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NOCTES AMBROSIAK^E. The Works of Profess...
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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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fls ^ he actinay be ibttuoseVhose creed includes once the doctrine of Shjdc 8 Deare * 8 i « fenibifiey and the doctrines of modern propriety—Shakspeafe ' s wdiran ^ faave iiq more ? decided characteristic than the frankness with which tnev avow their love , not only to themselves , but to the men they love . ; If Romeo opens the duet of love with a few notes solo , Juliet soon strikes in , and keeps it tip in as' rmpassiohcd " a strain as he . Sweet . Desdemona , " a maiden never bold , " encourages Othello , ' not only by a " world of sighs , " but by the broadest : possible " , bint that he has won her heart . Rosalind , in herfirat interview with Orlando , tells him he has " overthrown more than Jais enemies ; " Portia is-eloquent iu assurances of her love befbre the casket .,.-.. Qne half of me is yours , the other half yours—Mine own , X would say ; but U" mine , then yours ,
A . nd so all yours !; And this frankness towards the lover is generally followed up by tbe most impassioned soliloquies or confessions to confidants . Then there are the women who love without being loved in return , and some of whom even sue for love . Helena inAlVs Well that Ends Well , the Helena in the Midsum-4 terNighfs Vrea » iythe shepherdess Sylvia , Viola , and Olivia , who wooes so prettily that the action justifies itself . Curious it is to contrast these Shakspearean heroines with some of Walter Scott ' s painfully-discreet young ladies —the Edith Bellendens , Alice Bridgworths , and Miss Wardours !
Whatever may be the respectability of these modern heroines , it is clear that little could be made of them dramatically ; they are like trees trained in right lines by dint of wall and hammer . But we are wandering from the point we had undertaken to prove , namely , that Shaksr > eare cannot properly be contrasted with the ancients in the expression he gives to woman ' s love . If so —if this feminine frankness is not peculiar to the ancients , the cause ^ of it in them must lie deeper than the restraints of the gyneceum , to which M . Girardin attributes it : it must be simply ft natural manifestation which has only been gradually and partially repressed by the complex influences of modern civilisation .
In his criticism of Shakspeare , M . Girardin sometimes reminds -us of the German * by his discovery of profound philosophical intentions where Shakspeare had probably nothing more than poetical and dramatic intentions . For example , Caliban , h © tells us , is meant in tbe first instance to typify the -inevitable brutality of human nature in the savage state , in opposition to ihe marvellous stories of voyagersin Shakspeare ' s days ; and in the second instance , when he * ' tastes of civilisation * ' —that is , of Trineulo ' s wine—Caliban is meant as a caveat to the hasty panegyrists of civilised life . But , unlike the Germans , M . Girardin touches lightly on such subjects—just dips his wings in the tnare magnum of philosophical interpretation , but generally floats along in the lighter medium of tasteful criticism and quotation . Me promises us , at some future time ; a fourth volume on the dramatic treatment of religious enthusiasm , a volume which will come to us recommended by the memory of much pleasure due to its predecessors .
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Noctes Ambrosiak^E. The Works Of Profess...
NOCTES AMBROSIAK ^ E . The Works of Professor WiUotu Edited by his Son-in-law , Professor Ferrier . Vol . I . - . A ooie 4 Ambroricuw . Vol . I . - Blackwood . That a man ' s son-in-law should be his biographer is one of those good old literary arrangements which we are glad to see carried on . The fashion is set in tbe prince of all biographies , the " A gricola" of Tacitus ; it 1 s followed in Roper ' s Sir Thomas More , in Lockhart ' s Scott , in Hamia ' s Chalmers , three of the best J ^ ives which oar literature ( not rich in this department ) possesses . We shall be glad to see Profossor Ferrier ' s Life of Wilson , nnd , meanwhile , we welcome this first instalment of his works ; but the " Life " to come ( for it is not yet out ) should rather have been committed to Wilson ' s other son-in-law , Aytoun . Ferrier ' s chief distinction is metaphysical ; Aytouu , as a humourist , and a man with a certuin "wild and rollicking freedom about him , would better ; we think , sympathise with Christopher ' s character than his ?' learned brother . ' ' the work edited
More probatOy we criticise the editor before criticising . Our Professor has the amia-blo fault of making somewhat too much of his hero's performance Undoubtedly , the" Shepherd" of the ?• Noctes" is a capital character — truly dramatic , delightfully humorous , arid intensely Scotch . But listen to Professor Ferrier on him ¦ : — - ' ' In wUdom the Shepherd equal * tho Socrates of Plato ? in humour he surpasses the Falstafi * of Shokspoarc . , ' . Of course , an Knglinhmari roars nt such a dictum as this , and a Scotchman whtose head is not turned gives n melancholy grin . This is a little too much , O good Professor ! In sense , the ¦ Shepherd resembles Franklin or Sydney Smith , and in humour he is equal " to Sam Slick and some comip crbations of Scott ' s . But this is as much praise aa the wildest admirer of Wilson bus the least right to expect . It is thti editor ' s business to nppciid notes illustrative of the text . Let us look at some of Professor Fcrner ' a . Vivian Grey being mentioned , we
ard told gravely at the bottom of the pnge : — ' Vitiiah'Orcr /' was theJuvenile ' production of the 'Uight Honourable Benjamin Disraeli , Chnncell 6 r of the Kxcheqner In 1852 . FoYvcli'lJuxton turns up ^ and we liaVo " afterwards Sir Thomas Fowoll Buidbh , & c \ , & c . Henry Cbcfcuurn similarly appears , and " afterwards l / 6 , rd Cqckbuyn , one of the'judges , " & c , duly salutes us . Surely , the world will ' Srcniembcr that Vivian ' Oft t / was nu e »^ y work of Pismeli ' s as long as it is likely to trouble itself xtiih tho book 'before us . W 6 could « , dil speciineris of the same kind ; in'dieutmg that the Profossov expects sonic of the bestiknoWh'fu ' cts ' ofthis i \ g < i to be " alone remembered through the medium of hi ^ nhtes td Wilson . ° . . , .. .... With regard to the more important matter of tho discretion used nw-cpViftting-ilitf ' NodUiM / 1 vre hnvti » oM >>» g * vry censorious to obsurvc ., CertWlA J 4 s'f » A ^<*'«^ L .. if . t J . ' ^ ... (^ . j . vitf-v'i-,. •» ,., » i . >; , itif li'ivn ln'i'M omitted , for tlicv nud
iWliJh ' intt'io > VnU / ui'f intellcotiuil ' Kilny ,, and' uuiy'leml . some pcoiilo to the nus , ti & e'h'fuipVeSJhfqB that hi : wua ' not l iHi «« i « u » t «»^ > 89 ll !^ V , ' V > "» klI > tl ma L ' " mJ'beg t ' b'Sna ' tUuco tuccritiuuc , or rather the d ' cnuMcuiMun , at pagoa 190-7 ,
of a certain Mr . Mudie ' s Modern Aih $ n * > : ' Man and book are dead and forgotten , and where is the benefit of reprinting in a volume , intended for libraries and drawing-rooms , a bit of declamation so coarse and loathsome that it might have come from , one of Swifts Yahoos 2 . Again , we are no enemies to satire , nor are we conscious of an undue admiraSon of HazUtt , but Jlazlitt is abused in this volume , in language which the late infamous Satir ^ l would have transferred to its cojuoina ^ wjth pleasure . , Norph j > n & the Shepherd are talking of magazines , and of CotourrCg then ' edlted ^ Dy Campbell , when the following pleasant piece of dialogue abbut a cdiitenfp 6-rary oceurs : —• ' ¦ ¦• - ¦ ¦¦¦ .-. ¦> ¦ ' . <¦ I-.. ¦ . ¦ ¦;*;¦; .- . o-.-i ? - - , w . ..- , -, ¦ . r ~
Norths Th « very name of Campbell sheds a lambent < } nstte » ver its oecasionAl dullness ; and a single scrap of one of hip Lecture ^ Qn Foetty-raueh is toy « dmirat » mi » f his delightful . gepittsr—redeems the character of ^ whole NumW . C « iQpbeU is a fine critic , at once jjoetical and philosophical , full . of feeling as jof , thought ^ The Prefaces to his Specimens—are they not exquisite ? The Smiths are Clever men - ^ biit wby is not HazHtt kicked out of the concern ? . Shepherd * 'Cause Cammel kens he ' s hungry . ; :.. > -.. North . That may be a very good reason for sending an occasional / ipaf / or ' . fish to his lodgings , with Mr . Campbell ' s , or'Mrl Colburn ' scompliments ; but it Is' ay € ry had one for suffering him to expose his nakedness periodically to' the ieaaing pnbiic ^ ' Tickler .: It does not seem to me , from his writings , that Hazlitt ' s body is much Teduced .. The exhaustion is of mind * HJ 3 mind has the wind-colic . . It is troubled with flatulency . Let him cram it with , borrowed or stolen victuals , yet it gets no nourishment ; It is fast dying of atrophy ; and -when it belches its last , will be found to be a mere skeleton . ' ' -
JtTorth . I perceive he has lately assumed the character in Cotowm , of .-Boswell Redivivus . "Why Jemmy Bos well was a gentleman born arid bred . —a difficulty iu the way of impersonation , which Billy Hazlitt can never , in ' his most sanguine momenta , hope to overcome . ''' . ' ' Ztci & r . Then Jemmy was in good society , and ia member of the Club . Moderate as -were his talents , he was hand-in-glove with Burke , and Langton , and Beauclerk , and Percy , and the rest . He of Table-Talk has never risen higher than the lowest circle of the Press-gang—Reporters fight shy—" and" the "Editors of Sunday newspapers torn up their noses at the smell of his approach . : ¦• •
Now , Hazlitt has an honourable place in literature asa critic Barring certain defects of temper , his personal character , so for as w < eikno > wy is withtout stain . Why reprint this ? All this violence arose put of political differences . But the Tory violence of those days did not check the movement against which it was directed ; and by no men are the Rigbys ^ the Hooks , and the other fellows-who did the hangman work of the party , 'held in such indifference and contempt as by those who are now endeavouring to embody the genuine and good part of Toryism in forms suited to the new ag ^ . Nobpdy is gratified by the Revival of such matter as ^ tbisj , and Professor Fevrier , by doing so , makes himself personally responsible-to the families of the men insulted . . .. - .. -. ; of tte
These passages , however , are" few—they ^ rere the offspring passion of the hour ^ -and we turn with pleasure ^ 6 thre rienanineiitf goodness and beauty embodied in the book before as . We are glad to See Wilson ' s works open with a portion of the " Noctes , "; for they areT-dexcepfcing-thfe Becre » ations of Christopher Nortli ^ the finest things : hej , did . ; Fofiti < jal ,: though not a poet—dramatics , and yet not a dramatist—witty , but something better than a wit—with a fund of Sense and shrewdness and funr—all animated b ^ a radiant glow of highj spirits and human heartiness— -Wilson was bom to be a great critic , and -was entirely at home in the form of Dialogue . Had he been more completely poet , dramatist , or wit , he would have gained tbd distinctiveness ut a sacrifice of yersatility , of dash » and . perhaps of geniality ; As it was , he was alive on every side to every form of excellence , and the man was never lost in the artist . The world , requires its ' appre < jiators "—inter- ;
preters between it and thetioble and beautiful in nature ana books . AViIson was one of these genial priests of letters—these Peter tile Hermits of Nature ! Where his clear bright eye fell , a thousartd new beauties were made visible to the common ken , —his native feelings were so vividy his ; glance so keen , his voice so ringing and hearty . A creative mind his was not , bufc as a man-of-letters ( in the distinctive sense of that term , with a stress . on the .. man /) he belonged to the very highest class . He j was , too , one of those men-of-letters ( a distinct body within the class ) who in an earlier age ' would
have been men of action . Hrs personal tastes were like his literary ones , and there is the freshness and manliness in his style which belonged to him in his shooting coat , a tread aud a stride about it like that with which ha brushed away the dew on the heather on niany a glorious morning ia the ITorth . He who wants to know , what the hostoric Scotchman was ( the ^ Scotchman of the ballads , not the " canny" adventurer of trade ) may forp a good notion of him in studying the / image Wilson has left of himself in his writings . 'Xhe man is everywhere predomoinahti . Most Vigorously he dAooril ' ins . 'Vni' mstimce . flincinir uoonpapcr liffht and colour and figures withf
afp i'oe that makes you start back nud . wink again ..: But -does he fimsh j si picture which may hang up calm and ^ complete , -a ,. thing apart from its creator ? frot he . He paints and , declaims , and laughs ajid , weeps , passes from satire to pathos , from pathos to wild drollery , with | the rii j Ost . self-reliant independence , and tha moist wanton - animalism . ' . ' A miicdrejof humour and vehement earnestness—a . Lutheran character — is very' cohtnion amoiig notable Scots . You find it in tho writings of old Knox , jn Burns ^ in Cmlyle . It is a kind of variety of that Germanic character common to English and Lowhuidera—for Wilsou was a J ^ p . wlwdcr like the other
His critical works arc distinguished by the heartiness of their sympathy . Ho showed that pTe-eminently in the iheefesarlt fight he tntula for W ordtewortlu llis main defeat wiraone qiute in . keeping ' with ihra hearty ¦< J « "Jr » nd nendoney- ^ vi ^ lunco . / His taste ,: though good , was not nv ; e . Jt vr » s sound and fresh , but it . w . as . wot . refined aad muwtfi . < ^^ ° ^« "f J ^ Jg ; lbouinc , Johnsoni * .., marked the man . In . th e-. great „« , « ea «^ ^ JJ jiiao ' menl Was souiul , but it was not dolicato in dcUita . A , ouc otun teg * , n » i » V 6 f the strongest V lfy \ e *\ power into wliprt eye . f «^^ ' ^ W us , quickly « b into a w > e « k girl's , « o tho vlgojonj de ^ ' ^ J ^ , hfc > , sometime * run ovWmto . maudlin when ho "PjJ' ^* ^ Lne . < 6 X 0 css wluch ^ 8 ^ u-o ; w . . oft « n overdone , and ho goes k » 1 IwJh » S ™ to . ^ ^ shocks . , . . . ' .. ¦ ' - ; ' ' ¦ ¦ ' ¦'• ' i !
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 25, 1855, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_25081855/page/17/
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