The Press. — London, England, 1858-01-23 00:00:00

Mure's translations of Thucydides, with the exception of the one word a 4 XOOI.AMOTLY, are ex tremely hypercritical. In our own estimate of Xenophon, we agree neither with the colonel nor his critic. " The Monetary Crisis " is a thoughtful and useful essay, more cautious and perhaps more scientific than those in the Westminster, but taking apparently the same siews on restrictions of the paper currency. On India, all three Reviews have noticeable papers. Between the Quarterly and the West minster there is the greater contrast, as both go more into particulars than the National. Of the revolt, the Westminster says it is a mere military mutiny, the Quarterly that it is a national insurrection, and accounts for the neutrality of the Indian princes and alleged indifference of the people. The Conservative periodical, without laying special stress on the previous misgovernment of the country, maintains that the war is hut the expression of a deep-seated national feeling, to which the greased cartridge lent only an accidental sti mulus. The " predisposing condition " was what " is dignified with the name of patriotism, " whenever success attends the effort." The Westminster, on the other hand, seems to throw the whole blame on the greased car tridges, and, though admitting certain prior causes of discontent, would question the existence of any fundamental hostility to the dominion of the whites. It is strange, in speak ing of the sepoy army, that both writers should neglect what is so explicitly stated by Colonel Briggs, whose work is one of the text-books of the Quarterly essay, that the native army which fought under our great old Indian generals were not Hindoos at all, but abori gines, who were some "of the best and bra " vest soldiers of Southern India," and " have " none of the prejudices (occasionally so in " convenient) of the Hindoos and Mohame " dans," and "afford of themselves at present " a resource of 4,000,000 males, between the " ages of twenty and forty-one, to supply the " casualties of the native army " (India and Europe Compared, by Lieut.-Colonel Briggs, p. 50). In regard to the future government of India, the two periodicals agree in some things and differ in others. They agree that an English immigration is much wanted, as a check On official corruption, and they agree in denying the wisdom of admitting natives to a share in the Government. They differ in that the Westminster would abolish the Company in toto, the Quarterly retain it with some modifications. The latter, also, would be satisfied with 50,000 European troops in the country; the former would require 80,000. Tho National article is of a more general and philosophic character. In its view of the East India Company, it is about halfway between the above two. We must express our surprise at the disgraceful attack on Lord Ellenborough, who is univer sally recognised by all parties as the man of the crisis. Dauntless. By the Author of " Hands not Hearts." Two Vols. London :J. W. Parker and Son. THIS is a story of a more openly religious character than it is now usual to meet with. While entirely free from cant, it is based on the idea that the only guiding principle of life is a firm faith in the conso lations of Christianity. And the author does not scruple to introduce sacred subjects in the language once always appropriated to them, but now rather avoided, as if we compromised ourselves by the use of it. The story is good. That is to say, the inci dents are exciting and probable at the same time, the characters are rather carefully drawn, and the language unaffected and pure. We cannot say that " Dauntless " rises much above the average of those clever domestic stories of which every year witnesses the birth of so many. It takes rank with " Summerieigh Manor," " Dorothy," " The Myrtle and the Heather," and others of the same class. But the boldness with which the author speaks out on religion entitles him to special credit. The plot is rather too compli cated to enable us to give any intelligible outline of it. We may state that it involves the separation of two lovers neither of whom knows the state of the other's affections, and which the gentleman will not declare because of a supposed early attachment between the lady and a departed friend of his own ; the sudden reduction of a wealthy family to poverty by the death of the head, and the support of a querulous widow and two daughters by the labour of one whom as a dependant of her husband she had treated with contempt and dislike ; the marriage of a THE PRESS, JARUARV 23,1858. young and imaginative girl from a mistaken senso of duty to a man whom she does not love, but the nobleness of whose character at length penetrates her heart and touches her with true passion ; and, finally, the union of the two long.parted lovers when their characters had been strengthened and chas tened by adversity and disappointment. The last incident but one bears a strong resembiance to the story of " Emilia Wyndham," but we are unwilling to believe in plagiarism where there is so much native ability to account for the coincidence. We have read " Dauntless " with great pleasure, and can safely recommend it. Adele. By Julia Kavanagh. Three Vols. London : Hurst and Blackett. Miss KAVANAGH'S present novel is distinguished by the same elegance of style and thought, and general literary skill, for which she has always been remark. able. It is, on the whole, interesting, and as it con tains a greater amount of incident than any of her previous works, it will doubtless find favour with the circulating libraries. The " business "of the story, however —by which wo mean those prosaic but indi4 pensable elucidations which serve to connect and carry it on—is too roughly hurried over, and an average reader would probably find some difficulty in recollecting the details of the plot. A graver objec tion to the book is, that it is pervaded by the same dreamy sentimentalism which was so prominent a feature of "Nathalie," and which would make us almost as unwilling to place Miss Kavanagh's novels (except " Madeleine ") in the hands of a young lady as the works of Rousseau. We do not mean to say that there is in them the slightest approach to inde licacy either of thought or language, or that they contain a single word which could not be read aloud in the most prudish family : but the authoress's conception of love seems to us a peculiarly morbid and unhealthy one. In all her tales we find the same kind of characters and situations—on one side a hero, who, whether of the amiable or the ferocious type, fascinates by a half-paternal, half. domineering tenderness, and, in spite of his intellect and sensibi lity, is strangely unable to divine what sort of feel ings he has excited ; on the other a girl addicted to day-dreams, and either obeying with reckless self indulgence the transient gusts of fancy, or fanning with sighs of regret the lingering embers of a hope less passion. It is doing an injustice to human nature to represent love under this uniformly ener vating and effeminate aspect. There is an applica tion to more than one sex in the welllnown lines of Campbell : Shame on the coward thought, that e'er betrayed The noon of manhood to a myrtle shade If Hope's creative spirit cannot raise One trophy sacred to thy future days, Spurn the dull crowd who haunt the gloomy shrine Of hopeless Love to murmur and repine. If we blame a writer who makes vice attractive, we ought also to blame, if in a less degree, one who makes moral weaknesses as fascinating as if they were positive virtues • and the charm which Miss Kavanagh has the skill to throw round her exhibi. lions of ill-regulated passion and unstable impul siveness makes them doubly dangerous to that class of readers by whom they are likely to be most eagerly perused. Such at least is our general irn pre.:sion of her works, and if our readers are in doubt, we think that a reference to "Daisy Burns" or " Grace Lee " will convince them that the great talents of the author have not hitherto been used for the wisest of purposes. PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.--JANum Is. 1300K9. The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford. Edited by Peter Cunningham. Vol. VII. Bentley The Timely Retreat; or, a Year in Bengal Before the Muti neers. By Two Sisters. Bentley Full Lessons in Geology. W. Adam. Motley The Newspaper Press Directory and Advertiser's Guide. Mitchell The Three Chances. Authoress of " The Fair Carew." Smith and Elder V illette. Currer Bell. Ditto Sermons. 11ev. Thomas Iterchever Arnold, M.A. Itivingtons Historical Ballads, and Other Verses. l)oudnan Hardwicke's Annual Biography fur 1837. Hardwicke The Anniversaries, Poems, tc. Thomas 11. Gill. Macmillan Metropolitan and Provincial Law Association—French Reading for Self.instruction. Wilson—The Empire of the Middle Classes. Thacker—The Political Prospects of British India. Hatehard-3ketches of India, Ancient and Modern. J. W. Parker—The Impossibility of Admittiug Jews into Parliament. Rivingtons—The Bank Act, What it is, and What it Does. Wilson—A Few Words upon the Indian Question. Smith and Elder. London University Magazine. Atlantic Monthly. Tmbuer. Hall and Virtne—The HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE. THE first and second of the " Festival Perform ances," in honour of the approaching marriage of the Princess Royal, were given on Tuesday and Thurs day nights last. The four performances are intended each to represent a department of dramatic art. Tuesday night ;was devoted to tragedy, Thursday to English opera. On this night will be given an Italian opera, and on Tuesday night next will be given ao English comedy, The Rivals, we believe. The house bas been beautifully deco rated with festoons and flowers, and the tiers of boxes, trimmed with lace and blue silk, present an extremely elegant appearance. For the accommoda tion of the Royal party, ten boxes were thrown into one spacious salle, decorated with white satin panels and opening into the concert-room of the theatre, which is magnificently fitted up as a banqueting ball. The Royal party arrived on each night shortly after nine o'clock, in seventeen of the royal carriages. At the c3nclusion of Macbeth on Tuesday the Royal Anthem was sung, and concluded amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the audience, her Majesty the Queen gracefully acknowledging the welcome reception of her people. The performance of the Anthem by the Vocal Association of Mr. Benedict, on Tuesday night, was be yond praise. On Thursday night an incident occurred which redoubled the cheers of the audience. At the end of the opera, her Majesty, apparently unaware that the National Anthem would oe repeated that night, gave the signal for retiring, and the royal Lox was nearly empty when the curtain rose again, and the familiar strains of the national hymn were heard. The Queen instantly returned to the front of the box, almost unaccompa nied. The reappearance of her Majesty acted like electricity on the house ; bursts of tumultuous cheer ing rose from every side, and were acknowledged by the illustrious lady with graceful and repeated salu tations. Mr. Harrison gave the solo verses of the anthem with energetic expression, vow after vow being echoed and re-echoed by the audience with spontaneous enthusiasm. A more magnificent scene was never witnessed, nor was ever an ebullition of loyalty more genuine, unanimous, and imposing. The Royal party then retired, but returned shortly for the farce, when the impression produced upon the occupants of the Queen's box, including her Majesty herself, by the inimitable drollery of Mr. Robson, as Jacob Earwig, the deaf " boots," baffles description. The roars of laughter that proceeded from the house, at each diverting stroke of humour, could hardly have been more cheering to the actor than the less vehemently expressed, but not a bit less genial and unconstrained hilarity of her Majesty and her distin guished circle of relatives and friends. The whole party remained until the curtain fell, and, on rising to depart, the Queen was once more loudly cheered by the audience—one of the most brilliant ever assembled within the walls of Her Majesty's Theatre. PRINCESS'S THEATRE._ A DEMONSTRATION took place at the Princess's en Tuesday night, when the house was crowded in every part by a most brilliant audience, and Mr. Kean was called before the act drop at the end of the second and third acts, and twice at the conclusion of the piece. On the last occasion he delivered the following address : Ladies and Gentlemen, it is not my custom ever to ad dress an audience except on the concluding night of a season ; but I fear that on the present occasion, were I not to respond to so remarkable an ebullition of public feeling as that which you have exhibited towards me this evening, my silence might be wrongly interpreted. 1 am deeply sensible of your kindness, and beg you to accept my heart felt thanks. Tt would be affectation in me to pretend not to understand the motives which have intlnenced this par ticular excitement, and it is another instance, in addition to the many I have already received, that when a publics man acts in a conscientious and upright manner the public will always afford him their sympathy and support. Throughoot my life I have coveted the verdict of public opinion, profes— sionally and socially, and this evening impresses on me a most gratifying conviction that my wishes are realised. Mr. Kean's friends assert that in the matter of the Festival Performances his claims have been unduly neglected. We have reason to believe that in the correspondence which took place Mr. Kean displayed great temper and judgment. The point involved is one of considerable public interest, and the cor• respondence ought to be produced in order to show whether these performances are to be regarded as a fresh instance of her Majesty's gracious disposition towards her subjects, or as a mere medium of gain for a favoured librarian. 91