The Press. — London, England, 1855-11-10 00:00:00

THE PRESS. 'NOVEMBER 10, 1855. his feelings, he derived little solid benefit. The avidity with which the poem was read, and the curiosity that looked impatiently for its sequel, generated a singular kind of literary fraud. The first part was not only pirated, as already mentioned, but was followed by a spurious second part, which ran through three editions within the year, succeeded by another containing a continuation of the third canto. The author of " Hudibras " had introduced a new style of satire, which presented irresistible temptations to the ,mail poets of the day. His ludicrous double rhymes, his short measure, and his familiar diction, would have been striking as novelties at any time ; and it may be eas ily conceived that they were peculiarly effective coming so closely after the sombre reign of Puritanism, when their allusions were universally understood, and the whole manner of the poem—its broad humour and trenchant ridicule—fell in happily with the reaction that had taken place in the public mind. The popularity of the work threatened an inundation of laborious doggrel, and Butler might probably have been drifted into oblivion by a flood of imitators if he had not vindicated hie reputation by the speedy publication of the second part, which obtained the imprimaJur of Sir Roger L'Estrange on the 6th November, 1663, and was published under the date of 1664, with a titlepage, on which it was carefully announced as having been written " by the author of the first," to distinguish it from counterfeits. In a similar way we were overrun in our own days by Brummagem Byrons, and counterfeit Bozzes. But it is more difficult in authorship than in mechanics to infringe upon the on ginal patent. A plagiarist may successfully steal, but a mere imitator cannot fraudulently invent. Originality implies the first finding of thought, and there is a sort of common• law right to the honours and profits of dis covery. Of the extraordinary popularity of " Hudi bras " it is told here : The reception of " Hinlibras " at Court is, probably, without a parallel in the history of books. The King was so enchanted with it that he carried it about in his pocket, and perpetually garnished his conversation with specimens of its witty passages, which, thus stamped by royal appro bation, passed rapidly into general currency. Nor was his Majesty content with merely quoting Butler; in an excess of enthusiasm he sent for him, that he might gratify his curiosity by the sight of a poet who had contributed so largely to his amusement. The Lord Chancellor Hyde showered promises of patronage upon him, and hung up his portrait in his library. Every person about the Court considered it his duty to make himself familiar with " liudibras." It was minted into proverbs and bon-mots. No book was so much read. No book was so much cited. From the palace it found its way at once into the chocolate houses and taverns ; and attained so rapid a popularity that it was pirated within a month of its original pub lication. And " minted into proverbs " it still remains. It would be difficult even in Pope to find a passage whose separate couplets have such acceptance as in the description of the Puri tan's religion:— For he was of that stubborn crew Of errant saints, whom all men grant To be the true Church Militant; Such as do build their faith upon The holy text of pike and gun; Decide all controversies by Infallible artillery; And prove their doctrine orthodox liy apostolic blows, and knocks; Call tire, and sword, and desolation, A godly, thorough Reformation, Which always must be catried on, And still be doing, never done ; As if Religion were intended For nothing else but to be mended. A sect, whose chief devotion lies In odd perverse antipathies; In falling out with that or this, And finding somewhat still amiss; More peevish, cross, and splenetic, Than dog distract, or monkey sick. That with more care keep holy-day The wrong, than others the right way; Compound for sins they are inclined to, liy damning those they have no mind to: Still so perverse and opposite, As if they worshipped God for spite. There has been no wit since Butler's time who could write such a passage as that. His genius could both dive and soar. As if religion were intended For nothing else but to be mended, contains a tone of argument against the I extravagance of sectarianism. Again— Still so perverse and opposite, As if they worshipped God for spite, presents an inimitable picture of the whole class of wrangling, jangling disputants about trifles—people who rend into shreds the seamless coat of our Saviour. The merit of this edition of the poets is now established. Its dicta are, of course, open to criticism in particular passages, but its vigorous - .tarp Iptous high reputation. The promptitude with which he uses his literary knowledge is really re markable ; and we doubt whether in the active portion of the literary profession any one else could perform such a feat as bringing out every month a volume illustrated by such a quantity of minute lore and able dissertation. Edward Irviny. An nary Biography. London: Freeman. and Lite- By Washington Wilks. THE work before us is rather a series of essays than a biography, and, as the title imports, deals much more with the preacher than with the man. It is composed on the rather unusual plan of representing successive phases of his career, and in disregard of the strict chronological order of events. Before, therefore, proceeding to further criticism, we will lay before our readers a brief summary of the salient points of his life which may serve as a sort of chain-work to hold our remarks together. Edward Irving was born at the town of Annan, the southernmost point of Scotland, on the 15th of August, 1792. His father was not what is commonly called a gentleman, being a tanner by trade, but it does not seem certain that he was not of gentle descent. The maiden name of his mother was Louther, and she was "said to be descended from " Martin Luther, the Reformer." Of Irving's boyhood few memorials are recorded. He was fonder, we are told, of rowing and walking than of his books, and the scholarship he acquired was due to the strict discipline of Mr. Adam Hope, his first schoolmaster. He had previously been taught the alphabet by " an old dame named Margaret Paine, aunt of " the author of The Rights of Man,' the " reputed instructress of that ' rebellious " needlernan ' in elementary learning." He gave early evidence of the vigorous turn of his mind : his favorite companions were men, and his favorite author Hooker. He graduated with distinction at Edinburgh, and in his seventeenth year was appointed mathematical teacher in a large academy at Haddingtoa Alter spending eight or ten years as a school master, Irving determined to become a mis sionary—a purpose from which he was diverted by the rather unlooked-for invitation to the assistant ministry of St. John's Church, Glas gow, then under the pastoral care of Dr. Chalmers. A t Glasgow ho continued for two years, at the end of which period he became minister of the Caledonian Chapel in Cross street, Hatton-garden, the scene of his future oratorical triumphs. He entered on the du ties of his office in the month of July, 1822, and in the first quarter the seat-holders had Increased from fifty to fifteen hundred Here he remained till 1827, in May of which year his new church was opened in Regent -square— " a spacious and elegant building, erected by " his Cross-street congregation at a cost of " 15,0001." It was during his ministry in Regent.square that Irving first began to pro mulgate those peculiar doctrines which ulti mately led to his excommunication by the Scotch Kirk. This sentence was not finally pronounced till the 15th of March, 1833, but during the previous year he had relinquished his ministrations in Regent-square, and bad repaired, with a large body of his congrega tion, to a temporary church in Gray's inn road, which was subsequently exchanged for one in Newman-street. This was the last in which Irving ever preached in England. In the spring of 1834 he went on a mission to Edinburgh, and in November was taken ill at Glasgow. He had literally worn himself out by incessant excitement : From the beginning of December he rose no more from his bed. A pulse that would not be abated from the height of a hundred per minute, and was sometimes a hun dred and forty—hours of quiet suffering, succeeded by other hours of speechless lethargy—indicated the fatal ex tent of disease and exhaustion in a frame that had seemed built for utmost longevity. His wife ( the three children that remained to them had not accompanied her) was now joined by his mother (who had already mourned the death of two sons)—his sister, Mrs. Dickson,—and his father-in law, the Rev. Mr. Martin. He was sensible of their presence, almost to the last hour—on the day before he died, a Sunday, desiring his wife to read to him Psalms and Epistles. Among the last sounds heard from his lips 1077 tongue. Again, he was beard to say, "It I die, I die to the Lord ; living and dying, lam the Lord's." And so, after aix hours of uncouaeio usness — ou Monday, Deeem• ber the Bth—he was fuund to have passed away. The popularity of Irving when he first came to Loudon wkili something unparalleled : The occasional sermons in London of Robert Hall or Dr. Chalmers, aid not attract the crowds which nuw pressed to EdWard Irving's weekly setvices. The Duke of York repeated his visit, and carried with him other mem hers of the royal family. Brougham took Macintosh, and Macintosh, by repeating at a diuner•table a beautiful sen tence he had heard from Irving in prayer, drew Canning. The parliamentary leaders of both aides, and even the Tory premier, Lord Liverpool (much to Lord Eldon's horror)—the judges, and I.suristers of every degree— fashionable physicians and medical students—duchesses, noted beauties, city madams—clerics and dissenters—with men and women who rather followed the fashion than made particular pretensions to either intellect or religion —besieged the doors, and were jammed together in the aisles. Carriage panels were cracked in Cross•atreet uin I)rury•lane, and the preacher was every whit as much the rage as ever Kemble or Kean. It was found necessary, fur the prevention of accidents, to admit the aeat•hulders by a side door, and to limit the miscellaneous attendance by the issue of tickets, for which application was made by letter during the week. Even then, the preacher had to make his way up pulpit•stairs covered with ladies, glad to obtain that rude acommodation. The majority of the press, it appears, were favorable to the new star ; but— The Times fell upon the pulpit celebrity in its eapaqty of general guardian of the public taste. There appeared, one July morning, an article commencing—" There is a fashion in everything —in wigs and bonnets, in poetry and novel.writing ; and lastly, in actors and preachers; and while things go on in the ordinary way—while wigs du not accumulate their curls into penwigs, nor bonnets swell into coal-scuttles--while our popular poets scribble only one poem, and our popular romancers only two novels, a year—while our actors are content with one new reading in a play of Shiskapeare, and our preachers aim at no praises beyond those of the regular frequenters at fashion able chapels—we are disposed to let things pass, and allow the candid and enlightened public to have their own way. But the case is different with Mr. Irving. His popularity absolutely frightens us ' from our propriety.' We learn that statesmen and quack doctors. old ladies and judges, young ladies and students at law, all flock with equal eager ness to hear the Caledonian orator. We become somewhat anxious to know what are the attractions to collect together such an heterol.eueuus mass: and, after a serious conridera tion, we profess ourselves unable to discover. Atter hear ing him, and after reading what he has written, we are, in our own minds, fully convinced that he is a man of very ordinary talents • that his understanding is weak in its grasp, and limited in its observation ; and that his taste is of the very lowest order of badly instructed schoulboyid. He is an imitator of Dr. Chalmers, but nu noire like his prototype that the inflated frog in the fable was like the bull whom he strove to resemble : for the energy of thought of his original, he gives us nothing but rumbling and dis torted commonplaces; for the impressive and impassioned diction of his master, we have nothing but antitheses with. out point, and epithets without distinctness ; while the poor and insignificant idea, wrapped up in a heap of tinsel and clumsy phraseology, looks like the lady in a lobster, or a mouse under a canopy of state.' . . . We feel ashamed, and begin to distrust our own judgment, when we sea that we have one idea in common with such a turgid and shal low declaimer Surely, surely it cannot be long be fore this bubble bursts !" Pamphlets on the subject were innu merable. On the whole, Mr. Wilks does not consider the charges brought against ither his style, his logic, or his orthodoxy, entirely without foundation, but thinks they are redeemed by his " splendid parts and his " eminent services." We cannot agree with him in this. It is difficult to say , of ono who preached unsound doctrine with incon clusive arguments and coarse language that his parts were splendid, or that his services were eminent. But our estimation of Irving's character should not be based on these conside rations at all. He masa magnificent enthusiast; the adoration of angels and the orgies of devils— ull the mysteries of the Apocalypse—the valley of Armageddon, and the reign of the Saints — these were things as habitually present to his imagination as to that of the wildest fifth monarchy fanatic. It is idle to say of such a man that he either was or was not heterodox, irrational, or tumid. Irving defended himself In the preface to the third edition of the " Orations " in a lofty manner. His re mark s, however, are principally confined to the one point of taste, and we think he has the best of the argument. That he was a speaker of first-rate eloquence the passages quoted in the present volume are sufficient to prove beyond question. Witness the exqui site language and solemn melody of the follow ing : How oft bath this city, where I now write these lamen tations over a thoughtless age, been tilled and emptied of her people since first she reared her imperial head! tiow • generations revellers have •to another taILILIIb/111111pariatmiru rizoou6co, ..K.... , ..-. and hpisues. Among we mop • •••• comment and copious research are beyond were verses of the twenty-third Psalm—" the Lord is m y her people since first ape rearm' urr lILIFCELY /Mans • +avv• dispute. Mr. Bell has certainly added to his shepherd "—murmured, as if to himself, in the Hebrew . many generations of her revellers have gone to another