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Leader (1850-1860), 3rd May 1856, Edition 1 of 2, Page 427, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      Struct an egoaateral or any other triangle , than a syllogism . He boldly Sines forward the arguments of the Abolitionists , arraying them in stately Sk alone his pages , and promises by many a complacent implication to S . themas a ^ hild bowls at nine-pins . But we are miserably deceived . The P rofessor , even when he aima . well , fires badly , but in almost every case he * hies the argument , and , leaving his antagonist ' s objections far behiad . ** ies on in & "cloud of his- own creation . We have seldom met wkh propositions more feebly supported or handled , or deductions more mb < n < arHvdrawB . The assumed degradation of the Negro race forms the buds of Professor Bledsoe ' s theory . H « does not ask to be allowed to make r-I ! L .. *• + u ~ wUffl man—no : "he merely insists that those only who are

      _ llreadv unfit for a higher and nobler state than one of slavery , should be STby ^ iety in sJ £ a state . " Who told him they are unfit for a higher state than slavery ? " We ought to cease inflicting injury upon others , is ao-uietSaxfrn of Dr . WaylanW " Here , " writes the Professor " it as t ? uW that slavery ia an injury to the slave . " The question of slavery , asserts the Professor , "is not a pure , it is a mixed science ; facts can no m ore be overlooked by the political architect , than magnitude can be disregarded by the mathematician . The man , the political dreamer , who pays at ? attention to them , may be fit , for aught we know , to frame a government out of moonshine for the inhabitants of Utopia ; but if we might choose our own teachers in political wisdom , we should decidedly prefer those who have an eye for facts as well as abstractions . " Facts , Professor from their children

      Bledsoe ? Tearing children from their parents , parents ; forcing them to labour beyond their strength , cruelly scourging and torturing them—are these not facts ? But we must dismiss the book ; its author has not recounted the real difficulties of abolition ; instead of an apology for the slave system , he attempts its justification upon natural grounds , and the result is a mass of declamatory verbiage . Evening Recreations . ( Longman and Co . )—Mr . Gurney , the editor of this volume , thinks that much good may be done in the way of lecturing if educated gentlemen would come forward more frequently , and volunteer their services . " I am particularly anxious to claim the help of intelligent laymen for this work , because their speciaj / vocations would often Suggest subjects of the best kind , and because many of the working classes are more afraid of something in the sermonising style if the lecturer is a clerfrvman . " the said working men being practically in the rig ht , since ,

      -when clergymen lecture , they almost invariably preach . The lectures , we presume , are collected to show what may be done by volunteers if they ^ 7 ould but come forward . As , however , six out of the eight lectures in the volume are delivered by ministers , and a seventh by the professor of polit ical economy at Oxford , we do not see that he has very strongly supported Ilia position . ' ^ — — x __ Things not Generally Known . By John Timbg . - ( David Bogue . )—Mr . Timbs has colFected into a neat little volume many important results of in

      Scientific investigations and antiquarian research , more particularly ; connexion -with " common questions" not very commonly answered with precision . "Why bridesmaids wear scarlet on Valentine-day ; how the Gretna <* reen privilege originated ; what was the origin of the pawnbroker ' s three wilt balls , are items of tea-table gossip which he pleasantly discusses . The book forms a little cabinet of scientific and statistical facts , at once useful and entertaining , and not the less authentic , we hope , because some of the . statements are beyond , not of course our belief , but our comprehension . ¦" It has been calculated" is irresistible evidence , and we submit .

      The Tricks of Trade . ( Bogue . )—What will our readers think of a volume specially written to explain in what way everything they eat is adulterated ? There ' s death in the pot ; we must say it apain . Sometimes , however , knowledge is life . Our fears exaggerate , and make our ills appear freater than they are . " The adulterations practised with food may be ivided into two kinds—those which are physically harmless , and which only have the effect of defrauding the purchaser , and those which are positively noxious . " These latter are not so extensively employed as we are sometimes apt to imagine . However , this little book , which is anonymous , may be consulted by nervous tea-drinkers who are anxious to know at -what rate they have been poisoning themselves for the last half-century .

      Friendly Societies Assurance Companies . By Arthur Scratchley , M . A . — This is a valuable treatise , with an appendix , on Copyhold , Life , Leasehold , and Church Property , based on sound calculations . It also contains rules and regulations for the formation of Copyhold Enfranchisement and Freehold Land Societies , and may be received as a safe guide by those interested In the purchase of land . The Whist-Player , by Lieutenant-Colonel B . ( Addey and Co . ) , is dedicated to the Army and Navy Club , " it being generally admitted that justice is nowhere so impartially administered as by a court composed of British officers . " Whatever the indignant Great British public may say of this axiom , the bright little book of Lieutenant-Colonel B . contains some good games and rules . The lieutenant-colonel treats his whist party aa though it were subject to the articles of war . In one rule he decrees , that " whoever shall , by vrord or gesture , show approval or disapproval of his partner ' s play during ia

      the game , shall forfeit one point , " &c . Excellent discipline suggested here , but could Bunyan ' s best man be reduced to perfect immobility under the torture of his partner ' s bad play ? Statistical View of the Population , Religions , and Languages of Europe , Transcaucasia , and Turkey in , Asia , in 1855 . By E . Ravenstein . ( Stamford . ) —The object of the book may be explained by an extract : — Amongst the latest developments of tho age , the idea of nationalities is ono of the mos | important—an ideu which ia not arbitrary , but ono resulting from profound hisftfMqic * i (« i » tac 6 dents of common origin , language , manners , and religion . It is tho science of statistics that -will load to the -working out and realisation of this great idea , aad . we trust thut the ensuing pages will somewhat contribute towards tho solution of

      $ hls moamtous question . Mr . Ravenatein states that the yearly increase of population in Prussia ia I . 8 S per cent . ; in Russia , ^ 10 p er cent . ; in Austria , 0 . 99 per cent . ; the British Isles , 0 . 30 per cent . ; ia France , 0 . 21 per cent ., &c , while in Ireland , Baden , * cc ., the population has of lato been decreasing .

      Tales , novelets , and moral biographies swarm under the influence of tKe ¦* ' season ' , ' like insects under a June sun . In the Parlour Library Cooper ' s Jack Tier is reprinted . The Doomed Ship ( London , Willoughby and Co . ) makes its Ourd appearance , and is ready for a new generation of readers . We need not saj more of this interesting Arctic tale , than that its author , reasserts the authenticity of the facts related . « ., , " , Mr . John Palisser ' s Solitary Hunter ( Routledge ) abounds in wild adventures , " improbable achievements , and unprecedented escapes . m . ¥ . i t /• .. r > ]?„ ... i William Turacuiio t 4 , mr > nni > nrn t olflfl jyvuyur jjuy ^ —• -- & /

      rue Autooiograpny oj a v """ ou * .. ~ -. ~ , - —~ - comes before us a second edition . Our duty is performed if we advise the reader , if he has not seen the work , and wishes to learn something of the struggles which penniless children have to encounter in the campaign of life , to purchase it . It is curious and original . The Two Cottages ( Henry and James Parker , London ) and The Poor Folk at Home ( James Nisbet , and Co . ) present pictures of cottage virtue , and cottage vice , and try to impress upon our minds how much happier men and women would be if they did ' nt quarrel , steal , and murder ; but would go to church , hear the preacher , and do as he bids them . Charles Adam and

      A week at the Bridge of Allan , by Roger , L . L . D . ( Charles Black , Edinburgh ) , is a useful manual for those who wish to pass a week or so during the summer in this " delightful neighbourhood . " Leaves from a Surgeon ' s Note Book , by Frank Thornton ( Riddel and Cot London ) , is the first number of a series of stories , or " sketches from life t intended to illustrate the value and importance of Life Assurance . # To Be or Not to Be , by Blanche Shakspeare de Trepka ( J . Kendrick ; London ) , contains two poems , one to the Emperor of the French , the other to Lord Palmerston , preceded by a letter to the author , from J . Boleslaa Ostrowski .

      . _ The War and the Newspapers , by the Rev . C . Kennaway ( Henry and James Parker , London ) , and Pretensions of Prussia , by J . D . Durham ( Houlston and Stoneman , London ) , are pamphlets resulting from recent events . The first is intended to blame the indiscreet plain speaking of the press during the war ; its presumptuous criticism of the plans of the cam-5 ai , and its malevolent remarks on the incapacity of generals and officers , 'he second more modestly offers " suggestions on the right conduct and wise policy of the war , and the results to be anticipated from the victorious progress of the Allied forces . "

      Untitled Article

      Jtex 3 , 1858 . 3 THE I / EAPEK . 427

      Untitled Article

      EXHIBITION OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY . The private view of the Soyal Academy—which is , strictly speaking , a . private view , and not the hot squeeze through which you perspire , pencil in hand , at those great public events ,- the * private views , " given by separatist societies of British painters—took place yesterday . Our deliberate notice of the exhibition will follow , in due time , this necessarily brief and rapid account . We shall take the order of the cat alogue in selecting a score or so of prominent works from the twelve hundred frames , and more , on the walls . The first is Mr . Robeiits ' s " Christmas Day in 8 t . Peter ' s , at Rome , 1854 , " ( 10 ) . It is a vexyr large specimen of the technical class , " Interior with figures , " in which this painter ' s works occupy a distinct position . We pass over about fifty pictures , of no particular merit , and come to Art Soheffek ' s " Portrait of Charles Dickens , " which commands universal attention . A little further on is a

      picture in continuation of Mr . E . M . Ward ' s series of subjects from the history of the French Revolution . It is called " The Last Parting of Marie Antoinette and her Son" ( 75 ) , and represents that celebrated scene with a gloomy emphasis on its attendant horrors , and with a dry precision of detail which gives reality . This is one of the pictures requiring time and study before a fair judgment on its merits can be given . The principal work of Mr . Stanfield comes next in our resume . " The Abandoned" ( 94 ) is a title which refers to the drifting hull of a large ship , without masts or rudder , abandoned by her crew , and silently borne over the waste of waters . A passage from Washington Irvinc ' s " Sketch-book" has suggested this noble picture . " The Greeting in the Desert" ( 101 ) is the larger of two Eastern scenes , contributed by Mr . Lewis , the water-colour painter , and finished with his wonderfully neat , light , feathery touch . It would be difficult , were these pictures behind a glass , to say

      whether they were in oils or water colours ; and , so far from having expanded with the change to a freer material , the style of Mr . Lkwis appears even more microscopic than ever . Sir E . Landseer paints a large Newfoundland dog , which has rescued a child from drowning , and seems to be barking for surgical assistance . There is a strong appeal to general sympathy in this picture , which , being painted by Sir E . Landsekr , is of course painted \ i ith great ability . It is , however , less carefully finished than his ordinary pictures ; the dog ' s head , though a line study , has evidently been painted in haste , and the child is a mere sketch . Another picture by Sir Edwin , " Highland Nurses" ( 208 ) , contains the incident of a wounded deer , stretched on the heather , and tended by two fawns , which are licking tho hurt . " The Emperor Charles V . at Yusto " ( 175 ) , by Mr . Ei-mohbis an illustration of the scene described in Mr . Stirling ' s " Cloister

      , Life of Charles V , " preceding the Emperor ' s last illness . We leave the composition for future criticism , and come to Mr . G . Jones ' s official despatch we mean historical picture—of " Trukkee , 28 tU of February , 1845 " ( 186 ) , which , to use tho language of a noble and gallant critic , who wai present , is " , ami no mistake . " " Peace Concluded , 1856 " ( 200 ) , is the chief of tho five contributions by Mr . Millais . Humour haa been already eloquent on tho subject of this work , which represents a convalescent officer reading the announcement in tho Times of the conclusion of peace ; his wife sitting on the couch along which he lounges with exquisite sense of home ; his children playing at his feet . It is tho depth and stillness of feeling' in tlus picture th « fc baffles the spectator , who is unable at first to account for the emotion with which it fills him . The expression in the wife's face will find objectora among

      those who refuse to oboy their own instincts , and will demand a special and clearly demonstrative expression in a pictured face , where they would never look for it in a real one . The peculiarity of this lady ' s face , in tUe picture before us , ia that it bespeaks a holy rest and calm—a peculiarity which is surely more striking on canvas than it would bo in real life . In the other pictures brMf . Millais there is tho same faithful adherenco to nature . " The Blind Girl

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  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), May 3, 1856, page 427, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2139/page/19/