The Press.
London, England, 1858-04-03 00:00:00

THE PRESS, APRIL 3, 1858.

revenge by showing that the Saturday Review had actually condescended
to wear Mr. Punch's cast-off motley, and had reproduced the humour
of Mr. Punch's back numbers. The Protestantism of England in every
variety of form has been sneered at, vilified, disparaged, and satirised
by the Saturday Review. To sap English Protestantism, to introduce
the dogmas of Theocracy, and lower the reverence for Scriptural
faith, and to pave the way with insidious art for a Romanising clergy who
would gradually undermine the National Religion, is one of tho
aims of the Saturdayßeview. Theocracy in the Church, and Bureaucracy
in the State, are the sole purposes for which it toils; and for means it
seeks for resources in the armoury of the disciples of IGNATIUS LOYOLA,
whose standard maxim, "Calumniare fortiter, aliquid adhoerebit," may
be adopted as the motto of the Sat or Spatterday Review. Such is the
journal which, with honeyed words for the missionaries of Rome, and
with cold water and Jesuits' powder for the circulators of the Bible,
poses all bounds in its assault on contemporary organs. It would,
indeed, he a most dangerous journal, except that its abuse is neutralized
by its universality. JEFFREY might have groaned under " The English
Bards and Scotch Reviewers," only that BYRON, with the maladroit
malignity of an inexperienced censor, attacked everybody, and conse-
quently JEFFREY was not much hurt. The Saturday Review is a sort of
self-acting satirist, which scolds down its own character. It would he
even more inconsistent than it is if it did not abuse itself, and it does
so with the perversity of a self-tormentor. But its existence is not
without experimental value. The labours of a swarm of bees can be
witnessed in a glass hive; and the literary industry of the school of
the Jesuits in the manufacturing of a preliminary school of Romanism
for England may be seen by any intelligent observer who attends to
the patent operations of the Saturday Review. Those who live under
such a brittle roof ought certainly be more cautious.

Lord STANHOPE, in his address to the students of Aberdeen, last
week, travelled over too wide an extent of ground to enable us to do
anything like justice to his oration. The necessity of deep study to the
utilization of genius, the importance of the art of public speaking, and
a Cieeronian tribute to the consolations of literature, are eloquently
and impressively expressed. And we can well understand the applause
with which they were greeted. There are two points, however, on
which some brief comment seems demanded. One contained in the
Noble Lord's own speech; the other in the criticism which it has
elicited from the leading journal. in the first place, then, what, RS a
matter of fact, are the sorrows which literature can alleviate? the loss
of fortune, or the loss of relatives? Surely such a notion can exist
only in the minds of those who have never felt either. Can the death
of a wife, or a sinter, be lightened by the pagen of TENNYSON ? or
sudden and irreparable ruin by the " Waverley Novels"? CICERO him-
self is an instance against his own theory. And his own friends re
proached him with the unrestrained indulgence of grief which they
had learned from him might be forgotten in the charms of literature.
Qelxcr[LlAN, we suspect, was but repeating a familiar and hackneyed
topic in the eulogy quoted by Lord STANHOPE, who perhaps might not
have introduced the unicum solatium at ali, but for the opportunity it
afforded him of gracefully gliding off to the superior efficiency of
Christianity. The second point arising out of this address to which
we desire to call attention, is the alleged neglect of oratorical training
at our public schools. Now, that more scope might be given
to declamatory exercises than is at present the custom we do not in
tend to deny. But what we do deny is, that the closest possible devo-
tion to classical literature can have anything to do with the defect
complained of. We had more orators fifty years ago in every depart-
ment than we have now, while the application to Greek and Latin was
at the same time much more stringent and exulusive than our own.
It is possible that too great carefulness in philology, and too little in
composition—the system which studies the root and neglects the
flower—may have something to do with the mediocrity of our orato-
rical powers. But the Times has. in our opinion, quite misstated the
case. We do not want fewer Greek iambics and Latin verses. We
want mcre.

A new nuisance is springing up. Two years ago, when garotting
was tint introduced, it was practised with some d-gree of openness,
and no more violence than was necessary. There was a novelty, too, about
the act and its open practice which reconciled you to any trilling incon-
venience you might have suffered. You were generally seized from behind,
your bat knocked over your eyes, your throat squeezed and your pocket
picked, and Caere was an end of it ; for if it was broad daylight you
never saw a policeman, and if night, it was not prudent to wait for
one. But in the present day all this is changed. Pimlico by (lay and
Westminster by night have given place to a first-class carriage in a
dark tunnel at any time. The art of garotting, elevated into a science,
has f" allost its simplicity. It is no longer a harmless of your watch-
chain, but it is the complete and deliberate abstraction of every valuable
You possess. To attain this desirable result, the garotter fits himself
out with a bottle of chloroform, purchases a tirst.class ticket, and starts
upon an economical railway tour, which is to combine pleasure with
employment and profit. If he is so fortunate as to meet with a single
fellow-passenger for any part of the journey, before ho has been
twenty minutes in this traveller's company he kicks him faint,
knocks him senseless, and then having thoroughly stupefied him by
the application of chloroform, robs hint leisurely of everything
valuable he possesses, and at the first station placidly
gets out, taking care to shut the carriage door behind him. This
peculiar crime appears to be on the increase; several cases have occurred
recently, and rarely have the offenders been captured. Last week
one of the first was caught, tried, and convicted at Liverpool before Mr
&nor; 11IkRTIN, who sentenced the prisoner to penal servitude for life.
The Learned Judge, in passing sentence, remarked that if these
atrocious crimes were not most severely punished, " no man would be

" safe in travelling in railway carriages ;" but with greater sagacity the
Learned Baron hit the blot of our railway organization—" Persons
" might be robbed and murdered, without any means of communicating
" with the guard." This is precisely the one thing ►wanting to prevent
such atrocious assaults being committed by professional ruffians upon
inoffensive travellers. This principle of communication with the
guard has long beer► agitated. We may permit ourselves to be roasted,
boiled, or destroyed, in any legitimate manner, ►without insisting upon
a principle being carried out ; but if when we travel by train we ere to
run the additional rizAt of brutal ill-treatment, garotting, stupefaction,
and robbery, for ►want of some communication ►with the guard, it is ob-
vious that the sooner that communication is established the better.
We commend the subject matter of the Learned Baron's remark to
the attention of the travelling public.

The very remarkable document which has recently been published
in the daily journals containin,, a statement of the causes which led
to the Indian insurrection by the Subadar of a native regiment
deserves the deep attention of all persons concerned in the settlement
of Indian affairs. This letter, if it can be trusted, establishes two
primary points of the utmost importance—namely, that the rebellion
was far more than a mere military mutiny ; and, secondly,
that the greased cartridges formed but a drop in the
ocean of aepoy discontent. A variety of grievances extending
as far back as 1333 had gradually prepared the native mind for the
reception of any unfavourable impressions, however extravagant. The
troops had been marched into countries where loss of caste was
inevitable through the impossibility of observing the proper religious
rites, and they had been outraged by mistaken acts of kindness and gross
breaches of faith. On the minds of the upper classes the
nonce abolishing the rite of adoption told with p eat effect, and fol-
lowed by the annexation of Oude thoroughly alarmed all the land-
holders, nobles, and princes of India for the safety of their tenures.
As the letter in question seems both genuine and disinterested, we
scarcely see bow it is possible to escape from the conclusions he
presents to us. We need not remind our readers how completely
these tally with the opinions we have always advanced in this Journal.
Doubtless, when public opinion shall have come round to the same
estimate of the calamity, it will be forgotten by the public at large that
THE PRESS stood almost alone in its assertion of views which expe-
rience has proved to be correct.

THE LADY OF LUCKNOW.
(ON THE ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND OF LADY INGLIS.)

Back from reddest fields of carnage,
Back from darkest hours of pain,
Now the brave old land that bore thee
Takes thee to her breast again.
Never hero scarred and trophied,
With the laurel on his brow,
Did she hail with gladder greeting,
Than the Lady of Lucknow.

Oh, the lonely, lonely vigils !
Oh, the stern and stubborn fight !
When the morning brought no gladness,
And no quiet brought the night.
Oh, the cruel eyes that waited
For the leagurei city's full !
Oh the crashing of the cannon !
Oh, the crumbling of the wall !

Oh, the bitter thoughts of dying,
Slaughtered in that lonely lair!
Oh, the blessed cairn that mingled
With the soothing words of prayer !
Oh, the hopes of coining succour,
One by one, that died away,
As before the shades of evening
Fade the lingering gleams of day

And 'twas thine to bear the anguish
Of the watching and the strife,
Undissevered from thy hero,
As beseeined an English wife ;
Thine, when conquest's hour wits beaming,
Proffered aid to dash aside,
" Not for me are cushioned litters—
" .Let the weak and wounded ride."

While men talk of her who battled
Till the fight of France was wou,
Or of her who strove and conquered,
Fast by Saragossa's gun,
English lips shall tell the story
Of the hearts that would not bow,
Standing firm behind their bastions
With the Lady of Lucknow.