The Press. — London, England, 1853-11-26 00:00:00

714 cashing through the hushes. A shot was larval—it WH.4 the crack of Lucien's small rifle--hat it had noised, for the huck,was seen passing onward anal outward. All 11111 round to the s id e li e had taken, and had a full ►iew of the animal as he hounded oft Instead of running free. as before, he now leaped heavily forward, anal what wits their astonishment on seeing that lie rarrjed aunNuv t t t t isnot upon hie bark ! "The hunters entilil homily believe their 01444, but there it was, Run• enough, a brown shaggy 11194,4, lying Hut along the shoulders of the wapiti, and clutching it w ith b u x .. spreading claws. Francois cried out, ' A lountlier !' mud !land at limit believed it to he a bear, but it woos hardly large ruough for that. \ oilman, however, who loot Ikea more in those parts where the animal is fouml, knew it ut once to be the dreaded ' wolverene; " The deer jumps into a lake. The author says, " lie had " hopes, no doubt," that by this means lie could es cape the wolverene. But we may remark that a wounded deer always takes to the water whenever it can : the water refreshes it, and when Captain Reid says it " had hopes, no doubt," he is committing the fault of introducing in a work intended to amuse awl instruct boys some of those controvert el and unsettled questions which are connected with the loftiest and most difficult subjects that can oreupy the mind of man. More explicitly, in another place, speaking of a swan swimming down a stream, expanding his wings to catch the wind, he says :- - - - • " Ih you think that he was not aware of this advantage when he started in the race? Ito you 'oppose that these birds do not think 9 I fur one am satisfied they look upon every one who prates about the noi/isi/ of these creatures as 111 ehilosiplier of a very old school indeed. Not only does the I.,m•at avian thillk, hilt AO dines pair parrot, and your isiping bullfinch, and the little canary that hops on your thumb. All think, and mown and judge." The objection of the philosopher of the very old school that birds and beasts do not possess reason, be - cause they do not improve and progress, has, ►re think, never been answered. In another place the author goes out of his way to stamp with his appro bation the theory which " The Vestiges of Creation" Mal written to establish : " lie pointed tont, moreover. how the structure of the different kinds of preying binis, suel► us the size and films of the wings and tail, as well as other pans, weir in each kind atlapteol to its peculiar tussle of lootnating its prey ; and then then. Ilnl/4e a oils/11,40n its to whether this adaptation should he considered a effuse or an dreel. Lucien atteceelled in convincing Isis companions I hui the strueture was the effect and not the CIIIII4I. of the habit, for the young naturalist was a firm loo.lievcr in the changing and progressive system of nature." In that strange book, "Adventures of M. Violet," which we consider t►► have a substratum of truth, many incidents are related strongly tending to prove that brutes have reason ; so also the argu ments and instances in " Vestiges of Creation" In many minds satisfactorily demonstrate that. organisation is developed according to the exi gencies of conditions. Rut, because arguments can be urged in favour of such theories, it is no reason why such subjects should be introduced in a bock intended for the young. ltut to return to the wapiti and wolverene. Both are killed, and the latter"sinks "to the bottom of the lake." Is Captain Mayne !kid mire he is correct in this? Will any dead brute sink in water? is he, too, correct when he speaks of the black bear, fr►►m the tine coat of which " the shako of " the grenadier "is made? In common parlance shako is limited to tl►e hats of the line, 3:e., and does not include the "bearskins." Again, he makes the voyagenrs sit in the canoe `• from stem to bow " let him ask any nautical man. and we think he will discover that does not n►can stern. Itut to conclude—the book contains I; I pages ; it has several pretty good illustrations, and is well enough written to attain the object the author had in view—viz., to *Rinse boys. and at the same time give them s►m►e instruction iu natural history. The Future of the Homan Roer,to be Ebeted throno the Agency 11 Deported Spirits. lly Hobert Owen. London : Effingham Wilson. WitAntvEn others may think of them, Mr. Owen I►eliectso that his opinions, it' acted on, would benefit the human race. The sincerity of his faith he has attested by KU expenditum of nearly 100,000 L, in endeavouring to carry out his views pnu•ticetlly. They partake of the nature of those o f th i d w i a and Shelley, anti are founded on a convicti o n t h a t co• o p era tion, Mateo(' of competition, is the law which ought to govern human affairs. As a corollary to this, it would follow that property should be held in conunon. These are some of the (n it s from which Mr. Owen proposes to relieve us by taking away our " money, the root o f all " Poosessoto of what oils called the largest antosints of private property ore esosti 111 l sithject annoyaisees o f various their endeavours. to protect it front being enernuehed upon lsy thieves, robbers. lars)ers, ur govt ni• mists. local or general, and can never lie althorn fears of private or pliblie ditniuution of it. Thev 1111 l st always. too, he on the alert to see that their own depein are not idarating t loan. THE PRESS. " Besides, it is usually found in practice that ear,- and misery of one kind or anetlo:r increase as private property, beyond a certain amount, incrcases." But, as it is clear that, next to lif4., property k that which man clings to with th" greatest tenacity, Mr. Owen sees that a very strong agent is requisite to induce him to part with it. So, possessing with his predecessor and namesake, Owen tilendwr, the power to " call spirits from the vasty deep," he calls, and tiny come. Among the more important are President Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Shelley, Br. and the late Duke of Kent. Royal !Imbues% is the most talkative, but he says Dolling startling. 'l'll#. Poet's eloquent tongue was mute. They ure all very kind, god-natured, gos sippy ghosts, never forget to say good bye, and are besides not intrusive, for they never enter a room without first knocking. One Spirit recommends a cure for a cold. The hike of Kent recommends two hotels ; and, as a specimen of his Royal 1 ligh ness's conversation, we give the following, in which he answers Mr. 11wetes questions : ' ' Who is the most influential believer in these manifests. thins in the House of Lords?' Lord Can yon give another?" The Duke of cleveland.' The •in the House of 'ominous ' Yes—Peel." What l'et.l?" Frederick." Are there any scientific practical milt believers, who have much influence in soeiety 'Yes.' WIND?" hivid Brewster; and Henry numer als-oi, of the t;lasgow Medical Institution." Will 'Or Joseph l'axbui be useful to me?' Yes, yes, yes." And Messrs. Henderson Hull Fox Yes, yes, yes.' ' Good bye." 4 i 04141 bye. trued bye.' A clergyman in the north of England lately dis covered—judge of his horror as well as surprise— that each piece of furniture in his drawing-raom was the dwelling of an infernal spirit. With these evil ones lie held several conversazioni, the results of which he published ; and if he, a eler • gyms'', had his conversation with devils, we cannot • see why Mr. Owen should not relate his experiences and dialogues with friendly, well-disposed gluwts, all Christians but two. One thing is deur, and that is, that these spirits have now become so numerous that no Minister can overlook their claims in the new Reform Bill. Any measure which does not recog nise the rights of the ghosts will be narrow, illiberal, and will not represent the spirits of the age in which we live. The lholhd. A Reply to the Rev. Sydney Smith and Lord John Russell. By Edward Capel White burst.. Jaanbon : W. and F. ;. Cash. Tins pamphlet. of thirty-two pages purports to lie a reply to the Hey. Sydney Stnith's inimitable argu ment on the ballot. The author devotes tour lines and three words to answer the chief objection to the ballot : the rest of it is tilled with desultory dogmatic assertions, interspersed with such novel views of morality as this : Few lal llords or customers would carry their vulgarity xud lIIVe of domineering to such a pitch ns to usk tiluttits 1E101(1411ton h4SW thry had votcd, they ilia, nn uleorrect reply would not IN' a ialselumsl." At page •.!:1 he says : " It is said. that mud,•► thy• ballot a eitmlia it te would alzree to pay mit agent a slim of money on condition of his being returned. Ito, the ball o t mould the agent's ttrotigtboings as w i ll as tlto,o of the emoli.late himself, mud this, thcreron't', is DO .; did argument against the ballot." Ilere he has unconsciously stated the principal argument against the ballot, and has pe►ssed it by with a dogmatic assertion. It is this that was in the mind of 31r. Coppock when he said that with the ballot he could seeme any borough in the kingdom. It would reduce the result of bribery to the certainty of a commercial transaction. A. agrees to give so much money if he is retunied to Parliament. If he is returned, well and good, he does not begrudge the money. and does not care to ►whom it goes ; it i s divided among the venal, whether they voted for him or not. It is idle to say that these promises would not be kept; no debts are more punctually paid than those which cannot be recovered by law. if the candidate was not returned, no payment would be made ; and as no promise would he broken, no one could complain : the bargain would he "no cure no pay," no seat no bribe. Whether this pamphlet be regarded as an ironical or as a serious performance, we can recommend it as excellent against the ballot: it forcibly brings hetore the mind the moral degrada tion to which that measure would lead, a nd i s it se lf a striking instance of the weakness of those arguments which are ordinarily urged in favour of a system of secret vot ing. Erotoistatiost into the Report and Eridettee of the l'ontmittee on Decimal t'oittoge. 'Theodore W. Ratlthone, Esq. l ondon :.lances Ritigway. Mn. approve 4, both theoretically 111141 prac tically. of a decimal coinage, but thinks the 'slim re commended by the parliamentary committee inexpe dient, and otters one of his own instead. lle object 4 SATURDAY, to the former, that it involves a change in the penny —the most important of all coins 14) the w4:rkin.„'• class, that it isolates us from the practice of foreign nations. that the new coin " mil," besides its " strange, barbarous" name, is inconvertible into any other de nomination, and that the "cent,' besides being liable to the same charge, is unlike its transatlantic namesake —thus causing confusion. He likewise dwells on the inconvenionce of a transition state, protracted, as by some it is anticipated that this change will be, through a period of twenty years, and remarks that the unedu cated classes will cling to the old denominations a pertinacity which no legal enactment can bailie. The rival project broached by Mr. liathbone con sists merely in retaining the penny, substituting the franc, half-florin, or tenpenny-piece for the shilling, and limiting the decimalisation of the coinage to these two denominations. He would retain also the pound (24 francs), though forming no part of a de cimal system—only hinting remotely at the possibility of a future alteration, corresponding to that now pro posed in the penny, whereby the pound might con tain twenty-five in lieu of twenty-four francs. lint this scheme is ()pen to grave objections, which we have before indicated; and, it' the pound remain un altered, Mr. llathbone's plan has no pretension to be called decimal. with The Seat of War in the Danubian Principalities. With Enlarged Plans of the Bosphorus and Dar danelles. London : Stanford. Is this map, by Messrs. Johnston of Edinburgh, the boundaries are well defined and the names clearly printed. Sufficient knowledge of the different loca lities now made famous by the war may, for ordinary purposes, be gained from this map. It has a strong linen back, and folds up in a case easily portable. NEW MUSIC. The Pionisrs Handbook. A Guide for the light Comprehension and Performance of our best Pia noforte Music. By Carl Engel. London : llope and ('o. This book, containing 210 pages, with a glossarial index, will be found a valuable addition to the mu sical student's library. In the following extract Mr. Engel shows how necessary it is to commence early to become a good pianist : " childhood is certainly the fittest time for beginning to study the pianofinte ; partly because the hands possess, at that age, the flexibility which so much facilitates the overcoming of technical difficulties, and partly because a persevering practice of stone )eurs, under the guidance of a good teacher, is more easily obtained during that period than later. besides, the claims which are made, 11l our days, on a good pianist arc such, that one can scarcely begin early enough. " A greater hinderanee to the progress of the pupil than is generally admitted is the choice of an indifferent teacher for the initiatory lessons. If those who are of opinien that in the beginning all inferior teacher is sufficient would reflect how difficult it is to get rid of bad habits once ac quired, they q, tett agree that, for beginners especially, the best instruction is lieeeSsary. and that it 'WOWS in the cud a saving, of nmeh trouble, time, and expense." The remarks on the chords, touch, form, intellec tual conception, and choice of compositions ought to be perused attentively. In the chapter on the" Choice of Compositions" the author has selected those of whose excellence amongst musical men there can be no ditkrence of opinion ; and although" the suscep tibility for what is beautiful in music cannot be taught," yet, if the pupil attends to the instructions clearly and plainly written and the works selected, viz., Fantasia in C minor, Mozart, Sonata in C minor, Mozart, Beethoven's Sonata in 0 major, Bach's Fan tasia Chromatica, a Fuga by the saute composer, &e., he will have such a correct estimate of some of the best works of our old masters, that the " innate gift will be awakened and developed like any other ta lent." The student is judiciously warned against ex clusively playing the works of one master, and to aid him in his selection an excellent list of good music is given. In conclusion, we recommend young teachers to study this work, and some of our modern profes sors would gain hints from reading it, and following the suggestions thrown out in it, in their own coin • positions. PCIILICATIONS RECEIVED. Coleyle. Translated by Miss Martineau. .1. I barman. jfewth's. Keq.sake. lsrst. 1,. 11..::i5. t 'ONO .iiittlNl. I gr 4. 1)1tt,.. l'irlisairiara I 1 Mimi, ere. N. Ogle. T. llarris.m. .1 t 'raise IN the .f.'fariia Sen. W. Watson. 10in... Lift of Sonar p. on. T. Itreowne. Chapman awl Ilan. The Lines of .4rtixtie Copyright. H. It. Blaine, Esq. .1. Thu I MT. The Christian Life. 11. Meoingennery, M.A. ithiligt..a. A itsuak ty' t'rent /mine. A. l'rowquill. (;. 114.fi1101g... DelllO4lHlll IN London. W. l'ickernoz. The lopoily Frig ml Alninaark. I$ $. W. S. °Er aud 4.,.. SIR ROBERT l'Eri. is about to deliver a lecture in five or six towns of the midland district in aid of the fund being raised to employ a paid lecturer in connection with the Midland Union of Mechanics' I nstitntes.