The Press. — London, England, 1854-05-06 00:00:00

426 to be found, must be looked for in regions lying farther to the north-west than any yet ex plored ; in fact, in and beyond Wellington Channel. This is also the view taken by Lady Franklin, after consultation with the most emi• nent arctic geographers. It is demonstrated that farther search in the more southern locality of the American coasts is useless, and unfortunately the unexplored regions where Franklin may possibly be yet living are the most distant and dangerous of all. Theyhave, until the sending out of the last expeditions, been almost unaccountably neglected. God grant it be not now too late to repair the error ! PERIODIC AL LITERATURE. 13latktenod opens this month with an exposure of " The Oxford Reform Bill," which it criticises in a style that will not be appreciated in Downing street. The next article is on " Ancient and Modern Fortresses," avowedly from an unprofessional pen. Its matter is not sufficiently instructive, and, though pleasingly written, it disappoints expectation. We are then, by special favour, allowed a view of an un acted tragedy, called " Firmilian," by Percy Jones. Its author, on reading the article reviewing his performance, would probably desire that, like his own drama, the review had been " privately printed." The pretensions of Mr. Percy Jones are thus pro nounced upon : " It is rather difficult to give a serious opinion upon the merits of such a production as this. It is, of course, utterly extravagant; but so are the whole of the writings of the poets of the Spasmodic school ; and, in the eyes of a considerable body of modern critics, extravagance is regarded as a proof of extraordinary genius. It is, here and there, highly coloured ; but that also is looked upon as a symptom of the divine afflatus, and rather prized than otherwise. In one point of proclaimed spasmodic excel lence, perhaps it fails. Yon can always tell what Percy Jones is after, even when he is dealing with ' shuddering stars," gibbous moons,' imposthumes of hell,' and the like ; whereas you may read through twenty pages of the more ordinary stufF without being able to discern what the writers mean—and no wonder, for they really mean nothing. They are simply writing nonsense.verses ; but they contrive, by blazing away whole rounds of metaphor, to mask their absolute poverty of thought, and to convey the impression that there must be something stupendous under so heavy a canopy of smoke. lf, therefore, intelligibility, which is the highest degree of obscurity, is t' be considered a poetic excellence, we are afraid that Jones must yield the palm to several of his contemporaries ; if, on the contrary, perspicuity is to be regarded as a virtue, we do not hesisate in assigning the spasmodic prize to the author of Firmilian To him the old lines on Marlowe, with the alteration of the name, might be applied Next Percy Jones, bathed in the Thespian Springs, Had in him those brave sublunary Things That your first Poets had ; his Raptures were All Air and Fire, which made his verses clear ; For that Fierce Madness still he did retain, Which rightly should possess a Poet's Brain." The lines on " Marathon," by 3. B. S., are very spirited, in spite of their too obvious elaboration. "From London to West Prussia" is a very readable gossipping paper on foreign travel. The article on " China " reads rather heavily ; but the concluding paper, on " The Progress of Russia in Central Asia," merits attentive perusal. THE non-political articles in the May number of Fraser are above the average merit. In the first, " Cronstadt and the Russian Fleet," we have a detailed account of the fortifications and forces Sir Charles Napier has to encounter. But as this description, evidently written from personal observa tion, though sufficiently intelligible with the aid of a map, is condensed, and relates to "ramps and ramparts, cunettes and countergnards, tenailles and traverses, beems, cavaliers, homworks, capon ravelins, and counterscarps," erected, some on piles in the sea, others on labyrinthine islets, rocks, and promontories, we shall not attempt the impossibility of expressing his mean. ing in words of our own. The writer does not ex press a definite opinion on the point, but the impression on his mind seems to be that the defences of Cronstadt, though of the most formidable descrip tion, are not impregnable. What is thought of it in Russia's northern capital the reader will learn from the following extract : " Much may be heard in St. Petersburg about ' the petits ' of Cronstadt. Public opinion in the Russian capital is not imposed upon by the swagger of military gentlemen, or by the gross-submarine-galvanovranitic-e.rplogions-mines (` in famous rocks!') of Professor Jacobi. And it is hardly going too far to assert, that there are not fifty people in St. Peterbnrg who feel much confidence in the power of the lock of the street dour ' (as the Emperor Alexander used to call ('ronatadt) to resist. an attempt against it made by skiltltl pickers. More than this,—the serf-population, and very many of the higher orders, heard with extreme a larm of the revie wing and cannonading which came off revi a w last autumn at Spithe . It was easy to see that they con- THE PRESS. sidered there was nothing to hinder our Duke of Wellington steaming up the Neva and flinging her ultimatum into the windows of the Winter Palace. The prevalence of the dread of such a terrific parody of Prince Menzikoffs antics at the Golden Horn is, of course, partly ascribable to the natural ignorance of courtiers and slaves. But this expla nation will nut apply to other symptoms of nervousness pointing to the same quarter, and exhibited in high places. His Imperial Majesty some time since planned a mortar battery for the defence of the palace of Peterhof, which, however, could only be insulted by an enemy who had taken Cronstadt. More recently he gave orders for the fortifica tion of the point of the Vassili•Oatrof, one of the islands on which St. Petersburg is built. Resolutions of this kind, even if not carried out, indicate the current of ideas in the mind of a personage not incompetent to form an opinion on such subjects.'• The writer promises on a future occasion to discuss the very interesting question of the relative strength of stone walls and line-of-battle ships propelled by steam. No precedents exist: Copenhagen and even Acre are inapplicable since the screw and Excellent gunnery have wrought a revolution in our naval force. May we suggest that the solution of the problem depends very little on the difference between wood and stone, but much on these points ? Can casemates be ventilated so well as a ship ? is gunnery so perfect that an object so small as a cannon can be struck to any degree of certainty? which can con centrate the greater number of guns on a given point—land forts or ships? We are glad to notice in this article an absence of any desire to underrate the real force of Russia. Under the head of " Gallinaceana " we have a pleasant chapter on pheasants, displaying some learning and much knowledge of the subject. The writer accounts in a manner which seems satisfactory for those tales about " cocks eggs " which are prevalent in rural districts : " Sir Philip Egerton, to whom science is so much in debted for the light which he has contributed to throw on fossil fishes, the structure of the extinct saurian, and other branches of zoology, had, at Oulton Park, a hen pheasant which had, almost entirely, put on the livery of a cock and laid a full complement of eggs in her nest, from which she was driven by the curiosity of spectators who came to behold the extraordinary sight." This change of plumage seems to accompany a decay in the power of forming eggs. Those "cock's" eggs which we have seen were about the size of a pigeon's, and were all destitute of yolk. Some years since we found one in Hyde Park, but in farmyards they are not uncommon. " General Bounce " is much im proving : the chapter in the present number is worthy of the author of " Digby Grand." The political articles are " Lord John's Sacrifice " and " Party Government." THE best article in the Dublin University Magazine for the present month is the original memoir of the gallant Colonel Cameron, who fell at Quatre Bras. Some of our northern readers knew him better by his hereditary title of " Fossifern," while even southerns remember him in the lines of Sir Walter Scott : " And proud Ben Nevis hear with awe How upon bloody Quatre Bras Brave Cameron heard the wild hurrah Of conquest, as he fell !" It is a long time since we read so interesting a mili tary sketch, and it is deserving of republication. Recent translations of Dante are reviewed at consi derable length, and "Sir Jasper Carew" still lum bers along in the present number. There is a genial notice of the late Professor Wilson, evidently from a Scottish pen, and written with an energy that would have pleased "Christopher North" himself. The paper on "French Dramatists " is very uninterest ing, and is only a compilation. On the whole the present University is a heavy number. A VERY long article on Anastatius Griin, " an Aus trian poet," opens the current number of Tait. His poetry appears to be of the ballad kind, and the form of it not unlike some of our own historical songs. The most amusing paper in Tait for this month is "Wanted the Police," in which the critics are urged to do summary justice upon certain recent poetasters of the flowery school. In the notice of a recent work on " The London Pulpit" we regret to see some very gross personality, of a style that has long been extinct in periodical literature. Fuou the National Temperance Chronicle, No. 35, we learn that Father Gavazzi has incurred the dis pleasure of the " Total-Abstinence" Society by ex pressing his disapprobation of the " Maine Liquor Law ; " also that " the late Judge Talfourd having once requested M. Kossuth to drink wine with him, the latter politely declined, saying that he never drank wine, upon which (we regret to add) the judge uttered his surprise that the brilliant orations of the former could have been composed and delivered with out a resort to wine. But why this surprise ? M. K os suth's speeches had not been singular in this respect. The orations of Demosthenes and the Paradise Lost' were not indebted for their inspiration to the stimulus of wine." SATURDAY, Loose reports of casual conversations should not be printed as the solemn expressions of deliberate opinions: it misleads, and may injure the young. In this instance the probability is that the late lamented judge made a classical or poetical allusion to the in spiration of the grape. Orr's Circle of the Sciences, No. 19, contains much information on the " Varieties of the Human Species." In these cheap editions of scientific works it is always well, if possible, to give the name of the author. This is by Robert Gordon Latham, M.D., F.R.S. Household Medicine and Surgery, &c., being No. V. of " Orr's Household Handbooks;" gives useful di rections in a popular form for the treatment of the numerous ailments and accidents to which flesh is heir—how to bleed, how to recover persons nearly drowned, and sick-room management, cookery for in valids, and the like. [We are compelled to omit our list of Books, &c., received. ] tint arts. ROYAL ACADEMY. IF we had given our opinion on the contents of the Royal Academy after the first hurried glance that the " private view" affords, disturbed as it always must be with conversations, salutations, and interruptions of every sort, it would not have materially differed from that which repeated visits have obliged us to form. Our own impression seemed pretty generally shared by the public, that the exhibition was de cidedly inferior to most of those which we have lat terly been accustomed to see in these rooms. We miss several popular names from the catalogue altogether, and we observe with still greater regret that several which do appear are unworthily repre sented. _ Vv We have a still larger proportion than usual of green and grey landscapes. We never remember to have seen so many ladies fixing eyes of super natural size upon us with flattering earnestness, but, in spite of all the charms of innocent coquetry, or even of maternal tenderness, exhibited by ladies in ball dresses, surrounded by groups of children, like the figures of Charity,—in spite of blue satin, pink velvet, rustic bonnets, nosegays, shawls, and jewels, we cannot think the artists have done justice either to their sitters or to themselves. We have gal lant generals and young cornets, stiff in frogs, em broidery, lace, and feathers ; we have statesmen looking wise, authors intense, and lawyers witty; but in all, or nearly all, we want the Promethean touch which gives the lite. We miss the variety, taste, and spirit which render portraits interesting to persons unacquainted with the originals, and we do not even find the striking effect, chastened colouring, and ap propriate detail upon which we have often found occa sion to compliment our best portrait-painters. The portrait which has undoubtedly given the most general satisfaction is that of Lord John Russell, by Mr. Francis Grant. It is painted with the most me ritorious care, and the likeness is well preserved ; and, though we think the colouring a little feeble, and the tone monotonous, we heartily concur in a re mark we have repeatedly heard, that Mr. Grant has represented his friend (Lord John has himself honoured him with that appellation) as he would wish to be handed down to posterity—he has taken fifteen years from his age, and added six inches to his stature. The portrait of Mr. Macaulay (No. 69), banging op posite, by the same artist, is perhaps happier as a re semblance—it is certainly less flattering. We have only to regret a slight degree of feebleness in the colour, a defect from which few of Mr. Grant's pic tures are altogether free. " His Imperial Majesty Napoleon 111." (N o. 14), by Mr. J. G. Middleton, an imposing full-length, and hung in a conspicuous place, has been praised as a pleasing instance of the can dour and liberality of the august sitter, who has ho noured an Englishman with his patronage. We regret that such liberality should not have been better rewarded. The attitude is stiff and tasteless, the countenance has nothing open or intellectual, the colouring is monotonous and displeasing, and the landscape in which the figure stands wants nature and elect. Sir Watson Gordon, whose portraits we admired so much in the last exhibition, and to whom we had such pleasure in offering our tribute of admiration,. has greatly disappointed us in his performance of the present year. His portrait of the Lord Jusucc- General of Scotland (No. 58) has few of his charac • teristic excellences. He has attempted a richer and more luxuriant tone of colour, and has failed. The drapery is stiff and ill-cast, and the figure wants ease. We have sometimes admired the dexterity of this clever painter in producing a fine portrait from an unpromising subject; on the present occasion we should think he has not done justice to regular features and a powerful expression. No. 33, "My