The Press. — London, England, 1857-04-18 00:00:00

APRIL 18, 1857. When these letters appeared in the Times, they were signed with the author's name. His present titlepage states that the letters are " reprinted by permission." If the letters came from a non-professional writer, we should suppose that " permission" would not be needed, or that copyright was intruded upon by their collection in a book. The volume, though not deep, is one suited for book-clubs. but readers of the fair sex must be warned that several coarse speeches are unavoidably introduced into the volume. We could wish that some of the dark portions of the subject had been relieved by sketches of " woman's mission " in such a district; but perhaps that might only be a pretext for introducing still sterner pictures. I. Songs of the Cavaliers and Roundheads, Jacobite Ballads, ifc. By George W. Thornbury. London : Hurst and Blackett. 2. First Fruits. Poems. By E. H. B. London : Hurst and Blackett. 1. The rich vein of poetical material under lying English life during the whole of that long struggle which begun at Edgehill and ended at Culloden is very lar from being yet exhausted. Scott worked it extensively in his prose fictions, but devoted only one of his poems to so thoroughly congenial a topic ; and a few songs, plaintive or triumphant, by the minstrels of those nations where love of the white rose and the Catholic faith lingered longest are all that poetry has yet contributed to the celebration of that famous and heroic contest. Possibly the events aro even yet too near to form the subject of a great epic poem. The opinions of mankind are still divided on the rights of the contending parties. No poet could treat of it without becoming an advocate ; and admiration of his verse would be lost in criticism of his argument. lint perhaps the very causes which unfit this period of history for the theme of the epos or the drama, may add zest and poignancy to its lyric embodiment. Partisanship is not out of place in a song; and certainly in a battle song it is necessary for the minstrel to feel for the moment inspired by the same passion as the combatants. We can safely say of Mr. Thorn bury that ho does not fail in this qualification. His sympathies are Jacobite throughout ; and, indeed, it must be said that after 1088, when the Puritans were extinguished, the poetry of the struggle was all on the losing side. Mr. Thornbury's versification is bold and spirited, as the accompanying extracts will sufficiently show. But. we would suggest the exercise of greater care in the choice of names and epithets. Even a bad rhyme is in our opinion preferable to an unpc.tical word ; and, in spite of the Wordsworthians, we hold to the existence of a distinct poetical phraseology : MELTING OF THE EARL'S PLATE. Here's the gold cup all boss) with satyrs and saints, Aud my race•bowl (now, women, no whining and plaints!) From the paltriest spoon to the costliest thing, We'll melt it all down for the use of the king. Here's the chalice stamped over with sigil and cross, — Soule day we'll make up to the chapel the loss. Now bring me my father's great emerald ring, For I'll melt down the gold for the good of the king. And bring me the casket my mother has got, And the jewels that fall to my Barbara's lot; Then dry up your eyes and do nothing but sing, For we're helping to coin the gold for the king. This dross we'll transmute into weapons of steel, Tempered blades for the hand, sharpest spurs for the heel ; And when Charles, with a shout, into London we bring, We'll be glad to remember this deed for the king. Bring the hawk's silver bells, and the nursery spoon, The crucible's ready—we're nothing too soon ; For I hear the horse neigh that shall carry the thing 'That'll bring up a smile in the eyes of the king. There go my old spurs, and the old silver jug,— 'Twas just for a moment a pang and a tug ; But now I am ready to dance and to sing, To thick I've thrown gold in the chest of my king. _ The earrings Inge shape, and the coronet too, I feel my eyes dim with a sort of a dew. Hurrah lot the poaaet dish !—Everything Mitll run into bars for the use of the kieg. That spoon is a sword, and this thimble a pike; It's but a week's garret in London belike— Then a dash at Whitehall, and the city shall ring With the shouts of the multitude bringing the king. THE PRESS. THE JACOBITE ON TOWER HILL. He tripp'd up the steps with a bow and a smile, Offering snuff to the chaplain the while, A rose at his buttonhole that afternoon— ' lwas the tenth of the mouth, and the month it wag June. Then shrugging his shoulders he look'd at the man With the mask and the axe, and a murmuring ran Through the crowd, who, below, were all pushing to see The gaoler kneel down, and receiving his fee. He look'd at the mob, as they roared with a stare, And took snuff again with a cynical air. l'm happy to give but a moment's delight To the flower of my country agog for a sight." Then he look'd at the block, and with scented cravat Dusted room for his neck, gaily doffing his hat, Kiss'd his hand to a lady, bent low to the crowd, Then smiling, tur n 'd round to the headsman and bow'd. " God save King James !" he cried bravely and shrill, And the cry reacli'd the houses at foot of the hill, " My friend, with the axe, d mitre service," he said ; And ran his white thumb 'long the edge of the blade. When the multitude hissed he stood firm as a rock ; Then kneeling, laid down his gay head on the block, He kiss'd a white rose, iu a moment 'twas red With the life of the bravest of any that bled. The above is the only piece of strict criticism we feel disposed to offer. The subject which Mr. Thorubury has chosen is almost sufficient of itself to make a poet He has not shown himself unworthy of being the minstrel of so beautiful and touching a history. We regret our space forbids further examples of his style, but we would recommend to all our readers " The Fountain Beaulieu," " Wigan's Retreat," " The Three Troopers," " The White Rose over the Water," and "Dick o' the Diamond." 2. This is a volume of very graceful poetry ; pious, but quite practical in tone ; harmonious in versification, but neither cloying to the ear nor barren to the intellect. We have seldom read more sweetly musical verses than some of the following : THE PILGRIM OF THE CROSS. Thou art weary, fellow pilgrim, and thine eyes are dull with cure ; Is thy daily cross too heavy for thy feebleness to bear ? Thou art weary, fellow pilgrim, and thy step is sad and slow. I cannot sin; along the road, whilst thou art full of woe. Look straight upon the sunshine, turn thy back upon the cloud, Heed not the ceaseless murmuring of yonder busy crowd. Two strangers in a distant land, two vessels tar at sea, We'll speak of that dear haven, where our spirits lung to be. Art thinking of the friends, who once were walking at thy side? The sharers of thy inmost thoughts, thy comfort and thy pride ; Who cheered thee in the wilderness, and led thee up the hill ; Weep not, thou lonely wayfarer, their hearts are with thee still. They are with thee, pilgrim of the cross, and doubly they are thine, They are with thee in the spirit, but their love is more divine ; Nought but their earthliness is dead, and not the inward ray, And when their luve is perfected, how can it pass away ! Art thinking of thiue onward road, with heart•depressing tears ? The gate of heaven is far beyond the shadowy vale of tears; But the flash of God's own love breaks forth, to lighten up the scene, And gilds with joy and happiness the path that lies between. There is falsehood in the city, there is sorrow on the plain, There is darkness in the wilderness, and danger on the main ; The world is loud and frivolous, but Christian, thou ean'at and A temple in thy glowing heart, a heaven in thy mind ! Be deathless in thy friendship, and eternal in thy lova, Butt let them never draw thy soul from fellowship above ; Be watchful and b~ guarded, in thy brightest, holiest hours, For grace is sometimes choked by thorns, but oftener still by tlow'rs ! Hope on in loving trust and faith, by promise made secure, Hope on through Him, who counted it most glorious to endure ; Then inay'st thou tell thine angel, when he whispers holy things, " I have thine own great heart of love, and soon shall have thy wings!" THE NOEL'S JOURNEY. Thou hest called me from Egypt, the land of the stranger, Thou hest rolled back the waves of a desolate sea, Thou hast guided my soul through a long night of danger, The Pharaoh of pride has been conquered by Thee ! I came to the desert ; the waters of sorrow Were bitter at first ; but I sought for Thy tree, And soon from the Cross such a taste did they borrow, No fountain was ever so welcome to me. 389 Thou bast led me to Elim when downcast and weary ; The wells and the palm trees were dear to me there ; But oh ! be the wilderness ever so dreary, With Thee for my Saviour, I cannot despair. Lead on, blessed light ! for thy beauty is o'er me ; O guide me through Jordan to glory and rest The blue hills of Sion are rising before me, The land Thou halt promised!—the Laud of the Blest! These lines are not merely the melodious nonsense tdf the small fry of poetasters which infest literature—there is both thought and feeling contained in them ; nor are the above extracts gems picked mit from a mass of infe rior matter. The bulk of the poems have great merit, and we shail hail the appearance of the writer on a larger scale. The Seasons of the Church, What they Teach. Edited by the Rev. Henry Newland. Vol. I. London: Mozley. TILE nature of these discourses cannot be better shown than by the following extract from the preface : We may observe that He first caused the attention of the world to be drawn to the fact of His own Advent, sug gestive of the preparation necessary for such an event; that lie then selected certain men, whom He tried and dis ciplined individually, and taught to imitate Him, by living before them upon earth as man ; that when they had been thus tried, and disciplined, and instructed unto the King dom of God, the Lord's mission on earth in respect of teaching was complete, His Church had been created and framed, and was now ready to receive the breath of life : that it was then, and not before, that the great atonement was made, which was the condition of this life—that im mediately afterwards came the resurrection, the first fruits of it—and that after this, the doctrines dependent on the atonement and the resurrection were revealed ; so that whereas before this He had instructed His disciples in their duties as men, He now taught His Apostles their office as churchmen, explaining to them all that up to this time had been incomprehensible for want of the revelation■ of Good Friday and Easter, those revelations which St. Luke terms emphatically, the " things pertaining to the King dom of God :" that when they began to understand these things, and not before, He explained to them what He had before announced of the doctrines connected with the Third Person of the Trinity, bidding them, however, tarry at Jerusalem until they were endowed with power from on high; and that it was then, and not till then, that He sent them out into the world on their several missions as perfect Christians, fully instructed in their duties (1 ) as Christian men, (2) as Christian churchmen, and now at last fully enabled to perform them. We trace here a distinct plan, a complete scheme of teaching, and my belief is, that the Church in her Christian Year has followed this implicitly; and, that not only the successions of her seasons, but also the several Sundays and Festivals belonging to those seasons, are successive developments of this scheme. I mean, not only that Advent is the season for the pre paration of the Lord's coming, but that each succeeding Sunday opens a new help to this preparation, in (1) the Scriptures, (2) the Ministers, and (3) the Invisible Presence of the Lord Christ. I mean not only that Christmas is our call to follow the Lord on earth, but that its festivals are so arranged as to show us the disposition of the mind and heart, which the preparations of the former season ought to have produced, and which are absolutely necessary fir us before we can hope to follow that example ; and that these are, (1) Readiness, St. Andrew ; (2) Faith, St. Thomas; (3) Courage, St. Stephen ; (4) Love, St. John; (5) Purity, Holy Innocents; concluding with (6) Obedience, Circum- cision. Epiphany, I imagine to convey far more than the his torical fac:, that the Gentiles were admitted to the fold of Christ. 1 take it to signify the Epiphania, or Manifests. lion of Christ in the character of the Sun of Mau, dwelt in " without measure" by the Spirit. The manifestations of this being the virtues recorded in the Gospels of the Season, such as obedience to parents, considerateness to friends, beneficence to mankind in general, while glimpses of the indwelling Godhead are also afforded by the circum stances which accompany these manifestations; such as obedience to earthly parents, combined with "My Father's business ;" assistance given to a relation, combined with " woman, what have I to do with thee ?" the healing of the sick, with " speak the word only;" the deliverance of His followers from danger, with "what manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him ?" Epiphany in relation to us, I imagine to signify the exhibition of the Perfect Christian, in the Person of Him who alone is perfect. The Season which follows this, I imagine to be in tended by the Church as a time of warning, corresponding with the warnings by which the Lord Himself used to check the over-confidence of His followers ; suggesting as it does a comparison of our own actual lives and conduct, with that of the pattern just exhibited, and bringing before us (1) the work given us, (2) the means afforded us, (3) the perfect Pattern of Christian Love which is set be fore us. Lent, I imagine to be the Church's scheme for amend ment and return to this pattern ; which scheme is unfolded in the successive Sundays as (1) ➢fortification of th• Flesh, (2) Self•distrust, (3) Confidence in Uod, (4) Reliance on Divine Orlinances, (3) Perseverance, (6) Voluntary Humiliation. Holy Week and Easter teach of course the Atonemen4 and the Iteaturection, and at the same time open tbq