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September 24, 1853.] THE LEADE R. 929
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Critics are not the legislators, but the...
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The ee perils of literature" are illustr...
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Our wish, at all times, to give both sid...
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Some signs of literary activity in Franc...
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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Transcript
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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.
September 24, 1853.] The Leade R. 929
September 24 , 1853 . ] THE LEADE R . 929
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Critics Are Not The Legislators, But The...
Critics are not the legislators , but the judges and police of literature . They do no makelaws—they interpret and try to enforce them . —JEdinhurghBeview .
The Ee Perils Of Literature" Are Illustr...
The perils of literature" are illustrated in this week ' s news , by the double attempt to burn the house of G . P . It . James , the British Consul at Virginia , who has incurred the implacable hatred of allLEGREES , by the reputation of having formerly written a song , in favour of emancipation . "What would these people do to Clarkson or Mrs . Stowe ? Mr . James has not , with us , had the character of being a very terrible anarchist ; not even a formidable poet ; but in Virginia , he is both . ' The " curiosities of literature "—a more pleasant topic—have furnished a Writer in the Irish Quarterly :, with some very piquant details , for his
amusing article on Fashion in Poetry and the Poets of Fashion . The paper embraces a series of fashionable poets , from Hanbuby Williams to Haynes Bayly , with liberal extracts from their works . In the introductory remarks on the fantastic conceits and literary vagaries of old writers , such as acrostics , anagrams , lipograms , ( verses with some letter uniformly evaded , ) and '' figure poems , " or poems written in the shape of the object they describe , our readers will find curious matter ; and we will borrow two excellent specimens of "figure poems" here given , from Panard : Que inon Flacon Me semble bon ! Sans lui jj'ennui Me nuit , Me suit , Je sens Mes sens Mourants , Pesants . Quand je le tiens , Dieux ! que je suis bienl Que son aspect esfc agreablef Que je fais casde ces divins presents J C ' est de son sein fecond , c ' est de ses heureux flancs Que coule ce nectar si doux , si delectable , Qui rend tous les esprits , tous les coeurs satisfaits . Cher objet de mes vceux , tu fais toute ma gloire ; . Tant que mon coeur vivra , de tes charmants bienfaits I 1 s a ura conserver la fidele memoir e . Ma muse , a te loner se consacre a jamais . Tantot dana un caveau , tantot sous une treille , Ma lyre , de ma voix accompagnant le son , Be petera cent fois cotte aimable chanson ; Kegne sans fin , ma clvarmante bouteille , Begne sans cesse , mon cher flacon . We next present the glass : — Nous ne pouvons rien trouver sur la terro Qui soit si bon , ni si beau que le verro , Du tendre amour berceau cbarmant , C ' est toi , champetre fougere , C ' est toi qui scr 8 a fairo L'hcureux instrument Ou sou vent petillo , Mousse et brillo Xie jus qui rend Gai , rinnt , Contont . Quello douceur II porto nu coour ! T 6 t , Tot , T 6 t , Qu'on m ' en donno , Qu ' on l ' ontonno ; Tfifc , Tot , Tot , Qu'on m ' on donno , Vito ct coinmo il faut : L ' on y voit sur v . oh ilotn chdrin Nagor 1 ' allegroHfio oi ; los ris . There lmvc been several poems written , of which the boast was that some letter o f the alphabet was banished ; there have been several , also , in which some letter was obtrusively initial , —thus , in the Pugna Porcorum o f Lko Plackntiuh , every word begins with p . Here is a specimen : — " " lMftudtto porcclli ; porcovum pigm propngo Progroditur , plums poivi piugiuxlim ) ploni PiignanteH porgunt . Peciuluvn j > urn prodigionn , I ' orturbnt podo pefcrosun plerumqno pinions ; Purs portcntoso populoruin prntn profmmt , " Imagine the laborious frivolity of such a feat , and the utter impossibility of any one ' s reading such " damnable iteration !" The same number of the Irish Quarterly contains a long analysis , with transla tions , of Jerdme Paturot , rather late in the day , but eutertuining to those to whom it may bo a novelty j a continuntion of the gossiping anti *
quarianism . on The Streets of Dublin " Premium" Madden ; Irish In dustry , and an Irish National Gallery .
Our Wish, At All Times, To Give Both Sid...
Our wish , at all times , to give both sides a hearing , no less than the suggestiveness of the communication itself , induces us to print the following
criticism : — " I confess myself very much instructed by the articles on the Vesti ges . You are extremely happy in your remarks upon Time , to consider which as a positive condition of change is absurd . Nevertheless , yon have marked some passages from the Vestiges in italics as being erroneous , which I find escape the very objections you urge . For instance , the author of the Vestiges says , ' We might almost regard the progression as the result of an aspiration towards new and superior fields of existence / now , instead of this remark about aspiration being connected with progress seeming fanciful , I find it profoundly true . First , from my own consciousness ; the unrest within my brain , the love to be something better than I am is at the root of my every advance in culture . Again , from observation , the naked savage ' s
aspiration to be independent of fierce extremes of hcafc and cold causes him to use clothes , and the reaction of clothes on his body changes the nature of his skin . Descending the scale of animal life , there is not a single animal , however dull , but manifestly prefers a certain quality of food , or a certain habitat , which shall add to its comforts and preserve its life and the life of its young ; and this continual unborn tendency always gives the new generation a benefit , however small , which reacts on its physical and mental nature , producing some kind of change . In Chambers Paper on ' Animal Instincts and Intelligence / which you once called truly philosophical , the writer observes thaf , * in studying the influences afc work among
the sociable tribes it is impossible not to recognise the probability , if not the certainty , of something approaching to civilization , or the striking out of valuable devices by the good heads which occasionally start up , which devices are spread and continued by imitation . We find thafc necessity , the mother of invention , sometimes operates in enlarging the sphere of action of a species j * and he then gives an instance of crows adding turnips to their articles of diet . Whenever this was done , the new food , & c , must necessarily re-act on their system , change in some respects its nature , and the change be transmitted to their posterity ,- yet this could never have occurred without a desire , aspiration , or tendency , for comfort and longevity in the animal . J . Shaw .
Our objection to the phrase " aspiration towards new and superior fields of existence ** was its metaphysical character , implying consciousness of superior existence , " denoting a foregone conclusion , " and thus aiding and abetting the Author ' s primary error of a " Plan . " The fact of Progress is undeniable ; undeniable the effect of new wants in producing new forms of existence ; but when the crow added turnip to his diet he may have been impelled thereto by hunger , curiosity , gulosity , or simple accident , but surely not by any " aspiration ? " In like manner when water birds became land . birds , it is probable that scarcity of food had far more influence than " an aspiration after new and superior fields , " unless that " want" is to be translated by aspiration , which translation would be a relapse into the very metaphysics we combat .
Some Signs Of Literary Activity In Franc...
Some signs of literary activity in France maybe noted . George Sand continues her dramatic innovation ; setting aside all theatrical exigencies , and relying solely upon the magic of style , and the interest of rustic scenes , she has once more redeemed failures by a great success . Her new piece , Le Pressoir , bids fair to rival Francois 2 e Champi ; and the critics are rhapsodical in delight . Dramatic , in the proper sense of the word , her plays are not j but they bear the same relation to dramas that her late
idyls , Le Mare du Viable , Francois de Champi , and La Petite Fadette , bear towards novels . In a country so fatigued with theatrical combinations and stage effect , and also so ready in keen appreciation of literary excellence , such an innovation may hold its ground for a time . At any rate it is gratifying to sec both George Sand and theatre managers , undeterred by failure , courageous in new efforts , resolute to persist in a direction they believe to be true !
Alexandke Dumas , the great theatrical thaumaturge , has a comedy in rehearsal at the Thtfdtre Francais , which will no doubt he n curious contrast with Madame Sand ' s rustic sketch—a contrast as great as that of the Court of Louis XIV . and a vineyard in the South . The mention of Dumas reminds us that his son * novel , La Dame aux Perlcs , which reaches us vid Brussels , is a great disappointment . Humour preceded it trumpet-tongued . It was obviously intended to be a pendant to La Dame , aux Camelias , setting forth the love of a Duchess , as that work did of one who was not a duchess . The first volume is very promising ; but it soon relapses into conventional and impossible inclodrnnie , only relieved here and there by an occasional touch . It is not at all " adapted for family reading , " as we carefully warn you !
Something for family and other rending , however , we can commend , — namely , Prosper MiHiumke ' s now volume . It contaiuH three dramatic sketches , Les Deux Heritages , a proverb charmingly written hut ill-constructed ; iSInspecteur Gtfneral , a comedy translated from the Russian of Goaoi .. ; and Las Debuts 'd ' uu Aveninner , n dramatic episode in the life of Dtinfirins , tins pretender , whose history M . ' Mkkimi 2 K has written in a volume translated ink ) English .
To write memoirs seems now the occupation of Frenchmen , more than over it has been since the great Revolution . To those already announce d we may add two more autobiogniphers—very different ; each attractive . One is Du . ViSron , the proprietor of Le ConstUutionnd , whose " personal relations" gloriously cover hia personal inHi gnilicuiice , and will make hi « memoirs curious ; the other is Vim-kmain , whose personal significance and personal relations will make his mewoiri valuable *
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 24, 1853, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24091853/page/17/
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