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HISTORICAL IIOMANCE.*
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LANCASHIRE ROMANCE.*
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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.
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June 30 , 1660 . ] 'The Leader and Saturday Analyst . 615
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Afterwards he deals with the intellectual , rational ,, and moral Bowers ' showing throughout in his treatment an intimate acquaintance with Kant ' s transcendental method , and perhaps including in his development the whole of the .- "German school down to Hegeh at anv rate as interpreted by Cousin and others in France , and Emerson hi the United States . " He certainly includes Fichte , for he mentions f he Egotist as the only true philosopher ; -and-consistently identifies himself not only with every mini , but with the Universe and its msilcer ; and it is in doing so that the -strength of his descriptions- consists . It is from such an ideal elevation that he looks down on good and evil ,. regards them as equal , and extends to them the likemeasure of equity . " ' .
Instead , therefore , of receiving 1 these " Loaves of Grass ' as a marvel , they seem to us the most natural products of the American soil . They ' are certainly filled , with an American spirit , breathe the American air , and assert the fullest American freedom . Nay , it may be said al > o- that th « y assert the fullest Yankee licence . _ Kespecting the hitter feature , his American puffers , in the disguise of critics , charge the author with irreligion and indecency ; and these charges arc ' unblushingfiy reprinted .. by his publishers , among-the critical recommendations of his performances , as if thereby they would attract a numerous class of prurient readers .
All this is undoubtedly an unworthy trade trick , to be thoroughly denounced , condemned , ' and punished . Tnat class of readers , however , will be disappointed , as the passages intended are only so manv instances adduced in support of a philosophical principle ; not meant for obscenity , but as scientific examples , introducftd as they might be in any legal , medical , or physiological book , for the purpose of instruction . They chiefly relate to the sense : of touch , and might be found in substance in any cyclopedic article on the specific topic . ' . '•¦' - _ . . ... ... the iVis
So much for the matter of the book . As to manner , the same as that with which Mr . Martin Tupper has made us familiar in his " Proverbial Philosophy , " and Mr . Warren hi his " Lily aiid the Bee . " There is nothing that we can see miraculous in such an imitation . The result is a rhapsody , somewhat Oriental in appearance , prose in form , but rhythmical in its effect on the 6 ar , producing a disjointed impression , such as might be produced by a bald prose translation of Klopstoe'k ' s ; famous odes , which . would , then present so maiiy unconnected assertions , expressed in extravagant diction , The style of the work is therefore anything but attractive—calculated rather to puzzle than , to please . It is ,, however , as a printed book , got up in a splendid manner , and is electrotyped for the sake of cheapness , the publishers . evidently designing to ~ sell it by millions , if possible . _;_ _ _ - ' .. .. V
,,,, , , -JTotwilhstanding all its drawbacks * we-Lave little hesitation in stating that they wiil p robably succeed , on the principle , perhaps , of the quack , who calculated there were many more fools than wise men in the world . No matter , if . the fools are made wise by the perusal of these " Leaves . " They inay be ; it is not utterly impossible , but we doubt if .
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I T is the fashion with our living novelists to prefer modern subjects as the basis of their compositions . There appears to be irtacit ' aclin itter w i-iterff-of—fiction' -frlmta description of -men and things belonging to the present time is more likely to prove acceptable to the general public than ah historical survey of the clifterent peculiarities , customs , feelings , and prejudices of generations , so far . removed' in the retrospect of ages as all connected with them to have become but so many traditionary recollections . For ourselves , we can scarcely subscribe to this opinion ; since , apart from the peculiar interest attaching to every tiling which partakes in the slightest degree of the nature of class above
antiquity , in productions belonging to the latter men' tionedj the elements of instruction and amusement are so happily amalgamated and fused together as necessarily to invest them with a double value in the eyes of the reader . Wo do not think , therefore , that the author of " The Luck of Ladysmede " lias _ miscalculated his chances of popularity in laying the scene of his present story in the reign of Richard Coaur do Lion , during the period of that monarc-h ' s absence in the Holy Lund ; he hits , on the contrary , pitched upon tho very subject , of nil others , the most likely to secure for his production a favourable reading from all classes of the novel-loving public . It is not , however , to be denied that the difficulties attendant on tho compilation of a auecussful historical novel are infinitely greater than those which besot the modern romaneist . The former implies on the part of tho writer tho
poscreation of the above-mentioned author , " Tho Talisman , " in which we are familiarised with , the sayings and doings of most of the historical personages who flourished in the reign of England ' s lionhearted king , and in which the enthusiastic spirit of the times and the generous ardour which fired the breasts of the gallant Crusaders , is depicted in a manner unrivalled ., by any succeeding efforts of his admiring- and emulative followers . The story of " The Luck of Ladysmede , " though laid in the twelfth century , has bufc little connection with tiie great religious movement which then agitated all the courts of Europe . The author has contented '* himr self with exhibiting the state of our island at home during the
expedition of its chivalrous monarch , giving us a slight insight into the manners and feelings of that remote period of our national history , and" initiating us in the motives of some of the conspirators associated with the league at that time forming for the subversion of the royal authority . In all this we can candidly state that the author has perfectly succeeded . His descriptions are graphic , and the various specimens he presents to us of the rude , unlettered aristocracy of the times , and the wild romantic notions of honour by which " even the most reckless of men were at that time actuated , possess the unmistakeable stamp of originality , vigour , and life-like consistencv aivi reaiitv . Of these , perhaps , the best and
most ei . iborately-drawn character is that of Sir Godfrey de Burg-h , the riotous knight of Ladysmede , also guardian and nearest of kin to the rich heiress , Lady Gladice . The book opens with a mystery . A child , a boy , some six or seven years of age , a sometime sojourner in De Burgh ' s household , being placed in a clandestine manner under the protection of the Abbot of Rivelsby by one Giacoino , an Italian priest , and chaplain to Sir Godfrey , the knight grows wrathful , and determines at air hazards to regain possession of the child . He is , however , under some sort of fear of his chaplain , and he and his friend , Sir Nicholas le Hardi , determine to effect their object by stratagem . In this they ultimately fail , the abbot and the priest taking such precautions as
effectually to disconcert all their preconceived arrangements . The knight then attempts , from interested motives , to do violence to the inclinations of his ward , and either by force or '' argument 'to entrap her into a marriage with Le Hardi . In taking the necessary steps for the attainment of this end , the rough aristocrat is somewhat restrained by a rude feeling of chivalrous respect for the sex and condition of " his victim" ; aiid " . Le Hardi , upon his own responsibility , inakes several- " attempts- to carry off the maiden by force , in none of which he succeeds . It would be utterly impossible , however , to give any satisfactory analysis of a story so coinplicated as the one before us . . We do not- use the -word ^ complicated" iu aiiv sense injurious to the book . There is , in it no
building up oi incidents , no difficulty jn- distinguishing and discriminating between the variety of characters which gradaally dispose themselves upon the scene ; we simply mean \ o infer that the author ' s materials are of a kind too broad and comprehensive , or rather not sufficiently limited and confined within a given circle to admit of any mere reviewal of the leading details sufficient to convey to the reader an adequate notion of the plot . It is one of those stories that must be read in order to be duly understood and appreciated . The mystery is besides so well devised , and so successfully kept up till the conclusion of the narrative , that we should bs sorr } r to spoil any reader ' s enjoyment ' by a premature elucidation of it . The slight '¦ u nderplot connected with the fortunes of Isola , the perjured nun and discarded wife , is perhaps one of the most interesting portions of the book . To the lover of historical iiction , whose object it is to combine instruction with amusement , we can heartily recommend " The Luck of Ladysmede" as an excellent story , full of concentrated interest , and containing much valuable information relative to the social and political state of our country in the time of the celebrated Crusades ,
session of a large fund of erudite information , winch is only to bo acquired by much laborious research and discriminate study . He does not paint directly from Naturo'n landscape , but from n landscape of Unit landscape which , in virtue of itn great antiquity , has become somewhat dim and difficult of minute examination . Thus the obstacles with which'the writers Of modern fictions have to contend uro-multiplied in tlmcuaaofllheir bruLhren ofr the opposite school . Without ( Ipubl tliq greatest of all historical novolistR is Sir Walter Scott ; and ' though wo do not intend , neither would it be fair , to judge of tho present or uny other production by so high a standard ; yet , iu . turning ovur tl ) l 0 pftg < w ' of a work in which the numo of' Richard' Cceur do Lion , though he himself is not introduced personally on tho scone , is continually oocurring , our thoughts linturujly ' revert to that beautiful and inimitable
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A NEW novel , entitled " Scarsdalo , " but lately issued from tho press , is likely to claim , both on the part of tho critic and tlie public , a considerable share of attention . It is , in fact , one of the best works of fiction wo remember to . have read for some time . J he lano-uage is Vigorous and stirring , and well culuulalcd to give zest to si story which is in itsolf equally instructive , amuMing , und . . original . One of the chief features in the book is tho introduction ot the East Lancashire dialect , which the author has here rendered in all its peculiarity . And though the reader m : iy iind sotno difficulty in interpreting tho numerous idiomatical expressions presented to him , notwithstanding the evident pains tho author has been at to eccentric Lancashire
obviate such difficulty , yet tho character of tho man is ao well portrayed , and the dialect itself is evidently so genuine and free from exaggeration , that . it would bo impossible lor any true lover of nature to wish it entirely away . In fact , this novel has evidently boon written with the intention of familiarizing tho reader with Lancashire and Yorkshire agitations , lifb , ami manners , thirty years ago ; and tho author has takon caro to supply himself with ~ Hfl oh"matwlwlR-w ~ huvor-pnnblod-himH : o-aficoiiip lwh--nw tusk with clearness and perspicuity . Tho distrust and suspicion which everywhere mot tho introduction of machinery as a substitute for hand labour , and which , in this part of the country , g-uyo birtn to a formidable resistance—tho violence of tho people , labouring ?
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* Nairaitalei or , Lift on . tho Jjnnetmhiw atui Xorkuhiro Harder Thirty Tours A < jo . Three vois . Smith , KUler , and Co , IW / n «/ or , Buried A / i , « . A Novel by the Author j l « Monto GhxiBto . " Tranelatod by J . Hay Hodgson , Jun . Thoruaa XioUgaon .
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# Tho JLiwk of iMrti / Hiueiii ) . A Novel . Two vole . William Blaokwood and Sons .
Historical Iiomance.*
HISTORICAL UOMANCE . *
Lancashire Romance.*
LANCASHIltE BOMANCE . *
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), June 30, 1860, page 615, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2354/page/15/
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