The Press.
London, England, 1856-05-10 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

Nothing can be more flimsy then Mme.
Ossoli's views on England. Her sketches of
such literary celebrities as she saw are flat and
insipid. She reveals to us that the People's
Journal is to be accepted as "a sign of the
times ":
The People's Journal comes nearer being a fair sign of
the times than any other publication of England,
apparently, if we except Punch. As for the Times, on
which you all use yout scissors so industriously, it is
managed with vast ability no doubt, but the blood would
tingle many a time to the fingers' ends of the body politic,
before that solemn organ which claims to represent the
heart would dare to best in unison. Still it would require
all the wise management of the Times, or wisdom enough
to do without it, and a wide range and diversity of talent,
indee3, almost sweeping the circle, to make a People's
Journal for England. Thu present is only a bud of the
future flower.

We may smile and pass on. At Paris she saw
Mlle. Rachel, and attempts to utter raptures
about her ; but we soon are made to see that
mere susceptibility cannot give the pictorial
light word-colouring necessary to realise a
brilliant portrait. The authoress of •' Jane
Eyre" in her last novel drew a magnificent
sketch of Rachel, vastly different in power
from the attempt of Mme. Ossoli. She ex-
presses the general perception in saying :

It is she who has made me acquainted with the true way
of viewing French tragedy. I had no idea of its powers
and symmetry till now, and have received from the revela-
tion high pleasure and a crowd of thoughts.
The French language from her lips is a divine dialect ;
it is stripped of its national and personal peculiarities, and
becomes what any language must, moulded by such a
genius, the pure music of the heart and soul. I never
could remember her tone in speaking any word ; it was too
perfect; you had received the thought quite direct. Yet.
hail I never heard her speak a word, my mind would be
fillet: by her attitudes.

A rival to Rachel will approach us this year in
Mme. Ristori, and the contrast of the two
actresses will be worth studying. Alluding to
the counter-effect produced by the ungifted
members of Rachel's family acting with her,
Mine. Ossoli observcs :
I saw Rachel one night with her brother and sister. The
sister imitated her so closely that yau could not help seeing
she had a manner, and an imitable manner. Her brother
was in the play her lover---a wretched automaton, and pre-
senting the most unhappy family likeness to herself. Since
then I have hardly cared to go and see her. W could
wish with geniuses, as with the phoenix, to see only one of
the family at a time.

Sha deselibes Mr. Carlyle in one of his collo-
quial harangues :
He seemed to me quite isolated, lonely as the desert;
yet never was man more fitted to prize a man, could he
find one to match his mood. He finds such, hut only in
the past. He sings rather than talks. He pours upon
yon a kind of satirical, heroical, critical poem, with regular
cadences, and generally catching tip near the beginning
some singular epithet, which serves as a refrain when his
song is full, or with which as with a knitting•kneedle
lie catches up the stitches if he has chanced now and then
to let fall a raw.

" Cadences "—" refrain"—" knitting-needle"—
" stitches "—all in one little sentence ! •

The pervading tone of thought of this book
on religious questions is like that of Unita-
rianism in hysterics. There is not in its
pages that guarded good sense and appro-
priate reticence which English readers like
to see in wcrks from female pens.

Selections from the Letters of Robert Southey.
Edited by his Son-in-Law, John Wood
Wurter, B.D. In Four Vols. Vols. I.
and 11. London : Longmnns.
THERE are reasons why of the whole mass of
English epistolary correspondence thero is very
little worth perusal for its own sake. English.
men are averse to the expressism of deep feel-
lings in their intercourse with one another, ex-
cept upon extra.mlinary occasions. For the wit
of the world, for keen, terse sayings about
human nature and social conventions, we are not
famous; while the subtle, undefinable flavour
of household merriment evaporates when
transferred to print, like that of certain deli-
cate wines which wilt not bear exportation.
Chesterfield and Cowper are the two most
notable exceptions. The exotic wit of the
first, and the winning familiarity and tender-
ness of the second, are both equally unaffected
—equally free from the labour of the study or
the uncouth puelihties of the nu-: sere- But
these two stand almost alone in their excel-
lence. Letters we have in abundance charac-
terised by sensible thought and a vigorous

SATURDAY,

style ; but then they might often just as well
be essays or reports. They have, no distinct
epistolary ment—they are valuable perhaps as
throwing light on other subjects; but they are
not valuable as letters.

Is there anything, therefore, of this nature
in the correspondence of Robert Southey to
justify the publication of four volumes of his
letters, in addition to those which have ap-
peared in the voluminous biography of his
son? It would be odd indeed if the life of a
literary man like Southey did nut furnish MI
with many interesting anecdotes of his con-
temporaries, and many interesting data upon
literature. But the public will require to
know whether they have not been already
exhausted—whether Mr. Cottle and the Rev.
Mr. Southey have not already told us all that
can be known—and it' so, we cannot but think
they will consider the history of Southey's
own mind a very secondary affair. Yet this
we have to tell our readers is the primary
object of the present series. To the titlepa:.•
the editor has prefixed a remark of M.
Savage Lander, that " Southey's letters show
" his true character;" and he tells us in his
preface, that to show " the growth of Southey's
mind " was the leading purpose of his labours,
But Southey's mind was not of such an extra-
ordinary texture, nor did it produce such
extraordinary fruits, as to warrant the belief
that its development will excite such surpass-
ing interest. In energy of purpose, breadth
of reading, and facility of expression, he has
had, perhaps, few superiors. But he was
neither a deep nor an original thinker; his
evanescent theories have had not the slightest
influence on society ; and it is a. matter of the
most perfect indifference to the world at large
whether he was a Pantisocratist or a Tory. He
was a man of too little natural force to impress
his generation. He loaded himself with big
tomes of knowledge, but had got too little
powder to make them go off with effect. His
writings hit the public like a spent shot.
We consider, therefore, that this promised
series will be a very superfluous production.
The beauty of Southey's prose style is little
discernible in his letters. The attempts at
humour which they eontlin are feeble and
sprawling; and they are too frequently dis-
figured by a grossness of expression in which
men of fastidious morality do not disdain to
indulge. As, however, the volumes are now
published, we must make the best of them;
and we will readily admit that those few
which are more purely business letters, and
contain a record' of his early struggles
his exemplary economy, will be read 11(
great interest But then all this sort of fact
should have been incorporated with his
biography, and not given to the world hidden
under a rile of con-espondenee of a compels-
tively valueless nature. We subjoin an
extract illustrative of the carefulness and
foresight which rendered him so conspicuous
among his literary brethren. The following
was written to his friend Mr. May in 1807, soon
after his settlement at Keswick :

The exptnse of getting my scattered things together, of
book-shelves, and of a few decencies, for the want of
which the prospect of removal has hitherto been an ex-
cuse, I shall be well able to meet by the end of the year;
if, till then, you will supply me with 501., it will be a great
convenience. The state of my affairs with Longman is
this :—When last in London I lied 1001. of him iu fore-
payment for the first edition of " Espriella," or rather, in
part'of forepay-ment ; formy share of its profits will, in all
probability, lie more. He has on sale, on our joint me-
count, the " Specimens," the " Metrioal Tales," and
" Mailoc." A small edition of " Madoc "is just completed,
and " Espriella " and " Palmerin " are both nearly cow-
pleted also. S'ow as the printers are, I fully expect both
to be published within six weeks at farthest. Of the old
books ( the fourth edition of " Madoc " and the " Metrical
Titles " the sale cannot have been much, or 1 should have
been made acquainted with it; but every copy which sells
is clear profit. By the " Specimens " Bedford's mis-
management will, T suspect, make me lose credit, and pre•
vent me from getting money : T shall try to remedy both
evils by a supplementary volume. " Espeiella " mite,
beyond doubt, sell off an elitism in little time, and T think
there is good chance of its having a great sale. "
inerin " will not be less than 501. by :2liristmas ;—not,
more than 1001. I shall draw on Longman for 501. at
present, which my last year's reviewing, with the help of
the Athenamin, entitles tee, I suppose, to do; and, as so° n
es I have the like sum in his Mums again, will appropriate
it to the repayment of what 1 now request of you. lam
in great hopes—indeed, in expectation, that the produce of
all these books will enable me, at the end of the year, to
make you a more considerable payment.
My reviewing used to exceed 801. for the last three
years. I did little this year, because I would pot, much as

MAY 10, 1856.

I Deeded the money, sell the time; so Harry had half the
books which came to me; and now.l.have.nothing to im-
pede ire horn prosecuting the " Brazilian History " straight
forward, for which I am. certain of more considerable
profits than have ever yet fallen to my share.
There is a healthy and cheerful tone about all
Southey pecuniary transactions which is
rdnarkabjy agreeable. Statements like the
above, though they may disperse a little of the
mystery in which to the eyes of the world
literature is enshrouded, are useful in the ex-
treme as proclaiming a more valuable truth ;
for they proclaim that literature, when honestly
pursued, may be made a self-sustaining pro-
fession, without commanding genius or influ-
ential connections : and they show, too—what
is still harder of belief to the respectable
classes—that a man may incur pecuniary
obligations without losing his self-respect
There are minds, no doubt, formed of a harder
grain to which the bare idea of an obligation
is intolerable ; but Southey, be it remembered,
was always as ready to give as to take: and
the example of one man who was generous
without being unjust, and who borrowed money
freely without ever losing a friend, is intrinsi-
cally more valuable than that of a hundred
sell reliant cynics, who would starve in isolated
and austere independence.
There is a great deal of literary gossip in-
terspersed through these letters. The Edin
burgh and Quarterly Reviews, Longman's Annual
!leave, Bailantyne's Annual Register, the Cri-
tical Review, and the Athenecum, all come in for
their share of notice, with the prices they paid
per sheet, and the names of their principal
contributors ; and when we remember that a
man of Southey's genius wrote, as he did in
the Annual Review, for seven pounds a sheet,
we have reason to congratulate ourselves on
the improvement of literature in this respect.
Southey was more sensitive than one would
expect from such an experienced periodical
writer: witness the following in a letter to Mr.
King:—

I have done with the Athenaum, became Dr. Aikin re-
je.e.l my articles without either rhyme or reason, to make
room for other people's ; and supposing they were dull, I
had a better right to be dull than anybody else. But this
thing was too pointed for him ; that was too flat ; my learn-
ing was too old ; my speculations too new : so 1 have retired
in dudgeon, and have a drawer full of Outniana ready to
despatch for the first magazine that asks for them.

A variety of remarks on the political events
of the day are scattered through these volumes.
Among other wild schemes of the period,
Landor had one for making Wellington King
of Portugal. Southey gravely opposes this,
and wishes to see the whole Peninsula united
in a great republican federation,—as if it were
not notorious that the Spaniards were the
most essentially monarchical of any race in
Europe, and requiring little in their princes
beyond a decorous solemnity of demeanour
and a scrupulous observance of the rites of
the Church.

We may say in conclusion that, as far as
regards Southey himself, those letters leave
our opinion as they found it. But the Rev. Mr.
Warter we cannot dismiss so easily. We
never rememl.er meeting with a book worse
edited: its blunders both of commission and
omission are inexcusable ; for verbal errors we
have never seen its equal. But, worse than
nil, he has left in oassages both profane and
indecent, which we are confident the poet
himself would have been shocked to see in
print. On the other hand, many allusions are
left unexplained, and blanks unfilled, for which
there can now be no good reason left. And
secordingly—though, as we have said, it is
impossible that two volumes of Southey's
letters should not contain much readable and
interesting matter—we must that they
has.' not found in Mr. Waiter the right man
ior giving them to the world.

NEW NOVELS.
Serena
novels have accumulated on our table,
mainly because (thoulli not without good points)
they were not of a sufficiently striking or original
character to demand special notice. Oar review of
them must be brief.

The Heirs of Blackridge Manor (1) is written
with undoubted talent. Some of the characters are
presented with great sharpness of outline, and the

ill The Heirs of Blarkridge Mannr. By Diana Butler. Three
Tcds. London : Latpl.au and Hall.

(2) Elsie Seynvotr; or, the Contrast. By A. \Vygurn. Three
vols. Laudon : Newby.
(3) lirrninstre. By the Author of 'Lena," tte. Three vols.
London: Stnitit and Elder.

(4) Mouriee Etrington; or, One out of Snit, with Fortune.
Edueti by NVilirul East. Three vols. Loudon: amiLh and
Elder.

(8) Henry ryte; or, Life and E.rirtence. By Emilia Ilarryatt.
Two vols. Loudon: Chapsohm rod Hall.

449

The Life of the Rev. Joseph Beaumont, D.D.
By his Son, Joseph Beaumont, Esq. London :
Hamilton, Adams, and Co.

To the friends of the late Dr. B 1

seems to have had many—and ,to the Wesleyan con-
nection to which lie belonged, the announcement that
this biography is published will be sufficient to direct
their attention to it ; while to those who knew him
not, it is not likely that any newspaper notice would
be likely to recommend it. He appears to have been
an eloquent preacher, a most amiable man, and to
have fulfilled all the duties of his station i❑ a most
zealous and exemplary manner. We are inclined to
think, from tho specimens of his oratory published
here, and from his letters, that his gifts were those of
earnest piety and fluent utterance, with a certain
degree of dialectic gracefulness, rather than of
original thought, of which we discern few traces. His
gifts seem by this memoir to have descended to his
son, who has done full justice to the scanty events of
his father's life, to his devotion to his sacred calling,
and to his excellent character. Dr. Beaumont 'lied
in his pulpit, after labouring for forty years in his
ministry. His son says his death was " heroic ; "
and the phrase is hardly too strong, considering that
he persevered in his duties in spite of severe bodily
suffering. Apart from this book being the record of
the life of a truly good and pious man, it is chiefly
noticeable as distinctly exhibiting the decline of
Wesleyanism, and as narrating Dr. Beaumont's judi-
cious conduct during the schism (caused by the
arbitrary proceedings of the Conference a few years
back) winch seems likely to much further weaken,
or altogether break up, the Wesleyan connection.

The Island of Cuba. By Alexander Humboldt.
Translated from the Spanish by J. S. Thrasher.
London: Sampson Low and Co.

Mn. THRASHER is an American, and his main object
in the publication of this volume seems to be to
show how well Cuba thrives under the system of
slave labour. Unhappily the contrast he draws be-
tween the flourishing state of that island and the
deplorable decay of Jamaica and our other West
India possessions is too true and too forcible to be
otherwise met than by an expression of regret. In
1825, when Humboldt wrote, the export of sugar
from Cuba was 200,000 boxes; in 1852 it exceeded
1,400,000 boxes. The revenue of the island, which
Humboldt estimated at 5,000,000 dollars in 1825,
was 16,000,000 dollars in 1852. The clear revenue
sent to Madrid, in spite of the enormously expensive
establishments in Cuba, amounts to nearly 3,000,000
dollars yearly. The population of Cuba is on .the
increase, the black inhabitants multiplying faster
than can be accounted for by the importation of
slaves. Contrasted with the fast-increasing pro-
sperity of this noble island, how wretched are the
accounts received from Jamaica. The towns are
falling into decay ; the rural districts are a desert;
the white population is declining, and the blacks
relapsing into barbarism; religion is losing ground;
schools are tumbling to ruin ; the rite of marriage is
falling into disuse. Mr. Thrasher, in his introduc-
tion and notes, writes with strong American and pro-
slavery bias ; but the facts of this volume are such
as to excite most uneasy feelings in the minds of
those persons who anticipated favorable results
from the great experiment of slave emancipation.
To this time the effect has been to ruin our own
West India possessions, and to immensely increase
slave cultivations, and its profits, in Cuba and the
slave States of South America.

Tasso and Leonora. The Commentaries of Ser
Pantaleone. By the Author of " Mary Powell."
London : Arthur Hall and Co.
THE author is famous for constructing pretty histo-
rical fictions, and this is one of the best of them.
The love story of the unfortunate Tasso is brought
before the reader with much dramatic effect and
archaic propriety. The deception is never offensive,
because it does not pass the rules of art, or attempt
more than ft picturesque likeness of reality. The
chastness of the author's sentiment, and his skill in
giving to his chronicles an air of conventional an-
tiquity, renders his tales pleasing, and may tend to
pi omote deeper reading. As a story, the Commen-
taries of Ser Pantaleone will delight yeting people.
To analyse such books would be like picking the
plaster from a model to show its superficiality. It is
sufficient they answer their purpose, and accom-
plish pleasing ends by trifling means.

ills Introduction to Entomology. By Kirby and
Spence. Seventh Edition. London : Longman.
WE need only describe the form of this edition, as
the work itself has long since been stamped with
public approval, and the authors deservedly rank
among the most eminent professors of the science to
which they devoted themselves. This edition i •
adapted for general use. It is a compact, closely-
printed volume of 600 pages, with an appendix de-

A