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    Untitled Article

    The Philosophy of Ragged ScJiools . . . ... . . Pickering :. This is' die of the series of small books on great subjects which Mi . Pickering has issued , and , though riot u ) £ > to ; the standard of excellence given by that series , is , r ievertheless , an interesting bird ' s-eye view of th history and purpose of Ragged Scliools . It has , one exc ;; lletice : ttiat of being written from . the fulness of the heir ' t . Penny Maps . Part 7 . Chapman and H&ll " The pfogtrss of this urideitakingjustifiesi all bur 'expectations * . The cheapness i ^ ' real cheapnessyfor the map ' s ? are" excellent . ' The present number contains France" irY fodr maps — divided into departmenjis . Parents attd teachers should at once posis ' ess the Series :

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    T 7 ie Lta ' nd-JBook of Mesmerism . By . ThomaB . 3 utekiancI . ; ,,.. ! s ,.. „_ Hippolyte Uailliere , A Book ofihis nature , is J ertairil ^ ' a deisideratuT « f , and -this ; -- frorii- the excellent .. sbifrces ^ whence tKe attentions " are ^ deriVedj m ' ay be , trusted by all , who ¦ wish , to make experiments ..., The-moBt ^ minu te ; . ^ Jurnishe | i from the . Highest authorities . ' , Those who loolc to ' theireligibus reasons joy whichl . s # me of thei rules ir < e supporteclj may , ' perhapBV exper'ien ' c& ,, wotider ; but tjiW neetUawakeitf no distrust , as the great' practical value of Mr . . Buckliand ' s . manual ^ which ; : by placing . in , the hands or eyery body ; ; tb . e me ^ nS f by ^ hich Jthe . truth , of . Mesmerism TOfiy he tested , mus' ^ either extensively' confirm or convert its op ^ briefrfcs . The Journal of Gas Lighting . "Vol . ' I . i 849 and 1850 . .-, « * „ GF . Hebert . of

    Wh&tf nidtfe ^ striking proof growing importance of the gas interest could be' rn ' entioned than , the simple fact that- a' monthly jour rial ; expressly devote'd tb the illustration and discussion of that class of subjects in which , the shareholders and employes of , gas companies , alone are / sp ^ ejciaily iAteirested , . ' vas . established . two years ago , anid is ritfytf , to all ajppearaiice , in a flourishing way . The jotirrialis carefull y g ' ot up , and contains a great arhdunt ofuseful information , chiefly bearing on . gas lighting and . scientific subjects of a , kindred nature . / The Contrabandists of Mirieftead ; of , Ninety Fears Past . No . 1 . T . W . Gratt ' an . Why , is , Popery Progressing ? By David Thorn , D . D .. Second Edition . H . K . Lewis . Ttipputy ' pfEngland ; a Protestant Layman ' s Reply to Cardinal Wiseman ' s Appeal . John' Cluip ' mair . Caittionsfor the Times . J . W . PaVker . Catholicity Spiritual and Intellectual ¦; an Mtein ' pt at Vindicating the tlkrmony of Faith and Knowledge . By Thomas Wilson , M . A . . . . ( John Chapman . Two Addresses : one to the Gentlemen , of Whitby , who signed Me Reyiiuiiidh calling a Meeting to Address the Queen on the title ( so-called ) Aggression of ike Pope and the other to the Protestant Clergy . 13 y the Catholic Palest of . TTgthprp . . ltichardson and Sous . The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith . Cuudall and Addey . The People ' s Chant-Book . JBy James Tilleard . J . A . Novello . Christianity and its Evidences . By the Eevorend J . G . Rogers , B . A . . B . L . Green . Specimens of Translation arid Versification . By Joseph U ainbleton . C . Fox . The Musical Times . Nos . 80 and 81 . The CJiristian Socialist . Part 3 . Handel ' s Oratorio , " Joshua ' Nos . 5 and 6 . Mendelssohn ' s Hymn of Praise . Nos . 7 and 8 . Wove / la ' s Part Song-Book . Nos . 10 and 11 . London Labour and London Poor . Parts 1 aud 2 . Leisure Moments . ¦ No . 11 , New Series . The Rambler . Part 38 . Pictorial Half-Hours . Fait 9 . Knight ' s Pictorial Shakspeare . Tart 8 . Knight ' s Exhibition Vomvanion- Part 1 . KnighVs Vyclopeedia of Industry . Part 3 . Knight ' s Cyclopmdia of London . Part 3 . Half-Hows with the Best Authors . Part 11 . Abolition of the Proctorship . Article 1 . Abolition of the Duty on Paper . Article 1 ., The Case of the Author & , as regards the Paper Diity , By Charles Knight . British Qxiarterhj Review . JVortJi British Review , Eraser ' s Magazine . The Looker On . Household Words . Household Narrative . Leigh Hunt ' s Journal . Le iFollct , Journal du Grand Monde .

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    London Population . —The population of London o xceeds that of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany by 300 , 000 , that of the Grand Duchy of Baden by upwards of 500 , 000 , and ifi nearly or about five times the amount of the population of Nassau . JVscendirig to kingdoms that fill more or less prominent r 6 les on the great stage of the political drama , we Ret the following results : —London as within 4 or 500 , 000 of half the population of Bavaria ; exceeds by upwards qf 100 , 000 half the population of Belgium , and by 400 , 000 half the population of Holland ; is equal to the whole population of Hanover ; exceeds the whole population of Westphalia by 450 , 000 ; and is considerably more than the whole population of Greece . These dry figures suggest a lively idea of the perfection to which we have brought the art of packing , illustrating to the last extremity the economical problem of the greatest possible number in the smallest possible space . Assuming the area of London to be nineteen square - miles , it , yields us a population on each mile of 130 , 000 hitman creatures , performing within that stinted com-. pass all the operations of life and death , mixed up in a . fearful mel £ e of passions and interests , luxury and star" . ' - vation , debauchery and criminality , hard work and idle' , n ' ess ; besides an infinity of occupations—uBeful , omamental / jLnd-jnA 8 chievous , making love , begging alms , pickuflgJ ^ liftlsNugglingi grinding organs , rolling in carfiaWf ,- ;^ JtbH ! iw ?> happy families" in the streets , r ^* yj& jpmnff ^ t > rfWlttfJto unspeakable misery at home—WtmffiMsWforSFebrjiktv .

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    , We should do oixr . utrnost' jop encourage' the Be ' autiful . fox the Use ' fiil eiicotif a'ges'itself . —Goethe .

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    , . WAS MACREADY . A GREAT ACTOR ? The gfe ^ test ^ incSMpafdbi ^ fo ^ of all living tra ^ . gedians * concluded his farewell peffprmarices' at the Haymarket on Mbnday last , amidst the frantic bravos of a ? loving afld fegrettitfg' public .- Although Ms fareweU to t ^|) T 5 ^ jic w £ JI bf bidden on the' pccasioii of his beriefit ( fixed for tie 26 th instant ) j yet -we ' may say that oh Mottday last he' bsdtf far ewell , to th <* stage . ; IK £ ^ left it ; forever :. His ; career ; ; a | att Actor is pipse ' d . We may select his nicfie in the Pan . ' theonV The A \ etbr is dead , ' and can no longer strat his brief htfu * bii the stage ; The cuitain drops- ^ -the ' house emptiei ^ trie iigKis are e ^ ing ' uished ^ siignce | , cold ana cfieerless ' j succeeds to the loiid acclamatioris which made the vaulted roof reverberate erewhile—• the Tragedian is washing the paint offhis face , aiid M another hour will be in the retifepl privacy of ins ^ uiet happy home ! The Mask is laid aside—and for fever .

    Considering iviacreaayy xnen , as qeaa—as x am bouh'd to consider him id a theatrical sense—I \ vill try to answer the question , which my children and their friends are sure to ask me some day when I am ; running down their ,, idolized Tragedian ; -. and try to spoii their , pleasure ^ by cheapening their ' . * dear deiightful Mr . — - —rj" and assuring , them I had seen •' Edmund Keart andMaeready in that part , " the question j namely , " Was Macready a great A c 1 ior ?" " Ta saif noiMrig hut good of ifte dea' d , " is a maxim , for whicli I have * always felt but a rnTedio ' cre respe ' et , mainly , perhaps , because the medal bears on the reverse side "To say nothing biii eoil of . the living . ' * While a statesman or an artist lives envy and all uncK ^ ritableness assail him ; no sooner does the bell toll for his funeral than those who yesterday weie foremost to assail , now become eiegiac in their grief and hyperbolic , in their eulogiunv . It has always seemed to me that the contrary would be the moie generous as well as the more advantageous method . When blairie ceases to give pain I see rio reason why it should be spared ; when adverse criticism can "instruct the public" arid yet riot hurt an artist ' s fortunes , then is the time for the critic to speak withoxit reservation—then let us haVe ' the truth , iri all i ' t s energy !

    Do hot suppose this to be a preface to an " attack " upon the fine actor who has just quitted the scene . My purpose is far from polemical . I merely wisli ^ in the way of conversation , to jot down such hints towards an appreciation of his talent as have occurred to me ; and as , with all my admiration , I must still qualify , the praise by advancing objections which thorough-going admirers will pronounce heresies , I claim , at the outset , the right of saying of the dead all the evil I think , and not of garlanding the tomb with artificial flowers . It is a question often mooted iri private , whether Macready was a great actor , or only an intelligent actor ^ or ( for thi s , too , is not unffeqtiently said ) ari intrins ' cally bad actor . The last opinion is uttered by some stanch adrhirers of Kerrible arid Young , arid by those critics who , looking at the drama as an

    imitaoj amre , aweu upon tn . e exaggerations aiid other false colours wherewith Macready paints , and proclaim him , consequently , a bad artist . No > V , in discussing a subject like the present , it is imperative that we understand the point of view from which we both look at it . I am impressed with the conviction that the mnjority mistakes Art for an Imitation , of Nature , it as no such thing . Ait is a Representation . This' is why too close an approach to Reality in Art is shocking : why coloured statues are less agreeableexcept to the vulgarest rriirids—tliah the colourless marble .

    Without pausing to expound that principle , I beg the reader will , for the present at least , take my word for its accuracy , that I may be able to place him at my point of view . Taking Art as a Representative rather than as an Imitative process ( including imitation only as one of its means of representation ) , I say thnt the test of an actor ' s genius is not " fidelity to Nature , " but simply and purely his power of oxciting emotions in you respondent to the Situa ' tiori—I ideal when that is ideal , passionate when that is pas- I |

    sibnafje ' j fam * mar ^ wlien tbTafj itfaffiUi ^;' pro ^ ale wfien " that , is prosaic ; A ; bad actor irnbuths familiar prose as if it were the loftiest verse ; but & ¦ good actor ( such . asBouffe , qr CKafles' Matliewsy . if he ' were to play ideal eKaracters . with the" same' famiiiar ' ity and close adherence to . Nature as that which ' makes his performance of familiar parts eharrhing ^ - tfrbuldT equally sin against the laws 6 'f Aft . Let me go some distance back for an illustration . In G-feek Tragedy ,- acting ,-as t ^ e uriderstarid itj w " as impossibles Addressing ; an afud ' i ^ c ^ iKirty tirbu - sandL ( I give you tlie number * on the authority of Plato ) , all of whbrhj like true derhderats } insisted on hearing stxid seeirig ^ tHe uMssistfeo : voice and' tifie' iiriaid ; ea ^ Sportioiis o ^ iM acto'f would of- course have been useless . A cpritrivance considerably raised and amplified the man's stature ^ while his voice was agsis ' ted by a' bfdrize ^ mask with / a ioviiid n ' ole at the rnouth , through wliic ^ the actor s ^ o&e as through a speaMhg trunipet : Now I allc you to placV yourself upon stilts and shout « ; T 6 ' be of fibf fo- H& / ' through a speaHng trumpet , ' arid iKeti ans # er rile whether acting wete p 6 ssibie under stick c ' oriditibris !

    This Mask gives me the image I am . in want ol to bonvey rriy irieanirig ; Tti ' e Xiatiri' word \ persona isT derived from thence , and dramatis personce may be translated " The Masks through which the Actors speak . " Whether the actor dons a veritable Maslt of bronze , or whether he throws it aside and rhakes a Mask of his own face , lie is still billy pef ' sbriatirig , i . e . speaking through a imasR , i : e : fepf esehtihg . The Greeks had twenty-six different classes of Masks , and bestowed immense pains on them . " There be actors that = 1 have seen p lay ^ arid heard some applaud too , " who had tftit oiie irivafiable Mask- —arid that a bad brie—for evexy part . Ma nbh rdgionimn di lor I Taking-, then '; the masks as types of tlie various characters an dcto ' r lias to play ( to personate , as we correctly say ) , you see at once what a very different thing it was for the Greek actor to go to . soriie antique Nathan arid choose his rriasfc , aiid for the rriodefri who has to invent and make up his own inask with his own limited rriaterials ! Many actors , nay , the vast majority , do still go ' to sbrhe Nathan ' s and borrow a traditional rriask ; just as inany poetasters go to the common fund for images , similes ; rhymes and rhythms , or , as politicians reissue the old arid Well-worn currency of sophisms , fact ? , and paralogisms . —So few men can compose their own masks !

    jlo compose a masK , or , it you like it , to personate a character , there are three fundamental requisite conditions which I will call—1 . Conceptual Intelligence . 2 . Representative Intelligence . 3 . Physical Advantages . The first condition is requisite to understand the character ; the two last are requisite in different degrees to represent the character . High poetic culture , knowledge of human nature , sympathy with elemental states of passion ; and all that we understand by a fine intellect , will assist the actor in his study of the character , but it will do no more . The finest intellect in the world would not enable a man to play Hamlet or Othello finely . Shakspeare hirrisei'f couldn ' t dp it ; but wisely cast himself ( Oh ! the lesson to actor-rhanagefs !) as the Gliost . There are other requisites besides conception . There is the second requisite ( what I have called representative intelligence ) , under which may be included the intelligent observation arid reproduction of typical gestures , ldoksV tones—the mimetic power of imitating peculiarities . This requisite is possessed by -actors bftener than the first . Without fine intellect it makes respectable actors ; carried to a certain degree and accompanied with certain physical advantages it inakes remarkable actors , especially in the comic line . The third requisite , which . I have named physical advantages , includes person , deportment , voice , and physical power . Too little consideration is devoted to that , yet it is enoug h , of itself to make or mar ari actor . All the intellect in the world , all the representative intelligence in the world could not enable a man with a weak voice , limited in its compass , unless corripensated by some peculiar efTects in toiie , to perform Othello , Macbeth , Shy lock , &c , with success . Whereas a noble presence , a fine voice , and a moderate degree of representative intelligence with no appreciable amount of Conceptual intelligence have sufficed to draw tlie town ere , now , and make even critics believe a greut actor had appeared . Having thus briefly indicated what I conceive to

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 8, 1851, page 132, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1869/page/16/