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Leader (1850-1860), 5th April 1851, Edition Town of 2, Page 323, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      proves the s periority of man—what marks his differenc e from the blasts ? Nothing else than that he may be taught to b row . The exclusive prerogative of man is to incur de s . The friar was looked up to by his friends as a learned man , and he often used to say to those who attentively listened to him : 'A day will come when the truth of this distinction will generally be acknowledged , when civilization will be tested by the use the nations make of this greatest human , prerogative—their credit ; when the communities which have no debt will be called barbarians , and those ¦ will be the most powerful rulers of mankind , the missionaries to carry civilization all over the world , who have the largest national debt ; though there will always be- narrow-minded fools to preach financial reform , unaware of the constitution of mankind , and of their glorious privilege . '"

      We must also find room for this piquant ADVENTURE WITH A ROBBER . " Prince Frederic iSchwarzenburg , the son of the celebrated Field-Marshal Schwarzenburg , used often to relate his encounter with- the notorious robber Haburak . The prince once accompanied a lady from Hungary to Vienna . They journeyed on the mountain-roads between the counties of Gomb ' r and Torna . Heavy showers had greatly damaged the roads ; evening approached ; the tired horses had reached the ridge of the woody height , but could not be urged on further ; and the travellers were thus compelled to seek shelter for the night in the inn of Aggtelek , a hiding-place of ill-note for robbers . The carriage halted before the house , and the servant inquired whether room could be afforded . The publican replied , that there was one room for the lady , but that

      the gentleman could not be accommodated , the large guest-room being over-filled . After some visible reluctance , he owned that the gang of Haburak was drinking there . The lady became terrified , and entreated the Prince not to remain ; but it had grown dark , the rain was pouring down , the horses were worn out , and the steep descent of the road was so dangerous that it was most hazardous to proceed . The Prince tried to reassure the lady ; so she locked herself up in the room assigned to her . Her companion , wrapped in his white officer ' s cloak , under which he kept his pistols in readiness , stepped , into the apartment where the robbers were assembled , and sat down at the table , facing the window , whilst his servant , likewise armed , kept watch outside the house , close to the window , on the alertincase his master should want any aid .

      " The company consisted of about ten or twelve men . Their rifles leaned against the wall ; their axes lay upon the board , on which stood the wine-jugs . They drank , sang , and talked over their adventures , and did not take any notice of the newly-arrived guest . The Prince mixed in their conversation , took wine with them , and listened to their conversation until it had grown late . Suddenly he rose , called the publican , threw a gold coin on the table , and said : * This is for the wine these good folks have drunk ; they are my guests . But now , ' he continued , addressing the robbers , ' it is time to sleep . In the adjoining room is a sick lady : the entertainment has lasted Ions ; enough : I cannot allow any one longer to occupy this room , or disturb the lady ' s rest by noise . '

      " At this imperative command one of the robbers jumped from his seat , and contemptuously laughing , cried out : ' Does the gentleman fancy that because ho has a carriage and four , and plenty of money in his pocket , he has the right to command us ?' " An uproar followed . The men vociferated : ' We are poor lads , and , therefore , we are masters lure . ' " ' We are no timorous peasants , who takeoff our hats to every gentleman . ' " ' We have yet money and credit enough to swallow a draught y toeiv * w % " are thirsty . ' "'\ V <* lo . not accept any gift from people who fancy themHelve \ better than we are . ' " ' We will not be ruled . ? " ' We will not be ruled . ?

      ' / AIT this was almost simultaneously uttered , with a loud tumult , from all aid / t a . All the robbers had got up . The Prince vnechanicaUiy caught hold of his pistols , and threw off Ins cloak . _ j > " ' 1 am a mastprof the craft in which you are but apprentices , ' he exclaimed with dignity . ' You are robbers , I . am a soldier , urid fear neither the mouth of a rifle iiQj ^^ ne edge of an axe . ' 1 * *' During tliis uproar a . man of middling height and strongly -marked features hud risen from the bench bewide the stuve , > where he had quietly sat during the whole time , without partaking of the wine . He now said in a commanding tone : " ' Silence !' " Tlit ; robbers grew speechless at this order , and again Hilt ( limn tn the tulile .

      " ' Mr . Ollicer , ' continued the man , 'don ' t think that you fright m us . I too have been a soldier , and have most probably wnelt more powder than you ever did . 1 am Haburnk . If I desired to do you any harm a siiiKle whistle , would Hufiice . The table at which you have sat would bo overthrown , tho candles extinguished , und before you were aware of what was going on you would be a dead mini , no letm than your hervant there at the window , who thinks he watches us , whilst we watch him . Hut 1 hhw you help a lady out of the carriage , and take her to the adjoining room . We never will disturb a lud y ' s rest ; we vvur wit . li men , not with women . For the pieneul , we hIiuII leave this shelter ; yet , remember , « ir , that it in the first time for u fortnight that these men have been under a roof , und that the couch there below <> n the ( lamp oak leaves in by no hiciiiih comfortable . Farewell !

      " ' Friends , let . us go , ' he culled to his men . They took up their nrir » H and went . " The Piince . wan greatly titruck by the whole pro-«« 5 « ding . He did not entirely trust the rabber ' a words ; and reliovhig hi « servant , tliey paced up and down , thus keeping wntoh tho whole night . But no robber again "ppeared .

      " On the morrow the lady continued the journey with her companion . The weather had cleared up , and only the puddles in the lanes and the drops of rain glistening on the branches reminded them of the clouds of the previous day . After they had ridden about an hour they suddenly heard the discharge of a rifle close to them in the woods . Haburak stepped forth from the bushes , and bid the coachman ' halt . ' " The horses stopped ; the Prince drew forth his pistols . But Haburak , without heeding his threatening mien , rode close up to the carriage door and said ;—" ' We yesterday sacrificed our comfort that the rest of this lady should not be disturbed . No w I will see whether it was worth the trouble . ' ' ,

      " With these words he lifted the veil which hung down from the lady ' s bonnet , and looked for an instant into her face . The lady blushed , and the robber said" ' She is really very pretty . * " He turned round , plucked a wild rose from a bush close at hand , and offered it to the lady with these words" Accept this rose kindly as a keepsake from the poor robber Haburak ; and if you sometime hear that he has been hanged , pray an Ave Maria for his soul . " 11 The lady took the rose , and the robber vanished .

      " Two years later newspapers related that the robber Haburak had been caught ; that he had been tried at the assizes in Torna , convicted of desertion and highway robbery , and hanged . "

      Untitled Article

      RECENT POEMS . Poems of Early Fears . In Nine Chaplets . By a Wrangler of Trinity College , Cambridge , A . M . Pickering . Lelio ; a Vision of Reality . Hervor ; and other Poems . By Patrick Scott . Chapman and Hall . Flowers of Poesy : a Collection of Miscellaneous Poems . By William Saltmarsh . Brighton : Fleei and Son . There is something so pleasant in the exercise of the " accomplishment of verse , " and something so

      far removed from mercenary motives in the publication of verse , that no one has a right to complain of the quantity of volumes which fatigue the press : unless it be the hapless critic who alone is compelled to read them , and even he ought not to raise a very loud complaint , for he must acknowledge that the reading of very few pages suffices to convince him whether the volume be worth reading or not , and if it be worth reading" he has no cause to complain .

      Among the volumes lying on our table—some of them to be reviewed hereafter — we have more or less read the three named above . The first we read through ; the second we read less steadily ; the third we skimmed . That is one way of enunciating our criticism . Poems of Early Years Site the productions of a scholarly , thoughtful mind , and are therefore readable in spite of all the reservations which criticism may make with respect to their style ; Lelio is an ambitious metaphysical poem , with enough merit to lure the reader on in spite of its obscurities , and with evidences of power greater than the work ; Flowers of Poesy is a collection of verses , exhibiting elegance and fancy , but somewhat prodigal of the commonplaces of poetry .

      Poems of . Early Years are of various kinds and various merit , including some translations . There is an over elaboration in the style which mars the effect—as if the author were afraid to trust his thoughts to their simplicity , and this sometimes leads him to write lines which his cooler judgment must , we feel sure , condemn , Fonluruiiiy dofl Tajrus . "" G <> KTI 1 I 5 . " J * . Whnt ahull I do lest life in Bilence pass ? T . And if it do , And never prompt the bray of noisy brass . What need ' st thou rue ? Jtcmcrabcr aye , the ocean deeps arc mute , The Bhallows roar ; Worth is the ocean ; fame in but the bruit Along tho whore . " P . What shall I do to be for over known ? 7 ' . Thy duty ever . /\ This did full many who yet sloop unknown . ' J \ Oil ! never , never . Think'nt thou perchance that they remain unknown , Whom thou know ' st not ? By angel trumps in heuv ' n their praitu' in blown : Divine their lot ? " V . What ahull 1 do to have eternal life ? ' J \ I ) inohurge might The ( simple dues witli which tho day in rife , Yea with thy might . l' ) rc perfect Hclieme of notion thou de-vino , Will life be fled ; While he , who ever acts us Conscience ) cries , Slmll live , though dead . " Still finer in t , his of

      Untitled Article

      " COLUMBUS . "' Der Starke ist am miichtigsten allein . '"—Schillbb . " He stood upon the deck by night alone , And heard th' uproarious waste of ocean moan Beneath the gusty darkness round him thrown . " The soughing winds amid his hair took way , And damp his beard and brows with briny spray , Yet steadfastly he watch'd the west al way : " Until at length h e said : It is a light ; It must be , and on shore : so low , so bright , So steady ! God be prais ' d I—ho ! land in sight ! " And soon throughout the crew from man to man In startling shouts the rapt ' rous tidings ran ; And wild for joy were they that light to scan . " No words can paint their triumph : yet I ween , Had night not veifd his visage , they had seen A bitter " Bmile disturb his evt-n mien . " The self-Same tongues , that but few hours ago Had counaeU'd straight return , and sought to show The folly of his scheme , their certain woe ; " Vain upstarts , who hadjeer'd , aye menae'd him , And faint hearts with desponding looks and dim-All mix'd their rash breath with his soul ' s deep hymn " Exulting boastfully , that they had shar'd Success , which ne ' er had been had he not dar'd Despise them , and hope on when they despair'd . " Within themselves the Great must ever seek Both impulse and reward : all else is weak To what their own calm soul and conscience speak . " And thou—would ' st thou Columbus-like aspire To walk new worlds of thought , and high and higher Exalt thy fallen soul on wings of fire" On God and self do thou rely aright ! And through the day His cloud shall cheer thy sight , And His fire-pillar guide thy steps by night . " Strong , direct writing that , such as we do not often meet with now . In Lelio we meet with nothing of the kind . A . haze spreads over the whole , and we feel quite relieved when Hervor opens upon us its careless , jaunty doggrel in this strain : — " Black , black ' s the colour for me—There ' s a joy in the tremulous light that lies Like a shaken star in mild blue eyes—There ' s a bliss in each that ' s beautiful too , And they change their grace when they change their hue , From quiet to queenly , from brown to blue , In Mary or Hayde " e . ' But though my heart bends to each fierce attack , It falls at a glance from imperial black , Subdued by the regal light that flashes Its edicts forth from the long-drawn lashes . " There is spirit and felicity in some lines of the poem , but tlie author takes advantage of all the licences of his lax style , and is by far too careless as to what he shall let pass .

      Untitled Article

      BOOKS ON OUH TABLE . Gilbert ' s Popular Narrative of the Great Jixhihition . By Peter lierlyn . James Gilbert . For those who wish to know all about the rise and progress of the Crystal Palace , this neat little handbook is the very thing . Mr . Bcrlyn has performed his task with laudable industry . He has drawn together and arranged a large amount of f-c-utered information regarding the exhibition in a pleasant form . As an ologant and trustworthy handbook , the narrative deserves to be popular .

      Untitled Article

      The Three Trials of Louie .,- Sunshine and Shadow ; the Phantasmal Reproof , And oilier short I'oems . Uy Calder Campbell . W . Shol . eil . The History of Mohammedism , and its Sects . Uy W . Cooke Taylor . I , L . i > . j " . W . 1 'nrkrr . Chanticleer ; a 'Ilianksgiving Story of the Peabody family . Uy Cornelius MuiIicivh . J $ . H . Maascy and Co . On the Causes , Symptoms , and Treatment of Spermatorrluea ! Hy M . Lullmnuiid ; Translated unit Kdited hy Henry J . McDouifall . John Churchill Chemistry of the Four Ancient Elements—Fire , Air , Earth , and Water : un KnBiiy founded iipim Lectures deliveted bfifore her Mowt ( JracioiiH Majesty the . Queen . Hy TJmmaa ( irHHttiH . J . AV . 1 'urker . The Dublin ltevirw . April . Itie . Uardson : wtl Honi " .

      Taxation ; its Nature anil Properties , with Remarks on the A ' vidanee and the . Kxpedienc . y of t / tt : Repeal of the . Income . Tax , lly Alexander ( iihhon , Kt > q . I [ . Colborne . Papers for the Schoolmaster . No . 2 . Simpkin , Marshall , and Co . Le Foil el . Journal I ) u Grand Monde : Fashion—Polite Literature . — Hcaux Arti . April . 8 ini |> kin , MaiHliali , mid Co . ff'illou ^ hbij ' s Illustrated Standard Id lit ion of Shnkspeare ' * trorks . J ' int . 7 . WilJoiiKliby mid Co . Adventures of Dim ( Quixote de In Marietta . I'art 10 . Willoiigliby and Co . The Arabian A i tf / its' Kntertaimrtents . I ' art .. ' { . Willoughby mid Co . A llionraphic . nl Sketch of //" . C . Macreadi / . lisq . Hy W . J . Kox . iM . l ' . .. Willouifliby and Co . The People ' s and Jlowitt ' s Journal . I ' art . 151 . WilloHjfliby nnd Co . The Stntfifflu * ami Adventures of Christopher Tadpole . Hy Albert . Smith , l ' ait 7 . \ Vill < . n « lvt » y ami Co .

      The Public Right to the Universities . " . L . Oreen Tint Rambler . Ai > ril . Hums und Lambert Penny Map * . Cbupniini and Hull Familiar Things . No . 1 . JIali , Virtue , und Co llouuehoM / fords . * Household Nn / rnfiv ' ¦

      Untitled Article

      April 5 , 1851 . ] Hfyt 3 Lta 1 jtt > 323

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), April 5, 1851, page 323, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1877/page/15/