On this page
-
Text (4)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
Untitled Article
my ears were assailed -with loud , dissonant , and altogether incomprehensible noises , gradually drawing nearer and nearer . A broad red light soon began to glare upon the houses and fill the street . The throng slowly arrived and slowly passed my door . I will try to describe some parts of the show . " First came a strange figure , masked , with a cocked hat and sword—he was very like the grotesque beadle we see in French churches ; then came strutting a little hump-backed creature in brown , red , and yellow , with beak and tail , to represent the Gallic cock . Fifteen or sixteen people followed in the garb of Indians , some wearing cows ' -horns on their heads . Then came two
men in white sheets , hearing a paper coffin of great size , lighted from , within , and having skulls , cross-bones , and initials painted in black on its sides . This was surrounded by men blowing horns , beating pot-lids , poker and tongs , whirling watchmen ' s rattles , whistling , and so on . To these succeeded a number of Chinese lanterns , borne aloft on high poles and mixed with blazing torches —small flags , black and white—more rough music . Close after came more torches , clatter , and fantastic disguises —the whole surrounded and accompanied by a" large rabble rout , who kept up an irregular fire of yells , which now and then massed and swelled into a body of sound audible over all the neighbourhood .
" The whole city was perambulated before proceeding to to the fated mansion of the widow-bride ; but at last they arrived at her door and drew up before it . The large , handsome house , was silent and dark—the windowshutters were closed ; there was evidently to be no friendly feast—perhaps some music , but no harmony . " The charivari was puzzled , but shewed pluck . It brayed , and blew , and roared , and shook torch and lantern , and might have done so all the bitter night through , as it appeared to me , standing at a cowardly distance ,
¦ when on a sudden the large front door opened , and out rushed the manly figure of the adjutant , with ten or twelve assistants in plain clothes ( brother officers , I fear ) , and armed with cudgels . To work they went upon the defenceless crowd , and especially among the masquers , where the torches gave useful light . The whole attack and flight was an affair of a few moments—the fun-loving crowd , actors and spectators , fled amain—and gone in an incredibly short space of time were torches , lanterns , coffin , kettles , buffaloes' heads , &c .
* ' One unhappy little hunch-back , in the disguise of a Gallic cock , the bridegroom seized and began to belabour , but he most piteously confessed himself to be the well-known editor of a local paper , and was dismissed with a shake , and told that in future cripples crowing in charivaris would alwavs be treated as able-bodied men . I cannot but think , with the insulted lady , that the mummers were well served . " The Doctor speaks at length , and -with , force , on Emigration : — " I declare in all sincerity that one of the most distress ing thoughts of iny whole life has been called forth by Beeing millions and millions of acr ' s of fertile land , in a healthy climate , lying waste , while my countrymen , in multitudes at home , are left in profound misery , and under the strongest temptations to crime .
* ' There is a field in Canada alone open to capital and to labour which it will take a busy century to occupy , opening new lands and giving additional value to those already in use ; while the systematic development of the resources of British North America , so far from being a drain on the mother-country , will be of immediate and signal advantage to her . " Not to press forwards emigration is to partake of the guilt and sin brought on by the crowded state and the social inequalities of Great Britain . But it must ever be remembered that emigration is only one of many remedies . The mere removal of surplus population does but little , happy as the change may be for the individuals . The gap is filled up almost immediately .
" The British people must do their own work , stirringly and earnestly . " I have little hope in any ministry in the present inefficient state of the Colonial Office . Until a costly and bloody revolt takes place , carrying desolation to the hearths of hundreds , or thousands perhaps ( as in Ceylon , Canada , Ireland , South Wales ) , Government will allow almost any grievance to pursue its melancholy course . The wretchedness , which the official eye secth not , goes for nothing ; and this , not from any inhumanity inherent in the man , but from the immense amount and distracting variety of his labours .
" Emigration is too expensive , it is said : but let there be a whisper only of war , and millions are at once squandered on every imaginable engine of devastation . 'Die arsenals of the Tower , of Woolwich , and Portsmouth , nhake with the preparations . " All our ministries are alike . The air of office is soporific . I really think that the higher officers of the Colonial department may be fairly likened to certain curious shell-fish in the British eras . During the first half of
their existence ( out of office ) thry swim freely sibout , and have eyes , ears , and feelers , which they use as freely ; '•• at ns soon as their « reat instinctive want is supplied — thnt of finding a berth , a mooring-place , on a rouk or on a fish , these important organs , one by onn , successively drop ( , ( f , and they perform but otm act—that of fording . " . A ( -y descend into a , lower rank of animal life , and become what are called barnaclrs . So it seems to be in the Colonial Office . It appears to be comparatively deaf , and sightless . * * * *
" Emigration by single individuals or solitary families is often unwise , always full of anxiety , and not seldom disastrous ; but the case is altered if the party go out to friends , or to an already selected spot , or be skilled in somo much needed handicraft . " Emigration should be prosecuted systematicallysuch should be the rule . People should leave these shores in such organized bodies , so selected and so led ,
from the first step to the last , that as little as possible should be left to chance . " This is the great desideratum . Having provided a district of country—with due regard to health , markets , fertility , and a few other points—thither direct should be taken , in the month of May , one , two , or three shiploads of emigrants , assorted according to age and sex , as well as to trades and occupations , adapted to supply the wants of the whole emigrating community . How excellent is the German plan of emigration—that of the whole village ( or its greater part ) going , and taking with them their clergyman . One or more superintendents ( medical men , if possible ) , with assistants accustomed to the colony , should remain on the settlement for some time to keep the people together , encourage them , direct their exertions , persuade them to assist each other in hut-building and other heavy operations , and even for a period to work for the common good . Associated labour in the commencement is of especial importance , and is almost sure to lead to permanent prosperity . " We conclude with , this picture of DANCING PHEASANTS . " Here our friend Mr . Thompson said he had repeasedly stumbled upon what might be called a ' pheasant ' s ball , ' among the glades on the eastern flanks of the Rocky Mountains . In those grassy countries the almost noiseless tread of the horses' feet ( unshod ) sometimes is not noticed by the busy birds ; but the intruder must not be seen . "The pheasants choose a beech , ' said Mr . T ., * for the dance , a tree with boughs , several on the same level , and only full leafed at their ends . The feathered spectators group around . Six or seven pheasants step on the trembling stage , and begin to stamp , and ^ prance , and twinkle their little feet like so many Bayaderes , skipping with balancez et chassez from bough to bough ; or they sit with curtsey and flutter , arching their glowing necks , and opening and closing their wings in concert ; but in truth , the dance is indescribable , most singular , and laughable . When it has lasted ten minutes , a new set of performers step forward , and the exhibition may last a couple of hours . ' "
Untitled Article
BOOKS ON OUR TABLE . Tracts of an Anli-Tractarian . By a Barrister . C . Gilpin . A forcible pamphlet on the present state of the church . The real question , as the author justly remarks , being not whether this or that opinion shall prevail , but whether the church will make a progress in belief and in discipline , which , by making her a copious source of wholesome and interesting knowledge , will restore her influence . Among ihe curious details to be found in this pamphlet is one we must cite , viz ., in France they baptise the church bells ; and a few years since in Mayence a new flag was prepared for the Austrian troops quartered there . An altar was erected on the Schloss Platz . The archbishop presided . The host was brought in procession from the cathedral , and the banner was baptized in due form , the daughter of the E : iipcror of Russia . standing godmother on the occasion !
Tracts on Christian Socialism . No . If ^ . The J ! orlang Associat ions of Paris . Gforge IJeJ ] , This , the fourth of tho Christian Socialist Tracts , is extj enuly interesting and valuable , containing as it does an account of the number and present condition of the Associations of Working men existing in the French Metropolis , together with a description of the principles upon which each of them is based . M . Leclaire founded the house painters' establishment right years ago ; an " Association of United Workmen " and a " Boot and Shoemakers' Association" are mentioned as having been in existence at the time of the Revolution in 1848 . Of those formed since that period , there appear to remain
the Tailors , and the Shirtmakers , the Cooks , who have several branches in different quarters of Paris , the Hair-dressers , the Armchair-makers , the Cabinet-makers , and the Upholsterers , the Masons and Stonecutters , and the Workers in Leather and Skins . The establishments are said to exceed a hundred in number , besides many which have sprung up in Lyons , Marseilles , Bordeaux , Rouen , and other provincial towns . The regulutions of several are given in detail , and , different as these may be , it is cheering to observe that , they are all actuated by one and the same spirit of fraternity , and that they in of the
are for the most part prospering spite many obstacles with which they have had to contend , one of the most formidable of which has been the disfavour and , in some instances , actual opposition of the government . There are some useful particulars given of the associations which have , in some cases , been seta foot between masters and workmen , one of which , that of the Saddletree makers , " comprises all tho journeymen and most of the masters in the trade . I never , " says the writer , " heard but one voice as to its success and the prodigious activity of it « workers , even from those who arc least favourable to the principles of association . "
The tract should be extensively circulated , as it will nt once tend to disabuse the public mind of the delusions so long fostered by interested parties , in the Times and elsewhere , as to the existence and condition of these establishments ; and excite to energetic action those on this . side of the Ciniuml who me conscious of tho sufferings of tho industrious classes , and who perceive in drawing closer the bond of Christian brotherhood the only means of their present alleviation and future
pre-. lidiififilihv , Etnhjnilinn , and Supremacy , Theologically Con . ' yiih'Tttd . I ' . y ' tl »« Uuvcrund Uuniel 1 \ M . Hulueit , M . A ., J ' ri « st in Holy Onlurs , and Mi-niber of the Senato of Cuinbridgn . Author pf " Ordination , " " Mntrimony , " " Vcotif ? aliu , " aml " Kxtreme Unction , " &c . London : W . L . Pai liter . Oxford : Parker . Cumhridtrt . " . Duighton , &c . The devout and earnest author of these three treatises has been most successful in demonstrating the falsehood of the charges of infidelity brought by some unthinking
religionists against the Government for their endeavours to assist impartially the different sects and churches in the education of their members . He also proves the necessity of an industrial training for both sexes , and the incompleteness of any system from which such should be excluded . The different conditions of an emigrant so trained and one merely taught the usual elements of instruction he displays in his second treatise , wherein he establishes the duty of government both to encourage emigration and to provide for its being judiciously and systematically organized . In the third treatise the Queen ' s supremacy over persons and matters spiritual as well as temporal , and the right of the Church to self-governance by synod or convocation , lawfully convened under the royal authority , are asserted with ability and zeal .
El Dorado ; or , Adventures in the Path of Empire . By Bayard Taylor . 2 vols . ( The Popular Library . ) G . Itoutledge and Co . This is one of the most engrossing books of travel that has been published for some years ; the novelty of the track and the spirit with which Mr . Taylor describes the new forms of life presented to him , make the worJc irresistibly fascinating . For two shillings here is delight amply worth twenty . San Francisco , Panama , Monterey , and the gold regions pass before the eye as in a brilliant panorama . The Freethinker ' s Magazine ; and Review of Theology , Politics , and Literature . Ho . I . J . Watson .
An earnest , creditable spirit shows itself in this first number . The opening paper and the brief glance at Politics show a determination to wrestle boldly with existing prejudices ; but the republication of Gibbon ' s chapters was surely unnecessary .
Untitled Article
The Ministry of the Beautiful . By Henry James Slack , F . G . S ., of the Middle Temple . Bentley . A Career in the Commons ; or . Letters to a Young Member of Parliament on the Conduct and Principles Necessary to Constitute Him an Enlightened and Efficient Representative . By \ V . Lockey Harle . Longman and Co . Historical Analysis of Christian Civilization . By Professor de Vericour , Queen ' s College , Cork . John Chapman .
Untitled Article
NOTES AND EXTRACTS . The Untried Preventive to Crime . —We have tried every shade of system but the right . Ingenuity has been on the rack to invent every sort of reformatory , from the iron rule of MiUbank to the affectionate fattening at Pentonville—except one , and that happens to be the right one . Punishment has occupied all our thoughts —training , none . We condemn young criminals for not knowing certain moralities " which , we have not taught them , and—by herding them with accomplished
professors of dishonesty in transit gaols—punish them for immoralities which have been there taught them . * * * These and a thousand other facts too obvious for the common sense of our readers to be troubled with , induce us to recommend one other " great experiment" which has never yet been tried . It has the advantage of being a preventive as well as a cure ; it is , compared with all the penal systems now in practice , immeasurably safer , more humane , and incalculably cheaper . The " great experiment " we propose is national education . — Dic / ccns ' s Household Words .
An Unsuccessful Man . —You observe a man becoming day by day richer , or advancing in station , or increasing in professional reputation , and you set him down as a successful man in life . But , if his home is an ill-regulated one , where no links of affection extend throughout the family , whose former domestics ( and he has had more of them than he can well remember ) look back upon their sojourn with him as one unblessed by kind words or deeds , I contend that that man has not been succf ssful . Whatever good fortune he may have in the world , it is to be remembered that he has always left one important fortress untaken behind him . That man ' s life does not surely read well whose benevolence has found no central home . It may have sent forth rays in various directions , but there should have been a warm focus of love—that home nest which is formed round a good man ' s heart . — The Claims of Labour .
Action and Contemplation . —If I were to compare action of a much higher strain with a life of contemplation , I should not venture to pronounce with much confidencu in favour of the former . Mankind have such a deep stake in inward illumination , that there is much to be said by the hermit or monk in defence of his lite of thought and prayer . A certain partiality , a headincss , and loss of balance is a tax which all action must pay . Act , if you like , —but you do it at your peril . Men ' s actions are too strong for them . Show me a man who
has acted , and who has not been the victim and slave of liis action . What they have done commits and enforces them to do the same again . The first act , which was to be an experiment , becomes a sacrament . The fiery refonner embodies his aspiration in some rite or covenant , and he and his friends cleave to the form , and lose the aspiration . The Quaker has established Quakerism , the Shaker has established his monastery and his dunce ; and , although each prates of spirit , there is no spirit , but repotion , which is anti-spiritual . But where are his new things of to-day ?—Emerson ' s Representative Men .
Lusuauiks rou thk Pkoi'I . k . — In Denmark much has been done huec » ' 8 * fully in this way , and ' The Society for the Right Use of the Freedom of tho Press " has understood its own business and the taste of the people . Above five hundred circulating libraries , calculated for tiio peasantry and the working classes , are at this time spread over Denmark ; and all that is needed is to provide books enough to satisfy the desire for them . For forty years has this society been in operation , thirty of which , under the direction of that zealous statesman , Privy-Counsellor Collin ; and the results of his active exertions are seen in the increasing taste of the peasantry and the handicraftsmen for pleasures of a higher
Untitled Article
June 22 , 1850 . ] &t ) e 3 Lt&tttt + 30 &
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), June 22, 1850, page 305, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1843/page/17/
-