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the people among whom ha livedi as soon as tbe-field of politics and war opened before him , he zealously dashed into it , as the only career in . which he could display his energies to his own satisfaction . The most impetuous of sectaries , the most active of revolutionists , the most able of soldiers ; equally ready and ardent to speak , to pray , to conspire , and to fight ; unreserved ,, whit the frankness of conscious power , and , at need , a liar of such inexhaustible boldness , as to fill eveii his enemies with surprise and embarrassment ; impassioned and coarse-, venturesome -and prndent , mystical and practical ; boundless in the flights of his imagination ,, unscrupulous where hisnocessities required ; resolved to succeed at any price ; he was more prompt than any one else to discern and seize the means of success , and inspiredall , bothfriends and enemies , with the conviction that no one would succeed so well , OE go so far as he . "
Tims it is that Guizot write * of Cromwell . This is the judgment passed upon the great man to whom , more than to any other that we could name , Englishmen are indebted for their greatest national blessings . But do we not deserve it ? Have not English writers identified the name of Cromwell with hypocrisy , tyranny ., and cruelty ? Is it not but as yesterday that we ourselves began to cherish" his memory ? Understand him we never shall . He . is wrapt , for ever , in the mystery which the wise men who heard his words and saw his face were unable to pierce . Only after two centuries do we know the distance which separates between him and the common herd of royal rulers .
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THE EOTIKG ENGLISHMAN , The-Rotting . Englishman . Eoutledge . A book- of travelling experiences * which possesses ' genuine and original merit ,, deserves the warmest welcome- that we can offer . In our day , the most weaxisome writing that issues * from- the press , is the-writing perpetrated fey the general mass of travellers . Readers have hardly any choice now bet-ween flippant and . trashy imitators-of the school of travel-writing which Beciford founded , and which the author of JEotJieii and Jkfr . Curzon have adnurably helped to maintain , and , the- drowsy purveyors off useless facts , the plodding ; collectors of unnecessary statistics } , the dogged dunces who will ' tell iiseverythingrr—except , the very thing , that we most want to inowv . If we cannot put up . wifchi the . slang traveller who' makes coarse fun of everything , we mast resign ourselves ^ to the solemn meditative bore , who sees nothing ,
andi feels nothings and yet will dismally prose on for hundreds of pages ^ as if ha could do both . People talk at > ouk , useless ; novels—we will undertake , at . a moment's notice- iSrequired , to exhibit'books of travels to the public which ar&injevery morjd- and mental point of view more \ utterly useless reading than , the worst ; novel ever composed . IJow ,. itjs-th ^ gpea * , raerit of the work ph ^ ced at the head of this" notice 4 hafe » ife never touches ; either of thevbad extremes to which we have alluded , © n this account ,, though The Roving * Englishman is not a new book-r—being merely a reprint , of articles -which / originall y' appeared in Household Words ~ we : select lfchexe for separate notice . Our traveller , in this instance , writes ¦ vividly , observantly , . and like a- gentleman . He has genuine and special
mentsi and ; we give ; him a genuine and special' recognition . He is by no means < a good ,-storgr- 'teUer ; , b ut he . is . great at an . anecdote- —eloquent and unaffected ; in ; recardingchis impressions—various ^ lively , and never flippant , in describing his adventures—clear and sensible in recording his own travelling experiences for the benefit of others . He seems to have wandered about , as the-old phrase is-, " half over the world , " and he has something to say , which >> is- generally well worth- listening to $ on every possible subject that ; life in foreign . countries caa suggestr As a specimen , of his lively , easy way of gossi p ing -with his readers , take the subjoined sketch of an illustrious professional - salad-maker—and on no account omit to pay special attention to . the liints-on salad-mixing which follow it :-
—THE GKKAT GAUDJET . " The OTreat Gandet , whom we have mentioned incidentally , was one of the first victims oF that-. French Eevolutionwhioh has now lasted more than sixty years , and promises-to last for sixty more . Towards the close .-oC the last century , this wonderful man found himself an ¦ exjla . in England without friends or money . Ere long , the most beautiful ladies of the land hung , with bright , watchful . eyes : over his . labours ; , and mouths , accustomed to command the destinies of armies and of nations , watered when ho came near . In . the houses of the oldfesln 6 ned nobility—as that of the late Marquis of Aborcorn- —the music would play ' See tHfr Conquering-Hero corneaj' when the great Gaudet entered * The talk of a dinner-table lolled into 'repose before him ; Wonder suoceedod silencei . Whab an 'expensive salad dressings oase > l Whatidelioaoy of touch , over the light green , loaves I What charming little stories to beguileitho moments , of . suspense I How gracefully and . pleasantly ho magnified the noble art of salad-making I The great Gaudet concentrated tlio entire force of hia powerful mind saiaa
on ; great ; tneretore , was Ins snecess . Gaudet , luce joy , was sought at every feast . Ho drove in his own cabriolet fronr dinner to dinner . To secure his services ) the high and mighty left cards at hia house somo weeks before they were required . Have we not seen with our own eyca a letter addrossed b y him . to a noble duke , recommending that person to postpone his dinner until nine o ' clock , because ho , the great Gaudet , was pledged to another noblclord at eight ? The fee of the great Gaudet rose to ton guineas ; . and none wlio ato nia . salad grudged , the money it cost them . < c JTonr the cuyi of Rome there lived , about tho samo time , a certain Madame Drake , who also illustrated by her own renown the delightful salud science . With German solemnity aho . accepted her mission . It was her belief : that salad , to bo truly fresh should not bo exposed tolight until tho moment of its being eaten j she , therefore , in a dark room mysteriously , performed her office . inus much
, j . navo written , and havo not yet told you how a salad should bo mado . Xt cannot bo madb by telling . You must bo born a salad-maker . Salad ia a production of taato . ; it belong ^ , to the Fiho Arts , and can no more bo acquired by rule than can poetry , or sculpture , or painting . You may , indeed , mcasuro , or- how out , or daub off a salad . You may know thatlottnco requires vory little oil and endive very muoh s that rape needs beetroot and colory ; that cold cauliflower is tho basis of a delicious anlad used vory muoh in Italy , but almost unknown in England ; you may know that four tnblc-spoonsful of oil should go generally to one of vinegar : that tho suit ia a mattor to bo nervous with ; that , above nil tiling * , it is nccoosary to dlaaolvo thoroughly tho suit in tho vinegar before you add tho oil . All this you muy know ; and you may know how to collect at the right Kcuson tho right horbs : yet , nevertheless , you inuat bo bom n salad-makor , with tho full monsuro of natives tact , if you would ttliino in tho profession . It hua even boon doubted , in tho face of tho groat Gnudot , whethor ono man can combine in himself nil tlio qualities which go to make a perfect uulad-makor ; becauso , to complete a salad p roperly , is aaid , in fact , to require tho united oflbrta of four different men : a spendthrift tor tho oil , a minor for this vinegar , a auco for tho salt , and n maniac for tho mixing . "
We had marked for extract our author ' a Philosophy of Dining , his Hints to Young Travellers , hia Life in a German House , and other excellent passuges . B * t that old and dire nucoBsity of all Ecviowers—tho necessity of taking up as little space us possible—compola us to refer tho reader , at onco , from this notice to tho book itself . In these dnya of shilling Literature
which is too often not even worth the shilling that it asks we are seldom able to recommend cheap books , as being good books too . This merit the Roving Englishman may fairly claim ; and we say to him at parting—what we never think of saying to Travellers in general—Farewell , Sir , ° for the present ; and mind you do not forget to let us hear from you again !
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SATIKE AND SATIRISTS . Satire and Satirists . By James Hannay , author of " Singleton Fontenoy , " &c . Bogue . Six lectures on great Satirists , delivered not long since in London , form the contents of this volume . Mr . Hannay treats his subject ; mainly from the biographical and the personal point of view . He begins with the classical satirists , Horace and Juvenal , and proceeds with Erasmus , Boileau , Butler , Dryden , Swift , Pope , and Churchill , until he gets to the satirists of the present century , and the periodical satire of our own clay . By treating his subject oa the plan we have indicated , he has been enabled to vary and * enliven it by plenty of interesting anecdotes , and by some curious biographical speculations . In less skilful- hands * remarks on satire and satirists might have been-very instructive and very wearisome as well . But Mr . Hannay has the art of writing , attractively—or , in other words , is an exception to the dreary general rule in the matter of lecturing . Throughout his volume he may fairly lay claim to two inestimable literary virtues—he is never pedantic and never dull .
The only fault of consequence which we have discovered in Satire and Saiiristshas been caused , we suspect byHfae author ' s excessive enthusi&sm for his subject . Not content with showing his readers what tlxey ought to admire in the intellectual characters of the famous men who form the topics of his lectures , he must also endeavour to elevate the moral characters of his heroes , by laying down , and , what is more , attempting to prove the general proposition that the great satirists were men . with kindly instincts , and with more than average generosity of nature . In endeavouring to sustain this assertion , he has to deal , in one or two cases , Avith some extremely ugly and obstinate facts , which- 5 t is utterly impossible for any man to refute ^ but which he endeavours ( quite vainly ) to set- aside by skilful phrase-making . This sort of defect is especially glaring in the pages of the book devoted to Swift , whom Mr . Hannay actually undertakes to " back
as a specimen of manhood , and real honesty , and generosity , and nobility of tendencies " against any man of his time ! Now , the popular notion ( and as , we believe the right notion ) about Swift , is that he' was a mighty genius , intellectually , and , morally , a filthy and cruel man . If we are asked for a proof of his filthmess ,. we cite ( as once instance , where many more might be given ) his ' ' Lines in a Lady's Dressing Room ' ' '—and we ask whether men of noble tendencies write such dastardly nastiness as that poem contains ? . Again , as to Swift ' s generosity— -the facts of his treatment of Stella and Vanessa are on record . Every one knows them who knows- anything of books . Yet , Mr . Hannay must actually attempt to explain them away to Swift's . advantage , by saying that " a mysterious destiny compelled him to make her suffer" ( page 172)—that "he suffered with her "—that " Vanessa flung herself at his head in the teeth of prudence and judgment" —that we must * ' keep ourselves in a state of moderation about the poor lonely Dean V ( page 173)—and " that we must go and behave well to our own Stellas and v anessas , if we are happy enough
to get them . " Such are the logical " last shifts" to which a clever writer is reduced , when he undertakes to theorise in opposition to facts . Having , now exemplified what we believe to be the main defect in Mr . Hannay ' s treatment of his subject , wo -very gladly address ourselves to tho much pleasanter duty of telling him what we admire in his book . Whenever he is not attempting to maintain untenable propositions , he is singularly frank , fearless , and just la his judgments . He has the great merit , wheH he gets into a good train of thought , of knowing also when he ought to get out of it and address himself to something new . His- knowledge flows from him easily , and is addressed to his audience unobtrusively . Ue lias an artist ' s eye for the picturesque , and shows genuine dramatic feeling in laying the right emphasis on the right parts of a narrative . As a specimen of his style , his information , and his easy attractive manner of instructing his audience , we will select a passage from his second lecture , the greater portion of which is devoted to Erasmus . Here is Mr . Hannay ' s vivid description of the life of
a scholar oir the old time . " Good old mother Nature . Jiovvoyer , is not easy to heat . Tiio old damo loves her boya , and treats hor brilliant darlings fuirly enough . Erasmus ' s lioad might bo tonsured , but that operation was porformod on the outside of it . Ho romnibed in fact , in purpose , and in influence , a scholar , a . literary man . It in curious to read and observe how shy iio fought of preferment in his nominal profession . Give him money , if you like : lie mil take a littla money ¦ , for tho scholar must dine as well na tlio dunco ; you cannot make soup of laurels ;~~ yea , ho will toko a little monoy j also a jar of ivino , if you choose ( not sweet wino , for liis constitution ia delicate , and it does not agree with lam ) , but sound , lino wino ,- —giving tlio preference to Burgundy , if you happen to havo any of that . All ho wants is to support Hfo decently , while ho writes hia books , edits hia Greek Testament , his St . Jerome , collects and
discourscs . on Proverbs , or givea a frooloose to liia humorous liewrt , and lushes beggarly nndL ignorant monka . Ho does not want a living ; lie would rather have a pension—a smaller pension ovon ; Literature is his vocation . They talked onoo of making him a bishop ; ' at which , say tho biographors , ' ho lauched . Of course ho did ; and it is very easy to pursoup one's mouth into un ugly state of orthodox expression , and talk of hm levity . lJutit wan far better that ho should have laughed , and steered cloiir of ccolosiaationl preferment than that ho should lmvo crushed the nuturnl nwui in him , anil temporised , « nd buen hypociiticul ! Better ho a good limnoriHt than n btul bishop ! Jinisnma ia open to censure for failings and weaknesses , like mankind ( olorioal ivnd laic ) ; but it is quite Impossible to deny , that in his rolution to the Olmvcti ho showed much iutolluotuuL honost . y imkI personal bolfduniul .
" lu his career us a man of letturs ho hud a hard nml Hlrungo life of it . for many years 5 and in informing oncsolf of tlio nnrtieulnrn , 0110 moots iunuinamulo oausuu for surprise , and opportunities of musing on tlio uhangud condition of Kuropo I How liir of ! Iio those diivti , though only nomu tlirou hundred mid illly yoiirti luivo passed n \ vay winoo ho looked out from tho giinlon of Sir Thomas Miire ' u House at . Olidsou , mid hiuv tlio old Tlmnie « / lowing nwny benouth him 1 Ho wan lli-st , in London wlium about thirty-two years of ngu , having coniu from Paris , whoro ho hud boon reading with [ iu ]> ila , acting an tutor to Lord Mountjoy , living nt tirnoH in tho cnrttlo of a grant , lady in tho Linv Oounlnoa . Tho life of n raoholar m thouo days wna 1 * strung uu ' air . Juut as the luinuLnil of an oailiar day hud douu , ho wandomd about , bringing vrith him knowledge us hia liiucua ; uhkiug Illtlo of tlio world but inodorulo pay , breud and inout , in exoliajigo for Latin nnd Greek , i ' w > yi « dom nud wit . You tnico
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666 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,
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Leader (1850-1860), July 15, 1854, page 666, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2047/page/18/
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