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Leader (1850-1860), 24th November 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 19, THE LIFE OF FIELDING. The Life of Henry ...

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      Longfellow's New Poem. The Song Of Hiawa...

      " Four days . is the spirit s journey To the laud of ghosts and shadows , Four its lonely night encampments ; Four times must their fires be lighted Therefore , when the dead are buried , Let a fire , as night approaches , Four times on the grave be kindled , That the soul upon it 3 journey May not lack the cheerful fire-light , Hay not group about in darkness . " Farewell , noble Hiawatha ! We have put you to the trial , To the proof have put your patience , By the insult of our presence , By the outrage of our actions . We have found you great and noble . Fail not in the greater trial , Faint not in the harder struggle . "

      When they ceased , a sudden darkness Fell and filled the silent wigwam . Hiawatha heard the rustle As of garments trailing by him , Heard the curtain of the doorway Lifted by a hand he saw not , Felt the cold breath of the night ah " , For a moment saw the starlight ; But he saw the ghosts no longer , Saw no more the wandering spirits From the kingdom of Ponemah , From the land of the Hereafter .

      America has now her epic . The intellectual greatness of America , which every dispassionate eye must see , will one day be commensurate with her territorial greatness ( and of which , even now , there are unmistakeaoler signs , in the originality of several writers ) , may , and prohably will , produce epics grander in substance than this of Hiawatha ; but the glory of having given his country her first national poem worthy to be placed beside the national poems of " other lands , will always belong to Longfellow .

      November 24, 1855.] The Jiff. Ae>Eb. U&5

      November 24 , 1855 . ] THE jiff . AE > EB . U & 5

      The Life Of Fielding. The Life Of Henry ...

      THE LIFE OF FIELDING . The Life of Henry Fielding ; with Notices of his Writings , his Times , and his Contemporaries . By Frederick Lawrence . Hall , Virtue , and Co . It is not a very creditable fact that , up to the present time , there has been qo such thing in English Literature as a complete Life of Henry Fielding . Biographers , in want of a subject , have wandered back into the Middle Ages , and have gone abroad desperately in search of foreign worthies , while the life and achievements of one of the founders of the English School of Fiction still remained unwritten . Scattered articles in Magazines and Cyclopaedias ,

      and biographical notices prefixed to various editions of Fielding ' s worksthese last including a delightful sketch of the author of Tom Jones , by a greater novelist than he , the author of Rob Roy—are the biographical materials which have hitherto done duty , as best they might , for a Biography of Fielding . Thackeray , in his admirable " English Humourists , " has very lately revived the interest of the subject ; and now Mr . Lawrence comes forward with the first compl ete Life of a f amous English writer that has been offered to the English public . It is something , in these days , for an author to have the stage to himself . We are happy , at the outset , to be able to congratulate Mr . Lawrence on the creditable manner in which he has tilled a

      • new position . . For the present work every available source of published information appears to have been examined ; errors of previous writers have been corrected ; and omissions , as we are informed , have been supplied . The result is a book , which , within the comp ass of one volume , contains all those biographical facts in connection with Henry Fielding , and all those anecdotes of the remarkable men with whom he lived , which have hitherto been scattered over many publications . Mr . Lawrence has performed his task tastefully , skilfully , and in an excellent spirit . He does not attempt to present his readers with anything that is absolutely new—he only aspires to collect for them particulars which they may not have the patience to hunt

      out , or the ability to arrange for themselves . This modest and useful purpose he has thoroughly executed . The interesting nnd varied career of Fielding , as dramatist , journalist , novelist , barrister , and justice of the peace , is clearly and sensibly followed from first to last . The manly , generous character of the great novelist is developed with honest and tender appreciation ; his errors are candidly confessed , and his noble qualities of heart and mind arc earnestly impressed on the reader ' s attention . In short , we may fairly say of this book , that it des erves to take its place on the library shelf , as a valuable biographical accompaniment to any collection of Fielding ' s works . Careful and reliable in giving information , hearty and sincere in appreciating the character of his hero , Mr . Lawrence is also modest and discreet , if not very original , in his estimnto of Fielding ' s genius . Following in the hinlls into tho ( $

      path which other critics have cleared for him , e same error n it appears to us ) which his predecessors have , for the most part , committed . In his desire to do full justice to Fielding , he does not lay sufficient stress on the advance which the Art of Fiction has made since Fielding ' s time . To the marvellous humour , the solid , masterly ISnglish style , the excellently developed characters , and the skilfully conducted story of Tom Jones , let ua accord the highest admiration ; but , nt the same time , let ua not forget—because its author has become what is called a " Classic "—that it is by no means a perfect book . Aa the Art of Fiction has been practised since Fielding ' s time , grace , tenderness , pathos , and poetical feeling have grown to be important ingredients in the making of a good novel . Arc any of them to be found in Tom Jones ? or—excepting one or two paragraphs in Amelia —\ n tho whole circle of Fielding ' s works ? In so far as it is tho vocation of the novelist to make toen wiser and happier , Fielding was a master of his art . He could amuse his renders , and ho could instruct them in the knowledge of human nature ; but will any man venture to say that he could so touch their tendcrest

      sympathies as to make them weep ? that he could purify and elevate their hearts by thoughts which wanted nothing of poetry but the jingle of rhyme ? Surely not . So far as his faculties led him , he did his work manfully and nobly ; but he left much to others to do in the perfecting of the Art of Fiction . Books as humourous and as wise as Tom Jones , and with other qualities besides ^ which Tom . / ones does not possess , have been written since 1 * ieldirig ' s time This assertion will sound paradoxical and irreverent enough to some persona $ but , if it could be put to the proof , we should have little doubt of the trirth of it being established . If two audiences of intelligent people could l * e collected in two different rooms ; and if Tom Jones and Joseph Aw & r & ns could be read aloud in one , and The Bride of Lammerrnoor and The Old Curiosity Shop in the other , we would leave it to the appearance alone <* f the two assemblies at the end , to settle the question as to the advance which

      the art of novel-writing has made since Fielding ' s time . But we are straying away from the main business of this notice , which is to make our readers acquainted with Mr . Lawrence ' s book . We will not , in justice to our author , take the story of Fielding ' Life out of his mouth , and then uselessly tell people to go -and listen to him , after we have done . Specimens of his tone and manner , of his digressions and anecdotes , we tn & jr fairly give ; but for the narrative , which forms the main interest of his book , we refer readers to the volume itself . They may take our word for it , that the Life of Fielding is sure to interest them . As a specimen of our author ' s manner—sensible , if not striking—take these paragraphs on FIELDING AS A COUNTRY GENTLEMAN .

      " Soon after his marriage , Fielding settled in Dorsetshire , and commenced « new course of life . The experiment was attended with some difficulties , and tatluckily he stumbled at the very outset . Though neither qualified by nature coeducation for a hermit , a life of comparative privacy and seclusion was that beat adapted to his limited . means and intellectual tastes . Iustead of this , he preposterously resolved to become a squire of the first magnitude . His ambition was to be talked about . He determined to show the rude squirearchy of Dorset Jiow superior to their order was the London-bred gentleman . Family pride also whispered to him the expediency of keeping up an appearance corresponding to the dignity of the distinguished race from whence he sprang . Accordingly , Squire Fielding soon began to create a sensation in the country . His mansion was the scene of profuse hospitality and riotous enjoyment . His horses and hounds were numbered amongst the glories of the neighbourhood . His equip ^ outvied in splendour and elegance the carriages of his richer neighbours , and the yellow liveries of his serving men were long held in remembrance . The selection of such a colour was characteristic of Fielding ' s thoughtless extravagance . Yellow plush , however of attire tor tcareless

      splendid , proved by no means an economical article ne lackey . Directly the glories of a suit were dimmed or soiled , it was thrown aside ; for the rustic flunkeys considered it their duty to keep up the faquire s character by the lustre of their personal appearance . Such was Fielding s household ! It may be asked how it was that Mrs . Fielding—the Salisbury beautydid not . with a woman ' s quiok sense of propriety , interfere to check thia ridiculous extravagance . Alas ! it is to be feared that , from vanity or weakness , she abetted him in his follies , or , at the most , confined herself to a timid remonstrance , without venturing on a firm expostulation . Poor girl ! her fortune was soon dissipated to the winds ; ran away with by horses and hounds ; lavished on yellow plush inexpressibles for idle flunkeys ; banqueted on by foohsh squires , or consumed by other senseless extravagances . Not being a strong-mmded womanthat is pretty clear—but rather , it would seem , a fond and foolish one , ehe was dazzled by this brief dream of pride and pleasure ; and though the future might have worn to her eye a lowering aspect , she was too much gratified by her hus . band ' s popularity , and too proud of his wit and agreeable qualities , to check him

      in his mad career . _ ,.,,. ,. . ,, . « The day of reckoning came . In a very abort time Fielding found that all was spent and gone—all swallowed up in the abyss of ruin ! It seemed like a dream , awild , incoherent vision . The roar of mirth , the deafening eheor , tho splendid liveries , prancing horses , staring rustics , full-mouthed dogs , laded before him like some " insubstantial pageant . '' He had been generous , hospitable , profuse ; and what was his reward ? Those who had Hat at meat with hnn now ridiculed his extravagance . Even the gaping boors of tho neighbourhood cracked their heavy jokes at his expense . The prudent gentlemen and ladies who had not scrupled to sit at his jovial board , and partake of his cheer , now shook their beads and gravely condemned his prodigality . Those of Lia more ambitious neighbours whom he had recently outshone in splendour , rejo oed in h , « downfall , 'jvithout attempting to conceal their satisfaction . In tho midst of nil these ^ toward ouv oumstances , ho had to escape from his creditors as best he might , and to seek for happiness and a livelihood in Borno other upbore . " Here is an interesting an ecdote of dAlllllOIC AS AN AMATETJH ACTOR .

      " Very early in his dramatic career , or rather ore it actually commenced , Gai-rick had made acquaintance with tho wit and genius of Imo ding . Moreto trod the boards of any theatre , or resolved on making the stage Iiih . profession , lie privately performed a character in one of Fielding '» farces m u place . and under circumstances of some interest . Tho place was tho room ovo _ St . J . n _ -gate , Clorkenwell , whore a stage was improvised , and mutable ^ r ^ ° ™ " £ *™ Z £ invented for the occasion . Tho time was soon after Garrick « fr end andtutor , Samuel Johnson , had formed a ' close intimacy with Cave , the printer , » d pub-Usher of " The Gentleman ' s Magazine ; " whilst ( Jamok was still in tle w » ™*™ £ with lii » brother Peter , and secretly meditating a w ^^^ J ^^ ^ KSbte adopt tho congenial ( but in tho opinion of hlH ?^ / S , £ T < f , m ££ Tho audience" composedfirstof Ouvo

      3 ^ u was , , J ^ VJJ though not a man given to mirth , or with an idea beyond his I '""^ " ^ ^ had boon tickled by Johnson ' s description . of h s young to ™» " » ^ . ^ 4 h « £ wan willing to boar an experiment upon his WHil > lo nerves ^ proudly buttling burly J « hn » on-in those days very shabby and seedy Hideed , but g' «»; IJ JhJdl th % his way in the world , and not u little elated by reflect . » U o jm ^ boys , who had enjoyed with him and ( Jamok the mlva . it . go ol » ££ « , « 10 ro pf taught by Mr . Hunter of Liehfleld , were Hkoly to ' , "" V , lloSo : Webb , tue Cavo ' H litorary handicraftsmen woro doubtloMS alIU "'« " wilortt , Horious pootry enigma writer , Duiok , tho pen-oiitter , and 1 ™"" ° " "Zvmvl with patience . Tlxo even tho religious Johnson oonfosHod himsoli """¦ ' 1 O of ( javo ' s journeymen actors -who assisted Ourriek upon this occasion vy ^ ^ ^ rC oitod tho parts printer * , who laid aside their ««» p «««^^ Fioldinrfp successful faroe allotted to thorn as well as they « oul < l . *» " \ " * .- > in which ' tho dibutmt of of " Tho Mock Doctor ; or , tho Dumb Lady Wio , course played tho part of Gregory .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 24, 1855, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24111855/page/19/