The Press. — London, England, 1854-12-23 00:00:00

DECEMBER 23, 1854. press beholders, is far from a visitation, in any calamitous sense, to the individual. On the contrary, it is often a beautiful and even triumphant close to a life of active beneficence, and, depriving the grave of its pains and terrors, approaches nearest to that direct translation from earth to heaven which it was the special privilege of the most favoure d Hebrew prophet to enjoy. Idaline. A Story of the Egyptian Bondage. By Mrs. J. B. Webb. London : Beatley. THE most gifted minds have found it difficult to successfully graft modern fiction upon ancient history. Fenelon in a past age, Moore and Southey in our own, may be adduced as authors who have overcome the difficulty best, but rigid critics object that in " Telemaque " and in the " Epicurean " the fable is overlaid with au embroidery of sentiment, and in " The Curse of Kehama ' smothered beneath a load of learning. But in " Idaline," though Mrs. Webb deserves credit for industry, we have little more than the dry bones of a past age laid out in order. Not the most learned, but the most imaginative, mind succeeds best in reproducing the past. The Chevalier Bunsen throws into his works an amazing amount of antiquarian lore, but for living truth a scene from Shakspeare's " Troilus " or " Anthony " is worth it all. Had Nineveh been exhumed in his day, with what Promethean power would those grim, stiff sculptures have been roused into life I Nothing can be more erroneous than to take our idea of the existence of an ancient people from their art-monuments and remains. As well might we take our notions of laughing, romping, boisterous childhood from their earliest pictorial efforts on slate or wall. Yet this is the error into which dull, industrious writers perpetually fall. Idaline, the daughter of an Egyptian High Priest, Jambres, is betrothed in early years to Sophie, a priest of Osiris, but chooses in his stead to fall in love with a handsome Hebrew, who converts her. Such is the bare outline of the story. There is the usual amount of diffi culties and miseries, and a few horrors and escapades, which supply material for narrative. In the end Jambres, disgraced by his daugh ter's conversion, dies of a broken heart, though converted on his deathbed by Idaline's per suasions; and then the young lady, consigning " the mortal remains of her beloved father "to the care of a faithful domestic," gets into a covered carriage with her lover, and is mar ried that night ! The story is simple, but Mrs. Webb's at tempts to combine her ancient impressions and modern tendencies are usually unlucky. Take as au example the description of an Egyptian dinner party : In the house of Jambres, the custom of placing the male and female visitors at different tables in the same apartment had been observed ever since the death of his wife ; and Idaline was glad that it was not departed from on this occasion, as she was thus spared the embarrass ment of being placed next to Sophia, and was able to seat herself at the head of the ladies' table, by the side of the Princess Thermuthis, who had honoured her and her father by becoming their guest. The only drawback to the satisfaction that she derived from this arrangement was being compelled to litten to the praises of her in tended husband, which her aged friend took the first oppor tunity of pouring into her ear. Thermuthis thought that the young bride elect received her congratulations and ex pressions of approbation with strange indifference ; but her attention was quickly diverted from her by the arrival of the customary wine-cup, which was presented even to th eladies before the commencement of the more substan jai part of the repast. This consisted of fish, joints of *set', veal, or pork—for no mutton was eaten by the Egyp tans—poultry, particularly well-fattened geese, and a great variety of vegetables, cooked in numerous ways, and some times mingled with the blood of oxen. After this course followed fruit of every kind that the fertile soil of Egypt produced, or that could be obtained from the neighbouring nations. Amongst these were to be seen grapes, syca more-figs, olives, citrons, pomegranates, and bananas; and with them were served up sweetmeats and confectionary, prepared in the most elaborate manner by the Pontiff's chief cook, and his numerous band of assistants in the different branches of the culinary art, which art, was well understood and greatly prized by the ancient Egyptians. Nor were they less mindful of the quality of the beverages that accompanied their feasts. Several kinds of wine were manufactured with much care and skill in the fruit, ful valley of the Nile ; and large quantities of it were drunk, and of beer also, not only by the gentlemen, but even by the members of the fail sex, who were occasionally guilty of committing excesses that would shock the ladies of the present day. Such disgraceful scenes did not, however, occur at the house of the high priest of On. There all was carried on THE PRESS. according to the rnles of the strictest propriety and eti quette; and when the banquet was concluded, and the female attendants, whose office it was to wait on the ladies table, came round with their ewers and napkins, each lady washed bar bruit's, and rose from her seat with perfect steadiness. This second ablution was even more needful and agreeable than the first, for the refined and civilised Egyptians were at that time ignorant of the use of knives and forks, and employed their fingers alone for dividing and conveying to their mouths any solid articles of food. They had, indeed, spoons and ladles for their soup, and some of toese were very beautifully formed, and composed of gilt, bronze, silver, ivory, or hard wood ; but knives were unknown, except a large carving -knife, or rather falchion. which was used for the purpose of cutting up the joints of meat. Such " useful knowledge " kind of descrip tions, and the laborious manner in which all the inferior " accessories of the scene " are perked up into the reader's face, are merely suggestive of superficiality, and give an im pression that, however " strong a hold the "subject may have taken on the mind and " imagination " of Mrs. Webb, her present narrative can in no way be noticed as a suc cessful example of imaginative power applied to the development of Egyptian life. Prose Halietaios ; or, Anenent and Modern Fish Tattle. By the Rev. C. 1). Badhain, M.D. London : J. W. Parker and Son. THE amusement of fishing has always been the favourite pursuit of the thoughtful and contemplative in as great a degree as the more active and violent sports have been popular with the men of action and adventure. Stately poems, sparkling lyrics, and profound trea tises, have been devoted to the subject, which, though in itself but 41, narrow one, obtains variety from the gossip, anecdote, and illus tration, incident to such "an idle trade." Dr. Badham, in the present volume, has made a large collection, not only of these anecdotes, but of varied learning on fish, fish-sauces, fish-cookery, fish lovers, and, not by any means least, fish dealers—that class who have pre sented so marked a contrast to the gentle craft of fishers at all times from Juvenal's days to our own. A great portion of the book is composed of contributiouc which have already appeared in Frame* Magazine, for which mode of publication their desultory form was, perhaps, better calculated than for a separate work. The mode of treating the subject is not so light as, from the nature of it, one might have anticipated. There is, so to speak, a wedging together of quotations, facts, and anecdotes, in such close proximity as to be somewhat tiresome, and a book of " tattle " is made to resemble rather a collection of mate rials calculated to furnish full twenty books such as Horace Walpole might have written and everybody could have read. Such a col lection, however, is both interesting and valuable ; and if it is too solid and extensive, it is probably because the author hits been embarrassed by the riches of his subject, ex tending as it does through so many ages and into many countries As a favourable specimen of Dr. Badham's style, we select a passage respecting the frantic fondness for mullet which forms the subject of the denun ciation of the satirists and moralists of Rome. — To buy and rear mullet was, with many, the " fixed idea"—the settled business and ruling passion of life : those whose purses were long enough, drained them to maintain vivariums ; and not only cash, but time too, was profusely lavished upon this one object: quite betimes, and long before office or 'change hours (no luckless lover or expectant heir more eager for the peep of day than he), the mullet-millionaire was at the pond ere the start were extinguished, feeding or caressing his fish. It took time, skill, and patience to teach creatures so obtuse to heed the voice that called or the hand that fondled and fed them ; but to warm such cold-blooded animals as these into a reciprocity of regard, was a wink of yet greater clan cultv, and the prime " labour of love ; " and that it might nut Le " lost," this Man of pleasure was a man of pains, who would toil, sweat, and hang all day over his stews ; manipulate iu turn every member of the mute com munity, and seek, with the assiduity and zeal of an in cipient M.l'., to ingratiate himself with his scaly con stituents. Educational responsibilities (of which some make so light) he thoroughly appreciated, and knew practically alike its difficulties and details ; with him it was a joint, affair of honour and conscience not to allow any neighbour's mullet to become more accomplished than his own; and thus with heart and soul. intellect and repu tation entirely devoted to this oue object, the work of tuition prospered in his hands (" quid non facit amor 1") and was attended with surprising results : the " Red 1225 Rovers " of the fish-pond would at length know and ac knowledge their master; at his whistle flock einulously to gether, at his sight leap joyously into the air; and as he pluuged his arm iuto the agitated basin, each individual of the berried shoal strove who should first present tins and rub scales against the well-known lingers! With only o•e coadjutor, a trusty and very dear functionary—his nomen• clator—whose particular office it was to assign and teach each tinny favourite its distinctive appellation, the devoted master would divide the glory of these triplaTaideatic exhi bitions, to witness which (near Naples) lull half the city sometimes poured out to llauli, and there beheld, in wide mouthed wonder— Each well•trsin'd pupil answering to the roll, Approach the "haniester " and receive his dole. Nor did their lord's arduous duties close with the re view; as dinner drew near, other cares, in which mullet Bull occupied the first place, demanded prompt attention and settlement : well dressed guests expected well•dressed fish ; and thus a culinary consultation, long as Domitian's with his privy councillors on the same subject, would ensue with the cook as to how his favourites should be served ; and by the time that important point was ad justed, the hungry guests, with hospitality tickets, the vouchers of their right to be there, arrived; when the host must welcome and assign to all their places; and as the different trienniums filled with lulling friends, then, nor before, must issue the crowning order of the day, to " bring in the mullet "—not dead and swimming in sauce—but alive, and swimming in a capacious globe of glass, to be handed round to the bussing crowd, the theme of rapturous eulogy from every tongue ; till hunger restraining further curiosity the fish were slowly put to death in " fulsome " sauce ; nor till the last struggle was over were they removed for awhile, preparatory to • second entrée on a " lordly dish," now done to a turn, again to become the theme of conversation, and nut mars- queutly a subjettt of contoutiou. An opinion founded like most popularly-re ceived notions, most probably upon expe rience, attributes certain characteristics to those who are engaged in particular pursuits. The peasantry say that all millers are dis honest. A certain mysterious atmosphere of fraud is supposed to surround those who de vote their energies to the purchase and sale of horses, and the most unbounded use of the least select language is charged upon dealers in fish. Dr. Badham, in one of his chapters on " Opsophagy," alludes to this characteristie in various countries, but seems to have abated his usual industry in finding specimens in illustration of the fact. This, in a professed book of gossip, is a great omission. Their very nature involves the necessity of example, especially in illustration of manners. On the whole, the author has compressed into this volume much entertaining and some very valuable information ; and the work will, doubtless, find a considerable number of readers. The Church of England and Erctstianion since the Reformation. By J. R. Pretyman, M A., late Vicar of Aylesbury, Bucks. Tux work before us is devoted to the expo sure of the dependence of the Church of England upon the Crown and the Legislature —a dependence which has been the gradual result of repeated political exigencies, and which had its rise in the intolerable presump tion of the bishops of Rome in meddling in the affairs of a Church that existed long before their pretended conversion of the English. A large amount of matter of interest is collected by Mr. Pretyman, but the extreme looseness of the style detracts much from its effect. Nor is the author sufficiently informed (whatever his reading may be—and it is obviously ex tensive) on the questions of the present day. At p. 10, for example, he gives us the remark• able information that " ministers money " the income of the clergy of the Irish Estab lished Church paid in large cities in lieu of tithes, and about which the Legislature is annually disturbed by Routh& members—is devoted "to the support of the Irish Presby " terian clergy " , and, further, that the Regium Donors, the grant of William 111. to the Irish Presbyterians, is applied, as the author seems to think, exclusively to the maintenance of "the three denominations in " England." These are unimportant over sights, perhaps, but so many can detect them that they interfere with the trust in the accuracy of the book. Otherwise, the work will be found to contain a clear account of the weans by which the Church was reduced to its present position, and generally sound and wholesome views on the subject of the remedy. wormi