The Press.
London, England, 1854-04-08 00:00:00

PERIODICAL LITERATURE.

The Westminster and Foreign Quarterly Review is a
full number. It contains eight articles, besides the
usual literary information. The first, entitled " Re-
sults of the Census of 1851," is an interesting
paper on the census in connection with the history
of the progress of English society; the second,
" Manners and Fashion," is an attack, in
which there is much that is true, upon the des-
potism of fashion ; the third is a criticism on
Archbishop Whately's treatise on Christianity, which
is tantamount to requiring proof of every proposition
stated, without reference to the proofs which may
have been adduced by the author or others elsewhere.
Passing over "Criminal Legislation and Prison Dis-
cipline," we have, in the fifth article, " Lord Camp-
bell as a Writer of History," a damaging onslaught
on the Chief Justice, though, as regards the charges
made against Bacon in respect of Essex, Mr. Ma-
caulay might have been included in the same indict-
ment. " Schamyl, the Prophet Warrior of the Cau-
casus," supplies the title of the sixth article, which is
a condensation of all the recently-acquired informs•
tion on the subject of the war in the Caucasus, most
interesting and important at this moment. In a
:per on "Thomas de Quincey and his Works" it is
cidentally remarked that America, being separated
mi us by space, is not influenced by our jealousies
d fashions, and, therefore, stands to us somewhat
the relation of posterity, whose judgment in literary
criticism it will in general anticipate:—
" Of this fact the English public is becoming gradually
aware. It cannot but remember that Carlyle was recog-
nised in America long before England had perceived his
genius and his strength. It knows how the most graceful
'very de society' in the language lay forgotten among
musty periodicals and reviews till Amer►ca had collected
the poems of Mackworth Praed. It was America who first
collected and reprinted the admirable miscellanies of
James Martineau, and it was America who firstrepublished
the vagrant articles of the ' English Opium-Eater.' "
In " The Balance of Power in Europe," which is the
last article, we find the following in reference to the
negotiations with Russia and the conduct of the Mi-
nistry, viewed with the advantage of the light thrown
upon them by the secret correspondence :
" With respect to the part which our own Government
has taken in the reply to these overtures, we think we
might have expected a more decided tone of moral repro-
bation than we can discover in the letters of Lord John
Russell and Lord Clarendon on this occasion, and we
think that public opinion will ratify our judgment. But
we are now utterly at a loss to understand on what ground
credit could have been given to the Czar in the course of
the recent negotiations for magnanimity, moderation, and
good faith. His designs had been avowed to the Envoy of
Great Britain and. were known to the Government ; and it
was inexcusable toendeavour to delude the nation into the
belief that they thought him sincere in his pacific profes-
sions, or that any of the resources of diplomacy could meet
the emergency. The Ministers of the Crown, while deal-
ing a deadly blow to the character of their adversary, have,
we fear, not a little compromised their own."

THE PRESS.

Blackwood has eight articles, forming altogether an
excellent number. The second, on the " Puppets of
All Nations," is both learned and entertaining. The
readers of the PRESS may, from a review which re-
cently appeared in our columns, be aware that the
Huguenots repaid those lands which sheltered them
from fire and sword by displaying as citizens an in-
dustry and intellect above the average ; but the
ingenious author of the article in Blackwood sug-
gests that amongst the benefits they conferred on
England may be specially numbered the introduc-
tion of the great Mr. Punch :
-

" ' Some have imagined I know not what secret and fan-
tastical connection between Punch's name, and even be-
tween the fire of Punch's wit, and the ardent beverage of
which the recipe it is said came to us from Persia. It is
going a great deal too far in search of an error. Punch is
simply the name of our friend Pulchinello, a little altered
and contracted by the monosyllabic genius of the English
language. In the early period of his career in England we
find the names Punch and Punchinello used indifferently
for each other. Is it quite certain that Punch came to
London from the Hague in the suite of William III.? I
have doubts of it. His learned biographer admits that there
are traces of his presen'e in England previous to the abdi-
cation of James 11. . . . Certain passages of Addi-
son's pretty Latin poem on puppet-shows (Machine Ciotti-
culantes) prove that Punch's theatre was in great progress
on the old London puppet-shows in the days of Queen
Elizabeth.' The personal appearance and some of the cha-
racteristics of Punch certainly induce a belief that he is
of French origin ; and, even though it be proved that he
was imported into England from Holland, may it not be
admitted as highly probable that he went to the latter
country with the refugees, who for several years previously
to the revolution of 1688 had been flocking thither from
France ? We risk the question with all diffidence, and
without the slightest intention of pronouncing judgment
on so important a matter."
Neither shall we ; but we may add that Addison fre-
quently refers to Pulchinello in the Spectator. "What
shall we Collect? " is the title of an article in which
Mr. Dyce's proposal to convey instruction in the his-
tory of art by purchasing pictures not solely with
reference to their excellence, but rather as they illus.
trate chronologically the progress of painting, is dis-
cussed and severely censured. The critic contends
that the primary object of those to whom the funds
for advancing national art is entrusted should be to
procure good pictures, not a series in which many
must necessarily be bad. In the " Reform Bills of
1852 and 1854 " a comparison most damaging to their
noble author is instituted between those measures,
and the last few years of Lord John Russell's career
are thus graphically sketched
" We see him, session after session, blabbing about fu-
ture schemes, and pledging himself unconditionally to their
introduction. This is really intolerable, and it is full time
that the nuisance should be abated. If the noble lord is
of opinion that, notwithstanding all which we have heard
and seen, he has still power and reputation enough to
head an independent party, let him leave the Cabinet, and
then, as a plain member of Parliament, he may pledge
himself to his heart's content. But while he remains a
minister and servant of the Crown he is bound to maintain
the dignity of his position, and preserve a due decorum,
instead of acting like a popularity-hunter anti a partisan.
Of late he has let himself down wofully. We are not ac-
customed in this country to see Ministers, while in office,
engaging in literary squabbles, and exposing themselves
to damaging rejoinders by petulant paragraphs and abso-
lutely deplorable sneers. Their duty is, not to write or edit
gossip and scandal, but to devote themselves heart and
soul to the affairs of the nation and the service of their So-
vereign ; and, if they are not willing to abandon their
favourite pursuits, they ought at once to withdraw."
The " Blue Books and the Eastern Question," with
its supplement, the " Cost of the Coalition Ministry,"
the former written before, the latter after, the publi-
cation of the secret correspondence, read together,
constitute an excellent article.

Fraser is a good number, containing eleven articles.
In the first an exposition, not a criticism, is given of
Professor Maurice's theological views. The writer
expresses an opinion, in which we cannot concur, that
Mr. Maurice is emphatically a " great man." Few
men are entitled to the epithet great whose powers are
confined to only one department. Omitting mere
fiction, the scientific articles deserve notice. " The
Electric Telegraph" is a lucid summary of the pro-
gress of that extraordinary instrument, which, though
glimmerings of its possibility seem to have visited
the world long before, it was reserved for the nine-
teenth century practically to apply. The writer
should have mentioned that in Addison's Spectator
the principle of the electric telegraph is described.
" Glaciers" is an interesting review of Professor
Forbes' work on that subject. It announces no new
discoveries, but strongly corroborates former theories.
From the summit of the Jung Frau the professor saw
a cloud ten thousand feet in vertical diameter. " Old
Stores" is the title of a paper which, though we
cannot agree with many of the opinions expressed in
it., is a good specimen of what a magazine article
should be,—amusing and instructive, giving us the
salient points of several works recently published:
the whole is pleasantly introduced under the false
pretence of being a treatise on the commissariat de-
partment, but the author pleads in defence that no•

SATURDAY,

thing has now a chance of being read which is not
supposed to have some relation to the war. In the
political article, "The Reform Bill and the War," the
writer seems to be puzzling himself with the refine-
ments and distinctions of his own reasoning, and
finally a rives at the consistent conclusion that the
Reform Bill is an excellent measure which ought not
to be passed. He even cautions Lord John Russell
against being misled by the "malignant eloquence,"
&c., of this journal. There is no occasion to caution
any one, in return, against the Peelite drivel of
Fraser's April politics.

The Dublin University Magazine for this month is
too grave and archaeological. We were attracted by
the title of an article, " A Fresh Start in the Gold-
fields of Discovery," referring to Orientalism and an-
tiquarian decipherings, and not to Australian topics.
Then we have a long essay on " Nubia and the Nile,'
and an article that should have been printed last
year, on " British Rule in India." The visit to the
" Garrick Club" concludes the compiled anecdotes
about the subjects of the pictures on its walls. The
best things in the article are a well-penned tribute to
the talents of Miss O'Neill, which we believe to be
perfectly just, and a very curious account of the for-
geries of Shakspeare's portraits, which is so interest-
ing that, though pressed for room, we will extract it :
" It ought to have been stated before, that in this col-
lection are two portraits of Shakspeare ; one, a reduced
copy by Ozias Humphreys, from the Chandos picture ; the
other a suspicious-looking original without a pedigree, pre-
sented by H. Broadwood, Esq., M.P. All collectors should
be on their guard against the army of pseudo-Skakspeares
with which Zinke, a well-known and clever picture-cleaner
and repairer, inundated the world, and gulled the credulous.
His favourite subjects for conversion were old women, with
high caps, to leave room for the capacious forehead of the
bard—or discoloured James the Firsts! The celebrated
Bellows forgery, by which Telma was swindled, and which
he obstinately believed in to the day of his death, may be
quoted as the finest emanation of Zinke's genius, and
worthy to be classed in bold effrontery with the Ireland
fabrications. Talma gave two hundred pounds sterling for
this precious relic, painted on the exterior of an immense
pair of bellows said to have been the undoubted property
of Queen Elizabeth. Neither was them wanting an appro-
priate legend in good old English, also supplied by the
prolific brain of Zinke. It ran thus
"Whome have we here,
Stucke onne the bellowes?
Thatte prynce of goode fellowes,
Willie Shakspere.
Oh! curate untowarde lucks,
To be thus rueanlie stucke."
" Poins."

Naye, rather glorious lotte,
To hymme assign'd,
Who, like th' Ahnightle, rydes
The wyngee oth, winde."
" Pystolle."
The enthusiastic French tragedian bestowed upon his
purchase a sumptuous decoration, lined with velvet, the
whole being enclosed in a mahogany case. On the sale of
Talma's property at his death, all the Parisian fashionables
attended, the grand object of attraction being the Bellows
picture. During the sale it was stated that the painter was
a Flemish artist of the name of Porbus ; that M. Telma
had refused a thousand napoleons for the portrait ; and that
on one occasion, when the tragedian had been visited by
Mr. Charles Lamb, the latter, being shown the picture, fell
upon his knees, and kissed it with idolatrous veneration.
This was an unskilful parody on what James Boswell
actually did when the Ireland manuscripts were placed be-
fore him, and he had satisfied himself that they were
genuine. The bellows portrait accordingly was knocked
down, after much competition, to a fortumate bidder for
three thousand one hundred francs, about one hundred and
thirty pounds sterling, and was transported back to Londor,
where it may stillbe obtained as the only authentic likeness
of Shakspeare. At a corresponding price, Zinke first sold it
to Mr. Foster, the well-known dealer in curiosities, who die•
posed of it again for five guineas, not as an original, but
avowedly as a modern antique, intended as a mere memento
of the bard of Avon. The picture is, undoubtedly, an old
woman in a high cap, decorated with blue ribbons, and ha
been twice transformed into Shakspeare—the second time
even snore skilfully than the first. W'hether there is really in
existence any genuine portrait of Shakspeare is a question
that has been so often discussed, and so vehemently dis-
puted, that it would be idle here to plunge anew into the
contrcvcrsy. None can be considered as entirely proved,
though evidence preponderates in favour of the following,
which may be authentic, although they do not strongly re-
semble each other. 1. The Felton portrait. 2. The Chan-
dos portrait. 3. The Jansen portrait. 4. The miniature
lately in possession of Sir James Bland Burges. 3. The
miniature lately in possession of C. Auriol, Esq. To which
may he added, what ought to have been placed first. in the
list, the Stratford bust, and Droeshout's engraving prefixt d
to the original folio of 1823, the painter of which is un-
known. Whatever faith nifty be placed in all or any of
these, the rest are decided impostures."
The other articles call for no particular notice.

The New Monthly Magazine opens with the continua-
tion of " The Flitch of Bacon, or the Custom of
Dunmow," from the editor's pen. Mr. Cyrus Red-
ding contributes a hastily-penned notice of a gossip-
ing character on the late Sir Thomas Talfourd,
" whose talents," says Mr. Redding, " were rather
" the result of unwearied industry than the gift of
" nature" (p. 413)—a curt expression of an incor-

IMENWOMP,‘

RINNI

APRIL 8, 1854.

rect opinion. The writer should have omitted the
anecdote relating to an old associate and rival of
Talfourd, and many will concur with US in thinking
that if the entire article had been omitted nobody
would be a loser. In " Literary Leaflets" we have
some shreds and patches of criticism on " Isaac
Taylor," the writer referring to "the sort of testi-
" menial paid to Mr. Taylor's genius in Sir James
" Stephen's Essays "—of a very different sort from
that scratchy tribute given to him here. " A Fort-
night in Finland " reads like extracts from a forgot
ten book of travels—the title is the best part of the
contribution. Mr. Jolly Green contributes a bur-
lesque account of the peace deputation of " Mr.
Beans " to St. Petersburg, but we trust that the
enemy will be exposed to a more dangerous fire than
that opened on him by the not very dangerous wit of
" Mr. Jolly Green." The article on the " War with
Russia " is heavy, and its speculations have been an •
ticipated in the journals. On the whole the variety
of matter in the present number is not sufficiently
sustained by the excellence of the particular con-
tributions.

Ainsworth is a mixture of travel and fiction ; the
latter gleaming alternately with ancient armour and
modern silver forks.

Tait has twelve articles, the first on an interesting
subject, the " Recent Travels and Discoveries in
Syria."

Macplutita Edinburgh Ecclesiastical Journal has
seven articles. An " Inquiry into the Origin and His-
tory of Proclamation of Bans of Marriage" is
concluded in this number.

The Art-Journal's three chief engravings are, " Christ
lamenting over Jerusalem," " A Summer Holiday,"
by Goodall, and the "Surprise," a well-known female
figure by Dubufe.

Dick Diminy the Jockey, No. VI., opens with the
" Polite Conversation" of boys attached to a racing
stable. The incidents are sufficiently melodramatic
to satisfy the most voracious of the " mysteries of,
&c.," school. Three lords enjoy a carouse in a New-
gate cell with a condemned murderer the night before
the latter is " scragged ;" and a " Running Rein "
affair, in which an English baronet is the principal
performer, is perpetrated.

Orr's Household Handbooks. No. IV.—" Household
Medicine."—This contains good surgical information.
We should suppose it consisted of the lectures of
some eminent medical man if vulgar expressions,
strangely discordant with the general tone, did not
here and there militate against that supposition.
The author says that " the rage" for this species of
knowledge is endangering national modesty. If so,
why did he publish this work, than which nothing
can be more explicit?

Orr's Circle of the Sciences. No. XV.—We have before
had occasion to remark on the useful instruction to
be derived from this and similar works. The pre-
sent number, containing information on comparative
anatomy, is not inferior to its predecessors.

The True Briton furnishes varied and respectable
matter; The Home, ➢ir. Oastler's cheap weekly pub-
lication, maintains its consistency and its thorough
English tone ; and Bentley's Monthly Review and
Paul Peabody are average numbers.

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.
BOOKS.

Murray's British Classics. Gibbon's Rome. V. 11.
J. Murray.
Cowper's Poetical Works. Edinburgh : T. Nichol'.
Poetical Works of Catherine G. Godwin.
Chapman and Hall.
_ _ _

Days and Hours. Poems. By F. Tennyaoh.
Parker and Son.

Table Traits. Bentley.
The Indian Army Surgeon. Ditto.
The Heiress of Somerton. Ditto.
Modern Mystery; or Table-tapping. J. G. MlValter.
Shaw.
Philip Rollo. J. Grant. Rontledge.
Modern German Music. Recollections and Criticisms. H.
F. Chorley. Smith and Elder.
Flora Lyndsay. Mrs. Moodie. Bentley.
Russia and the Russians. J. W. Cole. Ditto.

PAMPHLETS.
Table-turning and the Parsons. Saunders and Otley.
The Csar Unmasked. Ditto.
England, Turkey, and Russia. A Sermon. by G. Croly,
LL.D. Seeleys.
Do You Love God? Rev. J. W. Lester. Ditto.
Ditto
The Waters wear the Stones. Ditto. .
The Jews. A Lecture. Rev. Lord A. Hervey. Ditto.
Young England. A Lecture. Rev. J. B. Owen. Ditto.
The Rites of Sepulture. A Lecture. Rev. F.D. Bernard.
Ditto.

The Red Man. A Lecture. Rev. Lord W. Russell. Ditto.

THE PRESS.

The Philosophy of a Sunbeam. A Lecture. Rev E. Sidney.
Ditto.

Turkey and Mahomelanism. A Lecture. Rev. J. Cum-
miug. Ditto..
GasProvidenlial Care of Children. A Sermon. Rev. T.

Dale. Ditto
liar; is it Unchristian ? Ditto.
Charge to the Clergy of Sierra Leone. The Bishop. Ditto.
The Seat of War in European Turkey. Ridgway.
De la Politique .4nylo Francaise duns le question Ferrier t
Mars, 1854. Bruxelles : M. Hayez.

lint glrts.