On this page

• Text (3)

  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.

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Untitled Article

  • 

    Untitled Article

• 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

    over the fender , and then admire with us the pleasant sketch of Tidbury-on-the-Marsh , with its Chemist and Branch Bank , and its fat vacant Branch Banker ; admire with us the quiet pathos of Wray ' s early hiftoiy , grotesquely true , with his Kemble adoration , his Shakspearian studies , the delicately hinted sketch of his * wife , the Columbine ; fall in love , as we have done , with bright little Annie , so naturally touched ; respect Martin Blunt ( the Dobbin of a lower rank of life ) j object

    outrageously , as we do , to the commonplace unreality of the two housebreakers ; laugh at and enjoy ola Colebatch and his clerical antagonist * , sympathize with Wray ' s overwhelming grief- at the destruction of his treasure ; and smile pleasantly at the pleasant ending of the whole . If that magic lantern have not slides in it to diversify and delight your leisure evening , put no trust henceforth in our verdictsnot usually considered to err on the side of acquiescence in mediocrity .

    Untitled Article

    VISITS TO RELATIONS . Visiting my Relations and its Results ; a Series of small Episode in the Life of a Recluse . Pickering . The title of this book accurately describes its contents , which are the small episodes of an old bachelor ' s life , noted with singular felicity and truthfulness . It does not pretend to be a story j and the thread which connects the episodes together is of the slenderest . But what it attempts it carries out with unusual success . The old bachelorshrewd , observant , upright , and

    unimpassionedis excellently presented ; the right tone is struck at first , and is sustained throughout . He quits his solitary home to mingle once more with the varied motley of town life . The first visit is to a careless spendthrift nephew , whose sentimental wife and comfortless home are capitally painted . From thence he proceeds to an old College friend , whose wife stands in great-contrast to his niece , and whose intellectual ambition is skilfully indi ~ cated , as may be gathered from this fragment of a conversation he has with her : — ~

    *' ¦ * You cannot think , ' she -continued , with a melancholy smile , ' you cannot imagine , the pains I have taken to learn what is good , "nor the volumes that I have written out , in the shape of extracts , from all the teachers of philosophy whose works fell in my way . ' " * Perhaps that was the reason why you failed to secure the thing itself—if , indeed , you have failed : a supposition I only make upon your own suggestion . " ' You , need not mince matters with me , ' she replied . * I love to come to the point , and bring home applications to my own individual use . I know I am restless and unhappy , and I know I should not be so . I shall truly thank you , therefore , if you can suggest to me some remedy for my mental maladies . '

    ** ' I am afraid I must give the answer of Lady Macbeth ' s physician , " therein the patient must minister to himself . "—But , really now , Mrs . Seymour , touching that plan of yours of heaping up teachers" in the form of extracts , it seems to me to require a limit . I do not say but that , to a certain extent and at a certain stage of life ( from , fifteen to five-andtwenty , perhaps ) , it is of great value in helping to form and strengthen the principles and taste , and induce a love for thoughtful literature—one of the most valuable of loves . But , unless the selection of such extracts is made with judgment and discrimination , worse than nothing is done for the individual ' s benefit . '

    " ' As for judgment and discrimination , ' said 8 he , ' I did not turn to them to help me . I was sensible of a craving for peace and rest , —for somewhat , in short , that was wiser and more permanent than my own wayward feelings ; and when I found , as I often did in the course of my reading , a thought or a precept that seemed to meet this want , and which made me lay down my book and say , " how just !"— " how beautiful !" - ~ I made it my own directly , without waiting for nny thing or uny body else , to decide upon its value . '

    " * You could not have a better guide , taking it for granted that the sensibility of its beauty and justice ol which you speak wns grounded in truth . ' 41 Is there a bettor test of our being guided by truth , said shp , * than that of our loving those representations and views of it which oppose bur , wishes , and show us how vain and empty thoso wishes ore ?' ' , , **** It 'is a very good and sure one , I beliovo , ' repltedl , ' 'for , as suys the wi « o and pious Fenelon , Most cortuinly thut superior reason which corrects , reproves , and informs man ,, against his own inclination , can be no part of himself . " ' , " Stay , stay , ' said she , suddenly producing from her reticule a little manuscript book , and taking her pencil in her hand ; * Now repeat thut onoe more , ¦ whil e I write it down . ' 4 Instead of that , allow me to aiy 0 you another *© m » rk from the » ame author' said £

    '" * Pray do / she replied , * for I am a miser in these matters . ' "** * It is this— " You knbw a great deal more than you practise ( he is writing to a djsciple of his who requested , his . spiritual counsel ) , arid have mucli less occasion ! forrjew lights than to follow ; those you have already : received . " " * I wonder how many times I have said that to myself , ' she observed , as she closed her book . " « Then , let me counsel you not to have to say it any more . There is a covetousness of the mind for acquisition , which pursues it even in its search after truth ; but , because we are looking for so good a thing , we never suppose we can have too much of it , or be diving too often into the well where the proverb says it lies . '

    " * And can we ? ' she asked , with a look of surprise . " ' I think , ' replied I , « that we can never be built too steadfastly and permanently upon truthful principles ; which , of course , must be developed and cultivated in us by every proper means ; amongst which , thoughtful reading and mediation occupy a prominent place . But the events and circumstances of life which exercise our principles , and which call upon us to make a practical application of the truths we know , these , ate our best instructora ; and if we fail in obedience here , and look for our lessons in a sofareclining perusal of philosophy , thinking to glide as easily into goodness and self-discipline as we can sink into an after-dinner ' s nap , I am afraid we shall make no way at all in learning the art of being happy ; for that is the sum and substance of what we are

    seeking , is it not ? ••¦ ' No doubt , ' said she . But how to find it , that is the question . * " * I believe we may simplify it , ' said I , ' into a well-sustained , systematic habit of self-control / *** Itis- a hard , an unlovely thing , though , that self-control , ' she replied . '" ide ,- which is often taken for it , is a hard and unlovely thing , I grant . But the self-control I mean springs from another root . It suffers , not as pride does , because to suffer is less degrading than to murmur ; but because ~ by suffering , and by being serene and patient in endurance , experience , the richest thing in all the world , is acquired;—experience , which , as Miss Barrett beautifully expresses it— "

    " Like a pale musician , holds A dulcimer of patience in his hand , Whence harmonies we cannot understand , Of God's will in his world , the strain unfolds In sad perplexed minors . "

    *'' Ah , charming ! ' said she ; * a dulcimer of patience ! how sweet an idea !* " ' And how dainty sweet the thing itself ! ' said I . " ' Have you any of it to spare' ?* and she looked at me rather archly . " * Not a grain . It is because of the smallness of my store that it seems to me so inestimably precious . I am quite sure , however , that I should be none the richer in patience , or any other virtue , by filling a commonplace book with extracts in its praise . Not but what I have done a great deal in that way in former times ; and , as I said just now , it is to a certain extent very useful . But there is a time to have done with teachers , of an outward kind at least /

    *• ' Of an outward kind ! ' Bhe repeated . * Are not all books and modes of teaching necessarily external to us ?' •'' Of course they are ; but that to which they appeal is interior , spiritual , and divine ; or they might as well be addressed to the beasts of the field / ¦•• ' I don ' t catch your meaning / said she . • What was it , then , in you and in me , that so entirely approved of , and united with , the few lines of Miss Barrett ' s which I just now repeated ? What made their beauty ? Wus it the words ?' ' No , certainly ; it was the sweetness of the idea / Bhe replied .

    " ' And that / said I , ' equally relished by both of us , because it struck upon something in our interior natures which lovingly responded to it , as it would , indeed , to every holy idea which could be addressed to it / M What can that something be f * she asked . " ' It is a spark of the divine within us / said I , ' which readily assimilates with truth and beauty , as being of its own nature . Every thing assimilates with its own : the pure with the pure , the corrupt with the unholy . ' "

    . This extract will indicate the nature of Visiting ) my Relations , which , is purely ( h'dactic , and full of excellent flood sense . His visits to a philanthropic , ' and . . to a model school , are capitally touched ; the satire kindly and sensible , without a shade of bitterness . There i 8 alao a love story in the volume . The old bachelor tells the history of his early engagement and of its abrupt termination : a common story , such as will find its fellow in every man ' s experience ; but told with a truthfulness rare , indeed , in fiction .

    We repeat , the merit of this little work lies m its truthfulness and quiet good sense . The style is , like the matter , close , firm , unexaggerated ,

    cultivated , but rendered inelegant by an occasional yielding to careless colloquialisms , such as " It was a lovely day , and all about me looked lively and p leasant ; a deal more so , I must-confess / ' &c . - ^ -pr as the . ; " highly talented . young lady . " We have already given one sample of its thoughtful remark : we will add another on

    PREMATURES AUTHORSHIP . " ' But what sad havoc is often made of the capabilities of the * mind by this rash and premature authorship I' said I . People in general , and young people more especially , under the influence of that vanity and self-love which more or less hoodwinks us all , when they feel strongly , conclude , as a matter of course , that they can describe clearly ; whereas it is quite possible , and more likely than not , that they may have a very deep and exquisite perception of beauty , without a particle of the genius and cultivated judgment which are requisite for the judicious exhibition of it . '"

    Untitled Article

    BOOKS ON OUR TABLE . The Cmo : Dairy Husbandry and Cattle Breeding . By M . M , Milburn . Illustrated by Harrison Weir . W . S . Orr and Co , This is one of Richardson s Rural Handbooks , an excellent shilling series we have before commended . It comprises chapters on the Milk producing and Fat producing breeds of Cattle , on the Principles of Breeding ( very curious revelations are there made J ) , on Dairy Management , on Feeding and Rearing Cattle , and on the Diseases of Cattle . More especially addressed to persons interested in agriculture , it is , nevertheless , an entertaining volume for all lovers of natural history . The CountryHouse : The Poultry Yard . The Country House : The Piggery . C . Knight ; The two first of a new serial publication by Charlea Knight "which , like the Rural Handbooks just noticed , may be commended for the happy mixture of general with special interest . The Poultry Yard in particular has matter in it of that kind which arrests the attention of all lovers of natural history ; and even those who have no thought of keeping poultry , will pause to read the chapters on the general characteristics and physiology of birds . The Piggery , by W . C . L . Martin , is alsoah excellent manual . On a future occasion , when the work is more advanced and our table is less crowded with books , we shall return to this Country House . We should add that it is well illustrated with woodcuts .

    The Martyrs of Russia . By J . Michelet . Author of Priests , fVomen , and Families . Keeves and Turner . A little book not calculated to inspire Europe with any greater love for Russia and Cossackism . It forms a portion of the Democratic Legends to which the French historian turned politician has lately been devoting his eloquent sympathy . Classical Selections from British Prose Writers ; chiefly Illustrative of the Principles of Intellectual , Civil , and lleligioufl Liberty ; of Peace , Philanthropy , and Social Advancement . A . Cockahaw . A new volume of the Library for the Times . It is a good idea , well executed , though the writers might surely have been more varied ? Extracts are agreeable and popular reading ; these are selected with a purpose—that of training young patriots .

    Travels in Tartary , Thibet , and China , during the Fears 1844-5-0 . By M , 'H ue . Translated from the French by AV . JEIuzlitt . Illustrated with fifty engravings on Wood . Vol . I . Oflicti of the National Illustrated Library . M . Hue ' s travels are , perhaps , the best that French . Literature has given for many a long year ; lively , graphic , and penetrating as the writer unquestionably is , he is aided by the depth of his convictions and by the comparativel y untrodden nature of the ground he traversed . Mr . Hazlitt has well translated the book , and here we have it profusely illustrated and handsomely set forth as one of the works issued by the proprietors of our amazing contemporary , the London Illustrated News . A second volume

    is to come . Annas de Mansfclt ; a Historical Tale . By T . C . Orattan . ( JUentley ' s ShiUingiSeries . ) » . Bentlcy . It is many years since we read Agnes de Matxsfelt , but we have a vivid recollection of the pleasure it guvo us , and intend devoting the first spare evening to renewing our acquaintance with it . Meanwhile , lot us add for your behoof , that Mr . Bentloy reissues it in an elegant form for " an old song , " to tako itsj > laco besjide the many , tornptations of Railway Literature . Ours is a duodecimo' ago , and to this ' complexion we must corao at last , " if wo havo only the requisite attractiveness ! JAlias Davenant . By tolas Stewart , Author of " Lord Diicre of Gilttlmid , " 8 ca . O . Koutludge . Twice Told Tales . By Nathaniel Hawthorne . First ScrUis .

    O . Itoutledge . Twice Told Tales . By Nftthnnlel Hawthorne . Second Series . ' O . lloutlodgo , Three volumes of Routlcdge ' s Popular Library . The Tioice Told Tales of that strungowoird spirit Nathaniel Hawthorne , are most acceptable presents to a public in search of something to stimulate thorn ; for old as the machinery and most of tho incidents of these tales certainly are , yot there is a certain witchery in them -which no imaginative render will withstand . Wo

    Untitled Article

    Jan . 10 , 1852 J « C | je &ta *( tt . 39

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 10, 1852, page 39, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1917/page/15/