneral relations to man , not minutely , but in a suggestive form , and more ua an aid to , thuu as forestalling , inquiry . " And further , he earnestly begs hiu readers " to candidly
tist and patiently prove the principles upon which his conclusions are founded ; " at the same time , however , very frankly assuring them that he pre ' e . ids to " no originality , or the elucidation of any new truth . " Under these latter circumstances , we trust that Mr . James Jackson Jarves will excuse us if we thank him for sending us his book , and respectfull y decline the business of reading it , as he directs that it should be read . It is our duty and pleasure to " candidly test and patiently probe the princi ples" of men who have something new to tell us . But when a man , on his own showing , has nothing to tell that has not been told before by others , although
we are quite willing to believe that he may be a cultivated scholar and an elegant writer , we are not at all willing to lose our time in "testing" him . and we feel that the further operation of " probing" is quite out of the question . Accordingly ,-we . give Mr . Jarves a place on our book-list , and leave him there untested and unprobed . If our readers like to " sit under " him , we are delig hted to have shown them where the giver of Art Hints is to be found . For ourselves , we slip away from the sermon profoundl y grateful to the preacher for informing us that we have heard it all , in one form or another , before .
We have to acknowledge from Messrs . Longman the new , or " Ruby Edition" of Moore ' s Poetical Works . The book is a marvel of the compactness which may be obtained by excellent printing ; but at the same time , the type is necessarily so small that the edition may be described without any injustice as addressing itself almost exclusively to the young eyes of the present generation . Klderly people would be terrified at the si ght of its elegantly but minutely-printed columns . However , this is probably an objection of no great consequence ; we are strongly inclined to suspect that elderly people in general are not to be ranked novr-a-days among the readers of Thomas Moore .
Mr . Stark ' s treatise on the antecedents , origin , history , and results of Printing , is a substantial contribution to the Travellers' Library . The author's manner is unpleasantly florid and pompous ; but his matter is excellent . He is thoroughly well acquainted with the most important facts that are connected with his deeply and universally-interesting subject ; and he is commendably careful and intelligent in the arrangement of his information . This book has one great recommendation ,. in addition to the merits already mentioned—it is not too long . The Occult Sciences forms one of the Volumes of the Encyclopaedia Metropolitana series . And here again , the subject , considering its vast extent , has been treated with admirable terseness . The volume , after sketching the Traditions and Superstitions of nil past times , descends to the Marvels of the present day , and is thus well fitted to appeal successfully to readers of almost all classes .
The Handbook of Domestic Medicine , recommends itself at once by its title alone . We are not competent to pronounce upon it , medically ; but , viewing it as general readers , we have found it complete in arrangement , intelligible , and free from all pedantry in style . The Siberian severity of the summer has also enabled us to test practically one section at least—the section of "Domestic Gargles" ! We have reviewed two of the prescriptions , in this part of the book , in our own critical throat , and have found them excellent as remedies . The work forms part of Bolm ' s Scientific Library . Consequently , besides its usefulness , it has the additional recommendation of being cheap .
^ S ≪•≫ * + J0 Fl£I T Ii11h* \
Igortfnlin .
We Should Do Our Utmost To Encourage The...
We should do our utmost to encourage the Beautiful , for the Useful encourages ltsell . —G 0 ET 11 . E .
French Criticism Of English Pictures. [T...
FRENCH CRITICISM OF ENGLISH PICTURES . [ The following paper , and the sequel which we shall publish in a future number , ought to interest the reader beyond the simple fact of its being a Prcucli criticism on English painters . It is written by M . Edmond About , the author of that exquisite story of Tolla , which has lately attracted so much attention in the Revue des deux Mamies . M . About is about to publish a small volume of comparative criticism on the Fine Arts Galleries at tlie Exposition . Somo chapters are devoted , of course , to the English pictures in the Exposition ; and it is these chapters which we translate and reproduce here It is English art from a French point of view ; by a man , however , who although , os the reader will perceive , strongly national in hia feelings , is will 1
above national jealousies or narrowness of sympathy . The reader - member , with reference to one or two of the pictures named below , that they are not recent productions of the artist in question . Martin lias not only ceased be among us to paint , but " JJelshazzar ' s Feast , " is one of the works thut established Ins repute ; and many of our readers will remember seeing it some thirtyfive years ugo . Mulready may be eighty years of age , though ho docs not loo so ; but " The Wolf and tlio JLumb" was painted almost , if not quite as long ay ua " Bclsha / . znr ' H Feast . " ] Tun English have long ago proved that they possess the genius of eonnnem .-They have not waited for the Exhibition of lBfi / i to tell the world tnai , 1 ntjr were born for the toil and discoveries of industry . AV hut ih lur U-hb k o > is that this nation of manufacturers and shopkeepers is passionately 101
Thcro are certain studios in Paris in which the belief still reign * thai , art has no more deudly enemies than industry and commerce-. Every tn . 1 1 who folds his arms whilst waiting for uu order ; every painter w » j \ lu * * y mean advantage of the display in his colourmnn ' s shop to exlnou J year two or three unsaleable pictured ; all those who run after lame wi attaining it because she has wings and they have not even legs , unan ^ , declare it to bo the fault of commerce , the fault of industry . inHl j' -,,,, attributing their want of success to their want of talent , thuy p > 'oi » V . 1 ^ tho sliopaTuthoir street , tlio nearest manufactory , the railway wincu
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), June 23, 1855, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_23061855/page/18/
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