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THE ISHteLE AGES.*
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FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.
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lie possesses . The horse , he says , is the most timid of creatures ; but quickly learns to recognise the voice of its owner . In its vast affection , it soon trusts with confidence to the i ) erson who is kind to it . An occasional word thrown to a patient and willing servant , spoken softly to-the animal which is ' putting / forth . ' -aU its strength for our pleasure , would not be cast away . When dread overpowers the horse and it begins to rim at its topmost speed do not pull the reins : the first check should be given by the voice . Speak cheerfully to a timid creature . If the first word produces no effect , repeat it . Watch the ears . If these are turned backward to catch the accents , talk encouragingly to
the horse . The voice of one it loves will restore its confidence . The pace will slacken . Talk on , but always in a tone calculated to soothe distress . Then gently touch the reins . The first gentle movement may not be responded to , but the second or the third will be ; and the animal , released from terror , is once more - under your control . Such are the gentle instructions that Mr . Edward Mayhew gives in regard to the gentle though spirited creature which man so shamefully misgoverns . The style in which his book is written should carry it into every household , whether the owner of it
keep a horse or not . We all of us have something in some way to do with horses . If we hire a Hansom , we are brought into a responsible relation ; and should see that the driver does nothing that is cruel . Tt will do us no harm to know something of the subject , when we have to argue out some matter with cabby , or with the ostler when we borrow a steed for the day . In the latter case , the remarks above made will be useful to the driver or rider . And thus , in some manner or other , the present admirable volunie inay be made of universal utility .
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XTNDER the practical title of "From Eve till Morn , " Mrs . l _ J Agar has written a well-intentioned -work on > vhat have been catted the Dark or the Middle Ages in Europe . In composing this work , tire writer proposed to suggest a comparison between the old civilization and the new , and to 'point out the gradations by which the existing communities of Christendom attained their present degree of polish and refinement . In illustration of her , j > osition , our authoress has admitted fact « and detaik . aneqdotes and in ^ - . cidents , wholly excluded from history . The condition assigned to women at different periods has likewise interested , as might have / been expected , the mind of a female essayist . For the matter contained , inhervolume she prefixes _ a list of respectable authorities , w ell indicating the general course of her reading" and study .
So niuch by way of preface to an inquiry of no ordinary interest , conducted with no ordinary care . We begin with the Grauls arid Franks ^ who , in their rudeness , drank wine out of the skulls of their enemies , mounted in gold > when not only cities * provinces , and districts , but even single families , were at feud with each other ; and when , in their love of liberty and independence , they immolated their wives , their children , and themselves , rather than become the prey of the victor . They set little value on life , much on honour . The Druidseven sacrificed human victims to the Deitv , believed in sorcery , and were , otherwise superstitious .
- ^ ecoming ^ ributary ^ o ^ he-ltoman ^ a comparatively high degree of civilization . Witness the Gallic cities of an early period ( 600 B . C . ) such as Narbonhe , Auturi , Aries , and Marseilles ; and the naval ports crowded with the sails of commerce . But on the decline of the Roman power , barbarism again overspread those countries ; and the Franks soon afterwards undertook and effected the conquest of Gaul , the women accompanying their husbands in their warlike expeditions . Then came the ravages of the Huns under Attila , '" the scourge of God , " and their defeat by the Merovignians . Clovis , the grandson of Merovig , embraced Christianity about AD . 491 .
Feudality Avas signalised by many eccentric characteristics , on which our authoress dwells with amusing qmto . There are traces of it among the Orientals ; in the Syrian M / y « & . «? , for instance , and the customs of Tartary . Thus , tllp father of Genghis Khan held many fipfs ,. from the IChaii of Cavacorum , who , though a prince of great power , was subject to the Emperor of Cathai , when the'latter , in accordance with feudal usages , summoned his vassals to quell an insurrection which had taken place in his kingdom . The Keltic barbarians also supplied examples of such institutions , dividing themselves into three classes—nobility . priesthood , peasantry . Under Hugh Capet and Ms successors , feudalism displayed itself in the most tyrannical form . By the end of the eleventh century , most of the estates of France had become feudal ; . and in a short space of time , fortified castles arose in every direction . In our times , the practice has degenerated into the slaveholding system of the Southern States of America ; a system which , next November , is likely to receive a death-blow .
Into the story of feudal contests we have no space to enter ; nor have we any inclination to repeat the detail of barbarous manners , already familiar to the intelligent reader . Some incidents are , however , full of instruction . Let us trace a few of them : for instance , the treatment of children . Young men , in the times of barbarism , stood silent and bareheaded in the presence of their fathers ; grownup daughters were only allowed to repose by kneeling on a cushion , until their mothers left the chamber . The most trifling faults were punished with blows . Learning , also , was a reproach ; and nobility and clergy were alike ignorant . Even the possessors of two hides of land unwillingly sent their children to school , and had to be compelled by law ' to do so . The law-making monarch was m advance of liis subjects . To the institution of chivalry we can only allude . In its poetic form it survived to the sixteenth century : and Elizabeth imbibed its spirit from Spenser ' s verse .
; The mention ' of chivalry and Elizabeth naturally introduces the subject of the condition of women during this night of time . Mrs . A « ar has devoted an intelligent chapter to this topic . In the eariiest ages it was better than in later . 'la Egypt nearly all business was transacted by women ; and in Greece also they were honoured . The ancient Roman women were domestic and virtuous ; and the ancient Germans treated their women with great respect . In ancient Britain also the equality of the sexes was established . The barbarous treatment of Boadicea and her daiighters by the
Romans made niore impression oil the British chiefs than any injury they suffered . In the late ages of Christianity women found relief from adversity within the cloisters' walls . And though the life led by the barons in the darkjiges opposed powerful barriers to all improvement , yet , while they remained in their castles , they lived With their Svives and families on terms of equality- ; and when they left their strongholds , their wives remained mistresses of the castles , representing their husbands , and defending the honour ot the fiefs . Women , accordingly , gave abundant evidence ^ courage and self-reliance . Instances of womanly heroism abound . In the sixteenth century women were educated with great care ; many were good Latin scholars . . j Siich is a meagre account of a book abundant in resources * and well arranged . We can conscientiously recommend it as an instructive volume , written with that womanly instinct which makes example serve : i nst ^ facts , and leaves us to infer the laws . But the latter is seen in the former as their symbols . From thq latter , the student , or even the ordinary reader , niay deduce the proper conclusions , and learn the wisdom that is involved in experience , for those who industriously seek it out , and compare it with those inward monitions which ' are the criteria of judgment in the human consciousness . This -every ' individual can do for himself ; and , indeed , must do : for the employment of a substitute in the work is the source , m every case , of personal weakness and deticient development .
Clovis was a hybrid character . He " could display at will the sanguinary mariners of the heathen , or appear to be touched by the milder doctrines of Christianity . He could assassinate a prince ot the blood , or attend a synod of bishops , with equal sang-froid . " But his successors were less vigorous , whether for good or evil , and ultimately , indeed , justly obtained the name of the " do-nothing kings . " But Charlemagne arose , and the face of affairs changed . The events of these times are well sketched by the pen of Mrs . Agar , which touches with facility , and sets in glancing lights , the symbolic facts of each particular epoch . The scone now changes , and the Normans tread the stage . The rugged nature of the Scandinavians comes into play . Thut . nature was favourable to liberty . In Norway no feudal nobility could exist , or slavery prevail ; for man ' s inccssunt labour barely enabled him to obtain subsistence for himself and family . Oh , thou stern North
nurse of equality , of freedom , ot brotherhood ; teaching all these by the one lesson of mutual need . Oh , poverty , how much safer art thou than riches ! All hail , thou stern North , and thou cold poverty . ! limnortnl blessings nro tho issues of your united innuon < H > s . Histor ^ rejoices ^ severity ;—just mother , though seemingly untenrler . Adversity is safer than prosperity ; let us welcomo that truth , and lenvn to bc > heroic . Tho reader must neck for tho detail ; illustrating the indicated principles , in our authoress * picturesque review ; reserving to ourselves one oxcovpt : — " Alter the Northmen had embraced Christianity , they entered , with all tho enthusiasm belonging to thoir character , into tho prevailing superstitions of their age . And even this is a mystery which it would take more than columns ( nay , gods and men besides ) to interpret .
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- SVHCIAI .. Hanoveb , July 24 , 1860 . IT is difficult in this country for the most impartial observer to maintain an unbiassed judgment with regard to the Emperor of the French and tho policy of England . Press and people have , since the Italian war , kept up one constant howl against both Franco and England . That all is not as it ought to be , and might be , is evident from tho fear of war , and consequent injurious stagnation in trade which everywhere prevails . It is certain that the alliance or conspiracy against the liberty of the people , formed and maintained till 1848 by Russia , Prussia , and Austria , managed matters better than France and England . Since 1848 we have nothing but wars and rumours of wars , and no sooner is one war concluded than tho prospect of another opens to view . How was
it that tho alliance of Russia , Prussia , and Austria secured peace and confidence in tho future , while the alliance of England and I ^ ancahasJbrQUght ., wnx ~ and _ co ^ is a question frequently put by people here who have become rather oblivious to the Anti-1848-SJavery , and degradation of the nations , and the proud independence of the princes . For my own part ^ well remembering tho official insolence of former daya , I am perfectly content to live in the midst of alarms , and see tho potentates trembling at tho threatening attitudoof tho traditional enemy . As a lover of civil liberty , 1 revel in thoir unceasing alarm . Ana . why . . Because I know and feel in my own person that tho liberty at present tolerated is entirely owing to the attitudo of * $ » " ««•*" spite of tho natural antipathy of tho Germans to Louis Napoleon , and their dissatisfaction with tho policy of England , they cannot
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Jux-r 28 , I 860 , ] The Saturdayr Analyst mid Leader . ( 58 !)
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* From Rv < r till Muni , in Kitrujn : Uy Mrn . Apu \ l . uitilun : TIion . Cunt ley Xewliy .
The Ishtele Ages.*
THE MIDDLE AGES . *
Foreign Correspondence.
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 28, 1860, page 689, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2358/page/9/
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