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1242 V.T HE L E ADOS B. C No - S53 » Sat...
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BADEN POWELL ON CREATION. ¦ The Unity of...
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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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Christmas Novels And Tales. Isabel: The ...
work bearing , as we have said , a strong impress of originality . And now tE tbe ^ faxe for circulating librarians to send down to country-houses parcels of novels and tales to be read in the Christmas evenings , when the ^ xurtaU ^ re unfurled across the windows , and the red fire glows through Se room and the lights burn cheerfully and clearly , and people sit at ease , pl ^ sanSy tired , let not Isabel be forgotten , for it is a fresh , healthy , enter- ^^ W Monastery . By the Author of " Clara . " Froi ^ the Original , Bv Lady Wallace . 2 vols . ( Bentley . )—We suspect that Lady Wallace . Ss had some trouble with TheOldMonastery . It seems to . have been not a little ' adapted . ' But the author of Clara is not a bad no- velist , although Sir Archibald Alison thinks him a good one . He can only dream , indeed , of one species of heroine-- ** dancer ; but ^ dancers are sometimes elegant and pretty , and there is no serious objection . 1 to a second romance of gilt and gauze , of pink satm skirts , and silver wines . However , we should be glad to see what the favourite ofLdm- burgh can do outside an opera-house . Not that an opera-house is the only interior in the present case , but that a figurante is the heroine , while the «* reeh-room and the stage are the central scenes . The " old monastery is not a monastery at all ; but a place that was monastic once and is now in- habited by washerwomen , receivers of stolen property , and others . Oi the personages whose good or evil fortunes fill the drama , the most interesting Is , though by no means of course , the heroine , Maria , an orphan , the daugh- ter of a female lamplighter in a German town and an Italian peer , bne is thrown upon the inercy of the world , and the world , persomneclby a most sedate and admirable laundress , takes charge of her , and , faithful to ner mother ' s wish , educatesthe child forthe royal fozW < rf . Her vicissitudes are nar- rated with pleasant simplicity . Dubel , her early friend , a journeyman tailor , but afterwards Dubelli , the chief of a dancing corps , isan aspiring individual , who perpetually imagines himself wealthy and superb , a cross-legged Alnaschar , whose eccentric virtues are very humorously described . Very original , too , is the young doctor , a priest of letters , who sleeps m a passage on a settle , and carries a chart of the town in his pocket . Whenever he incurs a debt in any particular street , he marks it with red ink , so as to avoid unwelcome greetings , and gradually cuts off Iris communications with the principal parts of the town . The account of his first and last attempt at dramatic interpretation is a piece of somewhat low but effective comedy , Othejf characters , moving and having their being upon a similar level , are also successfully sketched ; but the dignified people are mere absurdities . When the brilliant dancing beauty marries a noble , who turns out to be her father ' s nephew , Sve recognize in the husband thus blessed only a well-shaped simpleton . Baron Carl , also , is a good-natured walking gentleman . Pauline portrait is faint and watery , the baroness ' s a theatrical daub . But the court scenes are cleverly represented , as well as the rehearsals and performances . at the royal theatre . The mostserious fault of the novel is one of construe tion . The writer did not know where to end ; and , as Lady Wallace has an obvious talent for adaptation , she should have remembered Canning ' s rule— | to come to a dose when you have reached the conclusion . This has not been attended to in The Old Monastery . When the play is finished , when the climax , is past , when all the threads are unravelled , the good rewarde and the evil chastised , the novelist goes-on describing dreams , dialogues , and delusions utterly wanting in interest , and mere excrescences upon the story Otherwise , the book is entertaining enough . It is lively , cleverly written and , in some respects , the scheme of the romance is originally conceived . Sydney Fielding : the Domestic History of a Gentleman who Served under their late Majesties George IF . and William TV . By Edwin Kcene . 2 vols ( Bentley . ) A gentleman is married to a lady , but another lady is con sumed by a secret love for him . Ultimately , the first is drowned that the second may marry . Such is tbe beginning , and such the end , of Mr Keene ' s romance . Not very new , the reader will say . But very ridiculous we will add . The mouldy notion is dished up with the overdone materials of a melodrama—an interrupted wedding , a white-armed Hermione falling to the ground like a corpse—the same Hermione engulphed by the roaring waves , and sundry spasmodic dialogues , broken by stag © explanations and directions . Sydney Fielding is an officer , a sort of vulgarized Esmond , and Julia is his wife , he being , morally , a maniac , and she , immorally , a dragon But the lustres of history shine upon the scene—the Duke of Wellington Prince Metternich , George IV . and William IV . —the Duke chatty , Prince majestic , King George a swollen fop , and King William an urban nonentity . So bold is Mr . Keene , and so bright are his materials . 1 liminarily , as we have said , Julia , " her figure ethereal with flake-like lace awaits the wedding bell . She ia the customary Cryselephantme of novels marble , red , and ebony . But no marriage ensues , and the flake-like is put away to yellow for a year or so . Then cometh Sydney Fielding , dismisses the said Julia by a note ; but , during an interview , is restored favour , and marries . The Parsonage garden , however , is made the arena of certain , dramatic scenes , in which Julia , Fielding , Frances , and Venon converse and " pass on . " Several times the marginal record is repeated , ** they pass on , " At last , after Fielding has talked about coppery tints and lurid , crimson , Frances and Verion change hands , and so— " Melding and Juliet meet them , and tliey pause all together for some moments . Then Fielding walks forward with Frances , and Verion and Julia go round the lawn on the other side , 90 that the couples pass andrepass each other again . " Let us listen . Frances says she is giddy . Fielding says they had better go m-doors . Frances had rather not . The novel is absurd and dull throughout . Giulio Branchi : the Story of a Tuscan . Related by Himself , and translated from the Italian MS . by Alfred Eiwcs . ( Addey and Co . ) .-Mr . Alfred Elwes is a proficient translator , but we should have preferred the pure Italian romance of Giulio Branchi to a composite version with omissions and variations unlimited . Mr . Elwes , no doubt , is a magnanimous adaptor , willing that the defects of the volume should bo imputed to himself , and the merits to his author ; ' Btill , in the double process , the story has probably lost some of its Tuscan light and warmth . Wo may commend it , nevertheless , as spirited and amusing , and as possessing a certain interest for thoao vbo visfe to be edified in their idle hours . That ia to say , there are some !
pict whi , tion who age his ^ of ; loai so t yet Muss sna pox lh the j sto V . pn -pei w eu . . J - £ i l-JJi wr an _ C-C it to m X * tn -r w ai « « w s sj I s < I „ - A t < « 1 ti a d a t , t , a v \ . l - J . \> , N t i . , the re-, — lacewho to picturesque descriptions 01 tue baruinian solitudes , and of banditti life I which contrast almost grotesquely with the roseate elegance and conven- I tionalities of the later chapters . Giulio Branchi is a vagabond of Leghorn , I who , after adventures that would have satisfied Gil Bias , becomes at leng th I a gentleman , and marries a flower of England , Annie Leslie . The booS is I his autobiography . It is full of action ,. change , surprise . Now you are in I a vast , circular , black-roofed cavern , lighted by monstrous lamps , with planks I of gigantic length and thickness placed upon trestles , and covered with I loaves and wine-flasks . This is the brigand ' s hall . Then Giulio , who has I so far improved from his vagabond manners as to imprint upon the " firm yet velvety surface" " beautiful arm , which glittered with gems , " " kiss of trembling devotion , " follows the velvet-armed lady into a boudoir , shaped like a tent , the sides "being of » rey figured silk , the roof of sky-blue ' powdered with silver stars , and a fragrant lamp swinging in the centre . This is the marchesa ' s bower , and these arc the extremes , the east and west , I the Siberia and Assyria , of the Tuscan ' s fancy . Florence Templar ( Smith , Elder , and Co . ) . —Florence Templar is a limpid story of contemporary life , with an epidemic at the close . The poor insane iSir Edward dies , Fanny ' s gentle heart is broken , the cold , proud lady perishes , Florence herself , the brilliant and high-souled , perishes fourthly .. Whenever the writer has reached a proper point for an ejaculation , the euphonious name of Florence Templar is applied . Chapter the second ends , " 1 dreamed all night of Florence Templar ; " the fourth , " Ah , Florence 1 Florence ! " the fifth , Ah , that morrow ! ' ? the last , tc Oh , my friend ! Oh , Florence ! " There is nothing repulsive in the book ; but there is no reason why we should be afflicted l > y a record of suicidal insanity ^ woe , misery , and morbid tears—all without plan or purpose . Sidney Grey : aTale of School Life . By the Author of " Mia and Charlie , " ( Bogue . )—A better Christmas tale , in every respect , than Mia and Charlie . It ¦ is ' a simple , cheerful , lively book , overftoAving with good feeling , and likely to interest the young , while no one need be old enough to despise its sentiment or its humour . X The Good Old Times : a Tale of' Aurergne . By the Author of " Mary Powell . " ( Hall , Virtue and Co . )—A tissue , partly historiciil , is woven into this tale , which is written with grace and power . It is a story of the Protestants of Auvergne ; the pictures of the period are drawn with care , the incidents are described in a style of refined ¦ familiarity ,: the dialogues are neat and natural—there is a real fifteenth century shape and colour in the entire narration . The writer has evidently acquainted herself with all - that is contained in the chronicles of the Huguenot coriilicts , in which the L war of the routiers against the bishop and burghers of De Puy forms a con-5 spicuous episode . A story constructed with so much care , and inspired by b sentiments so warm and gracious , is deserving of more than common praise . 3 \ The Sisters of Soleure : a Tale of the Sixteenth Century . By C . b . W . ( Nisbet and Co . )—This also is a story the incidents of which are attributed i \ to a period of religious strife and intellectual change . The scene is chosea . in Switzerland , so often the centre of war , and the citadel of liberty But t I the narrative is subordinate to the colloquies , which are sharp suul didactic , and stiff with peremptory doctrine . There lire innumerable hits at error , 1 and sundry profound theological questions are put in their proper light ,. witli . 1 that ineffable ease which is sure to be observable when the authors ot sketchy ; ¦ tales undertake to play Pascal in an airy manner and to conibund Liguon r and Kome . If people who have a moral to inculcate would choose a more ' indirect and less enfphatic method of exposing ' the idolatrous and bloody r Church of Rome , ' there might be more converts in the world , and tuerv 3 . would certainly be more good-will . . , ¦ „ y ,,, ., , -iy Jessie Cameron : a Highland Story . By the Lady Kachel Uutlci . £ \ . e Blackwood and Sons . ) -Jessie Cameron is a natural , gracelul story , " *™* l r . Scottish , and more likely to he popular on the north than 011 the ¦ -outh ^ s , the Tweed . Yet why so ? It is astonishing to remarkhow Scott s hcotUcanM Is are relished by English readers . And , t o say the truth , the U dy ^ Ka cl ^ 1 W Butler , Highland as she ia in her character , her landscapes , u »? lull t 1 " ' ^ , S incidents , does not incessantly mock our melodious sympathy vitli am * S " hecht , "" du [ lin , " " nicht , " and " gang . " Her Jessie is 11 syreet 'uo . c , S simply and tenderly portrayed . We should counsel Lady Lutlei to wit . n more , in this vein . _ . 7 u w ri n Daisy ' s Necklace , and Wliut Came of It : a Literary Ljxwde . li ) 1 . ^ " e Aldrich . ( Low and Son . ) -Mr . Aldiuch ' s preface is * * rani » .. g . < t [ ' / fjt ne tious . And that dreary attribute predominates to the labt VW > ^ P e- where incoherent sentimeutalism interrupts the Parody . The Life and Remarkable Adventures of a J Jog . By 1 ojnas Mill : u- W ™ — and Son . ) -This excellent little volume , iUustrated by 1 . rm «» »^ J Lce- will please all but the most precocious children . It is viviiie . l by q u . n ^ an ho cordial humour . Not Mr . Jeuffreson , nor Lady Butler , nor even . Uu uij to Keene , will be jealous of the favours accorded by an infantine public , na book of pictures marvellous and anecdotes incredible ; . * ^^
1242 V.T He L E Ados B. C No - S53 » Sat...
1242 V . T HE L E ADOS B . C - » Saturday , I m 1 ¦ ¦ - — - ¦— ¦ ¦ ' ' ** * " ' ' ' ~^^~~~ 1 1 ^^ Hff ^^^*^ 1 ^^^*^^*^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ' ' _ k' ¦ a " ^» s * 4 ' - m «* •¦^ ' ~— _ - _ L ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ W ' ^ M
Baden Powell On Creation. ¦ The Unity Of...
BADEN POWELL ON CREATION . ¦ The Unity of Worlds and of Nature : Three Essays on the ^ ft ^ J ^ j "'' the Kov . loaophy ; the Plurality of Worhle ; and the Philosophy oj C ™ tion ( - " * & Co . Baden Powell . Second edition , revised and enlarged . * ' »«\ b ^ g Wjj noticed the first edition of this work at such length , that it i . > sary to do more at present than indicate the improvement .- , 01 u _ I edition , and reiterate our admiration of the can did phi lo » op lriui 1 , ia le y . loving spirit in which it is written . It would be diiheult lo l . u « l »> l K l "J , men of the Church of England having the courage and candou to ^ J ^ views so divergent- from what is generally c ° a 8 Ml . ' . ; v . \ l ^ Jicnco although many clergymen are also men of science , and 1 nvcv 1 ^ j oa philosophical , not theological principles , yet even they , ^ J ; iU trive to betray their theological prepossessions on every t jnc n on any pretext , admit such betrayaf . To be consistently scient liu u . than they can find courage or philosophy for . To keep a bro = v \\ ^ ^ marcation between Science and Religion , to freo science from th ^ ° nterforenco , seems only poasiblo to them in thoso cases where scicnc
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 27, 1856, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_27121856/page/18/
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