The Press. — London, England, 1855-10-20 00:00:00

1006 he proceeds to argue that the existence of God is not proved by revelation, and that all present argu ments and systems utterly fail from incompleteness. The admirable resume of "European Literature " is unusually attirsotite in thiliraniber. In the Lander's Quarter., Bunsen's "Egypt" is very favorably•reshored, and the • learned Chevalidrs *onion of the, Mosaic chronology more leniently traded than we should have expected. Why Bunsen she old prefer the information of Manetho and Eratosthenes, one an Egyptian priest and the other a Cyrenian Greek, to that of Moses, who lived twelve hundred years before either of them, and under the Pharaohs bad access to the sources of ancient Egyptian history, it is not easy to see. The character of Moses places bim far beyond Manetho, Erastosthenes, or any other ancient author, and these claims, says the reviewer, " cannot be ignored without a violation of 4 . the first principles of historical science." " Life and Death in the Coal Minas " is a readable article upon our colliery population (comprising some 210,000 persons of all ages), minutely describing their mode of life and work. The shafts are generally a thou sand or twelve hundred feet deep, but one at Monk weartnouth, Sunderland, reaches to the depth of 1,590 clear feet. We suppose the following may be ralied on : The northern shafts in general, oh account of their depth, are forbidding to visitors. The stoutest men seem afraid to descend the first time. We may felicitate our tolves on being more courageous than even the late famous Emperor Nicholas; for when he was Grand Duke he visited Wad's-End, and desired to descend the pit. The late Mr. Buddle was the manager, and prepared all things. The Grand Duke arrayed himself in a miner's dress, and marched to the pit's mouth ; but even he was smitten with for when he glanced at the black, yawning, smoking, shaft ; and, having again asked its depth, he suddenly beat eretreat, exclaiming, " My God ! it is the very mouth of —!" Casting off his miner's dress, be took a hasty leave of the unvisited Wall's-End pit. A long and careful analysis into the causes and stitistics of accidents follows, and a few notes upon the moral and physical condition of the mining population, concludes a very able and interesting article. Mr. Rule's " Studies from History " affords a good subject for an essay upon the fall of the Byzantine Empire, while a late work by M. de Czynsky upon " Copernicus and his Works" gives much information upon that honest old astro n imer. It is a curious fact, we are told, that t Pope, in 1820, quietly revoked the excom munication which in 1560 had been fulminated against his system, and the Church of Rome con descended to permit the world in 1820 to believe that the earth did revolve round the sun. Of literary raviews, Tennyson and his " Maud " meet with high praise. He is Pronounced the " purest specimen of "the poetic character this last half-century has pro " duced." "The Exposition in Paris" is a clever re- Slew of modern French art. We must reserve notice of some other Reviews until our next issue. Tales for the Marines. By the Author of "Los , Gringos." London : Wind and Lock. - - A slums of well-told clever yarns of a Yankee mid shipman's life and adventures. Full of incident, and abounding in "situations," they will be read eagerly by all boys. The descriptions of the coast and people of South America are admirably graphic ; the account of the " Pampero " in the Plata, and the description of the visit to the estancia of Roses at Buenos Ayres, will vividly recal both the event and locality to those who have experienced a Pam pero, or accepted the hospitality of Roses and his daughter Manuelita. Though rather highly coloured, these are certainly some of the best tales that were ever told to the marines. • Webster's Pronouncing Dictionary of the English L znguage. Pocket Edition. Revised by W. G. Webster. London : Ward and Lock. HERE is a beautifully-printed little volume of upwards of 300 pages, containing 10,000 more words than are to be found in Walker's Dictionary, with accented vocabularies of classical, scripture, and geographical names, neatly bound, adapted for the pocket., and published at half a crown. Cheapness in this case has not been attained by any sacrifice of excellence. The edition has been carefully con densed from Webster's great work, and is now pro duced under the superintendence of his son. The publishers must reckon on a large sale to repay their enterprise. On one point they are secure. They have , produced a pocket dictionary which for quality and price must defy competition. Chjmnastic Polymachinon. By Captain Chiosso. London : Walton and Maberly. Gurchtfrrics in this country are far too much ne glected, and in no part more than in the towns and skies. The youth of our towns either waste their riplagtip in dissipttiion or ruin the houlth by lobo . . . THE PRESS. lance and physic. There is no better cure for the one or preventive for the other than gymnastic exercises ; and if the physical part of education' were more generally attended to in this country we should have a liner, better developed, more muscular, and more healthy race to boast of. In this huge city alone, where some million of men , more or less, are collected, we have about one public and two private gymnasiums established ! With reference to this want Captain Chiosso, who is well known as the .spocesaor, to Captain Clias, appears to We invented a siostingenious gymnastic machine, taking tip little roost, and at which, by various arrang ements of weights and pullies, every possible exercise may be taken, bringing into play the whole muscular system, promoting health, developing the form, and giving strength and tone to the constitution. Captain Chiosso's little book contains a brief description of this machine, and full rules to be observed during exercise. We cordially recommend attention to this suhject to young and old, to dyspeptic patients, and to all suffering from malformation or det'ormity. The Crimean Enterprise. By Captain Gleig, 02nd Highlanders. London : Blepkwoods. A SERIES of letters, formerly addressed to the Morning Herald, commenting upon the various phases of the Crimean expedition. Captain Gleig, who has appa rently studied the theoretical part of the art of war to soma purpose, on more than one occasion pre dicted certain results from the position and move ments of the two armies—the allied and itussian— with singular fidelity to consequent facts. For in stance, some weeks before the battle of Inkermann was fought, he writes : The allies, however, will have no choice but to set all these rules at defiance ; for, outflanked on the right, en potence in the centre, and menaced on the left by the Sebastopol garrison, they must at all points defend them selves by sheer gallantry, or choose between a bloody defeat, with the sea to retire upon, or an unconditional surrender. The fact that we were not driven into the sea, nor forced to surrender, does not, in any way invalidate this prediction, because it is now well known that immediately after Inkermann the question of re•em barkation was eeriously mooted at head quarters, and had Menscbikoff not been ill and wounded, the probability is that Inkermann would have been re peated more than once, and that though victorious we should at last, from sheer weakness and suf fering, have been compelled to terminate our mean campaign by a second Corunna. The letters are ten in number, extending over a period from October, '54, to June, '55, and embrace every leading event in the campaign. Several plans are also given, and the book, on the whole, though written in rather a dogmatic tone, will amuse tactical amateurs. War, studied in a comfortable barrack room by a subaltern without responsibility, may ap pear like all other subjects on paper—one to be made pleasant without difficulty. The old story of Theory versus Practice is revived in this volume of Captain Gleig's ; and we have little doubt that if ever the private despatches of the allied commanders of that date see the light, we shall discover that circum stances compelled them to act in a manner contrary, perhaps, to the first principles of strategy, and leaving them no choice but the errors of their enemy to de pend upon for preservation or success. PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. BOOKS. A Caution against. Images, Pictures, and Superstitious Decorations. W. Peace, a Layman. W. E. Painter. The English Bible and its History. Rev. C. E. Oakley, B.A. Hatchards. Passages selected from the Writings of Thomas Carlyle. Thomas liallantyne: Chapman and Hall. The Mystic, and other Poems. Do. Infidelity Inescusedits. W. Skeffington. Eight Years' Wandiffnris in Ceylon. S. W. Baker, Esq. Longmans. Do. Reading Lessons. Edward Hughes. The Fur Hunters of the Far West. Alexander Rom Smith and Elder, PAMPHLETS. Sketch of the Siege and its Probable W Sequences. Vigilant Wright. G. R. ht. On the Sanitary Applications of Charcoal, tc., and on Ventilation. Madden. The Laws relating to Lessem.. and Asiatic Seamen. Smith and Elder. Petition to the House of Commons on Administrative Reform. The Ground we Tread in Worcestershire. J. S. Pskiugton, Esq. Hatehard. Courtenay Dictionary of Abbreviations. Groombridge Mind Your Stops. Do. How to detect Adulteration. 1)o. PERIODICALS. The Quarterly Review No: 194. Murray. The Church of England Sunday School Quarterly Magazine. Track/or the Protest Crisic Nos. 20 to 46: SATURDAY, etartspoubturt. WE intended to publish a selection from the letters we have received on the great question of the time, "Peace or War." But they have latterly become so numerous that it would be impossible to print a tenth part of them. Their writers must be satisfied that all have been read and considered. We are equally obliged to the writers, whether their views (as in the great majority of cases) agree with those we have expressed, or whether they differ from us. The points of the question are in general well seized. The principal objection we find stated is, that pro posals of peace Must come from Russia. So be it ; but whether is it bettor to show that such proposals would meet with favorable reception, or be ignominiously rejected ? Besides, it should be recollected that the Vienna negotiation was " broken off "—as some of our (sbinet Ministers have declared---on our part, less, as we are satisfied, through deliberate conviction that the Stems offered would not prove satisfactory, than through the absolute impossibility of withdraw ing the allied forces from before Sebastopol, without dishonour, perhaps without serious political results. Now, we can better afford to show generosity t. a defeated foe. To another objection, that the objects of the war cannot be precisely defined until negotia tion is commenced, we briefly reply that our argu ments have been mainly directed against declarat►ons which would render negotiation impossible. What, for instance, says the most powerful journal in Europe, so lately as Thursday last—a journal which arrogates to itself, and with some show of reason, the claim of representing the opinions of a majority of Englishmen, and the right to prescribe principles of action to the Government:— We are now engaged in oar grealeal war, a new war of principles lt is the contest which the highest minds among us have for a century hoped for and pre dicted. Many great and wise men have desired to see these days, and have not seen them. We of this genera tion have been chosen for the work, and if we WI the failure is for ever. The public is stanch in its general purpose, but it has belt means and details to its Govern ment. If the Government, through fear or favour, shows itself unworthy, the nation must make its voice heard. Does not language of this kind demand some cor rective? If such sentiments are to prevail, then let us bid farewell to common sense in our policy, and prepare for the ruin which must attend its de sertion. There is one passage in the letter of a corre spondent, generally opposed to oar views, so sagacious that we make it, an exception to our rule : This is the lesson of history—all great wars have quickly vindicated their immunity front human foresight or oon trol. We see statesmen and nations alike dragged resist lessly along, and any attempt to stop or to direct the current is only noticed by history for its futility. This is melancholy doctrine. Are we in a war altogether beyond our control, which we cannot direct and coast stop, and the result of which we cannot foresee ? Soh has been the case hitherto, and man is still the tame. There are stern conditions on which alone it is permitted to nations to appeal to the God of Battles. Are we to resign ourselves to this Pagan kind of destiny? Are wars to be exempt from that general law which leaves men and nations free to shape their own course and work out their own salvation ? Are men never to gain wisdom from experience—never to look into the histories of past warp, and mark bow severe a lesson they read on self.sufficiency and vin dictiveness? Is our own age, with all its lights, to be no wiser than ages that have preceded it? The question is insufficient. It will be less wise if such doctrines as we have quoted above from a contempo rary are to prevail. A few words more before we conclude this reply to the numerous correspondents who have honoured us with their communications. The line taken by this journal is the result of anxious consideration. We could not expect all members of the Conservative party to agree with it. Such a result would have been inconsistent with that independence of thought characteristic of Englishmen which has made us at once, paradoxical as it may seem, the most united aud most divided of communities; in religion the most tolerant and most dissentient ; in politics the most orderly and the most quarrelsome; in commerce the most competitive and most associa tive; in general life the most solitary and most socia ble. We have some title to the confidence of our readers. We claim it now. We challenge a not distant future. Let it decide on the consistency, the soundness, the policy, and, in the highest sense of the word, the Conservatism of our coarse. FRENCH VIEW OF THE ASSAULT ON Tlil - REDAN. , TO THE EDITOR OF " THE PRESS." Sir, —My attention has been called to an article in THE PRESS of the 13th inst., in which it is stated that " a letter frown Professor Aytoun, dated frolu raris Oct. Ist, first publisked in an Edi nburgh part,