On this page
-
Text (5)
-
Untitled Article
-
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
but Bulwer ' s humorous contradiction of the report that he had lost his hearing . He writes to the Morning Post : — ** Sir , —A paragraph has appeared in the Morning post , copied from a provincial paper , stating a rumour to the effect' that I have lost the use of both my ears , and have heen in a very desponding way ever since . ' Permit me to inform you that I have as much the use of my ears as ever I had ; and , if I am in a desponding way ( which I am not , myself , aware of ) , it must be rather owing to the use of my hearing than to any loss of that faculty , since it does not seem to me that the average quality of talk ( and the rumour in question is , perhaps , a fair specimen of it ) possesses much that is calculated to cheer the animal spirits or contribute to intellectual enjoyment . I should rather say the contrary . "
Untitled Article
In France we observe that an old dream of disappointed authors has been realized by the Union des Auteurs-Editeurs , where each man becomes his own publisher , and secures the " whole of the profits . " It requires very little knowledge of literature to perceive the radical mistake in such plans ; and although the catalogue of this society sets
forth a reasonable list of books published , we should like to see the account of " profits . " It is forgotten that few authors can afford to be their own publishers , and require , therefore , the introduction of the capitalist to render publication possible : whereas , for those who can afford the expense , the existing machinery—very expensive , we admit—will be found ample .
The Times of Thursday mentions the publication of the circular , issued by Mazzini , for the Italian loan , which it reads in La Republique ; but the Times might have read it in our columns last Saturday had it cared to " look at home , " for in our Democracy of Europe it originally appeared ; as will other official acts and statements of the Democratic party . In France things are dull enough , and the only novelty Jeffs has upon his counter is XJn Beau Demon , by Paul Feval . —a sort of Brummagem gUE—whose fertility in " striking incident' * has
made him popular . We carried it off in the hope of amusement , and will intimate the result of our experiment at a future day . The Etudes sur le JSocialisme , by Francois Lacombe , will gratify those who enjoy hearty abuse of a doctrine and its professors , who imagine that if they call an idea " abominable , " " destructive of society , " and at the same time so " Utopian " that no sane man can entertain it , they have refuted it for ever . Those philosophers and " friends of order" it may gratify : all other men are warned off from it .
Poor Heine is dying ! Paralysis has killed every part of him but the head and heart ; and yet this diseased body—like that of the noble Airgustin Thierry—still owns a lordly intellect . In the brief intervals of suffering Heine prepares the second volume of his Buck der Lieder , and dictates the Memoirs of his Life , which he will make a picture gallery , where the portraits of all the remarkable persons he has seen and known
will be hung up for our inspection . Those who know Heine ' s wicked wit and playful sarcasm will feel , perhaps , somewhat uncomfortable at the idea of sitting for their portraits ; but the public will be eager " for the fun . " There is little of stirring interest in the events of his life , but he has known so many remarkable people , and his powers of vivid painting are of an excellence so rare in German authors , that the announcement of his Memoirs will create a great sensation .
Untitled Article
A GERMAN DRAMATIST . A Selection from the Poems and Dramatic Wurks of Thcodur Korner . By the translator of tho" Nrbehingcn Treasure " Williams and Norgatu . Nothing enhances our respect for a real dramatist more than the ludicrous incompetence of even powerful minds when they attempt a drama . Not only does their ignorance of dramatic art frustrate even their poetic intentions , but by some strange
process no sooner do they adopt the dramatic form than all their knowledge of human nature , and the Motives which impel it , seems to pass away , and humanity only appears in conventional types , and those absurd ' What things dramatic villains , dramatic lover . s , dramatic fathers , and dramatic motives are How monstrously unlike the current of human passion , the passion of the stage !
And yet such is tho fascination of the drama , that every one who holds a pen is irresistibly compelled to compose one at least in the early part of his poetic career . Some men , and those not a few , venture on publication } an act which would have serious
consequences were it not for the perfect privacy of the publicity : — " Non scribit cujus carmina nemo non legit . " In the natural avocation of a critic he falls in with such plays ; and if the reader chance to be either critic or victimized friend , and in one of these characters has read the five-act tragedies which , occasionally issue from the press , he will be able to form , an accurate conception of Theodor Korner ' s dramas here translated . Korner has a wide reputation in Germany ; his lyre and sword poems have often , been translated into French and English , so that we are
willing to assume tneir merit ; dug may De the excellence of his patriotic songs , for downright foolishness , conventional imbecility , and diffusive dulness , we back his dramas against any collection in the world . We remember some years ago being lured by his reputation into an attempt to read his plays in the original , but their unblemished mediocrity rendered the effort futile ; a few pages sufficed , and we should probably never have known the extent of their worthlessness had not this translation
come before us in the course of duty , and forced us to read them . It is really instructive to see what a man . of reputation can write and glory in ! These dramas have not even the commonest poetic merit . The diction , as mere diction , would be intolerable in a narrative poem , and is not dramatic . Even , the similes and personifications , usually a redeeming portion of unactable plays , are miserably mediocre . Will it be believed that a poet of repute actually has the courage to fall into such , stage rhetoric as the following ?—
" Clar . Nay , if thou lovest me , my Conrad , hear me ; Only be calm ! Conr . How 1 Canst thou stem the torrent Which rushes wildly to the dread abyss , Destroying all that would oppose its course ? Canst thou command the fire to be cold , Or hush the tempest in its wildest rage Into the brf ath of zephyr ? Ha , be calm ! Fie on the word !" And this stage " property" pleases him . so much that he repeats it at page 120 .
But we will analyze one play , as a fair sample of his dramatic power , and it shall be Hedwig because " Korner himself informs us it has excited more attention than any of his other works . " Hedwig is the foster-child of Count Felseck , beloved by the Count ' s son Julius , but struggling with her own passion for him because she is not a fit match for a Count . The play opens with a scene between the lovers , wherein they inform each other , for the benefit of the audience , of all that they must have knou-n perfectly . Iledwig having refused to listen to his passion
" rushes out" leaving Julius of course to * take the stage " and soliloquize . Then enter liudolph , from whose soliloquy we learn that he has " already sunk to hell "—figuratively—through his crimes , but his love for Hedwig has " sown some seeds of virtue in his breast , " and he feels that with her love he could once more bo virtuous . Hedwig returns , agitated , determined to " away , away , " a cottage being her " proper sphere , " not baronial halls , and the lovesmitten Rudolph , thus addresses her : —
" Hud . Fair lied wig , why ho pensive ? Does regret Or joy suffuse those beauteous eyes with tears ? l ' 'or you are due ply moved ; deny it not , And , if'twill soothe you , know here beats a heart That shares alike your sorrows and your joys . This language , from the untutor'd woodman ' s Iip 3 , May well sound somewhat strange , but let not that Perplex you , fairest one . " Though why his language should sound strange , and why it should perplex Hedwig , we cannot discern ; she does apparently : — " Had . With mingled pleasure arid surprise I hear I Long have I vainly sought : t kindred soul , True , many a one of lowly birth may feel Warmly as I , Ijiit still their boisterous tono Repels my confidence and chills my heart ; Hut sa > , for many months we ' ve dwelt togi'tlier , Yot did I no ' er discover , 'till this hour , Auglit , save tlirs huntsman , in your air or mien . "
Iludolph then , in the approved style , tells her how an adverse destiny dogged his steps and blasted all his hopes , how he was not born to earn his bread by servitude , but having seen her ho straightway engaged himself as huntsman to the Count , and winds up with this : — " Hedwig , bethink thco well ! * My doom is in thy hands , for hell or heaven . " lie takes her hand and is about to have the question settled , when : — -
Untitled Article
THBOPHILUS TRINAL . Memorials of Theophilus Trinal , Student . By Thomas T . Lynch . Longman and Co . There is promise in the writer of this volume , though the work itself is ill adapted to command tho atten-
Untitled Article
** Bernard enters . Bern . The Count Calls you , Sir Forester . Bud . I cannot come . Bern . Not come , Sir Forester ; -what ! are you mad ? "When the Count summons you , not cornel Bud . Enough t Curse on ! Oh , Hedwig ! Oh , my barter * d freedom ! [ Bushes out : *
Is not that a delicious bit ? To the reader of Korner it is the more amusing because he sees how the author always contrives to prevent an explanation by an abrupt departure . So in the next scene wheTe —having first learned that Rudolph is a " practised murderer " and the friend of robbers—we learn that he has just saved the Count ' s life , who bids him claim a reward ; Iludolph suggests that a wife and cottage would be the height of his desire , and when the Count bids him seek a wife , he replies : —•
" Bud . The search were needless , noble Count , she ' s found , 'Tis your consent alone is wanting now . Julius . What am I doom'd to hear 1 Count . Why , my consent ? Who is thy love ? Bud . Hedwig . Count . My foster-child ?
Bud . The same . Julius . Impossible ! Count . Hast spoken with her 1 Bud . I have . Julius . And her reply ? Bud . 8 he answer'd not;—But in her tears I read a soft consent . Julius . Oh ! Hedwig ! Hedwig !
Count . Hum ! but thou art brave And zealous in thy calling : in thy mien , Thy tone , thy language , one may clearly mark Above thy station . Thou hast saved my life , And , if she loves thee Julius . Hold , my father , hold ! Oh ! let no hasty word escape thy Mps , 17 or with a boon So precious , recompense A service paltry gold may well repay . That lovely flower thy fond paternal hand Has rear'd and cherish'd , wouldst thou see it now Trampled , and crush'd , and wither'd in its prime 1
No hasty promise ! I ' vea secret here , But this is not the spot on which to breathe it . Oh , if my peace , my hopes be dear to thee , Decide not this in haste . Come to the castle , There shalt thou learn it all—my father , come ! Count . Julius , -what mean ' st thou 1 Bud . ( aside ) . Demons ! Julius . Come , my father I Oh ! would that I liad earlier trusted thee ! Count . What means this mystery ? Julius Oh ! ask me not . All will be soon explain'd . "
Is not that like a grave burlesque ? Indeed the whole tone reminds one of the parodies which , wags have from time to time written to laugh dramatists out of their absurdities . The dramatic critic will note how dexterously Korner evades the collision , and puts off till another time that which ought at once to take place ; it is done again in the subsequent scene . Julius has " explained " to his father—gained his consent to a marriage with Hedwig—told Hedwig of it—found her unaccountably obstinate in refusing to accept the consent , and now kneels at her feet swearing he will not leave her : —
?• Iludolph ( entering ) . Demons of Vengeance ! Hedwig . Ha ! I understand thee ! Rudolph ! I am thine ! [ Hushes out . " Anything more unredcemably absurd than this scene we should find it difficult to name . But let us hurry to the close . Iludolph , finding he has a rival in Julius , sells himself once more figuratively to the devil—plots with robbers to enter the castle and , plunder it , and is enjoyinghis triumph when Hedwig seizes a musket and shoots hi m *
The reader may not unreasonably ask why we have taken even this notice of what is so contemptible ? Had they been dramas written by one less celebrated we might have paused ; but bearing a popular name , and introduced to tho public by a careful translation , we thought a distinot expression of opinion called for . Let us in conclusion add , that the translation seems well done , though we have not tested its accuracy by comparison with the original ; yet it bears tho signs of care and felicity : close enough to show that it is not paraphrastic , yet not so literal as to be servile and obscure . A memoir of the poet , three prose tales , and some miscellaneous poems are added to the Dramas .
Untitled Article
Nov . 2 , 1850 . ] & |> £ %££ & £ ?? 761
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 2, 1850, page 761, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1857/page/17/
-