The Press.
London, England, 1857-04-11 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

should like Mr. Breen to have exercised his
calculating
_power on how often the " Arabian
Tales " are applied to for illustrations.
Mr. Breen is not a deep thinker, and much
of his "criticism" is of a superficial character.
His work will probably excite attention
amongst professional writers, and we sub-
scribe to the doctrine that a stand must be
made against the frequent grammatical inac-
curacies which disfigure so many of our
popular writers. But let their merits be
generously acknowledged ; and we cannot ac
cent Mr. Breen as a judicious guide, or a
ruling authority on the points of style. The
tendency of his strictures would be to force
writers into what the late Lord Holland
happily called "Governess' English," in which
force and freedom would be sacrificed to small
accuracies. His blame is too indiscriminate,
and a young writer, with Mr. Breen 's book in
his hand, would be daunted rather than en•
couraged.

The Metaphysicians. Being a Memoir of Franz
Carve!, Brushmaker, Written by Himself;
and of Harold Fremdling, Esq , Written
and now Republished by Francis Drake,
Esq. London: Longmans.
THERE are three stages through which men
usually pass who take to the study of meta-
physics,--blind but admiring perplexity ;
shallow and impatient contempt ; and finally
modest appreciation. Dull men never get
beyond the first ; smart men seldom get be-
yond the second. It is only those who think
more of the subject than themselves, and
whose minds are formed for protracted investi-
gation, who ever attain to the third. The
author of the work befure us has arrived at the
second stage, and there he seems likely to
stay. He has made up his mind to sneer at
the investigation of hidden intellectual laws ;
and he has just as much common sense on his
side as, prior to the discovery of steam, a man
would have had cvho ridiculed the existence of
any hidden force in the vapour of a tea kettle.
At this time of day, it is rather a waste of time
to discuss such a question, and we shall direct
our attention therefore to the incidents and
characters by which his views are illustrated,
rather than the views themselves.

The first story, or " Past, Present, and
Future," is simply a description of London at
the three dates of 1757, 1857, and 1957. In
the first, which is very well done, we have the
manners, costume, and language of our great-
grandfathers contrasted with our own, and in
the third those of our great,gra.ndsons. In
the first case, as our author had so many pre-
decessors to guide him, even though he
copied from no one, his merit cannot be
acknowledged as extraordinary. In the third,
however, he has had more scope for originality,
and we cannot deny that he has not been
wanting to the occasion. But the vision which
he sees before him, though a very clean, is not
a very comfortable one. He complains of
coldness and want of geniality in the new life
in which he found himself ; and we must say
we fully concur in his sentiments. In the
middle of the next century the family will
have been rooted out, hospitality extinguished,
and privacy and domesticity removed. To
compensate for these losses, the Bible will
have been convicted of falsehood, by the dis-
appearance of the poor from out the land, and
the extension of human life to the age of the
Patriarchs. Society will live in large halls,—
spacious, well ventilated, and provided with
baths and reading-rooms. Every mechanic
will daily sit down to as good a dinner as the
excellent Mr. Simpson now furnishes to the
middle class at the rate of two-and-six per head ;
and, in order to keep up the system, the intel-
lect will so far control the affections that nobody
will ever be impatient to marry till he has
accumulated a certain provision. Thus, in a
round of serene selfishness and enlightened
frigidity, life will pass tranquilly away—pro-
gress without a struggle, and terminate with-
out a pang.
Now, over and above the fact that we have
no great sympathy With this particular class
of enthusiasts—who believe that the world is
to be regenerated by yellow soap and blue-
books—we very much doubt whether, if the

SATURDAY,

above-described result could be attained, it
would in reality merit our approval. The life
therein described is certainly not the ideal
of a Christian life; but then comes the per-
plexing question, that we really do not know
whether the author means us to admire it or
not, If not, we scarcely see for what end it
is drawn ; if he does, we can only congratulate
him on living a hundred years before the
realisation of his Utopia.
The link by which all this is connected with
metaphysics is the delusion of one Franz
Carvel, who being a scorner of time, a disciple
of Kant, and a faithful believer in the
" eternal Now," imagines himself by the aid of
the twelve categories and the six ideas of pure
reason to contemplate these various scenes
without losing his identity. There is con.
siderable humour in the narrative, and much
graphic power in the descriptions.
The following is the mid-day dinner in a
" Hall" at Clerkenwell

The three persons opposite, and the two who were at
our right and left hand, stood up to receive us, and my
companion introduced us as David Fell, physician, and
Franz Carve!, his present patient, both being of Second-
class Hall. 259. The centre person opposite then said,
"I am John Hope, carpenter ; this friend at my right is
George Selwyn, also carpenter; this at my left is William
Jones, gaslighter ; that one at your right is Henry Brown,
scavenger ; and the one at your left Philip Brown, his
brother, also scavenger." I looked at these two men with
on ominous dread of ill neighbourhood, but there proved
nothing to justify my dread. I was told subsequently that
baths and lavatories are attached to every hall, and always
ready for use, as well as changes of garment on leaving
such work as requires a change.
The first course now on the table was soup, a small
basin of which was before every one, and large baskets
of bread occupied the middle of the table. The soup
seemed very nutritive, and was highly palatable ; almost
every one, as far as my eye could reach, disposed of his or
her portion, though there existed no obligation to begin
dinner with this course. In some ten minutes, when the
clatter of spoons hat sensibly diminished, a symphony
from an organ•gallery was understood as an indication
that when it ceased every one was to be ready for the next
course. It ceased ; the floor opened beneath each table,
and all the tables descended to the kitchen. I was in-
formed that each table was then released from the
machinery, and another similar one put in its place, already
spread with the required dishes and appertinents. A few
minutes, therefore, sufficed for the change. But the
intervening time, short as it was, did not cause a gap in
the general effect: the tables went down, and were
changed, and rose again, to another symphony, which,
after a moment's pause, succeeded the first. This ceased as
soon as the tables were in their place; when each person
hal before him the portion of animal food, including in
that phrase both flesh and fish, for which he had given
order at breakfast by a notice sent down with his last
empty plate. Of course there were restrictions, and there
were liberties of choice, at certain times; still there was
always an extent of choice. With regard to my coin-
panion and myself, we were told before the soup•dishes
went down, that, being strangers, we might counter order
the morning's application; but we chose rather to take the
chance of what would reach our places by the orders of
those whose seats we occupied. My chance was to have
a plate of roast beef garnished with greens and potatoes ;
and my companion's, a plate of fish with some substantial
accompaniments. As to quantity, it was in both instances
more than would have suited us, not being labouring men,
even had it been our time of dining; but it was not, and
therefore we did but just taste the contents of our plates.
I have to add that cans of excellent malt liquor, and jugs
of pure water, rose with this second course, with a glass
tumbler at the side of every plate.
There was a third course, which was attended with
similar ceremonies of introduction; but it had this
difference from the other two, that it was spread in
common throughout the middle of the tables; and each
plate was empty that the owner might help himself and
others as he pleased. It consisted of fruits and farinaceous
preparations of various kinds and cookery, and also of
cheese and butter in abundance.

On asking Henry Brown, the scavenger, who sat at my
elbow, at what time he had left work that morning, he
told me it was at seven o'clock, having been on ditty
during six hours up to that time ; lie had then bathed,
had put on his hall attire, had breakfasted at the early hour,
namely, eight (there was another breakfast at nine, and
another at ten), and that he had amused himself in various
ways till this first dinner hour. After dinner and a walk
in the grounds, he would have to go to bed, in order to be
ready fcr work at miinight ; and that to-morrow would be
passed as to-day. Next week, however, his routine would
be different, and also the district of his labour. After a
day's rest on Sunday he would have three hours' work to
do before the third breakfast.time--namely, at ten ; two
more before the third dinner time, at three; and two more
from five to seven ; his daywork comprising an hour more
than that required of him at night. I asked him if his
life always went on thus without any other changes: on
which he told me that when he liked he could send a
telegraph message to another hall, however distant, and
ask whether a workman in his own line there would not
change places with him for a fortnight or three weeks.
Such an application is sure to find the desired answer;
and the chauge is agreeable for a short time. '• But.
continued he, " we are always glad to come home again :
for you cannot think, sir, how every one loves his own