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tions of his journey begin at Penrith , and lead to some Cumberland stories and associations that will amuse the reader . Brougham castle and me good Lord Clifford are not forgotten . But we must plunge into the more immediate subject of the book ; and here we find ourselves at Nent Head , among the miners of the London Lead Company . With them are no signs of want or privation ; yet illegitimate births are frequent . Mr . White , however , defends them on the score of morality . "For here , in this lead-mining country , a girl does not lose caste by having borne a child out of
wedlock ; though trouble may be occasioned at first , she continues to live on in her father ' s house , sharing still in the privileges of home , and is not despised by her mother and sisters . Neither is her chance of marriage diminished , though not as a matter of course with her first lover ; and once married she becomes a faithful wife , and as mother of a hardworking family is there to participate in all the ameliorating influences which time and circumstance may bring . But should she play the wanton , and repeat the offence , then she forfeits her position and prospect of matrimony . toldthe
peculiarity which stumbles so awkwardly at the r . Yes , the baw-ies aw fine this yeaw , ' he said in reply to my praise of the gooseberries , meaning ' the berries are fine this year / Ask a Northumbrian to say courier , and you will get a cooheous answer . ' What do they burn in that kiln V I inquired of a woman at Ovingham ; and she , though meaning bricks , said ' B-hicks . ' " « Tupny ( twopenny ) awnges goin' f a penny , ' used to be the cry of the girls who sold oranges in the streets at Newcastle .
" Dr . Smiles in his Life of a famous Northumbrian , says that the burr is a sign of robust energy of character , wherein it seems to me he makes a mistake . Defects are hardly the result of energy . Comparatively isolated from the rest of the kingdom , the Northumbrians got into a slovenly habit of using their rugged speech , and so an accident became hereditary . They would be isolated , whether or not ; and baffled even William the Norman . He had to leave Northumberland out of Domesday Book . "
We remark , as we proceed through this volume , that the author is quite up in the folk and other lore that belongs to his subject , and his pages are as rich in literary illustration as in local description . The writer is a scholar as well as a naturalist and tourist , and loses , no opportunit y of showing his research as well as his observation . His materials are superabundant , but his disposition of them is highly judicious . The description given of the miners and their work is graphic and grand in its gloom , and grimness . The scenic accessories are , besides , adroitly thrown in to augment the horror and interest .
We may point attention also to his description 6 f Allenheads , where miners dig out the heart of the hills . Owing to this a carriage could not draw up to the gate of a mansion , because of two deep holes that had sunk a few days before , by the giving way of something under ground . They had been filled up indeed ; but who could tell whether they . might sink again with the weight of a carriage ? Allenheads sweeps its chimneys only once a year ; but school-houses have been built . The master of one of the schools was a rniner but a fews years ago ; and the incumbent of
Allentown is a miner ' s son . Here the autbpr spent three hours in subterranean travel ; " awearywaygate . " Subsequently , he had a twilight walk up the hill towards itookhope , where Sir William Armstrong first tried his new gun . " No fear of hitting any thing up there except stones or h' ng . " He saw the forty-horse hydraulic engines doing all the work of the mines—quietly ; a power not wont "to roar tremendously when it stops , as if to say , See how clever I am . " Thus much by way of example of this volume , which ought to be extensively read .
" Here in Nent Head , as I am , Company require that the father of the child shall marry the yomau whom he has , so to speak , betrayed ; or quit their service . " Looked at fairly , we thus see that this hillcountry has , after all , a good notion of morality . We may not , perhaps , hear of bastardy in the Haymarket ; but who will contend that the Hay market is more moral than Nent Head ? Is there not among these miners' wives and daughters a manifestation —• inarticulate , ' if you ¦ will—of the charity that t iopeth all things ? It seems tome that women in other parts of the kingdom , even in places that regard themselves as refined and highly civilised , might learn a lesson from the unrefined . How many a virtuous woman has been made vicious by the cold scorn and neglect of her chaste , and it may be , untempted sisters I
" The miners are , for the most part , sober and industrious ; there appears to be something in their metalliferous employment which makes them , as a class , more respectable than coal-miners . Go down to the Durham coal-field . ; visit and observe the mining villages , and you will hear , cf coarse indulgences and brutal propensities that shock every sense of propriety , and make you shudder for human nature . Fornication is rife , and worse—incest , and to such an extent as to have passed into a
byword among the miners themselves ; and it is worthy of remark , that this depravity prevails most in the mines jnbst neglected by the proprietors ; where tommy-shops demonstrate id the men the indifference or cupidity of their masters . Contrasted with that unhappy region , the lead-mining districts stand out in bright relief : and the Bishop of Durham might well envy his brother of Carlisle , in whose diocese only two cases of incest could be heard of on diligent inquiry . "
The above citation is for the thinking to ponder and weigh well , as bearing on more than one social evil which seek a remedy in Christian charity . Mr . White ' s first experience of Northumberland was not favourable . Everywhere the rights of hospitality were denied him ; but the cause appeared to originate in an error . Our tourist was mistaken for a sapper , and the " members of her Majesty ' s Corps of Engineers , who wore engaged in the Ordnance Survey of Northumberland had vron a reputation for gallantry , as well as trigonometry , bo that here and there an increase of population took place in a way not recognised as lawful by the Registrar-General . " Take the folr lowing as to the Northumbrian burr .
" About four miles on the way I turned in to a lane , and with tho usual result ; finding that however pleasant a hipjh-road may be , lanes are always pleasantor . In tho lanes wo are in closer companionship with Nature . I came to a couplo of cottages tonanted by farm-labourers 3 and could not -help admiring tho well-stocked garden , where gooseberries hung in thousands on tho bushes . Ono of the men having an ' olf-day * was at home nursing the baby , vrb . He the wife had gone to market at Hoxliam j and he invited me to take a turn round tho garden , of
vhioh half belonged to each cottage . The abundance betokened industry and no smajl amount of comfort . There were currants , rhubarb , cabbage , carrots , potatoes , peas j and flowers at tho end whore they could be beat eeon , from the windows . I congratulated the man on his lot , and he answered that ho had nothing to complain of , could earn sixteen or ei ghteen . shillings a week , and ate beef , mutton , or bacon every day . He did not think it right for a man aa worked hard not to oat meat , "He had the Northumbrian burr in perfection , that
Serials
political , one poetical , both long , and written with apparent sincerity . There is also an estimate of letters and society in France , which is characterised by considerable shrewdness . To the musical season due attention is rendered , and the . brief notices of new books are for the most part justi Christian Examiner is remarkable for three religious articles—namely , " The Religion of the Present , " " The Modern French Pulpit , " and " The Doctrine of Endless Punishment ; " to which perhaps should be added " The Lord ' s Dealings with George Miiller . " This man ' s narrative is certainly one of the most wonderful with which we are acquainted . The review of American literature contains more than one curiosity .
Constitutional Press continues its one-sided biography of Mr . Charles Kean , and its story of " Hopes and Fears . " A new novel is begun , entitled " Ladies and Leaders . " A dissertation on the present state of the drama abounds in erroneous assertions and false conclusions , with some remarks which are suggestive and beneficial . On the papers touching Church and State , we need say nothing—a term which best represents the amount of influence they are likely to have . National , Magazine . —The number for August opens with an eloquent paper on Tennyson ' s " Idylls , " and continues Mr . Brough ' s tale . __ The articles are numerous , and mostly well written . There are eight engravings . Morten ' s " Last Boat , " and Hodgson ' s " Early Morning , " are striking and well executed .
The Virginians , No . XXIL—This story has got into the second generation , and there seems no reason it should not go on until . it gets down to the present time . There is some natural and pleasant writing in this part . Knight ' s History of England , No . XLJL— - This part contains the accession of George the Second , the fall of Walpole , the short Spanish War , and the commencement of the Rebellion of 1745 ... Though the accounts of the various transactions are brief , they are distinctly' narrated and touched in with much pictorial effect . If the illustrations were as good as the text , there would be little left to be desired in this compendious history .
English Ctclop-sjdia of Arts and Sciences ( conducted by Charles Knight ) progresses satisfactorily . Part VH . carries the alphabetic arrangement to the word " Check ; " and comprehends several illustrations of classical value . Choker ' s Revised Edition op Bosweix . Part VI . —( J . Murray . )—This number carries us into the sixty-ninth year of the p hilosopher ; and we can only repeat that we rejoice to see so capital an edition of so capital a book placed within the reach of all classes of readers .
Murrat ' s Complete Edition of LordBtbonb Works . Part VII . —This portion contains the occasional pieces and the commencement of "Don Juan . " Le Follet starts with some excellent remarks on long and short waists , the latter of which appear to be coming into fashion . Three coloured engravings are given ; and the literary contents of the number are light and amusing . Comprehensive Histort of England ( Blackie and-Son ) .--Parts XXI . and XXXL lie before us , and fully maintain the character of the publication , and carry the narrative down to 1746 . ItouTLEDGE ' a Illustrated Natural Histort . — Part V . is full of interest , and the illustrations are indeed abundant . The whole redounds to the credit of tho editor , the Rev . J . GK Wood , M . A .
SERIALS . Blacktvood . —The number for this month contains a good ghost story , with a mesmeric solution , which has the merit of compelling the reader to peruse it to the end . The first part of a new tale , entitled " Felicita , " and Part VI . of "The Luck of Ladysnaede " will amuse . Lord Macaulay , Dr . Tulloch , and the artists , also , command elaborate articles ; the question * of the Peace , however , is briefly discussed , ' and not under favourable aspects . Speculations on this subject , could only be formed on incomplete data . Maga will know more about it next month . Fjrasbr . —There is much neat and careful writing in this month ' s number , and a poem , by Alexander Smith , of some lyrical morit . " Holmby House " is continued , and also " Sword and Gown . " Tho Peace likewise is duly articled , but unsatisfactorily treated .
Dublin . —There is a good article on Sir W . Hamilton , by Dr . M'Cosh . That on our Foreign Policy is raodorate in tone . " The Season Ticket " continues to bo amusing , and to catch all flsh that may venture near the writor ' s net . A growl at Peaco is ventured , and " The Royal Academy " cornea in for many strictures , some of them not a littlo
severe . Titan commences with a ourious subject —• " Tho Philosophy of Literary Itorgories , " in which tho writer states that the mot of history being " full of monstrous shams , which , when , first originated , subjugated thousands , and subjugate hundreds now , " is not tobo evaded . A searohing review of tho Vatican manuscript is next ventured , and forma a paper of singular importance . Part II . of f In and Out , " and several additional chapters to " Getting On , " are given . Altogether tho number is meritorious . Univhrsai . Bevhsw . —There are two searching reviews of Mr . Gladstone and Mr . Tennyson , ono
Routledgu ' s Shakespearb ( edited by H . StauntonS . Part XLI . —This part concludes " Hamlet . " and commences " Julius Coesar ; a strange arrangement of the plays , by the way . The editor has been extremely careful and judicious in his comments on " Hamlet ; " and ono of them deserves particular recognition for its sagacity , and , no doubt , truth . It has been objected as to tho inconsistency of Hamlet s lugging out Polonius ' s body with a cram expression ; but Mr . Staunton has discovered , by a enveful induction , that it was a rulo of tho theatre , in Shakespeare ' s time , for tho ac ' tor on tho stage to romovo a dead bodyj and thus the necessity dovolvpd on Hamlet . This mode of clearing the sage's proved by many appropriate examples in fehakesnoare s oTvn plays . \ c cannot a < lmiro ^ . g ™*™™** " Julius Ccoaar : " there is not anobloltomon amongst tho entire numb T
er . _ , , PoLmorrWoRKS of Thomas MooRB .--CLong . £ ^ nffi ^^ an MSSXroSrAins . ^ o . II . contains eight more of these copyright melodies , the symphonies and accompanirnenis of whichihaVo been revised or ; rovritton V Mr . Charles W . Glover . The print la o < Bngly legible , and the getting-up uniformly gO Lazab-Hou 8 b or Lbros , forms No . VI . of the Historical Tales published by John Honry and James Parker .
Untitled Article
No . 489- Atjo . 6 . 1 S 59 . 1 THSLEADEB , 919
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 6, 1859, page 919, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2306/page/19/
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