The Press. — London, England, 1858-08-28 00:00:00

826 property as regards strangers. The only fault we have to find is with the map, which appears to be that of the U. K. Society ; it is on the scale of only one-third of an inch to a mile, which is far too small for any real convenience to a tourist, especially if' he follows the author's advice about pedestrian excursions. The idea of making a handbook to the cathe drals of England was a good one, and it has been well carried out by Mr. Walcott. It is so com mon for a traveller to stop just long enough in a city to see its cathedral—and, indeed, there are so many cities where there is but little else to see except for an artist or a regular antiquarian—. that this little book will answer the purpose of a `guide to objects of interest' for a great part of England. It makes no pretence of being a hand book to anything but the edifices themselves, and therefore no such practical information as we have above commended is to be found in it ; but what it professes to do is done with conciseness, accuracy, and good taste. In a future edition we should recommend the author to add a slight sketch, in a couple of pages, of the periods of Gothic architecture ; and something in the way of a very brief glossary would also be desirable. Many persons would he glad to slip this slender volume into their pocket who have no acquaint ance with the technical terms of architecture, and never think of such matters except when they come in their way, while those who under take a regular steeple-chase probably know nearly as much as Mr. Walcott has to tell then. We have great pleasure in recommending these books, and consider that they do credit, on the whole, to both authors and publisher. Every Man his Own Trumpeter. By G. W. Thornbury. Three Vols. London : Hurst and Blackett. No one conversant with Mr. Thornbury's writings could have mistaken the parentage of these three volumes, even had the author's name not been prefixed to them. The helter-skelter style of narrative—the jingle of spurs, helmets, and rapiers—the gleam and glitter of velvet, silk, and cloth of gold—the blue, orange, and white feathers—the duels, mill6es, and escapes— all bespeak the author of the Jacobite ballads and lays of the Cavaliers and Roundheads. The present novel, in fact, is one of Mr. Thornhury's ballads iu prose. There is no attempt at pre serving probability—no pretence of historic accuracy—a noble scorn of the unities, and a reckless abnegation of the art of construction, which challenge forgiveness by their very auda city. His sin is small because it is so great. We are not obliged anxiously to balance Mr. Thorn bury's transgressions against his merits. The former are so marked and flagrant, that if not entirely condoned they would bury the latter altogether. We must either make up our minds at once to class Mr. Thornbury with the Pierce Egan school of novelists, and give him up for good, or consent to believe that his extravagances are merely the result of high spirits and hasty composition, and will gradually disappear as he grows older, while his merits are intrinsic, and will shine brighter as they are less and less overlaid with gaudy embroidery. We cer tainly have derived as much pleasure from the perusal of Mr. Thornbury's book as deters us from pronouncing the harsher of the two verdicts. The overwhelming censure that would follow from a very literal and critical view of his per formance we somehow feel that he would scarcely deserve. So we toss this theory of his story on one side, and adopt the more merciful interpre tation, because we really have not courage to adopt the other. M. Caesar [De Mirabel is a "young gentle man of Gascony," who arrives at Paris in the year 1687, to seek a commission in the King's service. This he obtains—spends a season or so in Paris as a fast young Mousquetaire—falls in love with his cousin—joins the French army in Italy under Catinat—distinguishes himself in the regular way—is traduced according to rule—is set right by a flash of lightning—marries the pretty cousin—settles down at the chateau—and about, as we must suppose, the year 1692 or 1693, when France was at the height of glory and prosperity, both externally and internally, foresees every hour too many dreadful proofs of an ilnpending earthquake, wkiek, ii' things do not 116. THE PRESS, AUGUST 28, 1858. " alter, will some day swallow up Throne, Church, " and Cottage." This young Gascon gentleman, coming perfectly raw and youthful from his father's chateau, un masks an astrologer at a country inn, and breaks all his bottles and conjuring apparatus before he has been two hours from home. has a remarkable adventure at the house of his uncle the following day. On the very first night of his arrival at Paris is employed by the Grand Monarque him self on a piece of secret service in the palace, of no less responsible a nature than watching for a French noble at the chamber door of Mme. de Mon tespan. On the next day falls in with, detects at a glance, exposes, and punishes a party of the cleverest Parisian sharpers. Then fights and overcomes the most skilful swordsman and for midable duellist in his regiment. Not satisfied with this exploit, cuts out the Chief of the Police in a love affair, and offers to fight him ! Is lodged in the Bastile in consequence, from which he escapes disguised as a baker, and walks about Paris very much as if nothing had happened— calling on the l'rime Minister in a free and easy way to get his pardon, as if he had not committed the most unpardonable offence which a French subject could commit—and is almost immediately let off by the King himself; who treats the affair as a good joke. When we tell our readers that all this occurs in less than the first volume and a half, they will agree with us that there is certainly stuff in the story. The blunders to be found in this work, whether clerical or authorial, are neither few nor far between. The classical quotations are miserably mauled. Mr. Thornbury makes his personages talk a happy medley of French and English, ancient and modern; e. g.:— " ltut the boy's Virgil and his Latin verse, his Penta• meters, his Alcaics. lton Dieu, his Alcaics? What, good is a scholar without his Alcaics ? " stammered the tutor turning pale, " he doesn't know his aorists." " 1) his aorists," said my father, " the lad is a lusty lie can ride, swim, shoot, use his sweri, pistol, an . d musket, what e►se does a man want? what good is your ninicurn ne crede coloris, to a lad who carries the colours ?' • • • • • But we determined to have a fight for it,-30 girding up our loins and tucking up our gowns, struck up one of David's battle psalms, " Let God arise, and let Ms enemies be scattered ;" and ran like bricks to a small stony hill close at hand, where we stood at hay and awaited our adversaries, who were headed by a fat butcher in a sttnflowcr•cjloured waistcoat, studded with red roses. " How is your mistress now ?" said Le Tellier. " 0! she's horful ! " said the lacqney, who seemed mucli disconcerted; " alie's a regular Herculaneum tigress. She is tearing about, nirm.: like a liedlamite than a Christian." Once 1 plucked at the niguillettes of one as he passed " Waen will the Marshal be at leisure ?" " Oh, its no use you're bothering here, and stalling np that window that we want for the dirty plates. I tell you the Marshal won't see any more petitioners to-day, so you may go. We can't have the hall blocked up in this 'ere way." I said, " Liekplate, tell him when he rises, that the Governor of Saint Damian requests an hour of his leisure." " Do von see this ? " said the insol •nt wretch, putting his finger to his eye, " is there any partieulAr green there? You a governor? %Vhy you are one of the playing chaps, come about the benefit night. I know you ;it won't du with me—hookey." Mr. Thornbury's description of French military society under Louis Quatorze, in a crack house hold regiment, is hardly consistent with all that we know of the period. The coarseness, the bullying, and the impertinence to superior officers, could never have existed, we think, out of Mr. Thornbury's imagination. But he scarcely strives to throw himself back into the period of which he is writing. his remarks on reviews and on literary men are another instance of this, and are as obviously the reflex of his own daily observation as the horful" and the " hookey " of the above extracts. Mr. Thornbury's absolute mistakes are not few. It was not Ilecuba that put out her eves with shoebuckles, but, if anybody, (Edipus. Nor can Mirabel's old colonel very well be made to speak as follows in the year 1689 :- 1 remember, when I first joined, I made just such a mistake as you did. I catue into the messroom and saw a little old man blind of one eye, with his back to the fire, which he kept from every one else ; I called for my great coat, just to turn the laugh on him, hut he did not move, and made no reply. 1 found afterwards this was old General Renaud, the man who turned the day at Steen kirk by seven consecutive charges at the head of Boisson's kriliatler For even in 1689 the y h ave colonel cou ld h ardl seen an officer distinguished i n a b attle that was not fought till 1692—t0 say nothing of the fact that he was referring to his own youth, son e quarter of a century earlier. We have adduced these specimens of tl_e ran. dom and thoughtless style of Mr. Thornbury's composition because we think it a p i ty that one who can write so well should not take the trouble to write better. We have a great deal to say i n his favour. Many of his descripti ons are ex tremely spirited and graphic, and he has the art of thoroughly carrying us along with him. There is a native vigour in his pen that triumphs over such defects as would prove fatal to the majority of novelists ; for, independently of his incorrect ness, his plot is of the most flimsy texture, and his young lady portraits are complete failures —in fact, they are mere outlines, with scarcely an attempt at filling in. Ilis novel, therefore, is deficient in one great element of attraction—an exhibition of the passion between the sexes. That, with these numerous faults, "Every Man his Own Trumpeter " should be so readable and pleasant as it is, is a strong proof of Mr. Thorn bury's powers. Let him once learn and digest the lesson that a novel cannot be knocked off like half-a-dozen stanzas of rhyme, and we have little doubt he may yet write a book which shall be more than a merely amusing one. PUBLICATIONS REC El VED—Auousr 26. 1300 KS. Poems. William Tidd Matson. Groomhridge. Two Millions. William Allen Batler. Sampson I,cw. Early Ancient History; or, the Ante• Greek Period. Hem, Menzies. enapman and Hall. Beatrice Cenci. An Historical Novel of the Sixteenth Century. F. D. Guerrazzi. Bosworth and Wirrison. Five Years of It. Alfred Austin. Hop and Cu. JULTIIeId Grime. Samuel Phillips Day. PAMPHLETS. Shakespeare a Lawyer. L sa,, ,,, nani—Treatieg bettormi the Nawabs of the Carnatic and the lion. E. I. Compuoty. MKildttn—l'he Growth of Russian Power. Hardwicke— The Equalisation of the Poor's•Rale. liardwicke. The Photograph Are Jouro.d. Lay. 41U 54. HEREFORD MUSICAL FESTIVAL. (Abridged from the Times.) THE festival which opened on Tuesday at Hereford is the 135th meeting of the three choirs, which had their origin in a very humble way—viz., in an agree. meut of certain musical clubs in the three cities to meet each other for two days annually (each city being visited in rotation as at present) for improve. merit in harmony. The history of the establishment of these festivals by Dr. Thomas Bisse, in 1721, has been already given in the coluiuns of the Times, from Lyson's " History of the Origin and Progress of the Meeting of the Three Choirs." The following short passage illustrates the humble origin of the meetings : The Hereford Musical Club existed some time before the annual joint meeting was established. It consisied mostly of members of the college, who met one evening weekly, in the hall of the Vicars Choral. The performances were all gratis, except that of Mr. Woodcock, their leader, whose nightly pay was rm. Tim members were regaled with ale, elder, and tobacco. The Lames of attending members, generally fifteen or sixteen performers, and seven or eight neu.performers, were inserted in a book, with those of strangers introduced as visitors. Absentee mem hers paid a forfeit of (3d., and all tines were applied to the purchase of music for the use of the club. These festivals, of which the foundation was formed in the hall of the Vicars Choral at Hereford, now form one of the great musical features of the year, and tourists musically inclined commonly make Wows' ter, Hereford, or Gloucester their resting.places for a week in order to hear oratorio music where only it can bo heard to p er f ec ti on —viz., within the wall s of such a building as a cathedral, with all the sacred associations surrounding them. Hereford is ustiollY the smallest of the three festivals. In the first place, the capacity of the cathedral itself is mo re limited thou that of either Worcester or Gloucester. Then the surrounding population is thinner , w ealth is limited to the few, and there are no large manutacturiug towns in proximity. The more recent constructimit of railways has given facilities for the visit of distabnt. strangers, but with this advantage it was very dou rese nt ful for some time in the early par t of the p year whether the meeting fur 1858 would not have of be abandoned. At last, however, a strong list 43 stewards, willing to undertake the pecuniary reolgt sibility, was obtained. The following are the,U: names :—The Hon. and Rev. G. Herbert, the Rig!: Hon. Sir G. C. Lewis, Bart., M.P., the Hon. and Reva.l jJanbury, Sir Baldwin 14eightont Bari., Sir W. Curs""