The Press. — London, England, 1857-05-23 00:00:00

508 Here we will pause, but on a future day we may return to these interesting volumes for some further specimens of St. Simon. Tom Brown's School Days. By an Old Boy. Cambridge : Macmillan. THIS spirited volume is a highly natural de scription of school life at Rugby, under the late Dr. Arnold. The author is an enthusiastic ad vocate of what is known as the " Public-school system "—of the power of the sixth form, of fagging, fighting, and foot-ball. He says, and we believe with great truth, that the best pre vention of bullying is to be found in the system of fagging. The master of a fag is not obliged to bully, for he can got all he wants without it, and he is at the same time invested with authority to check bullying in others. Little boys are not now obliged to perform any very sordid or menial offices, and as a rule, we believe, would always be found in favour of the authority of the seniors. The enemies to the system are the big dunces, who bully covertly, and are ashamed of being compelled to succumb to their physical inferiors. But these, without some such cheek, would be the curses of every large school. Perhaps it is the upper boys themselves to whom the system is in reality the most danger ous. It doubtless has a tendency to give them somewhat elevated notions of their own importance. But this is largely compen sated for by the advantages arising from the early exercise of responsibility; and a little experience in the world very soon rubs off the crust of self-complacency. On the subject of fighting let the " Old Boy" sneak for himself: — And now, boys all, three words before we quit the sub ject. I have put in this chapter on fighting of malice prepense, partly because I want to give you a true picture of what everyday school life was in my time, and not a kid glove and go to-meeting•coat picture ; and partly becaase of the cant and twaddle that's talked of boxing and light ing with fists now-a-days. Even Thackeray has given in to it; and only a few weeks ago there was some rampant stuff in the Times on the subject, in an article on field sports. Boys will quarrel, and when they quarrel will sometimes fight. Fighting with fists is the natural and English way for English boys to settle their quarrels. What substitute for it is there, or ever was there, amongst any nation under the sun ? What would you like to see take its place ? Learn to box then, as you learn to play cricket and foot ball. Not one of you will be the worse, but very much the better for learning to box well. Should you never have to use it in earnest, there's no exercise in the world so good for the temper, and for the muscles of the back and legs. As to fighting, keep out of it if you can, by all means. When the time comes, if it ever shculd, that you have to say " Yes" or " No " to a challenge to fight, say "No " it you can,—only take care you make it clear to yourselves why you say " No." It's a proof of the highest courage, if done from true Christian motives. It's quite right and justifiable, if done from a simple aversion to physical pain and danger. But don't say " No" because you fear a licking, and say or think it's because you fear God, for that's neither Christian nor honest. And if you do fight, fight it out; and don't give in while you can stand and see. Fighting, we fear, is a necessary evil. To prevent boys from fighting would require such an amount of surveillance as would rob them of all self-reliance, and turn them out into the world with passions and vices smothered instead of conquered. In the next place, if boys do not box, for one that is actuated by "true Christian motives" or genuine refinement of feeling, it is to be feared five hundred will be moved by cowardice, or dislike of pain. In this manner a nremium would be offered on effeminacy, and boys grow up with that love of self indulgence and ten dency to sneer at all voluntary self-sacrifice which the greatest admirer of the nineteenth century must acknowledge to be even now too prevalent. We are aware, however, that this plea can be pushed too far ; yet we cannot for get Dr. Johnson's argument about the advan tage of a man's being accustomed to the sight of his own blood., School life in general is described in these pages with vast liveliness and truth ; the feelings of boys are thoroughly understood, and the way to win their confidence ably pointed ou t ; nor are graver t o pi cs wan ti ng . The fever in the school, and various conversa tions among the boys themselves, arc made vehicles for exhibiting schoolboys in their more serious and impressible moments. Hero we think the author just hits the proper medium. Few writers succeed in d e pi c ti ng tho religious emotions of the young. They THE PRESS. are generally made " infant phenomena." This stumbling-block the "Old Boy" has avoided, and given us a display of true boyish sentiment without a tinge of exaggeration. The tribute here paid to that great and ex cellent man who first, perhaps, exhibited to the English world how noble and how sacred was the position he occupied obtains our cordial approval. With many points in Dr. Arnold's religious and political theories we cannot agree, but he had two inestimable qualities namely, unadulterated love of truth, and a philanthropy without cant. He was thoroughly, not merely conventionally, honest; and wherever we find such a man we shall be wise to forget differences of intel lectual temperament, and to improve and fortify ourselves by contemplation of his moral greatness. Egypt and the Great Suez Canal. A Narrative of Travels. By J. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire. London : Bentley. Eavpr, according to M. de Saint-H ilaire,exhibite to us a remarkable picture of " European civi lisation grafted upon Mussulman ignorance," and he forthwith proceeds to discuss in a series of pleasant and instructive letters the present position and prospects of the country. Attached to a mission about to investigate the practicability of forming the famous Suez Canal between the Mediterranean and Red Seas—a favourite project with the present Viceroy—he was so fortunate as to meet with every attention from his Highness Said Mohammed. The flatteries of the Viceroy were many and delicate ; one will suffice. Hesitating to stand covered in the open air before his Highness, notwithstanding his re quest that they would do so, M. de Lesseps observed, "Your Highness treats these gentle " men like crowned heads." " These gentle " men," replied the Viceroy, " are the " crowned heads of science.' But such attentions, though perhaps they may have softened, did not materially alter the views of M. de Saint-Hilaire as to the wants of the country his Highness reigns over. He believes that new destinies are opening up to Egypt, and he freely expresses his opinions upon the two great evils of the country—viz., the want of a higher morality among the people, and a better organisation of the laws of property. With respect to the laws of property, in point of fact, the people of Egypt hold no property upon any permanent basis. The Sultan is the proprietor of the soil, the Viceroy his tenant for life ; and, with these exceptions, and those of a few persons to whom special grants have been made, there is not a single landed proprietor in the country. This monstrous arrangement of property, so similar in system to our own in India, is productive of similar evil effects. The mate rial wealth and prosperity of the country never progresses beyond a certain point; all enter prise is checked ; and when, in addition to such a system, we consider the traditional rapacity of the governors of provinces, the " almost universal improbity," and the un scrupulousness of all officials, we need not be surprised that a country like Egypt possesses a population of beggars, and does not progress in proportion to its opportunity. Mohammed Said, says M. de Saint-Hilaire, no sooner succeeded to the Government than " he hastened to carry out strict administra " tive reforms ;" but his work is heavy, for ho is not well supported, and his labours, we aro assured, are " immense and almost over " whelming" : By the organisation of absolute power everything is re ferred to him, and he is of necessity occupied with a mul titude of details, which engross all his time, and would weigh down natural powers less strong than his. The machinery of administration is very simple, but the hand of the master is incessantly required to direct and maintain its action. Under the governors of provinces, or Moudirs, who may be compared to our Prefets, are the Nazirs, who resemble Sous-Prefets ; and under the Nazirs are the governors of towns and heads of villages, the lowest instru ments of the central power. Everything has yet to be created in the habits and methods of work ; and, unless the impulse is given by the Viceroy, there is great risk that it will not be given at all, or very badly. Mohammed Said has great activity of mind, and the business which he transacts in it single day might well startle the most hardworking 1111111. llis bodily activity is not less great, although he has suffered since the age of SATURDAY, thirty-four from excessive corpulence, at which he f re . quently smiles. In the summer of 18-15, with a heat of :10 deg. of Riaumur, he led his troops into the D esert in pursuit of the Bedouins who had revolted, and he proved himself the most ardent and indefatigable of his soldiers. From all that I have seen of the Viceroy, I am of opinion that his Administration is and will be a great benefit to Egypt, which in his hands cannot but make the most important progress. The greatest danger that will for a long time menace the Egyptian Government will arise from its own goal intentions. In a country where everything has to be created, it is !absolutely necessary to commence many things at once, and it is difficult to finish them all, when they are great and important. It is well known amongst us, with all our superiority, how much time—l dare not say how much perseverance—it has required to finish works which were undertaken centuries ago, and some of which are only completed in our days, whilst others will perhaps never be concluded. In Egypt, which is per fectly new to civilisation, it is not to be wondered at that this is the case. Our own faults may teach us to excuse those of peoples much less advanced and moreover much less endowed by nature. But it is to the universal corruption of morals that M. de Saint-Hilaire attributes the general misery of the people. Marriages, for instance, among all classes, contracted without affection, are dissolved without remorse : Mutual consent is sufficient; and this consent is never withheld by the woman, who is terrified at the idea of the ill-treatment which is the infallible consequence of a re fusal. The separation then takes place in the same manner as the marriage. The dowry, which amounts to scarcely anything among the poorer classes, is easily paid. The husband promises to make a provision for the chil dren, if there are any, and the parties may then marry again. This second marriage takes place with nearly the same formalities as the first, but the parties are generally introduced to each other by female negotiators, and are married again without having seen one ancther. Natu rally, in the case of a widow of one or more husbands, the marriage portion and dowry are much less than in that of a young girl. If the woman (to suppose an impossible case) refuses her consent to the divorce, the case is brought before the Kadi ; and to obtain a legal separation it is only necessary to prove that she has one of the defects indicated by the law, which vitiates the contract. If the unhappy woman, for instance, is con►icted of snoring, she is repudiated by the full authority of the law ; and many faults equally grave are, as may be imagined, not very difficult of proof. Divorces thus take place with deplorable facility, and it is not rare to meet with men who have been married thirty or forty times. The number of divorces is in proportion to the means of the husband. To theso evils, established by custom, is another serious one sanctioned by law—all children are legitimate, and inherit the paternal property by equal shares. This degradation of marriage is one effect of polygamy ; and polygamy, M. de Saint .Hilaire is of opinion, has its origin more in the corruption of morals than in any other cause yet ascribed : I repeat that, in my opinion, the true cause of polygamy lies far more in the corruption of morals than in the very questionable influence of climate. To combat this cor ruption is the province of those who study and deplore it; and it would be very unjust to despair of the East, and imagine that the evil cannot be out-come. For my own part, though I am not an extravagant optimist, I entertain a firm hope of amelioration ' • and I think that, when we recall the progress made during the last forty years in Egypt, we may look forward to the future without much distrust. It would indeed redound to the glory of Egypt, semi•civilised as she is, to take the initiative on this point, after having already set so many noble examples. Some Turks and Egyptians, ho assures us, tired of a harem, have contented themselves with ono lawful wife, and have attempted to bring up their children in a European man ner : But further, they have attempted to produce their wives in public, and with their faces uncovered. Not that they would go into society, in our sense of the term ; for this, as it exists in our salons, is unknown in Mussulman countries; a void attributable to the harem, which is attended by a multitude of painful consequences it would be useless to enter upon. Some of these courageous Mussulmans may have persevered in their laudable resolution, and have remained faithful to the single companion of their choice, but the attempt to exhibit (if I may use the word) the poor women has been quite a failure. The very few, who ventured to show themselves, were received in a manner not at all calculated to make them desire to renew the experiment. The popular manners still energetically oppose this reform, simple as it appears. Perhaps the necessary prudence was not used in attempting a change, which would require all the power of a persevering and wise Government. This is too delicate a reform to be effected by abrupt measures. Time is a great clement in such fundamental changes. Lengthenedin tercourse with European nations, and, above all, the establishment and extension in the country of Christian colonies and European commerce, arc the means through which we may best anticipate such a reform.