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Northern Star (1837-1852), 29th March 1851, Edition 1 of 2, Page 3, Untitled Article

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      WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR ? Thy neighbour ? Itiahenhomthou Hast power to aid and bless ; Whose aching head , oi burning brow . Thy soothing hand may press . Thy neighbour ? 'TiBthefainting ' poor Whose eye with want is dim , - "Whom hunger sends from door to door , — Go thon , and Bucconr him . Thy neighbour ? 'Tis that weary man Whose years are at their brim , Bent low with sickness , care , and pain-Go thon , and comfort him .

      Thy neighbour . 'Tis that heart bereft Of every earthly gem : Widow and orphan , helpless . left-Go thpu , and shelter them . Thy neighbour ? : Yonder toilingslave , Fettered in thought and limb , "Whose hopes are all beyond the grate : — Gothou , and ransom him . "Whene ' er ttoumeet ' atahumanform , Less favoured than thine own , Bemember , 'tis thy neighbour worm , Thy brother , or thy son . Oh ! pass not heedless—pass not On 1 Etth&ps thou cans ' t redeem The breaking heart from misery ;—Go , share thy lot with him .

      THE LABOURER . The labourer , the labourer , God ' s nobleman is he—His works are graven in the soil—They float on every sea : The keystone in the social arch ; Utility his crest ; His days are spent in manly toil , His nights in balmy rest .

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      Yeast ; a Problem . Reprinted , - with corrections and additions , from Fraser ' s Magazine . London : Parker , Though not authoritatively announced on the title page , it is well understood that this work ' is from the pen of the author of Alton Locke , a writer who has lately done much to call attention to " the Condition of England Question , " and who undoubtedly possesses rare powers , both of description and mental analysis . Yeast may be termed a philosophical novel , for it has characters exhibited , both in action and in discourse . The purpose is similar to that of Alton Locke , bat the scene is

      transferred-to other classes of society . In his former work , Mr . Kingsley dealt with the artisans ; in this , the story and incidents relate to the intellectual classes of society and the peasantry . The story is , however , subordinate to the main purpose of the author . This is , to exhibit the miseries of the poor ; the conventionalisms , hypocrisies , and feebleness of the rich ; the religious doubts which are shaking the strong , the religious delusions and cowardly submissions that are enslaving the weak ; the mammon-worship tainting the ¦ whole of society above the poor , and the brutish , abject spirit , but . angry discontent , pervading the mass , at least of the agricultural labourers .

      Yeast , however , may be looked at as a series of sketches loosely strung together , descriptive of palpable social evils iu the mass , and of metaphysical broodings among the more thoughtful youth ; a struggle which perhaps is always taking place , and which is no further distinctive of the present age than the form that is given by our intellectual and religious activity . The origin of evil , its presence in the world , what- man was made for , what lie straggles for , what becomes of him—have been questions that excited the speculative of all ages , taking various channels , according to the circumstances of the time . Considered

      from this point of viewj , as a life-like picture of the hearings of the mass , and the mental fermentation going on among individuals—of the yeast of society—the book displays great ability , and challenges careful attention . It is powerful , earnest , feeling , and eloquent ; the production of a man acquainted with society —who has looked closely upon its various classes , and has the power of reading the signs of the times . He has a truthful vigour of description—a rhetorical , rather than a dramatical power ; or he sacrifices the latter to his habit of expressing his . opinions in dialogue , -where the author talks rather than the dramatis persona * . There is a genial warmth of feeling in the beok , and wide human sympathies .

      Although the framework or story of Yeast is not well conducted or concluded , it is judiciously contrived for the purpose of embodying some of the principal types of existing society . The first hero , Lancelot Smith , iB a young man of vigorous frame , strong passions , and a powerful mind . He has had his moral practice , if not his principles , corrupted at the university , althongh he has taken high honours ; his mind is unsettled by logical scepticism , and by the " Bhams " be sees everywhere . Argemone Lavington , the daughter of an oldfashioned squire , is the type of what the

      author thinks a similar class in woman ; intelligent , highly educated , religious after the Tractarian fashion , but making self the object of all , though unconscions to herself . By a well-worn accident , Lancelot and Argemone are brought together under peculiar circumstances , and love is the result The attachment is put an end to by Mrs . Lavington after Lancelot is ruined by the failure of his uncle ' s bank ; Argemone dies , and her lover goes abroad , without having been able to settle his opinions . - Bound these two characters move many others , with more or less connexion .

      There is Mr . Lavington , the type of the country squire ; the Vicar of the parish , a darklydrawn Puseyite , and eventually a convert to Rome ; Luke , a cousin of Lancelot , and representative of the more youthful and silly Tractarians , who places his conscience in the keeping of his priest . The uncle of Lancelot , the religious banker—though his religion does not prevent him from embarking in speculations that stop the bank—represents the " respectable" class of traders ; Lord Minchampstead , the rich manufacturing commoner

      ennobled into apeer , may be considered the type of a class of which therearebut fewliving examples ; Lord Vieuxveis belongs to Young England . Colonel Bracebridge , the justest and most finished picture in the book , is a representative of the travelled , all-accomplished English gentleman and soldier , with loose principles , loose practice , but of generous sympathies , and with deeper feelings , and with more thought than the generality would give liim credit for . The catastrophe which overtakes him is the blot of this well-conceived and carefully-executed character , for it is improbable altogether .

      Besides a number of rustics , and people more or less conspicuous , there , is one Tre garva , a Wesleyan gamekeeper of the squire , who may be considered the type of the thoughtful and faithful humble class , as his friend or patron Lancelot is of the intellectual ; and for Lancelot , Tregarva cuts through many puzzling sophisms , as he is the first means of opening his eyes to the state of the poor and the realities of life .

      There are various scenes chiefly in relation to country society . One of these is when Lancelot accompanies Tregarva to a country fair , a sad and terrible picture of the "boldpeasMitry . '' After wandering about disappointed with the absence of sports , merriment , or humour however poor or coarse , Lancelot enters a booth , and , under the guidance of Tregarva , looks and listens to what is going on . "You'll see something , if you look round , sir , a P-eatdeal easier to explain—and I should have tnouzht , a great deal easier to cure- ^ -than want of wits . ' . ' . . ..... "And what is that ? " k- . ' i : •

      . How different looking , the young ones are from their fathers , and still , tnore from their , grandfa thers ! Look at thosethree . prfourpld grammers talking together there . ' For ' all their being shrunk

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      £ J ! L ? & oT * » > won > t 8 ee sn <* fine grown men anywhere m this booth " ™ iS ^? w ° * Lan cel ° t recollected now having remarked it before when at church ; and having wondered why almost all the youths were so much SffS&E ? ! ower * l ) raiDed » water-jawed "W > y ait , Tregarva I " Worse food , worse lodging , worse nursingand , I m sore afraid , worse blood . There was too much filthiness and drunkenness went on in the old war-times , not to leave a taint behind it , for many * generation . The prosperity of fools shalldestroy " Oh ! " thonght Lancelot , •' for some young sturdy , Lancashire or Lothian blood , to put new life into the old frozen South-Saxon veins ! Even a drop of the warm enthusiastic Celtic would be better than none . Perhaps this Irish immi gration may do some good after all . " ¦¦ .. ¦ ^ n ^^ 8 ^ ^

      Perhaps it may , Lancelot . Let us hope so , since it is pretty nearly inevitable . Sadder and sadder , Lancelot tried to listen to the conversation of the men round him . To his astonishment , he hardly understood a word of it . It was half articulate , nasal , gutteral , made up almost entirely of vowels , like the speech of savages . He bad never befere been struck with the significant contrast between the sharp , clearly-defined articulation—the vivid and varied tones of the gentleman , or even of the London street boy , when compared with the coarse , half-formed growb , as of a company of seals , which he heard : around him . That single fact struck him perhaps far more deeply than any ; it connected itself with many of his physiological fancies ; it was the parent of many thoughts and plans of his after-life . Here and there he could distinguish a half sentence . An old shrunken man

      opposite him was drawing figures in the spilt beer with his pipe-stem , and discoursing of the glorious times before tbe great war , " when there was more food than there were mouths , and more work than there were hands . " " Poor human nature !" thonght Lancelot , as he tried to follow one of those unintelligible discussions about the relative prices of the loaf and the bushel of flour , which ended , as usual , in more swearing and more quarrelling , and more beer to make it up : " poor human nature always looking back , as the German sage says , to some fancied golden age , never looking forward to the real one which is coming . " : ¦ - " But I say , vather , " drawled out some one , "they say there ' s a sight more money in England now than there was afore the war-time . " " Ee 8 , booy , " 8 aid the old man ; "but it ' s got into too few hands . "

      "Well , " thought Lancelot , " there s a glimpse of practical sense , at least . " A transient accident induces the company to call upon their warbler , for some singing ; of which this is a sample : — Blackbird was by this time prevai ' ed on to 8 ing , and burst © ut as melodious as ever , while all heads were cocked on one side in delighted attention . I zeed a Tire o'Monday night , A vire both great and high ; But I wool not tell you where , my boys , Uor wool not tell you why . The varmer he come screeching out , To zave 'uns new brood-mare ; Zays I , ' You and your stock may roast , Vor aught us poor chaps care . " " Coorus , boys , coorua !" And thechorua bur 4 out ,

      Then here s a curse on varmers all , As rob and grind the poor ; To re ' p the fruit of all their works In •*** for ever evermoor-r-r-r . A blind owld dame come to the vire , Zo near as she could get ; Zays , " Here ' s a luck I warn't asleep , To lose this blessed hett . They robs us of our turSng rights , Our bits of chips and sticks , Till poor folk 3 now cant't warm their hands , Except by varmer ' s ricks . " Then , &c . And again the boy ' s delicate voice rang oat the ferocious chorus , with something , Lancelot fancied , of fiendish exultation ; and every worn face lighted up with a coarse laugh ,. that indicated no malicebut also no mercy . Here is a capital delineation of an English day , in this present March month : —

      A silent , dim , distanceless , steaming , rotten day in March . The last brown oak leal , which had stood out the winter ' s frost , 6 pun and quivered plump down , and then lay ; as if ashamed to , have broken for a moment the ghastly stillness , like an awkward guest at a great dumb dinner party . A cold suck of wind just proved its existence , by tooth-aches on the north side of all faces . The spiders , having been weather-bewitched the night before , had unanimously agreed to cover every brake and brier with gossamer cradles , and never a

      fly to be caught in them ; like Manchester cotton spinners , madly glutting the markets in the teeth of " no demand . " . The steam crawled , out of the dank turf , and reeked off the flanks and nostrils of the shivering horsesj and clung with clammy paws to frosted hats , and dripping boughs . A soulless , sky less , catarrhal day , as it that bustling dowager , old _ mother Earth—what with match making in spring , oxlA files diampitres in summer , and dinner giving in autumn—was fairly worn but , and put to bed with the influenza , under wet blankets and the cold-water cure . "

      On the great question wbich , at the present day , occupies the attention of all classes , Mr . Kingsley writes forcibly and boldly . Here is a powerful remonstrance with a poor Puseyite hankerer after infallibility : — Not that . Any thing but that . Whatever is right , that ia wrong . Better to be inconsistent in truth , than consistent in a mistake . And your Romish idea of man is a mistake—utterly wrong : and absurd—except in the one requirement of righteousness and godliness , which' Protestants and heathen philosophers have required and do require just as much as you . My dear Luke , your ideal men and women won't do—for they are not men and women at all , but what you call " saints . " . . . . . " ;

      Your Calendar , your historic list of the Earth ' s worthies , won't do—not they , but others , are the people who have brought Humanity thus far . I don't deny that there are great souls among them ; Beckets , and Hugh Grostetes , and Elizabeths of Hungary . But you are the last people to praise them , for you don ' t understand them . Thierry honours Thomas a Becket more than all Canonisations and worshippers do , because he does see where the man's true greatness lay , and you don ' t . Why you may hunt all Surius lor such a biography of a medieval worthy , as Carlyle has given of your Abbot Samson . 1 have read , or tried to read , your Surius , and Alban Butler , and so forth—and they seemed to me bats and asses—one

      really pitied the poor ' saints and martyrs for having such bliud biographers—such dunghill cocks , who overlooked the pearLof teal human love and nobleness in them , in their greediness to snatch up and parade the rotten chaff of superstition , and selftorture , and spiritual dyspepsia , which had overlaid it . My dear fellow , that Calendar ruins your cause —you are tacres arutocrates— kings and queens , bishops and virgins by the hundred at one end ; a beggar or two at the other ; and but one real human lay St . Homobonus to fill up the great gulf between—a pretty list to allure the English middle classes , or the Lancashire working men!—almost

      as charmingly suited to England as the present free , industrious , enlightened , and moral state of that Eternal City , which has been blest with the visible presence and peculiar rule , temporal as well as spiritual , too , of your Dalia Lama . His pills , do not seem to have had much practical effect there . . . . My good Luke , till he can show us a little better specimen of the kingdom of Heaven organised and realised on earth , in the country which does belong to him , soil and people , body and soul , we must decline his -assistance in realising that kingdom in countries which don't belong to him . If the state of Rome don't show bis idea of

      man and society to be a rotten lie , what proof would you have ? . . . . perhaps the charming results of a century of Jesuitocracy , as they were represented on the French stage in the year 1793 ? I can ' t answer his arguments , you see , or yours either ; I am an Englishman and not a . controversialist . The only answer I give is John Ball ' s old dumb instructive " Everlasting So ! " which he will stand by , if need be , with sharp shot and cold steel— " Not that ; anything but that . Xo kingdom of Heaven at all for us , if the kingdom of Heaven is like that . So heroes at all for us , if their heroism is to consist in their being not-men . Better no society at all , but only a competitive wild beasts ' -den , than a sham society . Better no faith , no hope , no love , no God , than sham ?

      tnereoi . 1 tike my stand on fact and nature ; you may call them idols and phantoms ; I say they needle so no longer to any man , since Bacon has taught us to discover the Eternal Laws under the outward phenomena . Here on blank materialism will I stand , and testify against all Religions and Gods whatsoever , if they must needs be like that Roman religion , that Roman God . I don ' t believe they need—not I . But if they need , they must go . We cannot have a " Deus quidam , deceptor " If there be a God , these trees and stones , these beasts and birds must be His will , whatever else is not . My body , and brain , and faculties , and appetites must be His will , whatever else is not . Whatsoever I can do with them in accordance with the constitution of them and nature , must be His will , whatever else is not . Those laws of nature must reveal

      them ; and be revealed by Him , whatever else is not . Man ' s scientific conquest of nature must be one phase of His Kingdom on Earth , whatever else is riot . - I dOn-fr deny-that there are spiritual laws which mm is meant to obey—How can I , who feel in my own daily and inexplicable nnbappiaess , the

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      ruits of having broken them ? -But I do say , that those . spiritual laws must be . in perfeot harmony with every fresh physical law . which we discover : that they cannot be intended to compete . Belf-destractively with each other ; that the spiritual oannot be : intended to be perfected by ignoring or crushing the physical , unless God is a deceiver , arid his universe a self-contradiction . And by this test alone will I try all theories , and dogmas , and spiritualities whatsoever—Are they in accordance with the laws of nature ? And therefore when your ^ arty compare sneeringly Romish Sanctity , and "English-Civilization , I say , " Take , you the banctity , and give me the Civilization !" ' The one maybea dream , for it is Unnatural ; the other cannot be , for it is natural ; and not an evil in ifc at which you sneer but is discovered : day by day . to a

      owwgto some infringement of the laws of nature . When toe " draw bills on nature , " as Carlyle says , " she honours them , "—our Bhips do sail ; our mills do work ; our doctors do cure ; our soldiers do fight . And she does not honour yours ; - for your Jesuits have , by their own confession , to lie , to swindle ,- to get even man to accept theirs for them . - So give me the political economist , the sanitary reformer , the . engineer ; and take your saints and virgins , relics and miracles . The spinning jenny and the railroad , Cunard ' s liners and the electric-telegraph , are- to me , if not to you , signs that we are , on aome : points at loast , in harmony with the universe ; that there is a mighty spirit working among us , who cannot be youranarchic and destroying Devil , and therefore may be the Orderingand Creating God . " '

      Yeast is a work written by a thinker , and it will , we trust , set many thinking about the deep and grave questions mooted in its pages .

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      Memoirs of a Literary [ Veteran . Including . Sketckes and Anecdotes of the most distinguished Literary Characters from 1794 to I ' ,, ^ y R . P . Gillies . Three vols . Bentley . ' These memoirs open with glimpses and sketches of Scottish country and landlord life at the close of the last century , among which amusing prominence is given to that of au old starched Tory laird who had accepted the absurd challenge ' that he could utterly smash and destroy withinouehourand withno

      , weapon of any kind to help him , all the crockery ware that could possibly . be brought before him withm that space of time ; and who , conceiving himself bound in honour to keep his word , did do it accordingly , by dint of strong arms , and legs fortified with huge fisherman's boots . This kind of anecdote is followed by notices of Edinburg h life . Mr , Gillies , during attendance on lectures at the university in 1806 and for some following years , having seen somethiHg of the society in which the Scottish . jmihi

      was rich at that time , and witnessed the first sprightly runnings" of Scott ' s great and fruitful genius . Here the autobiographer is often livel y and interesting in his retrospect . Mr . Gillies began life under favourable auspices . He belonged to a family of some distinction in Scotland , and inherited a patrimony , which though small was apparently sufficient for his wants arid tastes . All the outset of his life is accordingl y fair and untroubled . Ho indulges in literary pursuits ' without any sharper stimulus than his predilection for them ; becomes an advocate without the necessity of toiling for fees ; is

      bibliographical , and can afford to give large sums for rare black-letters or editions of Shakespeare ; writes poemB , and corresponds with poets ; studies and delights in German literature ; takes part in the outset of Blackwood , and writes for that and other journals ; translates some foreign dramas with success , and begins the ' series of translated scenes from German , Danish , and other plays , by which his name became afterwards best known . Meanwhile his small estate had become involved , and soon after passed from him . He left Edinburgh iu 1821 for a tour in Germany . ( where , among other notable circumstances , he made the

      acquaintance of Goethe , who reminded him in appearance of John Kemble , ) and continued to live in the Scotch Athens but for a few years after his return " . The most memorable part of his memoirs of this date is the description of Scott ' s warm and zealous friendship to him in the midst of his own troubles and distresses . But Mr . Gillies seems to have had little capacity of self-help when distress once fairly overtook him , nor had his practice of literature at any time qualified him to make it very profitable . He came to London in 182 fr ,. and -with hearty hel p from Scott , established the Forei gn Quarterly of which he soon ceased to be editor , however , and never afterwards appears to have recovered any steady source of support .

      We have run over the outline of . Mr . Gillies ' s career ; but autobiography , save towards the latter part of the work , is little more than a link to connect . together anecdotes and sketches of marked individuals with whom the author came in contact . These relate to some of the most distinguished men of the age , in literature arid Scotch law , and to characters even yet more remarkable in themselves from peculiarities which the state of society in

      Scotland in the last century rankly developed . TheBe things are told well , though verbosely ; and the reminiscences of that period have a more kindly feeling and a freer air thaa belong to those of a latter day , when misfortunes may have soured the mind . The anecdotes and characters of literary men will be found interesting ; the sketches of the Scottish gentlemen of those days will give an excellent idea of life in the North during the latter half of the eighteenth century .

      Some of these indicise consist of what are called " good stories ; " and perhaps the best relate to the Laird of Bonnymune , an unconscious humourist , who was once so celebrated that George IV . used to command the attendance of a certain Mr . Harris who was skilled in imitating him . Two peculiarities characterised the Laird—he would never use a carriage , ar id never sleep from home ; which traits produced the Laird ' s nightrride .

      The good old magnifico ' s taste in drinking became at length obtuse ; so that one evening after dinner , at a friend ' s house , he very willingly drank cherrybounce , mistaking it for port , and declaring that it was a " pleasant , pure , fruity , and generous wine , and very old in bottle . " As a matter of course , when the midnight hour approached , the laird wished to ride home , and the horses were ordered . But Peter had never in his life seen his venerable master " so far gone ; " besides , they had a long way to ride , and the night was both dark and gusty , , . ¦¦

      After some consultation with the kind host and his family , it was agreed that Bonny mime could not and must not attempt to ride home . But as any proposition for his going to bed or staying in the house after twelve o ' clock would be resisted and resented with obduracy , stratasem was used . They led him out of doors with a light , which the wind instantly extinguished . Then , in the pitchy darkness , they assisted him to mount , not upon horseback , but upon a" fail dyke , " Anglice turfwall , a common kind of fence in the far North , nere Peter had cleverly attached the bridle to the stampofaneider-buBh ; he put the reins and the whip into his master ' s hand ? , and then retired , with the words , " } Joo , your honour , the road's straight afore ye !"

      Aw : iy went the laird , as he supposed , whipping and spurring to bis heart ' s content ; fill he arrived at the land of dreams and utter oblivion , when , wearied of his exertions , he tumbled off . Sow Peter ventured to advauce . "Eh , sirsJbechme , to think o' the like o that . ' * Then , raising his voice , " We ' re at hame noo , sir ! we're at hame , I ' m tellin * ye ! Your honour ' s just fa ' en off at our ain stable door . " But stratagem was no longer needed . The laird

      persisted mo » -t comfortably in his profound sleep , and was carried to bed without -a murmur . Next morning , however , no sooner did he awake to consciousness , than he vowed vengeance for the trick that had been played on him ; declaring , moreover , that hud he been allowed bis own way , he could have ridden home as well as ever he did in his life . He departed at daybreak , in huge wrath , and would not , by any persuasions , be induced to visit at the same house again .

      Lord Buchan , the elder brother of Erskine , had throughout life those eccentricities which age only fully developed in the ex-Chancellor : he-figures conspicuously in the pages of these volumes . ; Here is ^ an account of Cupid and the tea-kettle : — ' - . •• : ¦ : ¦ ¦ ¦¦ ' ¦ Another of his Lordship ' s breakfast parties dre * on him the ridicule of all the town . It was even

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      and vindictive « u 5 Se 5 & * !? 8 "f " \ vet ( W scond ; 'Urd buSI ' m -K J wa 8 f ? rced t 0 au " rank . * hirMSr * eleoted , *» " ° young ladies of he him 3 rSteSon ^ e the : . 5 ineMu «? s , whilst " SSK ¦ ,- ™ > " Glorious Apollo . " WttT h ^ , . ^ eatudroundthepresident ' sbelaurelledhead . " j-ii ^ SBs&as fflsSSr ^ B ^ iasrsS ! MMAJNug or screechm ? . ran nut : nf fha » nJ n ' i

      * ni 8 'tnninv hiiin / i « i . ° * ii— . »«««•• « r detracted nn ^ - « J ¦ r / P ° H ° cared not a-rush . It Q ^ esSS ^ lf ^ f rom ^ his own dignity , in his fofSs ^^ ^ PreEeUtPrim 9 Mia ^ JKiLiS ,, timb ( not in 1808 , but two years SSS ^ Ws ?* ss ^ s John Ru ^" me Mmiste I doubt not that Lord

      SXff ^ i "' reraemDer those meetings , like Sv En ° S l" » Psesoutof dream-land ; and , pos-S « t * , . ? Cr T ° ? hedthatheC ( Juldrecallthe ooletad ^ ft 8 f C ! \ P - ^ ° the tumoil 8 of office 'o the books at 1 i - u W room ' wel 1 8 tored with theSkrpn ? * « k Pro / eas 6 r Playfair ' s ; or from of thVSrf » ¦ ' . W > t 0 fcbe twlli * glimmer tL BPvi - tmghalU - foresaid - IweblTecfc some of 2 rMto appointed to act the part of Advocafa , f 0 r ( Jueen ^ Mary ; how Lord John did cut SiaT ir \ by affec ^ pit ? and ' ly spasms , demolish all chance of acquittal for that unhappy princesg-at leastwithin the walls of "the Speou-

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      [ The following is inserted by express desire of the parties concerned . ]

      AN ADDRESS Written and spoken oirMonday , the 10 th of March 1851 , for the benefit of Mr . P . Martin , one of the political victims of 1848 , at the John-street Institution , John-street , Fitzroy-square . By . John ShAw , Brethren , Chartists , Friends ! who kindly sym-¦ pathise . ¦ - ¦ In woe , endured by simple or ihe wise ; Yom \ gen ' rous hearts or hands are ne ' er withheld From 8 uftering nature . No ! when ye have beheld The tyrant ' s victims in adversity , And human pangs plead god-like liberty ! You ' ve ' plied their wants , and thus decreased their pains ; '

      The patriot ' s soul you ' ve cheered . Aye tho' his chains Should fret , and gall , and sear his noble heart , He smiles full conscious that he acts a part Shall freedom win . Delight imbues his soul , Still panting for the prize—tho wished-for goal Of power for all ! Yes , heaven itself designed Fraternal love , peace , plenty , to mankind . Alas ! of Nature ' s bounties so deprived By base oppression , that we ' re now arrived Where famine gaunt stalks dail y through the land . Grim death strikes down our brothers with the brand Of despot knaves . Shall we still brook the frown Of haughty titles—priest , or prince , or crown ? Forbid it , ShadeB of Cromwell , Hamp ' den , Pym ! houatriot ancestor of

      T _ p * pure him "Who disregards , a suffering nation ' s cry , And ihooks in weakness cowardly sophistry ; Progress repelling by finality , ' , Upholds the Throne , the Church , and all State ills By bludgeons , budgets , torn-fool Papal bills . Taxes on labour , knowledge , air and light-On all things else , by minions armed to fight . Spirits arise ! Oh , ye immortal men ! Come Sidney , Marvel , Milton , and Tom Paine ; Thou martyred Emraett , Tone , Fitzgerald brave ; Or cCart « right , Hunt , and Cobbefct quit the grave Diffuse your wisdom , and despair dispel , And lead humanity from earthly hell , Till throueh ourFranks resounds the word "Unite !' The world shall witness majes ty and might Our common foe to vanquish . ¦¦

      ¦ n ,, i . , _ ' Y -. While we servo Poor Martin hero to-night , prove we deserve " The . Rights of Man . " Ah , then shall stand aghast Both Whig and Tory Lordlings , when at last A People ' s voice proclaims , " Wo will be free : " Our motto ' s not Divorce , T'tis Unity ! Poor feeble Martin ! Friends , his former zeal Still glows within ; # for him 'tis I appeal . True democrats his sterling worth must know— ¦ His tortures too from the ferocious foe ; Vile whig bastiles have wrought iu him no chango ,

      Sor would he now with oligarchs exchange His poverty and rags . His noble mind Now laughs to scorn the wretches who confined In dungeons cold , whence his afflicted limbs Disease engendered , singing Chartist hymns . Thanks , fair ones , thanks ! and men who help each other ; : ' You ' ve happy made to-night a suff ' ring brother . , Grateful for boons , your aid ho'll ne ' er forget While red blood warms his heart . —But I must yet , ( If true you think him to our righteous cause ) Crave one good luety round of loud applause . * Lord William Kussell beheaded for high treason .

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      ADELPHI THEATRE . . The author of a new melodrama , produced on Monday night under . the title of The Disowned , has missed one grand quality— -clearness of construction , and for the absence of this quality nothing else can compensate . We perceive that a certain gentleman , whose love has been slighted in his youth , has rflurdered his rival , and adopted the daughter of that rival as his own child . We perceive that another gentleman , who has , likewise . ; n youth carried off his steward's betrothed , has brought up his illegitimate son without explaining the intimate connexion which exists betweenthem . We perceive that the steward desires to make of this : lad an instrument of vengeance , but that his plans are defeated , and that'the

      youth dying at the end of the tale , through the exp losion of a brace of pistols while a house is burning , is acknowledgecTby his parent . All this we perceive , but we are nnable clearly to trace the course of action through the four hours which it occupies , and hence many scenes fall perfectly flat , and there is a disjointed appearance in the whole work . The entire Adelphi company is employed to give it effect , and there are ' -the accessories of elaborate set scenes and popular rustic groups , but the piece altogether wants point and purpose , and hence nothing comes out with full force . Some of the situations told with the audience , and there was considerable applause at the end , mingled with demands for the author . But there were also many hisses , and the piece cannot be said to have made a real "Adelphi hit . "

      . LYCEUM THEATRE . Mr . Jerrold , jup ., son of the celebrated author , has written a smart little farce , entitled Cool as a Cucumber , which was produced on Monday night . The cool gentleman , admirably represented by Mr . Charles Mathews . has picked up a cigar-case belonging to an Old gentleman ' s son , and on the strength of this introduction enters the old . gentleman ' s house , and makes himself perfectly at home . The son , who has been banished from his father ' s house to prevent a ihesaUiance , is treated by tbe intruder as aburglar when he comes home a « ain , but at last the impertinent wight atones for his misdeeds by attempting a reconciliation between father and son . nothing can be slighter than the structure ol t » 's » we , but Mr . Charles Mathews is-well fitted , and the dialogue is exceedingly neat . The success is unequivocal ,

      HAYMARKET THEATRE . A very novel experiment was on Monday made at this house-the production of an English , version of Molieres Tartuffe , not lowered into the condition ot the Hypocrite , but closely following the original , blank yersb being substituted for the French Alexandrine . So literal is the rendering that , with the - exception of a short speech made to heighten the " exit" of Damis in the third act , we do not believe there is a single line not to bo found in Mohere . The manager , in putting the the

      piece on stage , has gone to work in the right way—transferring to the Haymarket boarda the usages of tho Theatre Francis . The drop scene did not descend between the acts , but a few bars of music alone ' indicated tho division ; the one room in which the whole action takes placeisltted up with characteristic elegance , an imitation of an oak floor-being -one of-tho loading features , and the . costumes were of : theimost recherche kind . We have .: had * ' flights wi' Burns . ' This wasreally an evening with Moliero . The actors were placed in an entirely new position ; they had to accommo-

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      date themselves to a convention not their own nnd the way in which they moved in their newhtmn Bphcre did .. them great cwdlt . Mr . wSt r a 8 " Tartuffe , was the measured hypocrite , carefullv weighing every syllable , and conveying the inward uncloannesg . by an artful glance . Miss Reynolds as Elraire , the great part' with the " grandos coquettes" of the French stage ; wa 3 ladylike and quietly fascinating . Mrs . Fitzwilliam , as Donne , was overflowing with arohness , and every point that she uttered told thoroughly , whether- it was delivered with sarcasm or good humour . Less characteristic are tho half docilo Manane , played' by . Miss Laura Addision ; tnegaUantValore , represented by Mr . Howe ; tho fiery Damis , enacted by Mr . Davenport ; tho vacillatingOrgon , sustained by Mr . Limhm-V . Mm « nn ,

      s bio Cleante exceedingly well read by Mr Rogers ; il ! , vi ' » JA L 0 ya 1 ' per * ° rm ? d by Mp - Charle tS ? l w l t ? P ° ? damo Pernello , set forth by Mrs . Stanley , but al those parts we reef feotively given , and there was ; the pleasing sensaturn that the piece was aa well supported as the . present condition of tho stage will allow Persons Srar !? K FreDCh ^ oatre pnl ^ where ofth ; , hlVe ^ n trained 'n the conventions a want ol IZTf l \™ 7 ' perha P - complain of wn ?? ikefev ^ 5 ^ former 8 ; but t 0 th 09 e Fn » K » f standard , anil regard a body of fnfim ? f'K- ^ "Pnerl totally difer viously eKaSad * a * 'hioh n * hV have be » P" - s 2 Kli » « « S uf' / 8 a ml ' new attemPt . the Ecr wl ^ " J ™ * « e been highly graablv It mthf V audllnC 0 tbe P ibce wenUdmiwhpLwfc ™ , ' ] aTe been deemed questionable ta which the unfJl « 5 f ? rated at " dran » and n Jhini , Uy Of P lace 18 « o r igidly ' observed farfcic . l i « «™ f n y a PP »™ ation to , the broadly tarcical is carefully avo ded . But everv situition was thoroughly relished . ThaiftM f ^ lZ

      = » = ^ a SLJ ? ol 8 morous applause , as . well as the scenes that show the . exposure of the hypocrite , and from ™ i egmnin f t 0 th ? ' t ^ wiiSrf weariness . A general call was raised for tho performers at the end , and Mr . Webster announced r «« ' # / or repetition amid loud applause .. Mr . J William Wallaok appeared on Wednesday evening in the qharaotei ? ot HanUt ;> His performance ovinced considerable talent , and in some of tne great scenes he made a strong impression ; bu he has one fault , so great that it absolutely neutralises all his merits . He is the slowest actor we have ever seen upon the stage . There is no play in which the dialogue is so varied as in Hamlet ; in many parts it is as light and collbquail as the language of comedy . But Mr . Wallacks move at one uniform pace ; asking a question or making a passing

      re-2 U ? i . ' w u SA T solemn ' weasured tone , with which he utters the gravest and deepest thoughts , lie utterly forgets the advice to the players , whieh , m this character , comes from his own lips ; ho cannot speak a speech " trippingly on the tongue ;" he must mouth it , be its import what it may . This grievous fault gives extreme heaviness to hisperiormance . ¦ ¦ A farce , entitled Ihke thebestofit , founded on a French vaudeville oalledZsiWr Casse , was pro-( Iuced on Wednesday night . Mr . Beniamin Burr ( Mr . Buckstone ) , a gentleman of " tho" fast " sohool ,. and Mrs . DriveT ( Miss P . Horton ) , a lady whom he has followed into North Wales , findin '» themselves alone at a small inn , and being unable to progress , in consequence of the nearest bridge being broken , choose as a pastime a game of cards , with the condition that the loser shall be the slave

      of the winner for two hours . Burr loses , and is consequently reduced to a state of serfdom . At this crisis Mr . Driver ( Mr . Howe ) , the lady's husband , arrives at the inn with a theatrical lady ( Mrs . Fitzmlliam ) , on whom he passes himself off as a single man . _ Mrs . Driver , concealing herself , 'and availing herself of herpower over Burr , compels him first to challenge her husband , then , when to her astonishment Driver accepts the challenge , to apologise , and finally to make love to the danseuso , Poor Burr has no taste for the artistical lady , but is compelled to marry her at last , and resolves to " make tho best of it . " The weight of this little piece resis principally upon Mr . Buckstone , whoso coolness under all difficulties was admirably sustained . The odd situations and the points in the dialogue created amusement throughout .

      ¦' ¦ ¦ ¦ QUEENS THEATRE . Another version of Asael the Prodigal was produced oa Monday night . The plot is similar to that produced at Drury Lane , with the exception that instead of being an Israelite , Azael is one of a tribe of Arabs , and that the piece terminates in the death of the false friend by the hand of the profligate . The spectacle is well got up , the scenery is gorgeous , the dresses in good taste , and the dialogue is nearly , if not altogether , original . Azael is represented by Mr . C . Gveen , Znido his betrothed by Mrs . C . Boyce , Lia , Miss C . Gibson , ana Nephte by Miss F . Hamilton . These artistes contributed much to the success of this melodramitic spectacle , and at its conclusion Mr . Green was called for by tho audience , when he announced its repetition until further notice . Life ' s Helm , which wo noticed in ouv last , concluded the evening's entertainment . ''

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      A Slight Mistakb . —When Sir Isaac Newton changed his residence , and went to live in Leicester-place , his next door neighbour was a widow lady , who was much puzzled by the little she observed of the habits of the philosopher . One of the Fellows of the Royal Society called upon her one day , when among other domestic news , she mentioned that some one had como to reside in the adoining house , who , she felt certain , was a poor mad gentleman , " because , " she continued , " he diverts himself in the oddest way imaginable . Every morning , when tho sun shines so brightly that we iiro obliged to draw the window-blinds , he takes his scat on a little stool before a tub of soapsuds , and occupies himself for hours blowing soapbubbles through n common clay-pipo , which he intently watches floating about until they burst . " He is doubtless , " she added " now at . his

      favourite amusement , for it is a fine day ; do come and look at him . " The gentleman smiled , and they went up stairs , when , after looking through the staircase window into the adjoining court yard , he turned and said , " My dear madam , the pci ^ on whom you supposo to be a poor lunutic is no other than the great Sir IsaacXewton , Btudying therefraction of light upon thin plates , a phenomenon which is beautifully exhibited upon the surface of a common soap-bubble . " ¦ A " Convert" from Mormonism . is travelling over the kingdom exposing the absurdities of his late creed . At Chester last week , he said tha t after he had become somewhat sceptical , he re solved to put their , abilities as to " ousting out

      devils" to the test . Going one day into the assembly with a downcast , vacant look , and showing signs of eccentricity in his behaviour , the "brethren" at once declared that he was -possessed with the devil . " On their saying this , he pretended to attempt to escape , but they followed and overtook him , and then muttered some prayers over him , in the midst of whioh he was so tickled with the mode in which he had deceived them , that he burst into an iavoluntavy fit of laughter . The brethren at once declared that the "devil" had been expelled , and " congratulated him on hia happy escape /'

      The CnEiP Gas Question ' . —Meetings have been held to promote an amalgamation between the " City of London Gas-light" and the "Great Central Gas Consumers" Companies . The junction , it is said , will save the expenditure of £ 70 , 000 . The capital of the amalgamated companies is proposed to be £ 250 , 000 , in Bharesof £ 10 each , tho conditions of the Act of Parliament of the Great Centra ] Gas Company to be applied to the amalgamated companies . Committees have been appointed to agree to further detail . Meanwhile ; the citizens may congratulate themselves on the certainty , in any case , of procuring cheap gas . '

      Tub Contribution tuat will win the Prizr —It is . rumoured that government intends sending to the Crystal Palace copies of all . the measurestliat have been passed this year , as its contribution to the World ' s Exhibition of Industry Pi > ;/( i ¦ "

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      • Ti , ' ? 0 HARI ) T wheels m » ke their carriage-road in the fairest face . Jivlh B ? ST pbysicians are Dn Diet » Dn Quiet » a ** h « . te ° . « 8--Anecdotes are often spoiled by S £ feU t 0 ries ' a 8 wella 8 ^' ' ° ften <*< - Souare K ? V ° , of the barren wast e '" Leicester SKuKS ^ ° ° the J ^ st specula-The exports of silk manufactures , twist and yarns are increasing at the rate of eighteen per . Cos .-Why are the authors * ho treat on physiognomy like soldiers ? Ikeause tUy wriu abolt face . . . " Thb nuiiAL police numbers about 3 , 000 , and costs £ 20 , 000 per annum ; or nearly £ 70 per man to the counties that have it .

      By doino gooij with his money , a man , as it were , stamps the image of God upon it , and makes it pass current for the merchandise of heaven . — Rutlrdoe . Passions and Affections . —It is just on entering into life that wo anchor by the passions and aflections , and if the ground does not hold us , we drift away hopelessly . A hekpbcted husband says that , instead of himself and wife being one , they are ten ; for she is 1 and he is 0 , Tub Sloakes .- " It is far worse to be cast in wax than into prison ! " as the Sloanes will say when bwoTHorro 1136 " ™ " * Madame Tussaud ' s " Cham-FABLTs .-Thes most ignorant have knowledge

      n ; to I"sn . MAN at . temperance meeting the other night referring to his standing in society , said that tie nau been a working man ever since he was born . Wild and TAmk Animals .- " Which is the moat dangerous of all animals ? " said . some one to Uiogenes . — " Among wild animals the slanderer , and among the tame , the flatterer , " replied he . Proposing . —Some maiden ladies object to the first part of the proverb "Man proposes and God disposes , lor , they Bay , the men don ' t propoise . , 4 ( jiiiilt . —As the shadow follows the body in tho splendour of the fairest sunlight , so will the wrong done to another pursue the soul in the hours of prosperity . Friends . —Those who have resource * with in themselves , who can dare to live alone , wantfiiendsat least , but at the same time best know how to prize them the most .

      Heads and Tails . —The cat-heads and cat-tails aro two very different parts of a ship . The cattails disorder the equanimity of the jolly tars very much , and they fly to pig-tail for consolation . Hardsomb and Good Womhw . —It was a pertinent and forcible saying of the Emperor Napoleon , that a " handsome women pleases the eye , but a good woman pleases the heart . The one is a jewel and the other a treasure . " Umcultivatbd Land , —From a recent report it appears that fifteen million acres of ground remain uncultivated in England , and this rather from the want of skill and industry than insuperable natural obstructions .

      Foor l < ugitivb Slave Bill ! " said Mrs . Partington , as her eyes ran over the morning papers ' , and her quivering lip botrayed the agitation of her mind ; " poor fugitive slave , Bill ! I hopo from my soul they ^ won ' t catch him—I hope they won't . " Wexford has been rid of beng ' ars by a very simple process . The magistrates imprisoned the vagrants for _ twenty-four hours , and had them well washed . This discipline was found to act wonderfully well , for not ono submitted to it twice . —Iriih Paper . Fashion—a power 88 invisible and as despotic as the grand Llama of Thibet . Her mandates , of which the origin is utterly unknown , are nevertheless

      understood and communicated by some inscrutable instinct , and obeyed with still more inexplicable and uninquiring submission . ¦ HOW TO FIND PLENTY OF ROOM IN A CUOWDBB Omnibus . —Conductor : Would any gentleman mind going outside to oblige a lady ? Unfortunate gentleman ( tightly wedged in at the back ) : I should be very happy , but I only came yesterday out of the Fever Hospital . [ Omnibus clears in a minute . ] The Washington Monument , now in process of erection at New York , is to be fiOO feet high ; 55 feet square at the base , and 33 feet square at the top . It is now 76 feet high , and hae cost 12 , 000 dollars , having taken two years to bring it to its present

      elevation . Enjoyment . —There is a limit to enjoyment , though the sources of wealth be boundless ; and the choicest pleasures of life lie within the ring of moderation . A . Pari . umekta . ry Division . —Sibthorpe says , " The present House of Commons may bz divided into two classes , cotton apinnevs and yarn Bpinners ; and he doesn ' t know which is worse . " Metropolitan Sewers . —The gross amount

      required for the Metropolitan Sewei'B , exclusive of compensation , will be £ 1 , 080 , 000 , which will be raised and paid off by an additional rate of 3 d . in the pound for thirty years . Whbn is a Person Rich Enough . —When 1 was young , an old gentleman asked me , "When is a person rich enough ? " I replied , " When he has a thousand pounds ? " "No /'— "When he has ten thousand ? " " No . "— " A hundred thousand ?" "No . " - "What then ? " " When he has a little more . "

      Thought . —A vast chain of associations is often spread out before the mind by a few simple words , and those associations are , nine times out of ten , totally different from any other that the speaker intended to awaken . Numbkr One . —A gentleman who haB occasion to walk with two ladies , with ono umbrella , should always go in the middle—that secures a dry coat to himself , and showing no partiality to either of the ladies . Thb editor of the Bangor Mercury says that he knows two individuals , who are cousins , having the same name , whose fathers were brothers , whose mothers were sisters , and whose wives are sisters . He challenges the whole world for a similar coincidence .

      A Union Workhouse . —Acrowd of sots , cronies , and drabB , blighted maidens , and blooralesa children , dwell there in " wards" and " dormitories , " existing by " dietary , " fed without a host , wearied without work , herding without love , and dying without a mourner . —rimes . Population of the World . —Professor Newman says it is a mathematical certainty that , if the existing population of the world were to increase for about eleven or twelve centuries , at the same rate as the British popula'ion has for some time past , no room would be left on the solid earth for men , women , and children to stand upon , allowing only a square foot fov each .

      A Gbntlr Hint . —A sportsman , who , during the shooting season , had gone to pass a week with a friend in the country , on the strength of a general invitation , soon found by a gentlehint , that he would have done better to have waited for a special one . " I saw some beautiful scenery , " was the visitor ' s first remark , " as I came to-day by the upper road . "" You will see still finer , " was the reply , " as you go back to-morrow by the lower one , " California . —The population of St . Francisco 13 about 35 . 000 . In that city Beven newspapers are published ; there are ten first-class hotels , and eight express companies . One hundred and seven miles of streets are laid out , about a quarter of which are built upon , and seven miles are substantially planned in roada and side walks . Forty-seven steamers are eraployed on the California rivers , and eleven steam ships are employed on the Pacific side , between San Francisco and Panama .

      A Miller , who lately quitted his mill to keep a public house , sent lo a painter to paint him a sign , on which he would have a mill . " I must have the miller looking out of the window . " "It shall be done , '' said the painter . " But as I was never seen to be idle , you must make him pop in his head if any one looks at him . " This was promised , and in due time the sign was finished and brought home . " It is well done , " said mine host ; "but where is the miller 1 " " Oh ! " replied the painter , " he popped in his head when you looked . "

      ML de Nikuwerkkrksis at present executing the model of the statue of Napoleon , destined for tho city of Lyons . It represents the Emperor with his hand on his heart , pronouncing tho phrase , since become historical , of " Lyonese , I love you ! " In 1814 , on arriving at Lyons from Grenoble , the Emperor was surroumled by such sv compact and enthusiastic crowd that he delivered no speech , and could only utter ihe celebrated exclamation mentioned above . THEFoLLTopPRiDE .-TheRev . Sidney Smith , for many years one of the contributors to the great English Reviews , thus discoursed on the folly of pride in Mich creature

      a as man :- " After all , take some quiet , sober momentof life , and add together the two ideas of pride and of man ; behold him , creature of a span high , ntalking through infinite spaceiu all the grandeur of littleness . Perched on a speck of the universe , every wind of heaven strikes into hia blood the coldness of death ; his soul floats from his body like melody from the striiu ;; day and night , as dust on the wheel , he is rolled along the heavens , through a labyrinth of worlds , and all the creations of God are flaming above and beneath . Is this n f roatureto make for himself a crown of glory—to deny his own flesh—to niock ' at his fellow , sprung from that dust to which both will soon return ? Dnes the

      proud man not err ? Does he not suffer ?_ Jiaes ho not die ? When he reasons is he neverf ^ pjjSfcbv - * difficulties ? When he acts , is he rie * er lCm ! M ^{ . . 4 s pleasure ? When he lives , is ho frec-TffipJ % | ,. < . §• ¦ . When he dies , can he escape the c' 6 niinojn > : £ i *^ f J& Pride is not the heritage -uf man ; bumi ] V * $ w&J 'fa ** dwell with fmtty , . and atone for isMrauc ? , e ^ , nf t 3 *»>; imperfection . " " \~ S&M A % \ . ¦ > fu . j , vSjij ? 5 ;

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      aild March 29 , 1851 . mTTn r ^ £ l : ; ' ¦ : .. ffifi fine - — _ : ~ -. -

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      PUBLICATIONS . RECEIVED . ^ fc ^ lT * ' * ? K ? - *• jAMB 8 ' ' ( Parlouif Library . ) Simms and M'Intyre . Voices of Freedom and-Z yria of £ ove , by-T . GBKAld ¦ Massbv , a . Working-Man . Watson .

      , MUSIC . : A Lay fa-the CJmrch , the poetry by A Pabk , music by R . M'Phebsion . Purday . The Census , a comic song , by A ; Park . Purday .

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      ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION . The chemical professor of this establishment , Mr . J . H . Pepper , has just commenced a lecture on the preparation and bleaching of flax . The lecturer stated that about £ 9 , 000 , 000 were paid annually to foreign countries for this article , which we might very well raise ourselves . After a brief description of the preparation of the plant , a portion of which might be described by three concentric circles , viz ., the epidermis , or outer bark , liberi or inner bark , ( wherein the fibre resides ) called the heart and centre circle , composed of woody matter , termed the boon . After explaining , the killing , rotting , or rusting , the breaking and Bcutching , the lecturer alluded to the various new chemical processes which had been devised , to get rid of tho troublesome operation of kittinu . and stated that

      a handsome fortune would reward the disclosure of a new , complete , and expeditious plan for preparing tho flax yarn ; but care waB required in all chemical processes to prevent the weakening or partial destruction of the fibre . ' All flax contained matter which ' it was necessary to get rid of in the best kind of goods ; white and fair linen of course being an absolute requisite of civilised life ; Bleaching agents might be considered under three heads . First , Absorption agents , such as charcoal . Second , Be oxydezimg or , hydrogen , giving agents as the preparation of white indigo , by protoxide of iron . Imrd , Oxydizing agents , which were numerous , and of these ohlorine wasthemost valuable . Afti-r alluding to the first , and second , which were not used for bleaching fabrics , the learned professor proceeded , by a number of experiments , to snow tbe agency of chlorine . '

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), March 29, 1851, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1619/page/3/