The Press. — London, England, 1856-08-16 00:00:00

AUGUST 16, 1856. happened rarely, I felt a vacancy which no other warrior could supply. There was none bolder than herself, and she knew it; there were others of greater strength, but her deficieney in muscular power was more than indemnified by her catlike agility, and she would kill her man while others were preparing to attack. - - The heroine having gained, we presume, the required number of scalps, is unable longer to resist the fascinations of the Medicine Calf (Mr. Beckwourth's Crow-style), and adds one more to his number of wives : This was my last marriage in the Crow nation. Pine Leaf, the pride and admiration of her people, was no longer the dauntless and victorious warrior, the avenger of the fall of her brother. She retired from the field of her glory, and became the affectionate wife of the Medi. tine Calf. Of the rejoicings at which Medicine Calf assisted the following may serve as a speci men. Two prisoners had been taken by a trading party, with one Gardner at their head, who were in league with the Crows : They had bound them with trap chains, and were in the act of throwing them into a tremendous log fire that was burning in the camp. They opened the logs on the top of the fire, and, swinging the two victims into the flames, rolled back the burning logs. There was a terrible struggle for a moment ; then all was still. A blue flame towered high above the pile, and quickly subsided. My Indians begged the privilege of scalping them before they were burned; but tiardner told them he wished to burn them up clean. " You are going after their companions," be said, " and you can g et plenty more scalps." " Yes," they replied, " we will get plenty, and bring your horses hack besides." I really felt proud of my warriors at seeing them ani mated with so true a spirit. The style of the book is better than the matter. It has an antique simplicity which reminds us of " Robinson Crusoe." We only wish the author had exercised more fidelity or more discrimination (we surmise the former quality to he most wanting) in giving Mr. Beckwourth's narrative to the public. Fashionable Life; or, Paris and London. By Mrs Trollope. Three Vols. London: Hurst and Blackett. MRS. TROLLOPE has produced a novel of society, written with much natural ease and pleasantry. She is partial to heiresses, perhaps for the reason tl at the power of wealth has a tendency to show forth the lights and shades of female character, which she excels in delineating. The heiress in the pre sent case finds—a more common case in novels than in real life—her wealth a burden to her, inasmuch as it has the effect (again romance is opposed to reality ) of repelling a high-spirited young gentleman who but for her large fortune would throw himself at her feet. How it is that she loses this fortune—that her lover seeks her out in her poverty—that an unex pected event occurs just prsvious to the wedding— these, with particulars of the young lady's experience of "fashionable life" in the capitals of England and France, we leave novel-loving readers to discover for themselves. The talent of Mrs. Trollope is conspicu• ous in the agreeable manner in which she accumulates interest round the story of her heroine. The other characters are well sketched, and most of them can be contemplated with that pleasure which we derive from the skilful representation of objects pleasing in themselves. The Church and the People. Twelve Sermons. By Henry Whitehead, M.A. London : Skeffington. A VOLUME of sermons on such a subject as the above, from a gentleman of Mr. Whitehead's experience of the characters of the London poor, could not fail to be worth some degree of attention. Bat these ser mons fully confirm the high opinion we had previously formed of Mr. Whitehead from his pamphlets and other writings. Of the present publication, we think the first, third, fourth, ninth, and tenth sermons are the best; they are calculated, we think, to go straight to the hearts of the ignorant, but not insensible, audience to Thom they are addressed—to bring home to them the vitality of religion, and the truly merci ful, meek, and forgiving spirit of the Christian faith. Such addresses permeating through the dismal and crowded &fillings of our London poor must have a most purifying and softeningkinfluence, blessing "him that gives and him that takes," and Mr. White bead deserves our thanks and congratulations on his efforts to bring the Church nearer to the people. The Enigma. A Leaf from the Archives of W ol• chorley-house. London: J. W. Parker and Son. SAY rather from the scatterings of the Sibyl. It is an enigma, at all events, that we have been totally unable to solve. As far as we can gather from the language, which bears a considerable resemblance to English, it appears to be intended for a tale, but what THE PRESS. the characters are meant for, and what they are re presented as doing, we have not yet been able to determine. A Latin-English Dictionary. By C. D. Yonge. London : Bentley. THIS book appears well adapted to the end proposed, which is a complete schoolboy's dic tionary. We would only recommend that, in a subsequent edition, more care should be taken to avoid clerical errors. On opening the book at ran dom we have come aeross two or three false quanti ties, such as the oin origo" and "moderamen " long —a thing calculated to vcx the soul of school boys to distraction. Continental Economy. By J. Lomax. London : Layzells. AN extremely useful little book, worthy the attention of every person with a 101. note or more in his pocket, some leisure, and the inten tion of taking a continental trip. Tho object of the writer is to give a list of those continental hotels, from Paris up the Rhine to Switzerland and Geneva, in which " comfort and economy" will be found. This is a distinction in hotels which it is as well every traveller should remember, for, of all conti nental robbers, continental hotel-keepers are about the worst. The good old days of forests, black mail, and brigandage, have given way to roads, police, hotels, and civilisation ; but the result at the end of our journey is much the same—perhaps the balance is in favour of mediaeval times, and as modern hand books do not supply us with the useful information given in this shilling pamphlet, this is another rea son why it should be in the hands of every tourist. PERIODICAL LITERATURE. The New Monthly contains a very good assortment of articles. We cannot, indeed, accept Me. Cyrus Redding as a very profound guide upon politics ; but we have a good review of Sir George Lewis's " Credibility of Early Roman History," and two ex cellent magazine tales, " The Butterfly Chase " and " The Old King's Arms," the latter especially un commonly good. None of the remaining articles are below par. The Oxford and Cambridge Magazine contains some pretty imaginative writing, though coloured by the affectation which unfortunately pervades this able,though unequal, periodical. " The Two Pictures " we should select as the best article of the present month. The article upon " Woman " smacks of the academic atmosphere. We think the contributor to this magazine would do well to drop such meaningless formalities as the following :—" Most sensible I am " how weakly I have advocated a cause so great," " I "am conscious with what meagreness I have treated this great subject," &c. PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.—AuousT 11. BOOKS. Adelaide, Queen of Italy; or, the Iron Crown. C. Dolman The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare. Samuel W. Singer, F.S.A. Bell and Daily _ _ The Cam;eri. Kiebeah, and Godavery. R. Baird Smith, F.O.S. Smith and Elder The Treatment of the Insane without Mechanical Restraints. Smith and Elder The Camp and the Cutter. Edwin Gall. T. Hodgson Mulray's Handbook—Wilts, Dorset, and Somerset. J. Murray Zurid's Grandchild. Newby A Popular Inquiry into the Moon's Rotation on her Axis. Bosworth Aphorisms on Drawing. Longmans Introduction to the Study of the Old Testament. _ _ _ . J. W. Parker and Snn Pictures of Travel. Trubner Eveken. By E.L.A., Berwick. Smith and Elder The Social History of the People of the Southern Counties of England Longma ns PAMPHLETS. Ho! For the West. Alga. and Street—To Emigrants; Canada, its Advantages to Settlers. Algar and Street — Tales of College Life. C. H. Clarke—Pius IX. and Lord Palmerston. C. Dolman—The Influence of Christianity. Longmane—Speech of the Right Hon. Sidney Herbert, on the Education and Instruction of Officers in the Army. J. Ridgway—Ben Sylvester Ward. J. and C. Mozley— English Grammar in Metre. J. and C. Moz ley—Letters from the Peninsula, Italy, tc. Effingham Wilson—A Voice from Stonehenge. W. J. Clever. PERIODICALS. The North British Review. W. P. Kennedy—Continental Economy. C. Layzell— The Train. Groornbridge The Monthly Review. J. Mitchell—The St. James's Medley. No. 7. J. Mitchell—Tait's Edinburgh Magazine. Partridge and Co.— The Churchman's Magazine. Harrison—Royal Gallery of Art. Colnagbi and Co.—The Art Journal. Virtue and Co.—Sharpe's London Magazine. Virtue and Co.— London University Magazine. Hall and Virtue—North Wales ; or, Venedotia. Hardwicke—Church of England Monthly Review. Simpkin and Marshall—The Ifreet of Scotland Magazine. Hall and Virtue—The London Monthly Review. Partridge—The British Soldier, No. 1. Orr and Co.--The United Church Journal. Seeley and Jackson. 787 TEXT OF SHAKESPEARE. TO THE EDITOR OF " THE PRESS." Sir,—Some of the proposed new readings of Shakespeare would seem rather desecrations than improvements. Thus, King John, act iii. sc. 3 If the midnight bell Did with his iron tongue and brazen mouth, Sound on, into the drowsy race of night. i.e., should continue to sound on throughout the drowsy course of night, which, Warburton and Black wood notwithstanding, is not improved by substitu ting " one" for " on," and " ear" for " race" or course of night, which need no emendation. Nor does the " difficulty " seem so " insuperable " as Blackwood (Sept. 1854) declares it in the passage from act iv. sc. 2 : And more, more strong (when leaser is my fear) I shall endue you with— in which King John simply intimates that he has other and stronger reasons for the " double corona tion " which he dare not yet mention, but will after wards explain. Richard 11., act ii. sc. 3 : Frighting he palefaced villagers with war, Aod ostentation of despised arms. Despised seems here equivalent to dreaded, i.e., dreaded of the terrified villagers, and not, as sug gested, because his arms and forces were " utterly despicable" in York's "estimation." The expression " despised arms " is so peculiarly Shakespearian that it would be little less than an impiety to touch it. First Part Henry IV., act iii. sc. i. : which thou pourest down from those Swelling heavens, i.e., overflowing heavens, or overflowing eyes, which scarce needs the proposed emendation of "welling heavens." Neither does the editor's proposed substitution of the word " through " for "though," in the passage from act i. sc. 2 of Henry V., seem desirable : For Government, though high, and low, and lower, Put into p arts, doth keep in one consent, . . Congruing, &c., i.e., that Government, although necessarily divided into departments of " high, and low, and lower," &c. It seems strange that a doubt should have arisen about the simple passage, act v. sc. 2, Henry V III.— But we are all men— In our natures frail ; and capable Of our flesh ; few are angels — which obviously means we are all iu our natures frail, and capable of fleshly de,ires—subj-ct to the flesh—Malone, Monck Mason, and Blackwood not• withstanding ! Neither can I agree with Blackwood that the emen dation, if such it be, of " thirst complaint" for "first complaint," in the speech of Menenius (Cortolanus, act ii. sc. i.), "ought, beyond a doubt, to be promoted into the text " Meneniu4. lam known to be a humorous patrician, and one that loves a cup of hot wine with not a drop of alloying Tiber in it; said to be something imperfect in favoring the first complaint.• The "first complaint" is that he is " a humorous pa trician ;" the second that he "loves a cup of hot wine ;" and, as water is " said to be something im perfect in favoring " humour, the "first complaint," he wiil have nothing to do with diluting Tiber. The "difficulty in the admirable verses in which the whole city is described as turning out " is not satisfactorily disposed of by Blackwood, in supposing the nurse to " make Cori ,lanes the subject of her gabble ": Your prattling nurse Into a rapture lets her baby cry While she chats him. "Chats " is not " gabble," as the editor implies, but from the French verb " chasser," to cha'e, or run after—" Elle le chasse," she chats, or runs after him. Nor in the couplet (act iii. so. 1), can I agree with the editor and Mr. Singer in substituting " imp" for "jump :" To jump a body with a dangerous physic That's sure of death without it; which seems to mean that where death is obviously inevitable 'tis absurd to cram the patient with physic. Aud in the passage, act v. sc. 5, In mine own person, holp to reap the famo Which he did end all his, the introduction of " ear " instead of " end " seems equally objectionable; the obvious meaning of Autidius being that Coriolanus had in the end appro priated to himself alone the fame which ought to have been divided between them. It would be mere desecration to adopt either or any of the emendations suggested the passage from Romeo and Juliet (act i. sc. 1), which is perfect as it is— From Love's weak cbildish bow she lives uncharmed. 4 4 Unonchanted," not "disenchanted," as suggested by Blackwood, and which would imply that she had • " No sense can be extraoted from this," says Blackwood, " by any procees of distillation."