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524 «fte fy tatiet. [Saturday,
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BOOKS ON OUR TABLE. Vandt/ck; a Play of ...
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Murray's Outlines of Scottish History. P...
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NOTES AND EXTRACTS. No lions from mi: Mi...
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/ftf U ^ Cj *+ i r ^\il y i|v ^tll.y^
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-? — THEATRES. The season is over at her...
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.
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Madame Bury's Germania. Germania; Its Co...
competent to render Us milles tours of a graceful pen-And if I do laugh at those German has bleus , who can quarrel with me ? True enough , as you say , I myself head my chapters with mottoes from Tacitus , and do not even c ondescend to name him , because everybody must remember every passage in Tacitus ; true , also , that I use a word derived from the Greek , and explain it in a note " for those of my readers who have neglected to learn Greek V '—mais qua voulezvotisf—one is not a Baroness—an extremely new one without the privilege of a few aristocratic impertinences de bon gout !
To be serious : we the more regret the tone adopted by Madame de Bury—especially the vilifying tone—because she can write both amusingly and well . If she would but set aside the two-fold affectation of strong-minded woman and impertinent Baronessset aside her politics and flippancies—we could listen gladly to all she might utter . In these volumes , contemptuous as we felt at times , there were pages when we travelled most agreeably with her ; and a diligent pencil might note several passages well worth extracting . Two we will give : —
DEFENCE OF LOLA . MONTES . " I should like to make a remark to you upon this subject which you may have omitted to make to yourself in the ardour of your virtuous indignation aarainst Madame Lola ; and that is how very inconsistent we all are to be interested in Rosamond Clifford when she lives in the twelfth century , and to revile her when she appears in the middle of the nineteenth . Have you ever thought of that , reader ?
" Now , it is not the disgust of the one that I would have diminished , it is the taste for the other . Rosamond , I have no doubt , was a most worthless young lady , and , probably , if you heard the opinions given upon her by one of Queen Eleanor ' s ladies of honour , you would find out that Lola herself was no worse ; and yet , give a tragedy tomorrow called * Fair Rosamond , ' and you shall see how the best and purest ladies in the land will agitate their pocket-handkerchiefs , and vote Eleanor of Guienne a vile murderess , and call her a thousand hard
names . "And Anne Boleyn , sHl vous plait ? Who ever dreams of putting her in her right place ? " No , unfortunately , human nature from childhood upwards hates with unconscious hatred all authority ; and this feeling is so innate , the heritage of the First Revolt is so fresh within us , that , in the world of fiction whore we falsely think we are at liberty to take part with whom we please , we nine times out of ten side with the undutiful . I should like to know who , in the case of Philip Augustus , ever dreams of the sufferings of his lawful wife—for such waslnuelburgha ! No , forsooth ! Agnes
de Meran was handsome ( and that may be an illusion too , for it is now proved beyond a doubt , that Cleopatra was black with a turned-up nose ) , and Philip was in love , and he was a great warrior , and wore magnificent armour , and fought bravely , and cried , * Montjoie St . Denis !' and all that sort of thing , and he and she have our sympathies ; and then comes a disagreeable-looking man and says to the king , 'Give her up , ' and we are furious , nnd applaud Philip in his resistance . Yet , reader , the Pope's legate is the representative of duty and ( . ( the riff / it , and if Agnes lived in our times we should judge her very severely ; and it would be highly proper that we should do so . "
Here is a good story torn out of the jiages of German history : — In the spring of the . year 1255 , DuVe Lewis the Severe ( der Slrengc ) journeyed from Munich to Dcmauworth in company with his fair Duchess whom he had espoused but a year before . They went to visit the Duke ' s sister , Elizabeth of Bavaria , the widow of the Emperor Conrad IV ., poisoned in Naples , and mother of Conradin destined to be beheaded there . The Empress lived a Bolitary life , watching over the cradle of the last liohenstauflen .
" Duke Lewis left his young wife in Donauworth under ( lie Empress ' s care , and went forth to fight the robber-knights of the Rhenish Palatinate . Many were the tears shed by Mary of Brabant , and many her prayers not to be forgotten , for dearly she loved her rigid lord . But time flew by , and the Duke returned not , nnd Mary pined , and wished him back , but Lewis was only twentysix , and loved the sound of the clarion nnd the neighing of his steed better than the sweet vows and murmurings of his true ladve .
" He held his Court in Iloidelburg , and by him stood ever his dearest friend , Henry , Count of Leihingen , and to him one day the anxious wife sentalotter , beseeching he would use his influence to quicken her husband ' s return . Another missive was despatched at the * -ame time to Duke Lewis , and the messenger was well enjoined to Rive to the Duke the packet scaled in white , to the Count that scaled in black . The old mistake was made , Duke Lewis received the letter destined for his friend , wherein the artless Duchess had assured Henry of Leiningen that , if he accompanied her lord in his return , her pleasure in welcoming him would be great .
" Now , it seems that Othello was a joke to Duke Lewis . No sooner hail he read the few suspicious lines , tmm he bounded to horse ( Leiniugen was absent or he woulilprohably have been the first victim ) and ^ Hopped forth ro , Heidelberg . Th-ee horses lay dcacfupon his pntii , Killeel by his impatience , but on the second day ho nrnved in Donauworth . It was in January , 123 ( 3 , the snow lay deep upon the ground , ami when the seneschal opened the great gates of the castle , the -wind blew
furiously , and passing clouds drifted across the moon , so that she lighted dimly the dark figure of the Duke . He slew the seneschal , and strode into his young wife s chamber . She flew to him ; but the fell word , Adulteress ! has destroyed before even the cold steel touches her , and the innocent one lets her sweet head droop like a withered flower upon its stem , more vanquished by shame than death . . "Stern , dark , inflexible , Duke Lewis stands in that chamber , the voice of wail raised around him by the weeping Empress and the scared attendants . She alone , the injured one , is silent . The headsman is bidden to the Ducal presence , and the confessor follows him . The Duchess kneels and receives the sacred pledge of divine love , as a martyr preparing for heaven ; and when she rises , ere she can give one last look of pardoning love to her destroyer , her beautiful head rolls at Duke
Lud-* wiff * 8 f £ 6 fc " This " was on the 18 th of January , 1256 . It is said that on the 19 th , Duke Ludwig's hair was grey . "
524 «Fte Fy Tatiet. [Saturday,
524 « fte fy tatiet . [ Saturday ,
Books On Our Table. Vandt/Ck; A Play Of ...
BOOKS ON OUR TABLE . Vandt / ck ; a Play of Genoa : By Alfred Bate Richards , Author " Croesus , " ' Ciomwell , " & c . Longman and Co . This is rather a dramatic romance than a play , and indeed we can scarcely imagine Mr . Richards for . one moment thought of stage exigencies in the composition . But , surely , on reflection , the author will himself acknowledge that " Plays written for the closet" are blunders in art—to hamper yourself with forms you do not mean to
USe—to forego the advantages of narration and yet not secure the advantages of representation—seems to us gratuitous impoverishment of artistic resourcps . We point this out to Mr . Richards as a hint for his future guidance . The present work contains so much admirable writing—more especially in passages of gaiety and fancythat , employed upon more grateful subjects , he ought to produce something of mark and likelihood .
Lcs Deux Perroquets ; ouvrage Francois destine a facihtcr aux Anglais la Causerie elegante . Par Une Dame . D . JS ' utt . This volume of dialogues is recommendable as really teaching the English learner the phrases and idioms perpetually recurring in conversation and literature ; it is not the stupid vocabulary and phrase-making one usually meets with in such works , where the style is such as can . only be met with there ; it gives the actual phrases and elegancies in use , and will be found profitable reading to many of those who fancy they know French . The letters at the end are somewhat of the old stamp , but they also will have their utility . Every-day IVonders ; or Facts in Physiology which all should know . Illustrated with woodcuts . Van Voorst .
Really an excellent book : well planned and intelligibly executed . Beginning with an explanation of what the air is , and the gases which compose it , the main outlines of human physiology — circulation , respiration , digestion , the nerves , the senses , the bones , muscles , and skin , are explained in brief , simple , yet intelligible language , aided by some good woodcuts ; and we can assure our readers from experimental criticism—viz ., the reading it aloud to our own children—that the interest it excites is nowhere damped by any difficulty in comprehending the explanations . Such books are very valuable . The Races of Man ami their Geographical Distribution . I 5 y Charles I'ickerinjr , M . l ) . New edition , to which is prefixed An Analytical Synopsis of the Natural History of Man , by John Charles Hail , M . D . ( Holm ' s Illustrated Library . )
II . G . Uohn , Having formerly ( see Leader , No . 7 ) given an elaborate notice of the American edition of this important work , we have only now to add that Mr . Bohn has had the courage to print it in his excellent library with the plates , and a very useful Synopsis of the Natural History of Man by Dr . Hall . Cheap books indeed ! Murray ' s Handbooks for Scotland . Alex . Murray and Co Are you about to take a gulp of fresh air in Scotland ? Get hold of Murray ' s Handbooks ! There is one of the River and Forth of Clyde , with the Loch Towns , Arran and Ailsa Crag , and the Falls of the Clyde—there is another from Lochlomond to Glencoe—there is a third of Deeside and the Highlands . Better little works of the kind you cannot have ; full of information directly and simply given , and with no superfluous writing : a great advantage in a book for use !
How to Make Home Unhealthy . Chapman and Hall . This is a reprint of a series of papers which excited some attention on their first appearance in the columns of the Examiner ; under a rather forced guise of satire they throw out several useful hints upon the common malpractices of domestic life .
Murray's Outlines Of Scottish History. P...
Murray ' s Outlines of Scottish History . Part T . Alex . Murray and Co . Genevicvc . Par Alphonse de Lamnrtine . Vol . 11 . W . Jells . The Niannachean Ethics of Aristotle Translated ; icith Xolrs , Original nnil Si'lrvteil , an . tintli / tintl Jntrothwlion : nnd ( Questions for the Use of Students , iiy K . A . JJrownu , M . A . II . G . Bohn . Talbot and J ' crnon . A Novel . In . ' < vols . George Jtoutledge And Co . Foi et Avenir , par J . Mazzini . AV . Jefl ' s .
Notes And Extracts. No Lions From Mi: Mi...
NOTES AND EXTRACTS . No lions from mi : Miunt-K Cj . ass . —From the reformation and revival of the influential portion of the middle class there is nothing to hope . Systematic drunkards at . fifty rarely reform , and if they do , cannot succeed in averting the death induced by previous excess . Neither do classes of men long sunken in effeminacies and putrescences often cast them on one side and riso , in pristine strength , superior to them . The hope for England is in the less influential portion of that class , and in
the rough honesty and untutored sagacity of the neglected but active and energetic working class . In them is there manliness , honesty , sincerity , and a dogged hatred of all quackery and cant . To them , broad fundamental truths never are spoken in vain : to them , neither prejudice nor intolerance can look for sympathy and support . They are like the soil of America , teeming with riches and genuine fertility , but wanting the plough and the axe . They are unlettered , uneducated for the most part ; but education and cultivation is their most fervent desire . It is impossible that the real marrow and sinew that is in these classes can long remain in its present subjection to the decadent and debilitated class
above them . They will assert their social and political rights ; assert them and attain them . Whether it be for good or for evil , the march of England will be directly towards complete democracy . And if when that comes these rough untutored men are left uninstructed as to the shoals and rocks upon which their predecessors have split , are left uninformed as to what is to come after democracy , what democracy is to do , democracy will mean ruin , confusion , and death . Whether we will , or whether we will not , we cannot avert this impending onrushing of democracy . It is the destiny of this country
to try it utterly ; to take it up , mould it , make it a form , and a fact , or to perish in the attempt . All hands in England are wanted at this hour . There is neither time for rest nor for pleasure . Whosoever has the power to think , to speak , and to write , should now be thinking , speaking , and writing . Whosoever can stand up before the shams and conventionalities of life , and proclaim their hollowness and falsity—can come out of them and have no part nor parcel with them—should now assert his manhood , and do his meed honestly and faithfully for the redemption of society and the salvation of the land . —Social Aspects by J . S . Smith .
The Inconsistent Ashi / eyitks . —If we are to adopt a strict Sabbatical observance , let us be consistent . Shut up the club-houses of the wealthy ; make it highly penal for them to employ their horses , carriages , or servants , in any way ; let the butler draw the wine on Saturday ; let no ice-clad turbot be procured from the fishmonger on the Sunday ; let none but cold meats appear on our tables . If Lazarus be doomed to pass the day with unshorn beard , feasting on cold potatoes , let Dives be content with unblacked shoes and unwarmed venison . If plebeian Smith must not ride in the omnibus , let Lord John be condemned to total abstinence from horse or
chariot . Away with distinctions and degrees—let loose the whole race of bakers , porters , waiters , stokers , conductors , butlers , footmen , coachmen , grooms , cooks , housemaids , and other maids , to congregate in the temple , or wander through forest and field . Imagine an act for the total abolition of ginger-beer on Sundays , with a clause , confiscating all lollipops and apples hawked on that day to the especial use of the infant princesses A band , by-the-bye , is constantly in the habit of ministering to the enjoyment of her Majesty on Sundays , by the performance of a great variety of profane music ; but this must ff course be interdicted .- * -The Post office and the Sabbath Questio ? i .
/Ftf U ^ Cj *+ I R ^\Il Y I|V ^Tll.Y^
€ \) t Slits .
-? — Theatres. The Season Is Over At Her...
- ? — THEATRES . The season is over at her Majesty ' s , for which we nre truly thankful , as our minds were rigidly made up that nothing should induce us to endure Sontaj ? ; we had already exhausted mortal patience , and till next year ( if the calamity awaits us then ) we resolved that not all the king ' s horses , nor all the king ' s men , should drag us to an opera in which she sang . You , who read this , will think we exaggerate ; but , my dear sir , how often have you heard Sontag , because that makes all the difference ? After the third time you see the whole trick , and then the bravos of stupid audiences , and the fulsome panegyrics of an impartial press , make the whole affair a grim farce not pleasant to sit at . But with the close of her Majesty ' s approaches the close of Covent Garden ; and when we think of Giulia Grisi , Pauline Viardot , Mario , Tarnberlik , and llonconi , the prospect of hearing them no more is somewhat different from that of not hearing the Countess . On . Tuesday Otello was repeated , but llonconi disappointed— " owing to indisposition" if you believe it — and Tagliafico played " Iago " instead ; performed it creditably , but " Oh , the difl ' erence to mo !" lloneoni's «• Iago" is a study of cat-like cruelty and stealthy vengeance . Tamberlik was weak in the aria d ' entrata , but he sang the great duet in the second act with amazing brilliancy and fire— -when encored in it , he thtew out C sharp from his cheat , and literally made the house scream with astonished del ' ght—such a note was never heard perhaps before . In the third act he was also very fine . On Thursday Viardot played " Adina " for the first time in L'Blisir d ' sltnore ; but on this we must discourse next week , as also on Leigh Hunt ' s Legend of Florence , reproduced at Sadler ' s Wells . Those who remember the teais and delight excited by the Legend of Florence when originally played some ten years ago at Covent Garden will have hastened to Sadler ' s Wells before oxir criticism cun re ; ch them . Farren has at last definitively taken the Olympic Theatre , and Webster is making preparations for his next campaign , but we may state on good authority that Macready ' s farewell performances will not take place .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 24, 1850, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24081850/page/20/
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