The Press.
London, England, 1855-10-06 00:00:00

PERIODICAL LITERATURE.

Blackwood opens with a lively reminiscence of
" North and the ' Noctes,'" carrying you back to the
days when "Pam was young as well as gay," when.
the Whigs were acquiring instead of losing eonfi
dence in Lord John, when Wordsworth's reputa-
tion was still a matter of dispute, and the authorship
of Scott's novels still a profound mystery. The
life, deeds, and death of Wilson are noticed, and not
the least remarkable fact connected with the notice
is, that it is dated from the Sebastopol camp ! This
may possibly give to our readers some clue to the
gallant author. The romance of " Zaidee " is con.
tinned, and reveals an intricate plot cleverly sketched;
while " Modern Light Literature" reviews Dr.
Doran's and Miss Strickland's historical works, and
glances at Leigh Hunt's " Court Suburb," with
which Maga is not well pleased, and hits off Mr.
Hunt's peculiarities very cleverly :

Mr. Leigh Hunt goes over this favored quarter with
affectionate garrulity; and we confess we will look with
more interest hereafter upon the prosaic streets and
terraces which never had any history to our dull eyes
before. But why should our old friend labour to spoil his
pleasant volumes with his own dogmas—he who is so in-
tolerant of other people's, and snubs so peremptorily men
bearing names even more honoured than his own? Preach
charity by all means ; but ye who fly your arrows per-
petually at the good people whom it pleases you to call
saints, and whom, perhaps, you name more appropriately
than you have any intention of doing, does it never occur
to you that, of all censorious commentators, yonrselves are
the least charitable, the most intolerant, and show the most
impertinent determination to thrust your opinions in at all
unsuitable places, whether your audience choose it or no?
We remember the name of Leigh Hunt from of old with
the kindliest sentiments ; his very twaddle, which was more
sentimental in those day+, charmed our youth, and we
never wearied of him while he babbled of green fields.
Even now we cannot lift our hand unkindly upon our
ancient favorite; but ',that Scottish flesh and blood could
tamely submit to this?
- - - - -

We know not what assured evils would have retuilted to Scot-
land had Mary and her maids of honour been suffered to dance
and play their guitars in peace; but it Is certain that Juhu Roux
was the founder of whiskey- hope.

Now, will anybody tell us the use or advantage of this
stupid piece of impertinence ? John Knox had as little to
do with Kensington as we have, who never saw the fading
glories of Holland-house; and though we know very well
what an old man's dogma is, and can smile at the " it is cer-
tain " which even a domestic circle is not always very tole-
rant of, we are irritated, in spite of ourselves, at so foolish
and causeless an interruption of the pleasant strain of talk,
in the midst of which this and Other bite of ignorant assump-
tion—all aimed at the unfortunate saints, whom so many
witlings shoot at—find a place.
" BockA for the Holidays " is an entertaining sketch
of books upon fishing, while "The Old Contributor"
adds some most amusing pages on seaside life.
The only paper of a political tone is the second
van Qf " Tile Baltic ip r," ip 171iich t if late attack

95

-
on Sweaborg is briefly reviewed and its real results
accurately summed up :

The brilliant delusion which seized the minds of the
people of England, moving even the dull hearts of
the men of Manchester with a spasm of triumph, that
" Sweaborg was no inure," has doubtless passed away ;
those who were loud in their ixeans, and saw in imag,na-
tion the fortress lying in ruin and annihilation beftire them,

have doubtless returned to reason, and men will be ready
to receive a calm and dispassionate comment on the event
as it really was—on its real issue and importance. Mili-
tary exploits can never be fairly judged by extravagant ex-
pectations, by probabilities or theories, or what might hate
been done, but by a comparison betwixt the design or puts
pose with which they were undertaken, and their fulfilment
of it. The admirals assert " that the operations contem-
plated by them were limited to such destruction of the
fortress and arsenals as could be accomplished by means
of mortars." As such the operations were eminently suc-
cessful—successful as punishment and warning to the
enemy—as an experiment for ourselves. The enemy had
been scared out of the belief of his invulnerability, had
been attacked at all points, assailed with every kind of
missile ; had seen his men falling around him, his mate-
rial consumed, and had felt his powerlessness to defend
or retaliate; he had been compelled to withdraw the three-
decker, a part of his defences, and had been left at last
with a naked fortress, a mere shell, gutted and cleared of
all its habitations and arsenals. This was certainly ample
fulfilment of the design. _ '

We do not quarrel with the design. No doubt it
was good as tar as it went, but did it not fail in going
no farther ? In war it is the very essence of success
to push an advantage, trifling or great, to its utmost
limit. "It boots not," says the reviewer, "now to
" argue whether or not more might have been done."
Thi, conclusion is not satisfactory, as it is on the
very point whether or not more might have been
done that our judgment of the capacity of the admiral
must depend, and our opinion as to the expediency
of future operations. When the Russian line-ol-
battle ship was withdraNn in a sinking state, and
the passage left open, there was undeniably an
opportunity for a bold dash, by which the batteries
taken in reverse might have been destroyed and the
army and town threatened with annihilation.
" There are three things," says the Arab (to borrow
the proverb), " which can never be reclaimed—the
" spoken word, the sped arrow, and the lost oppor-
" tunity." In concluding his remarks the reviewer
considers that 1854 was the year "of reconnaissance,"
1855 the year "of experiment," and 1850

should be the year of great deeds and great results. It
will have the wisdom and experience gathered in the former
ones, and should garner their fruits. The success which
was once offered to opportunity, must now be won by force
and daring. With added strength we shall meet added
resistance. Yet still the hope is strong within us, if the
nation be true to itself, and send forth an armament equal to
the service, that Sweaborg will be ours, and that the scene
of conflagrations, explosions, crippled ships, and blackened
ruins which we have just been rejoicing over, will be enacted
anew at Cronstadt with more terribleness, and attended
with fuller triumph.
- -

With a divided Ministry, and with sir Charles Wood
as First Lord, we much doubt it. " The Story of the
Campaign " is continued and brought down to the
day before that of the assault. In the closing para-
graph of this communication we understand and can
appreciate the emphatic opening sentence, but the
other passages are somewhat obscure and bom-
bastic :
For the sake of all the powers engaged, and of the world,
it is to be hoped that, whenever Sebastopol falls, Eussis
will see the necessity of concluding peace. But if glory be
worth fighting for, it is scarcely to be desired that the war
should soon terminate, while the idea of England's military
deficiencies, so strongly impressed of late on the mind of
Europe, is yet undiapelled by an adequate exhibition of
her real power. Through the clouds of gossip, twaddle,
lamentation, and foreboding, which form part of the con-
ditions of our national existence, the fact will at length be-
come lustrously apparent, that the nation which forty
years ago found itself, at the termination of a long war,
not only unrivalled by sea, but possessed of as complete
and formidable an army as any country of Europe, has,
since then, with her advances in wealth, science, and the
arts of peace, grown also in military resources in greater
proportion than her neighbours. With each successive
year her preponderance will increase till, at her full develop-
ment, attained not without distraction, sacrifice, and in-
ternal disquietude, she shall wield a power capable of it U-
ing the world's convulsions, and of securing for herself at
once pre-eminence and peace.
Fraser opens with a review of the " Noctes Ambro-
sial-Iw," which it considers fortunate were not revised
by Wilson himself, as he would have been continually
tempted " to leave out whatever his calmer judgment
" might disapprove, to the great risk of destroying
" the life, the freshness, the hold energy, the careless
" candour which are among their chief character-
istics and attractions," and hence the reviewer ap-
proves of those "old assaults" upon Hunt and
Hazlitt, &c., being published, on the plea that it is
well worth while to know the opinion of such a man
as Wilson, upon the literature, politics, public Cha-
racters, and passing events of his time. "Studies
from Belgium "introduces a pleasant historical sketch
of Mechlin, while the story of " Ilinchbrook " is
brought to an abrupt conclusion after the manner of
a youth's first trageq—suddepdesll 41t s vreimkuoirs