The Press. — London, England, 1858-01-09 00:00:00

THE PRtS S, JANUARY 9, 1858. meats which they had both signed and agreed to on the 10th inst. The French admiral expressed his surprise and annoyance at the extraordinary conduct of his colleague, and, without further parley, quitted the cabin and re. turned to his ship in high dudgeon. Sir Edmund Lyons (who had come on board during the discussion), however, assured the French captain of the fleet, who had re mained alter his chief bad left, that he would be answer able for the English ships being in their places, and with this assurance Admiral Bouet-Villaumtz departed. What passed between the two British admirals it is unnecessary here to relate ; suffice it to say, that the English fleet were shortly afterwards ordered to get under way. The Staff Officer adds the following note by way of explanation : In the previous editions of this work, the author, from misapprehension, cast blame upon Admiral Hamelin for having caused the delay in the naval operations of the 17th October, lsr)4 ; but as he has since ascertained the in correctness of his statement, he takes this opportunity of acknowledging his error, and of expressing his regret that he should thus have been led to cast censure upon a dis tinguished French officer. We have extracted sufficiently from this new 'volume to show the claims it has upon all who wish to form an accurate notion of the csmluct of the war in the Crimea. We may add that the Staff Officer claims distinctly for Lord Raglan the honour of having designed the fatuous flank march which was afterwards, by his desire, reduced to a definite plan by Sir John Burgoyne. In conclusion, we have simply to observe that we believe this book to convey an accu rate and truthful impression upon the leading incidents of the war, and that it will well repay uttcutive perusal. After the study of these 'letters no one can deny the eminent services rendered to his country by Lord Raglan. The time will yet come when his memory shall receive a fitting tribute at the hands of the nation. Our Antipodes ; or, Residence and Rambles in the Australasian Colonies. By Lieutenant-Colonel Godfrey Charles Mundy. Fourth Edition. Lon don : Bentley. 'CotoNEL MUNDY is the most entertaining writer upon our gold colonies who has yet appeared in ,print. The sensation his work created when it first appeared some five years ago was a tribute ha well .deserved, fur no writer upon Australia has ever given •so happy and so truthful a picture of the colony and its inhabitants. A cheap, well-printed, and revised edition of such a book needs no recommendation to insure its popularity. " Oh, ay, I see it all now, mate," said Jem, going down on all fours, while old Tom, who though serious-minded, was very much of a wag at proper seasons, leaped on his back, and stuck out one arm as Peter's statue is doing. " Now, Jem, rear up on your fore legs, as the big horsr is doing, and we shall come the statue to an affigraphy," he cried. The representation of the statue of Peter was unmis takeable. In an instant the ishvushtsticks comprehended what was required, and clapping their hands with delight, while they burst into loud laughter, signalised to the sea men to jump into a drosky, and away they drove as fast as their horses could go, in the very direction from whence Fred and Harry had just come. This is a fair specimen of the pleasant adventures met with, and If the manner in which Mr. Kingston has detailed them. The book forms a pretty pre sent fur younger children. PERIODICAL LITERATURE. AN excellent number of Blackwood for this month opens with a not uninteresting nor uninstructive paper upon " Hunger and Thirst." The writer, after examining in detail every possible theory upon the causes of each, decides that hunger arises from a certain torpidity, if not absence of circulation through the bloodvessels of the stomach, while the sensation of thirst, he maintains, is not merely a systemic sensation, dependent on a " deficiency of " liquid in the system, but a specific sensation, de " pendent on a local disturbance." His arguments are ingenious, and his illustrations certainly to the point. Nine chapters of " What will he Do with It ?" follow, in which occurs an exquisite picture of Jasper Losely at home at Arabella Crane's : Men, single or marital, are accustomed to connect the idea of home with dressing-gown and slippers, especially if, after dinner, they apply (as Jasper Losely now applied) to occupations in which the brain is active, the form in repose. What achievement, literary or scientific, was ever accomplished by a sta:lent strapped to unyielding boots, and " cabined, cribbed, confined," in a coat that fits him like wax? As robed in the cosy garment which is conse crated to the sacred familiar Lares, the relaxing, handsome ruffian sate in the quiet room, bending his still regular profile over the sheepskin books—the harmless pen in that strong well-shaped hand, Mrs. Crane watched him with a softening countenance. To bear him company, she had actively taken herself to work—the gold thimble dragged from its long repose —marking and hemming, with nimble artistic fingers, new cravats for the adopted son I Strange creature is Woman I Ungrateful and perfidious as that sleek tiger before her had often proved himself—though no man could less deserve one kindly sentiment in a female heart—though she knew that he cared nothing for her, still it was pleasing to know that he cared for nobody else —that he was sitting in the same room—and Arabella Crane felt, that if that existence could continue, she could forget the past, and look contented towards the future. Again I say, strange creature is woman—and in this instance, creature more strange, because so grim ! But as her eyes soften, and her fingers work, and her mind revolves schemes for making that lawless wild beast an innocuous tame animal, who can help feeling for and with grim Arabella Crane? A sound critical review of "Debit and Credit" does justice to the merits of that novel. A good article on the Scottish Universities, and another on the Indian mutiny, are followed by a pleasant biographical sketch of Beranger, who appears to have owed his success in life to the fortunate patronage of one of the Buonaparte family : Lucien Buonaparte, the gentlest and most lovable of his family, established at once, to a modest and moderate extent, the fortunes of the young poet. He gave him kind criticism, suggestions, not over-wise perhaps, but in ac cordance with the spirit of the time ; and with the natural grace And open bounty of his race, conferred his more substantial benefits in such a manner as to elevate rather than humiliate the receiver of them. He made over to Beranger the little income to which he himself was entitled as a Member of the Institute—a thousand francs, or somewhere about forty pounds a year. The arrears of three years were paid at once to the fortu nate rhyraster. He could help his father—he could maintain himself. So far as his wordly concerns went, he had no greater ambition. Fortune had come to him in a momeut. The protection of Lucien conferred other advantages upon the young poet. It introduced him to Arnault, then Minister of Public Instruction, through whom, at a later period, he obtained a permanent appointment, and who " opened to me the doors of the world of literature, which I had never been able to frequent till then." Beranger had, however, little personal intercourse afterwards with his first patron ; but when Lucien was in exile at Rome, the grateful poet vainly endeavoured to do him homage in his banishment. He had then some pastoral poems nearly completed—poems of which he seems to have had no opinion, and which he desired to publish solely for the sake of the dedication to Lucien, which, however, the imperial censor condemned. Those sweet and tender verses which are quoted seem very innocent matters for the ban of the censorship ; and Beranger, finding that he could not be permitted to publish them, abandoned the book ; he made another unsuccessful attempt subsequently —but it was not until 181,3, eighteen years after the period of his brief acquaintance with this prince, that he was able to express the thanks of his grateful memory in a dedica tion to Lucien Bonaparte. Nporting in Both Hemispheres. By J. D'Ewei London : Routledge. THIS is a thoroughly boy's own book. There is implanted in every boy's breast a certain love of manly sport which it is well to encourage ; and in this entertaining little volume they will read of every thing a true sportsman should be acquainted with, from pig-sticking and tiger-shooting in India to snipe-shooting in Germany. Our author wanders .over Europe and Asia, getting good shooting wher ever he can, and giving excellent paactical advice :whenever it is needed. He meets with many adven. 'tureg which he tells sufficiently well to form one of the most attractive and amusing books for a boy published this season. Fred Markham in Russia; or, the Boy Travellers in the Land of the Czar. By W. H. G. Kingston, Esq. London : Griffith and Farran. THE adventures of the Markhams in Russia last your, at the coronation of the Czar, are told with groat felicity. We need, we are sure, only quote one to support oar assertion. Fred and his brother lose their way in St. Petersburg. Suddenly they fall in with two seamen belonging to one of our ships lying off the quay. An ishvoshtstick was hailed, but he could not comprehend where they wanted to go : For a long time all hands consulted together. One pro posed one thing, one the other. By this time two or three other ishvoshonicks had stopped with their vehicles near the strangers, but could, no more than the first, compre hend where they wanted to go. " If we could but get back to the large square with the big statue in it of Peter on horseback on a rock, we could find our way to the inn easily enough," said Fred. Old Tom thought a moment. " What, the ohap who is holding out his hand?" he asked. " The same," answered Fred. " Then I have it !" he exclaimed, with exultation. "Jem, just do you go down on all fours, and serve me for a horse for a minute, and we'll soon see what will happen." " What, do you want me to carry you there, Tom ?" asked Jem. " I'd do it willingly if I knew the way, but I think we should get there faster if we all walked on our two legs." "No no!" answered Tom ; " I want you to act the big horse, and I'll do the rider." „I _ ~._ Colburn's New Monthly contains several careful reviews of current literature, and much pleasant light reading, as well as an instructive article upon the composition of the Bengal army. The January number of the Art Journal is unu sually good. Mrs. S. C. Hall continues her charming historical sketch of " The Thames and its Scenery," which we hope at some future period will be presented to the public in a separate and compact form. Then we have an excellent paper upon Paul Veronese, careful reviews of the current art literature, and some remarks upon the statues and frescoes of the Houses of Parliament, which we take leave to tran scribe : In comparing the first statues that were placed in St. Stephen's Hall with those of the more recent execution —we mean those of Hampden, Lord Falkland, and a few others, with the figures of Fox, Grattan, and Pitt,—it is found that the sculptors have approached the impersona tions of the earlier statesmen with a certain degree of timidity which is not apparent in the last statues. It would have been better that this were not felt, although the men of the 17th century were not, so well painted as those of the 18th. The peculiar features of William Pitt are never to be mistaken ; they are here very truthfully pronounced, al though much refined by a delicacy of treatment which has been carried into the dress, perhaps inconsistently with the character of the man, for Pitt was not a beau. This minister lived at a time when the maxim of Chesterfield was in full force—" That every gentleman should dress in the morning for the day." We find him, therefore, wearing the ordinary coat of the period, for there was then no variety ; the choice being that of the famous Cambridge horse-dealer, to whose narrow proposition there was no alternative. In the right hand is placed a scroll, and over the left arm is thrown a cloak, which, passing behind the figure, is ingeniously settled into a support for the statue. To a portrait•statue of Pitt we look for a firm status; we think that mare resolution might have been given to the attitude with advantage, as allusive to the character of the man, and benefit to the statue as a work of art ; but withal, the identity at once impresses any, even idle, observer, who may at any time have seen in portraiture these remarkable features. The impression sought to be conveyed by Bally in his statue of Fox is the very reverse of that which we receive in contemplating Macllowell's work. The figure is heavy, but yet the head looks too large. The action—that is, the uplifted right atm—is energetic and resolute ; but the feeling is lost as soon as the eye passes down to the lower limbs, which are to a degree ponderous. We live in days not so remote from the time in which Charles James Fox flourished but that persons of ordinary inquiry know his personal points; but the statue will occupy its present site for a long hereafter, and the sculptor should have addressed himself to those who, without inquiry, will, now from this statue, conceive Fox to have been a coarse and vulgar minded man. Mr. Macllowell has attributed to Pitt too much exterior refinement; Mr. Bally allows Fox too little, although a man of eminent refined sentiment. The statue of Grattan, by Carew, is a felicitous effort. The relief communicated to the figure, the pose and expression, place him at once en rapport with the spectator, with whom he seems rather to converse than to be in the act of address ing the house. The dress is a successful study; it is judiciously broken by lines, and all these lines are pro babilities, and mean something. A most impracticable thing is a new coat to deal with, either in painting or sculp ture. Grattan was not, in the simplest sense, studieses rerum nova rum, and yet his dress is that of a gentleman. A few of the first of these works may be too pictorial, and it is extremely difficult to avoid such a result, as the ma terials from which the sculptors have worked have been but meagre and unsatisfactory. But the last works gene rally of the series must be considered as the men them selves, allowing for that increase of stature necessary to sculptural effect. When the twelve in St. Stephen's Hall are complete, we cannot stop here, there is yet much to be done. To the frescoes we turn with pain, though not with dis appointment ; for as soon as even these corridors were built it was obvious that they were not suited to show pictures. For the Commons' corridor Mr. Ward has painted two subjects; one is the execution of Montrose in Edinburgh, the other " Alice Lisle sheltering the Fugitives after the Battle of Sedgemoor." We will not do these works the injustice to attempt to describe them, for the light is so insufficient that they are very indistinctly seen, especially the "Mice Lisle " subject. The execution of the latter is less obscured, but still the light is by no means that whereby works of Fine Art can be examined. We observe, however, that the pictures are moveable ; that is,lthey are executed upon frames prepared with mortar, and fitted into the spaces left for their reception ; and we trust that their location here is only experimental, unless the win dows of the corridor be enlarged, and the stained glass removed. In the Lords' corridor is placed Mr. Cupe's picture—" The Embarkation of the Early Emigrants for New England." The composition of this is seen, perhaps, as well as Mr. Ward's Execution of Montrose ; but we repeat that, in their present state, these corridors are not suited for pictures, they are worse than the Poets' Hall. Under the very intense colour of the stained-glass windows any picture would look feeble : indeed, it cannot be gain said that wherever, as .et, pictorial decoration has been tried in the Houses of Parliament, the light has signally failed. Tait's Magazine is always welcome. The current number contains some pleasant and thoughtful papers, which will well repay perusal. The Titan, in its enlarged form, has thoroughly achieved for itself a place in the magazine literature of the day. The present number is, however, rather fib