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No. 510. Dec. 31, 18p9>] THE LEADER. 142...
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SEVEN TALES BY 8ISVESN AUTHORS. Edited b...
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Travellers' Tales Re-told. By Theta.—Tho...
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TRADE LITERATURE.
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The Chemist and Druggist.—Firth, 24, Bow...
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Spanish Officers ox Campaign.—A correspo...
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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Columbus; Or, Thje N^W Wolild. A Poem, B...
LIBERTY HALL ., OXON . By W . Winwood Keade-3 yols . —C . J . Skeet . jIb . Wiiswood Reads is a nephew of Mr . Charles Reade , the author of "It is Never Too Late to Jfend ; ' " and , like him , wields the pen with force , but with less steadiness of purpose . He has undoubtedly , abilities , but no discretion , or he would have deliberated long before he published this gross attack upon Oxford and her colleges . That reforms are required in our universities we do not deny , but that such advocates as Mr . Reade will assist to bring it about we do
deny . A . three-volume novel , pourtraying the manners and customs of any one class of persons' life , must be , and is , a great infliction on the readei- 's patience ; but one written from a one-sided point of view can only be regarded , even in these times , when it would appear that no grievances can be brought fully before the public but in the form of a fiction , as a step beyond the limits allowed to novelists . We say these things with regret , because we believe , with Mr . Reade , that the life led by Oxford students requires correction ; but such virulent abuse as is contained in his volumes will
only damage the cause he wishes to serve . The whole work bears on the face of it some imaginary wrongs suffered by the author during his short stav as student that he wishes to " revenge . " Who will believe that a gentleman commoner , when fined for breaking college rules , paid t ! ie fine in coppers ? Or that at the breakfasts of " good sets , " instead of having the plates removed after each course , they were piled one upon another , the last being the uppermost , from which they eat " like swine round a trough ? " Mr . Reade seems , to partake of the feelings of one of the principal
characters in his work , who says : — " If there is anything which I can at the same time hate and despise it is an Oxford don : I despise him as a mean , crawling worm , compared with the rest of mankind— -I hate hi ™ as a poisoned hissing serpent , in whose power so many destinies are thrown . Go to their common rooms , and hear their talk after dinner , where they eat like swine ; hear their vapid sentiments , their imbecile remarks ; look at their faces , bloated and sensual ; or see them in . the lecture -room , ignorant ,
stupid , cowardly , and brutal ; put yourselves in their power , and pray to their cold , bare hearts for pity and forgiveness ! " Strong language this , Mr . Reade . Of course , the story is made subservient to the object of delineating college life , therefore it is not of great merit . We are told that one of the heroines has three B ' s . To those of our readers who are not : acquainted with this slang term , we may state that the three B ' s mean birth , beauty , and blunt . Another young lady . has pimples on . her nose , of course from the effects of drink ; while another reads coarse books . A female dancing is described thus : — " There she stood , her head thrown proudly back , her black hair streaming with dishevelled art over her neck and shoulders , a wreath of yellow flowers half concealed by her trosses ; and as he put Ins arm round her waist , she leant down towards him , and pressed his hand in hers . " As they whirled round , her eyes like black stars shone hotly upon him , her red juicy lips wore pouted up towards him ? he clasped * her nearer to his breast . " Still they danced on , tlioir bosoms resting on each other , soft low whispers passing between thorn , and her hair caressing his forehead like a summer broezc . " We might quote many more such passages from those volumes , but to what :. p urpose P Have wo not quoted sufficient to show that if Mr . Kendo has fiomo talont , lie at the same tiino is utterly wanting in judgment , delicacy and right feeling .
No. 510. Dec. 31, 18p9>] The Leader. 142...
No . 510 . Dec . 31 , 18 p 9 >] THE LEADER . 1423
Seven Tales By 8isvesn Authors. Edited B...
SEVEN TALES BY 8 ISVESN AUTHORS . Edited by Frank Ifi . Smodloy , uuthor of Frank Fnlrlolgli , Ac-Arthur Hall , Vlrtuo , & Co . Tujbsb seven tales are , " The Mysteries ^ of Redgrave Court , " by Frank E . Smedley ; " Norfolk and Hereford , " by G . l \ R . James j " The M »« , by Miss Pardoe ; " King Verio , " by MwtmH . Tupper ; " The Last in the Liare " by MrS . « . O . Hftll ; « A Tory Woman , " by Miss M . B . Smodley ; and « The Trust , " by Mrs . Burbury . They wore writton especially for the benefit of a lady who waB some yoava ago introduced as a contributor to " Sharpe ' s Magazine , " then conducted by Mr . Smedley . The precarious income of . a raagftsme
writer was the chief resource on which this lady had to rely for-the . support of herself and young family ; although there was good reason to hope that if the effects of an immediate pressure could be averted a brighter prospect was before her . " The lady having the advantage of Mr . G . P . K . James's friendship , he suggested to Mr . Smedley the possibility of raising a sum of money for her by the sale of some such work as the present , the result was the Seven Tales , by the seven authors . In the preface to the present edition we are made acquainted with these particulars . The first
edition was published without any explanation why such a galaxy of literary talent united together ; had there been , we feel sure that a second edition would have been called for before this ; as it is , we are informed that "the project succeeded beyond the most sanguine expectations of its originators . " Generous sympathy for the fatherless is not unusual in our land , thank God , but such nbble actions , and done in such a manner as the present , are far too rare to be passed over by us without notice .
Travellers' Tales Re-Told. By Theta.—Tho...
Travellers' Tales Re-told . By Theta . —Thompson and Co . A volume this , consisting of contributions reprinted from magazines and journals , which is replete with entertainment . Some of the stories are . capital , and all written with an easy flowing pen , that makes whateverit undertakes equally facile and pleasant . There are touches of nature , too , in the volume , many graphic descriptive sketches , and passages which reach the source of sympathetic tears ; and some that provoke laughter . With talent alike for the gay and the grave , the writer must succeed in his vocation . The Christmas Week . A Christmas story . By the Rev . Henry Christmas . —Adam and Charles Black . In the portraiture of one of his characters , we are afraid that the author has been influenced by theological prejudice . Of course , the sketches have merit . WJio ' s Who in 1860 . Edited by G . H . Oakes , M . A . The twelfth year of a publication , the utility o which has been tested . It consists of an almanack , and lists of titled , professional , and official persons . Why does not the work contain a list of literary persons ? It does of the members of the Royal Academy . A complete list , including journalists , might easily be compiled .
neatly illustrated , and will be useful to both sexes , but particularly ta ladies ,, to whom it gives most available advice . . The Old Coalpit . By E . May .-r-John . "W . Parker and Sons . This is a juvenile story , with a religious moral , and composed with much elegance . Wr .
Fables and Fairy Tales . By Henry Morley . Illustrated by Charles H . Bennet . —Chapman and Hall . An agreeable book of reprints . Some of these stories are calculated , as we know on trial , to be intensely interesting to children . This is the highest character that can be bestowed on such productions . A New Sentimental Journey . By Charles Allston Collins . —Chapman and Hall . A repbint from " All the Year Round , " not exactly in the style of Sterne—lively and humourous .
Ierne ,. Part I . —Partridge and Co . Tins is the first part of the first volume of an intended work designed to record anecdotes and incidents during a life chiefly in Ireland , with notices of people and places . It promises well . The Instructive Picture Booh—Quadrupeds . By M . II . H . J . —Edmonston and Douglas . Tins is a book richly illustrated with numerous coloured engravings , and designed as " lessons from the Geographical Distribution of Animals , " and professes to give the natural history of the quadrupeds which characterise the principal divisions ot tho Globe . It is admirably arranged , and the information given is full and accurate . Altogether the plates amount to sixty , and it forms a handsome volume in coloured and pictorial boards .
The Children ' s Harp of Select Poetry for the Young —Knight and Son . Tins is a superior" compilation . Bills from the Fountain . By tho Rev . Richard Newton , D . D . — -Knight and Son . A book of religious illustrations , connected with scriptural texts , and noatly written . The Prophet of Nazareth ; or tho One Story of the FourfrspelYi with Preface by Rev . John 0 . Miller , D . D . —Knight and Son . ^ rfft i ^ rA ^ "u £ . rs engravings and a plnn of Palestine . Graceful Hiding . By S . O . Walto , J 5 Bq .--Kobort llurdwioko . , ,, This la a capital " pocket manual for eftuoatrians ,
Trade Literature.
TRADE LITERATURE .
The Chemist And Druggist.—Firth, 24, Bow...
The Chemist and Druggist . —Firth , 24 , Bow-lane . The Ironmonger . —Firth , 24 , Bow-lane . Z . Uwall's Mercantile Circular , 6 , Old Fish-street . The Bookseller ' s Record , Crockford , Strand . The Draper and Clothier , Houlston and Wright , Paternoster-row . We have watched with considerable curiosity and interest the development of a new phase of journalism . A want had long been , felt , and very generally expressed throughout the commercial world , for the establishment of a series of wellconducted publications , advocating the respective interests of special trades .. In America a large number of such periodicals circulate , and although we . do not possess that extraordinary appetite for news-mongering which characterises Our Transatlantic brethren , there mu ' stkstili exist a numerous body of readers in this country anxious to support any speculation professing adequately to supply such a deficiency . The Building News , Engineer , and similar class newspapers , are extensively patronised , and there is no reason why the . representative organs of other , branches of commerce should not meet with a like success . We have a batch of new " monthly trade circulars ' before us , and although , in particular instances , some improvement might be made as regards arrangement , the subject matter is on the whole judiciously selected , and of the requisite practicaL ^ bearing . The Bookseller ' s Record—the most literary of any , as it ought to be—conveys a mass of intelligence as valuable to the purchaser as it is calculated to increase the receipts of the pub-Usher , and is edited with much talent and great industry . The drapers are represented by LilwalVs Mercantile Circular and the Draper and Clothier j the latter , however , we are bound to estate , is greatly inferior to the former , both as regards style and treatment . The Chemist and Druggist appeals exclusively to the trade , and from the variety of valuable information it contains deserves cordial support . The title of the Ironmonger speaksfor itself , and in glancing over the contents we must congratulate the proprietor upon the excellent manner in which it is edited , and at the same time suggest , from the numerous illustrations of articles for domestic use , profusely scattered over the pages , that it might be very profitably addressed more generally to the public at large to the mutual advantage of all parties . ' .
Spanish Officers Ox Campaign.—A Correspo...
Spanish Officers ox Campaign . —A correspondent writing from the Spanish camp says : —A restaurant has just been opened at head-quarters ot the productions of which I cannot yet speak from personal knowledge , but which , I am assured , far surpasses in the prices , although not in the quality ^ . of its dishes , the Fr 6 res Provongaux or the lamented Verrey . I suspect its habitues will not be numerous , for the Spanish officer , is , generally frugal , and sets no creat store by the pleasures of the palatp . Generally speaking , as far as I have observed , the officers ™ LL Kthor in small groups , a tent forming but
a limited dining-room , and nearly the largest o those we have here being pretty well crowded with half-a-dozen persons . . Tables , too , aro rather a ifflculty . since webrought littlofurn . ture withus . and avo not as yet had opportunities of borrowing any from Moorish palaces . About a fourth part ot KTfurniture that tho British army left buhuid It m to Crimea ( and much of which will doubtless be highly prized in Tartar huts fpr a century to conae ) w ? uld place this camp in a state of perfect luxury . As it is ? we have a few camp-stools , and wo eit on boxes , and trunks , and beds , and manage pretty well . The accommodation is not each as to tempt fo lute si tings , and Spaniards are not in the habit of Hngoffi over their bottle , while toddy or grog la > to mnar of thorn a thing abhorrent . So after dinner KSff ° in Slv' content tbemaolroH vlth a cup pf
coffee or " tea ( the use of tho latter has of late years become widely eproad in Spain ) , «* " »« * g £ ^ smoked a eisar or two , or a dozen papeittoa , ano . SSkSof thISpaBtcampaigns * ndcomingtrlumplw , thev tronorally retire early to bed . I auapoet the niSorfty Swrapped in their Wanketa , ruga . or Soaks between nine and ten , and to alto up UaWtu-2 ? y till eleven would almoab eumco to give one tUe reputation of a " fast man . "
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 31, 1859, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_31121859/page/19/
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