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Leader (1850-1860), 7th January 1854, Edition 1 of 1, Page 18, ^kuA-t CuEnntirr.

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      ^Kua-T Cuenntirr.

      WKtim .

      Untitled Article

      fcxxHouoK Literature-, has long- been a profession , it is not primarily and 3 saB 3 itfi ^ | jfi | iirofe 5 SmJir , ] lTOt the reverse ; hence * perhaps , one main reason iv £ ^ idlllift iuisuies&L txansiwtlons are , so imperfect . Authors are Teachers : ffiaejf hftve .- tttfetnkin&woriLdz through severe : coercive means , consfirctinittg Jf ^ iifm&safiajg- attention ,, bending it to ttie laborious task of Beaming , a Ga £ our wfiic ^ la pain at ffrst to all , aa \ re see in children and in the unin * dxjocted ,. but « duch . becDinesin time a keen and eagez delight ; ox they have 4 ^^ eack &e -woidd ^ ihi ^ mg h amusement . That is their office . When i * is not that , &re mereiHvQlil ^ roirtumbling ; , and rts proiessors axe pedants ox

      jfeh& mailing ofL money by Literature is a subsidiary thing . Books are i «« itt « n ^ ruRi ^ ei ^ tirposeT ; if beside * accomplishing tbeir object they also filing ; IJier . writer money , well and good '; , but books written solely and ^ 5 x 3 M ^ y / ibxmonB ] r ir ha ^ e ^ np right ; to-exist ., They do exist * as readers know . Taiterniiirqdi ; often chosenaa a means of livelihood by-those who have no oi £ er means : Btrtr iiris ^ iiot in tfie nature of" things that tdtjpratuTe should lie * aa ik-ti&ale ^ a . commarciat venture . Otherwise , we might well stand aghast wh « fcw * r « fld anciieve ] ation&a 3 those in thB JSTew Quarterly Rei > iew , Jiost puiiluftex& . lit' an ? article on Authors * and FuBliskers ^ which every one ^ ife contemplated pnblication sBoiiId read , tfiere are some astounding ; « tetemenii and , figore * , -whick are for the moat park new even to us , and

      *« in assuredly- b » ne « t to the public- They are so new that , we cannot , -roach for their accuracy ; affthongfi : tre-tHrow no doubt-thereon * Uiey certainly , . ST correct , demonstrate that without any ialaification of . accounts , without any dishonesty in the publisher , but merely by means * of trade pracfaees ; »; publiisEer -WiH' reause a profit of something , like , ninety-five jtennds < qufca < ttf" « fc : - ** hatf ^ p pp fe * transaction ^* which &cw » , a loss , of more . than ibrty ^ one pounds Indeed as a witty friend once remarked to us ,. " pub-Sflhmgronhal £ > pra 6 te ialeitrogthebookaelleirsell your book , and receiving j »| £ ajcc < mM ^ w ^^^^ : 4 TO ttgpncdBneswJacTLma&ejzttthings equal ? '" It is ^ aiv&yjfc a , heavy week with utrtbe first of ev » ery month- To read all

      and lively paper on . Cambridge Life , with other articles we have not had timer to read . Blachwood closes with one of its " slashing" articles on the Aberdeen Cabinet , and opens with one of its admirable reviews , which are analyses of foreign books . It also continues its . new « tory , The Quiet H ^ unt ; gives an amusing review of The English at Home—by a Frenchman Abroad ; enters elaborately into the Chinese question , and continues its valuable papers on popular science with one on The Beverages we Infuse ^ teas , coffees , and cocoas . TEe following extract on the physiological uses of tea will be read with interest : —

      " It is an established fact in physiology , that the anihial body , while living , undergoes constaat decay and renovation ; The labours of life waste it ; Hie food introduced info tho stomach renews and restores it . That wliich is wasted or rubbed off by this natural wear and tear of the system , passes off through the lun ^ s and the kidneys , and is rejected from the body of the animal ;; and the quantity of the solid matters contained at different periods in the fluids which the body excretes , is supposed to measure the comparative waste of the tissues at these different times . Now , the introduction into the stomach o § even a minute proportion of theine—three or four grains a day—has the . remarkable effect of sensibly diminishing the absolute quantity of these solid matters wliich is rejected in a day by a healtliy man , living on the . same land of food \ and eDgaged in the same occupation , under the same circumstances . This fact argues that the natural wear and . tear or the body is

      lessened ! by the introduction of theine into the stomach—that is , by the use of tea . And , if the waste he lessened , the necessity for food to repair it will be lessened in an equal degree . In other words , by the consumption of a certain quantity of tea , the health and strength of the-hody -will be maintained to an equal extent upon a smaller supply of ordinary , food . Tea , therefore ,, saves-food—stands to a certain extent hi the place of food — while , at the same time , it soothes the body and enlivens the mind . "la the old and infirm it serves also another purpose . In the life of most persons who live to advanced years , a period arrives when the stomach do longer digests enough , of the ordinary elements of food ; to make-up for the natural dail y waste of traPTJodily substance . The . size and weight of the body , therefore , begin to diminish more or less perceptibly . The limbs shrink in size , and the skin , hangs loose on the softer and fatter parts or the person . A't fcfiis TiftrrnrJ twi rtnnrns in aa ~ a . TnedifiinA f . o nrresf . thuwnatn tn traan tlia Vi ^ iTir f ^ nm FaWlhtr

      A . way so fastj and thxts ta enable the less energetic powers" of- di g estion still to supply as much as is needed to repair the wear and tear of the solid tissues . The Dublin . University Magazine always deals liberally , in . verse , and the opening of the , new year is feted with , even a larger allowance * than usoaL A review , of Jonathan Fbeke SiasrasBT * s poems withdraws the mask , and shows us Dr . John Fbattcis Waleeb under it .. THe number is scarcely so good thia month as usual . J 3 entley 9 on the other hand ,, is imptroved , although still preserving its accustomed style of papers ^ There is a capital story of The Frigate ^ the Privateer , and'the Running Skip ; a , curious

      Hfiglit with the Peelersr ; and tBe old threadbare , story of Mrs . Oxj > fiejud , VAilgarising , herself in the eyes of a young admirer for lie sate of curing him ; of his passion ,, is worked up into Art—a Dramatic Tale , with more affectation than ability . The New Monthly celebrates its commencement of the Hundredth , volume by a retrospect of its fortunes and ita contributors . Sir Nathahibi / contributes two o £ his pleasant papers , one on Acbxandeb Smhth , and one on P : Mitcbjsij ^ the American writer ; and' there is als o an " amusing papeir on German Almanacks , ' vntJL quotations . Tail looks attractive . ¦

      One word in closing on a new periodical , The Northern Tribune . It is meant as a local magazine , addressing the Feople of the Northern CJtmnties , and is yet worth tte attention of the people in all counties . Its contributors are Mazzini , Dr . "F ,, Ldgm , Thomas Goopjeb ,: and W . « T . LiHTOir ; Its price is fourpence . It is almost needless to add that the Messrs . Chambebs have started a new journal , or rather a modincation of the old one , to be to our dav what the Edinburgh Journal wa » two-ani-twenty years agp . If ever men deserved . their fortune , truly we may say the Chambers have deserved theirs ; and they must look back with some pride on the two -and-twenty years of useful activity which has made their fortune .

      4 fre magazines ; and to characterise them ,, ia lam Ii ^ ittaBk ; and criticiara males theH ^ teat task son ^ grains the heavier . Not that we are disposed lobe severe juatmiw , looking out a * \ re do ujjon the ^ destfetcli of country j ffifenefit tne ^ ow ^^ QqyTii ^ H ^ gTTgg ^ stmg the , ltipdigst household , thoughts by < ontrart . 13 um& diakantr cottages , and . the grand houses lonely on the ifeigte , Ilcrw ciieerful tliej would be majde' By the Few Tear ' aMagazmes , ^ . ij ^ ted ^^ kmdirnpH a ,, with , wisdom , with wit , ; wii& available suggestion fewwdB ^ d yf HMgoae ^ agdwaati " thongfetB beyond ! the * reaches of our souls " Stt medftatii > nl J % tSf m ^ y tb fpw &m thenv admission there . Here fe Fra * er--ifa ? mKmhi b& . Mrvn&camB ? tile

      The opernn ^ verBes , VRiBijiKirx l 5 ^^ na ^ ei family accent in < them . ^ m . finfe proaa attichv is on ihe > Decline an J Fall qfthe Corporation < rfLdndon—& grave subject skilfully treated , la fiction , there is lihe opening < s £ a-new'sto *^ bj i } i&pleasant pen which traced th&iortunea and ; follies of DigSy Grand . 1 / br , im called General Bounce ; or the Lady , and the Locusts ; * nd there is another story , But we liave not read it . The cause of free likeught aad fi » Bvspeech j in . matters , of National le asts is greatly aided by smen' boM ' p ^ pera ' —b old in their ortnodbocyi as- the ; one on Lord Palmerslon < xruL 0 ie Fnesbyiery . The . article has other applications , for it is sincere as < eb « pten * r sn&alE shwserewoi « dfr are welcome . For example , listen to this flGnnanon tfie-missuin . of tibieclergy : —

      " Theic muaua ^ wftjare ^ tdd , i ^ t ^ s ave souIsj ; . if we ask , with some « urprise , whether ilJai-not Wt ^ aiakeMDeoplegood , we are of coarse answered , ' By all means , else how are they to be saved ? ' Whereforebaris ^ two . distiact notions of theclergy'a mission . Either they ; ¦ nto . make men-good : in . ondan to ; save their souls ,, or t » save their souls , ux order to make 'thfiDLgoodi Irotha ) Conn « c csse ^ no more goodness , will be required of the many , than is re-^ gnatfr aocoolip ^ to the p ecaliar ; recipes , of hia-creed , to deliver him from certain pains and esnaltiea-aftar 4 le « tii ; . ibnw } uch . latter gurpoae the priest or preacher will conceive himself nu ^ rr < toJift- » pndntefl < --aifinfficiently jpopulac notion , but one wherein , as it seems to us , Iiet&fejgpqms of- axTaumrititifm ,, pffiestcraft ,. immorality , ill-fulfilment of the duties of a subject , ittniaiiter ,.. % worfal , beings and of : conseduent contemptfiot , and rebellion against , the powers tjpafcbjv whwiwwer the reaultant » of those powers does not happen to be in the direction of EllA ^ YMIflfniftOFr MliMniflnftn . . AtlH ^ IllinTV \ i * im i \ f aaAatr / infol * wA » £ ^ rh «« AA oIa 4 aomam Wa » rAMUJ I a . i wtMi + % ± tuw PMtiColUOU IMMmW

      J ' t' — ~| iiH . f |> i" i' IJC ,, ' ¦ ' »^»»**> wmnv » ' v * ' om ^ r * sA < KSMumm . ^ uvw . 1 UU 11 U Xu uirtm * iy ^ aod . mav / fiod ^ it again , necessary , not merely to ' snub , ' but to coerce , on critical oeniHmm BQHaeylwfcahamly , aaEliiabetli g Jesuits and Anabaptists discovered to their cost . Y fhataoerm w « auay think of : the method * which she employed , which were , after all , far more mild than ttiatP ^ eommonly employed ia her age , thereia no denying that she asserted A sound yri ' ivriJHei ^^ iMduatandfc . gooa againat all refractory priesthoods whatsoever . Catholic or Sectarian ,, wataHliihud or voluntary . Let . every man bavd mil liberty of conscience ; let every manh « ld vhat . thaorjrli « i abafi prefer concerning what is to happen to him or his neighbours after they , diet : th « state , liaa so objection , for tieae are matters of opinion , and the state < ooceraa itself with acts : but only let not these opinion * come out into such acts

      as retard tbe progress of the nation , or interfere , like the demand for a . cholera-fast , with the physical—like late educational squabbles , with the moral—op like certain Church-union agitations , with the political well-being . of the community . All these are overt acts which may not , and perhaps ought not to be , punishable by law , but still require , the moment they are committed , such reproofa an may teach offender * that , precious as religion and conscience are , man possessss > a bod y , a mind , a social life , as well as * a soul to be saved ; ' and that tbreefiourths of the humanity of each individual ia a great nation must not be sacrificed , not even injured in the least , to pleas * the bigotry aad the ignorance—or even the devoutness and scrupulosity—of the tew to whom a human being is but a thine to be got safely out of this world into the next . " There ia also a suggestive view of Grecian Mythology , as the religious utterance of the nation ; an amusing paper on Young Germany : a scholarly

      Untitled Article

      TWO BOOKS OF TRAVEL . A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro , with an account of the Native Tribes , and observations on the Climate , Geology , and Natural History of the Amazon Valley . By Alfred R . Wallace . Price 18 a . Reeve and Co . From May / air to Marathon . Price 10 a . 6 d . Bentley . Better books for contrast we cannot find than these two . They illustrate two very common forms of book-writing in the present day . One , a grave , solid , conscientious account of four years' experience , in a country remote , curious , and little known , The other a li g ht , frivolous , gossiping narrative , such as might have been amusing enough in letters to personal friends , but such as nothing but our Literature of . Printed Talk could warrant

      appearing before the public . The writer of From May / air to Marathon has a certain gay offhand conversational manner which makes hispage& readable in vacant hours , and forgotten almost as soon . But Mr . Wallace gives us an insight into tropical scenery , tropical vegetation and life , which renders his pages a valuable and a lasting record . We place his book on our shelves for future re-readings . Seeing how many predecessors and confederates the writer of Mayfair to Marathon may p lead in extenuation—seeing , also , that in these days of rash and rabid publicity so much Literature existd which does not profess to be more than the talk of the hour—we will not judge the work harshly . It will

      better suit our readers if we confine ourselves to Mr . Wallace , whose work comes up to its title , a rare phenomenon . It is a Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro ; not a volume of verbose details about his feelings , opinions , and personal comforts . In a modest yet graphic manner , Mr . Wallace sets before us the result of four years' experience . Ho weut to South America as n naturalist ; he proposed to pay liis oxpenses ^ by the collections of natural history he should make ; and he did what he proposed . Although the loss of the greater part of his collections and skobches by tho burninff of the ship on the homeward voyage , has greatly impoverished his materials , enough remains in thia volume to show how diligent he had been .

      Untitled Article

      3 aticsr arjetjrotrthat : legislators , but- to * judges and police of literature . Th&y do not Jaoakftlawrawthflgriiiterpret . sad tar to ^ aforee th . em . —JS ? d « n 6 ur »^ . i * c » e « 7 .

      Untitled Article

      18 THE LEADER . QSaturi > ay ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 7, 1854, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2020/page/18/