The Press. — London, England, 1854-03-04 00:00:00

210 are given. He is a confirmed fatalist. The revolutions of 1848, by alarming the old no bility, stifled a conspiracy that had been formed against the imperial authority, other wise the author is of opinion that the predic tion, now broken for the first time, that no Emperor of Russia can reign more than twenty.five years, would have been verified either by the poisoned bowl, the dagger, or the rope. The work is profusely illustrated by drawings which answer the purpose for which they are designed. 1 Private Letters on the Eastern Question. By Viscount Ponsonby. Brighton : Folthorp. 2. Shall Turkey Live or Die By Thomas Carlyle, Esq. London : Bosworth. 3. A Word to the British Public before entering into Hostilities with Russia. London : Golbourn. 1. A collection of six letters written between the 17th November and the 30th December, 1833. They are strictly what they purport to be—private commu ications from one friend to another on the most im• ortant question of the day ; but they possess an in erest and an authority, which perhaps would not otherwiso belong to them, from the position once held by the noble author. Many of Lord l'onsonby's remarks have since been verified by events, and his opinion of the conduct of the Coalition on the Eastern question is, " that the exhibition of any vigour in the " commencement would have placed that affair in an " intelligible state, instead of its falling into inex " tricable ;confusion." Lord Pcnsonby asserts that England and France are " bound by treaty to pre " serve the integrity of the Ottoman territory," a statement we notice because Lord Aberdeen in the House of Lords ostentatiously asserted the exact re verse. 2. Mr. Carlyle is of opinion that, although not bound by treaty to maintain Turkey, we are yet " bound to see that it is fairly dealt with," which ho thus explains :—" Abolish Turkey with one consent if " you will, provided you know what next to do. But " if you deem its abolitionjundeserved, if you cannot " put Greece in its place, or agree how to divide " the spoil, defend it from all thieves and robbers in " the meantime. Hera justice and interest are at " one." Although the pamphlet is of small size, and contains only thirty-two pages, it would require volumes to exhaust the topics at which it glances. Abstract right and policy, religion, the l'ope, the Crusades, and t h e Jews, all these receive a assing notice from the author as he attempts to olve the question he asks. Mr. Carlyle believes hat we are on the eve of that great war of principles which Canning foresaw of a " Religious and European war," &c. With Mr. Drummond he thinks " the " Pope has, although covertly, been the prime mover " in the present troubles," but is far from sure that the Jews will not reap the benefit of the machinations of his Holiness, " and make greater profit of this cru " sade than they did of the former—may step in be " tween the combatants . . . and may settle the " dispute by establishing their own claim to the land "of promise," &e. The decision cf Mr. Carlyle in answer to the question which is the title of his pamphlet is, that Turkey shall live. But this con clusion is only arrived at after much argument, and is rather implied than affirmed. Although with fewer peculiarities than generally mark his works, this pamphlet alone would stamp Mr. Carlyle as an ori ginal thinker and an eccentric writer. " Are we," he asks, " . . . ready to swallow any assurances " from a Government which is the impersonation of " craft, and the tallowy unsound countenance of " which never yet betrayed its passions or pro. " jects ? " We cannot conclude better than with his advice that Russia should not be permitted to make the Danube a " lluvium clausurn—a European pipe " with a Russian plug." 3. Is one of those wild productions which may emanate indifferently from a " man of peace " or an emissary of Russia ; probably the latter, as the author hints that America is likely to attack us if we make war on the Czar. The Money Lender. By Mrs. Gore. London : Routledge and Co. Tars reprint of one of Mrs. Gore's best tales is pub lished in the " Railway Library," and in its new shape we observe that the brilliant authoress has dedicated it to her kinsman John Wentworth, Esq., repre sentative in Congress of Illinois, and she parti cularises the fact that the work has been already ex tensively circulated in the United States. The writing in " The Money-Lender" has the character istic vivacity and sparkle of Mrs. Gore, but the plot is in some respects too episodical, and its construc tion is not so artistio as some of her other fictions. When her new novel appears we may have an oppor tunity of criticising the distinguished writer, but we observe some curious instances in " The Money- THE PRESS. Lender " of her fault in exaggerating the conven tional. Here is a remark founded on substantial truth, but made ludicrous by its overstatement : " Let him who, after lasouring under the pressure of pecuniary embarrassments, buds himself suddenly and un expectedly released from thraldom, declare whether any earthly triumph can exceed that soul•stirring emancipation, The king may make a belted knight, A marquis, duke, and a: that— but far surpassing any ennoblement recorded in the peer. age is the creation of a free man out of a wretch on whose shoulder the gripe of the bailiff has been felt by agonising anticipation.' If the fair authoress were treating of the agonies of an upraiding conscience, or the misery of blasted affection, or the sufferings of bereaved kindred, she could scarcely have expressed herself with more strength. The thrilling words of the poet are pro faned in the use of them in the foregoing extract. Plea for a Colonial and Missionary College at Cain• bridge. By J. R. Crowfoot. London: Rivingtons. THE writer laments that British colonisation has been "gradual and unsystematic," and represents colonial society as democratic, disaffected to Eng land, and indifferent to sound religious doctrine. He also dwells on the number of heathen nations and tribes which acknowledge our supremacy, and on the duty, hitherto neglected, of converting these. His proposal is to establish at Cambridge a seminary or place of training for students who intend to emigrate, either as missionaries or colonial clergy. He would keep down the expenses of each student to 75/. yearly, and make some provision for professors, lec turers, and fellows. All this is well enough ; but be then proceeds to suggest the seizure and appropria tion of Downing College for this purpose, merely on the ground that it would thus be more useful than it is at present. Mr. Crowfoot appears himself to be a moderate minded, if not a judicious, projeCtor, and his suggestion only shows how far the idea of an unlimited State interference with private endow ments may be carried, and with what extreme cau tion it should be approached by any legislative body. There is no more reason why the funds of Downing College should be diverted to missionary uses than why those of Trinity, or of Christ Church at Oxford, should be appropriated to found an hospital. Palmerston for Premier. London : T. and W. Boone. AN ingenious and elaborate, but unfair, attack on the foreign policy of Lord Palmerston, who is made re sponsible in his own person for the Afghan invasion, for the success of Russian intrigues in Persia, for the annexation of Poland, the seizure of Cracow, the war with China, and the present position of Turkey Judging by the tone and language of this production, it would appear to emanate from a supporter of Lord Aberdeen. The author displays considerable skill in misrepresentation, and a sufficient knowledge cf de tails to give plausibility to his arguments. Family Prayers, Original and Selected By W. Hastings Kelke, B.A. London : Cox. THIS volume will scarcely supply the deficiency felt amongst the devout of a good volume of "prayers." The composition of addresses to the Deity would task the highest intellects, and it is nut a little strange that our great divines have not given that attention to the composition of " prayers" which they have bestowed upon sermons and polemical exercises. The "Liturgy " and the " Psalms," how ever, are amply sufficient to meet the wants of the pious; but" manuals of family devotion" are useful to give variety to the language of thanksgiving. Mr. Kelke's volume is printed to correspond in type and sizo with Mr. Thornton's " Family Prayer," with which, also, it was the compiler's object to make his volume accord in doctrine. The Nature, Symptoms, and Treatment of ',Con sumption. By Richard Payne Cotton, ➢I.D. London : Churchill. THIS book comes before us with a guarantee of excellence, it being the essay to which the Fother gillian prize medal was awarded by the Medical Society of London. It affords, perhaps, one of the best illustrations of the rapid strides which have been accomplished within the last thirty years in this particular department of medical science. The benevolent promoters and supporters of the Brompton Hospital for Consumption will see in Dr. Cotton's valuable treatise some of the first fruits of ther labours, and the benefits of their noble institution will thus be diffused beyond the comparatively limited circle of their own patients. Expose of the Royal Academy of Arts. By Thomas Skaife. London : Piper and Co. THIS is a large pamphlet of more than 100 pages, in which the Royal Academicians are attacked partly SATURDAY, on public and general grounds, but principally because they have rejected certain paintings executed by the author: "at a word, Thomas Skaife, Esq., " saith he is wronged." But it must be admitted that there is much in the constitution of the Royal Academy that calls for reform. When an arst of the eminence of the late John Martin abtlained from sending pictures for exhibition to Trafalgar square, because he could not receive justice at the hands of the academicians, we may be sure that Mr. Skaife might have made out a better case against them if he had written more calmly. The subject is one which will probably come before the Legislature, and until then we suspend our judgment; but one remark we will make, viz., that no room can possibly be built in which, if it be hung round with pictures of every variety of tone and colour, the light will be equally favourable to all. This, rejected or ill-used artists seem to forget. Church Questions. By the Rev. James Lancaster, M.A. Second Edition. London : Seeleys. THIS is a very useful little este:him), composed on the plan of giving Scripture answers to the various questions, and interspersed with judicious remarks from the pen of the compiler. It well deserves the honour of a "second edition," as it contains much well-chosen matter compressed in a small space. Alice Wentworth. A Novel. London : Hurst and Blackett. Tins is a first attempt at a fashionable novel, trying to join the interest of domestic pathos with Bel gravian incident. The style is pleasing, but the story wants power, for the recording pen has not practice in the art of fiction. " Alice Wentworth" is one of those novels which create opposition to the present mode of publishing fictions. Here we have scarcely enough of "copy " for one volume and a half, spun out iuto three volumes, and in the last the story is printed with seventeen lines on a wide page, realising Sheridan's description of " a rivulet of text " meandering through a meadow of margin." If the writer should again venture on publication we ad vise her (for we have no doubt of the sex of the author) to take more pains in studying from nature. PERIODICAL LITERATURE. MAGAZINES FOR MARCH. THE still-increasing pressure on our literary columns constrains us to be brief in reviewing the magazint of the day. We propose before long to discuss critically the general character of "periodical literature;" and, while drawing attention to the chief contributions of value in the magazines of the month, we can select for special notice only those articles possessing a marked utility. Along with some " trash " there is much talent shown in this department of active literature; and, while our general notices under this head must be curtailed, particular articles shall be criticised by us at length proportionate to their merits or the value of their topics—a plan by which we shall economise space, while increasing the interest of this department of the PRESS. Blackwood contains ten articles. The first perhaps too fiercely handles the author of the recent libel called the " Biography of Mr. Disraeli," which has been already reviewed in this journal. It is suggested by the. reviewer that, if these libellous publications continue, new laws should be enacted to suppress the evil. Our own opinion is the reverse. That long libel on the late Chancellor of the Exchequer was alaborious tribute paid by dull malignity and envy to brilliant genius, and is perhaps the greatest compli ment ever received by any man in his lifetime. Two articles are devoted to three poets, Matthew Arnold, Elwin Arnold, and Alexander Smith : all are praised, but by no means without qualification. Perhaps our great northern monthly contemporary is so sensible of the value of his favourable opinion that he hesi• Cates to pronounce it too emphatically. The "Epide mics of the Middle Ages" is highly interesting and useful. "Thu New Reform Bill" concludes the number. Fraser contains fourteen articles, generally good. The fir t, on the " I'lurality of Worlds," will most attract those whose thoughts are elevated above earthly things, while " Sinope after the Battle" will have equal interest for others whose atten tion is concentrated on passing events. This month's number ties a great diversity of subjects, which, perhaps, has prevented due attention to details. In an interesting sketch of Beaumarcha:s there are several errors of the press, which we notice because they are in important points—dates and the age of the hero. Tait has eight articles, together with the usual political and literary information. One article, " The Reporters' Gallery," is very amusing. In illustrating the difference between the present and the old system of parliamentary reporting the follow ing instance is given : "At a later period the audacity and impudence of the reporters increased, and loud and numerous were the mop — m.