The Press.
London, England, 1853-10-22 00:00:00

OCTOBER 22, 1853.

Only a very few lines are assigned to the
treatment of " Auricular Confession,- and
s weral other questions are discussed with
similar brevity. In his exposition of the
Athanasian Creed" the author follows Water-
land. and we cannot do better than extract a
passage from this portion of his volume ate
specimen of his general style :
We may observe that this creed consists, in a great
measure, of negations. It was manifestly drawn up for
the pinvose of contradicting of excluding certain
heretical opinions, which were at the tinie in circulation,
respecting the doctrine of the Trinity, and the union of
the divine and human natures in our blessed Lord. At
the present day, therefore, it may well be found obscure by
the unlearned, who are without the knowledge of those
heresies. By some persons, it 114 thought not only obseure,
but presumptuous; because, as they say, it attempts to
penetrate inscrutable mysteries: whereas it is itself a pro.
test against the presumptuous definitions which haul been
nlready hazarded : and it is only for the purpose of rebut.
ting them that it haerecourse to any positive statements of
doctrine. No one is qualified to understand, MO 'h
less to criticise, the tenns of thisereod till he has informed
himself of the religious controversies which were rife at
the time when it was 001111100 Cd. it low been said, that we
do not wisely to retain in Our puddle serviecs a forninlary
which, to a great ponion of our people, is unintelligible.
But to this it may be replied, that we cannot safely lay
aside a bulwark which has been instrumented in
protecting the Church against a set of opinions at sine
time very prevalent, and even now by no means extinct.
On the whole we may commend this work ;
but it could be greatly improved by the addition
of footnotes with exact references, and with
sonic critical remarks on the different authors
cited.

Notion de la Monnaie. Par M. Wilhelm
Paris : Guillaumin,Rue Richelieu, 14.
Tiff: author of this tract, while contending
that the precious metals do actually, as money,
possess in a very high degree permanency of
value, conceives that the existing monetary
system of the world is so theoretically vicious
(as shown in its perturbations) as to demand
a complete change. By the institution of
banks fin• the deposit of property and securi-
ties, he would issue notes, representing the
value, or part value, of such property and, to
guard these notes from depreciation, he would
have the property they represent valued every
three months, and the depreciation, if any,
made good by a payment from the owner, or
by a sale of the property. In other words,
he would establish colossal pawnshops, the
" ticket;'—or note of deposit issued by the
bank,--eireulating as money for so much value
as it bore on its face. The project strikes us
its one of the wildest ever put forward by
those gentlemen—not renowned for the so
briety of their speculations—the monetary
reformers. Some of the statements of M.
Lipke seem as open to question as his reason'
ing. Ile asserts that
la Californie et l'Anatralie lirrent enaen►Lle, ent•iron
swam d'or par mois tine la terre entiere en produisait
aatrefoia pendant 11114. actin e.
A violent exaggeration ; as the total produce
of the new discoveries cannot be valued higher
than between two and three millions monthly,
while the produce from other parts of the
globe must be taken at six to eight millions
yearly. He proceeds to say that
&eat tin fait ~spiiemieni ineontegtaide p..' la valenr de l'or,
maim*. l'ett Ili•e'oll\el•t1's, 161 risitit "llll►'l' HU $ iii. l'ne
haulise izeoi•rale des prix. ce sympteme gni avid faase re-
eunnait►r ipie la %Alcor de Fur et de targent mit WWI,
iri.kaamod /as preapalie.
Miolliotetny it must require a great in-
crease in the general stock of gold existing
in the world to effect any marked change in
prices, but that there is a tendency towards a
rise at present can hardly he denied. This
tendency, or action, however, will probably be
met by such a modification of social arrange-
ments as individuals or bodies are capable of
making for themselves. When the principle
is understood, the action itself may proceed
with comparatively little inconvenience, more
especially as it must primarily be favourable
to industrial interests.

NEW NOVETA.

1. Alderman Ralph. A Novel. 2 vols. : PP,

312-29-1. London : Routledge and Co.
2. Hope, n Stfiry of Cheirereil Life. By Alfred
W. ('ole, Author of "The Cape and Kaffirs,"
&e. 3 vols. London : T. C. Newby.
'CHe first, of these cleverly-written works
belongs to a berieb of novels, lately published

THE

on a particular plan. that is worth noticing.
The three-volume system of novel-publishing
had many absurdities. It was unreason-
ably expensive. and. as we firmly believe, in
many eases it impeded the circulation of
works of merit by unknown authors. It also
threw the whole novel trade (to speak ill
of " the Row " ) into a few hands, and
it was attended with a variety of other evils
too numerous to detail. ('heap literature and
the serials " helped to injure the old and
beng-established system, as country readers.
for a few shillings. were able to supply them-
selves with abundance of fietions. Other
causes. however, simultaneously contributed
to damage the' old system of " Three rots. sree. tit
11*. M. It would seem that certain pub-
lishers took to underselling each other, and
established, in one or two instance's, an organi
salient throughout time eottutry, by which pro-
piietors of circulating libraries could supply
themselves at greatly-reduced prices, on con-
dition that they would take a fixed quantity of
novels, whether good or bad, an they were pub-
lished by certain parties in London. This
was a mere trade arrangement, which did
not come before the public eye. but which has
been gradually effecting at great change. the
results of which upon authorship it will be
very difficult tee determine.
It would appear that both authors and pub-
lishers were for some time puzzled how to
meet this revolution in the novel trade. The
fietionists feared that they should turn from
fancy to fact, and become journalists, or tra-
vellers, or essayists the omnibus. The publish-
ers dreaded lest they should make no know
money out of the distresses of lovelorn dam-
sels and the adventures of alkiecomplisheel
heroes. The great Minerva Press interest
threatened to totter to its fall! The difficul-
ties of the publishers in encountering the
minis would not have excited any more sym-
pathy in the general public than the trouble's
gtf any other class of capitalists but for the
(net of the connection between authors and
publishers.
Messrs. Routledge, we believe, were the
first, in point of time, to adopt a system
equally remote from the old plan of " three
vols. at 11. lls. (hi." and the cheap plan of
shilling publication. They have got up a
series of original novels, in two volumes, at
the price of eight shillings a net; and it is
supposed that such a system will allow au-
thors, in the case of works of merit, to obtain
fair copyright prices. Mr. Bentley, also, ham,
within the present month, totally altered his
system of publication, and has reduced his
prices to one-third of the previous charges for
his novels. What the effects of these trade
revolutions will be upon the supply of original
fiction may lee fairly tested by the novels of
the next twelve months ; and, at the com-
meneement of the winter, we allude tee these
fleets as being not without importance, not
only to the writers, but also to the reeederee, of
novels.
"Alderman Ralph " Is a description of life
in the parish of Willowaere, seen from a
humorist's point of view, describing old types
of character, with many quaint devices. and
applying curious tracery of style tee embellish
homely matter and give novelty of semblance
to familiar things. Before one has read two
chapters it is evident that the writer has been
a diligent reader of the later novels of Sir
Edward Lytton. It is a work of fiction vastly
beyond the average, and displays literary
versatility and fluency of composts, that will
be likely tee command great success with more
practice. The merit eef the work is its frelill-
-11(448 and easy vivacity mingled with its fantas-
tic portraiture of common life'. The titleptige
is no unfitting precursor to the vedittnes, 1111(1
we will copy it :
Alderman Ralph ; the History of the borough and
Corporation of the Borough of NVillownere. NVith all shout
the Itriage and the Itan.net, the SIM:, 104441 and the
I :ma Scholar, the Toltkecper and his loam:bier, the
Fiddler and his Virtues. the Lawyer and his Rogueries,
awl all the rest of it. Hy Admit liornhok. Student by his
wan Fireside, and sensing his Scig)bours shell ha, can
secure the Ana-chair in the Corner.
The subject neither of this quaint novelist
ix " boreapilt life," and the antav•an ism be-
tween the worthy burghers alto frequent the
parlour of a eerntin Wliestsheat Inn at Willow
mere, and bit Nigel Nickeni, a aeighbeuring

F)93

baronet, claiming right to a toll on a bridge
across the river Slowtlow. Parochial perplexi-
ties are humorously exaggerated ; and tho
hearttlut tering!' of May Wharton, a very
eharining heroine, gnu•ethlly dcre►•ihril. We
Flo not like the nomenclature of this novelist._

It is too literally allegorical. Thus we moil of
Jack ,ligg the tiddler, Nicholas Baekstitch
the tailor. Gregory Nlarkpenee the tollkeeper,
and so on ; but. as a whole, " Alderman Ralph"
exhibits the presence of qualities which are,
to Sily the Jena of tLrnt, promising.
While in " Alderman Ralph" eoinmon life is
invested with intuit of the ideal, ordinary in
eidents tieing whimsically depicted, in " {lope "
the author evidently aim. at eXNet Itor-
tntiture of every-day existence. " Hope ' is
emphatieally the produetion of a very clever
Pith'notear. Mr. Colt. has that impressionable
temperament which gives natural vivacity to a
writer. and ellllbleS 111111 without effort to in-
fuse a joyous. cheerful tone into his deserip..
tions of the world. In aiming at the sparkling,
he sometimes attains only to the smart; but
there is a sprightliness in all his descriptions
that excludes the impression of dulness.
A sketcher. rather than a painter. he will have
to observe more closely and think more calmly
before he ran fully attain the literary successes
of which we believe him to be capable. Ile
has great power of seizing boll of the salient
• is in external life, and producing a vivid
series of etching,' of the masquerade of exist-
: he deseribem rather than invents, and
writes of certain types of life nailer than cut
bodies any of them in his light and animated
style. But. the blemitthea that criticism must
indiente vanish before this writer's main merit
of readability. In " Hope " lie takes hold
of us at. the very eommencentent of his
" chequered " story. and whoever has perused
the first twenty pages will be mire to read to
the last page of the last volume. It is rarely,
indeed, that a first. novel is so Interesting to a,
reader as we have found " !lope," even on
a critical perusal of its pages.
In its commencement we are introduced
to the life of an adventurer, and to some
most graphic descriptions of a certain clam*
of Lontltbn society. We am constantly
reminded of " Fit/I)4lmile Papers"
published in Proser's llfogazime, and written
by Mr. Thackenty, and we may illus-
trate the raciness of Mr. Cole's style lay a few
extraeth. Ilere is a description of Bean-
street, Soho, that is both true and graphic:—
Cireckstreet Is one which mutt purrle every refleethu
pedestrian that passel. through it. What lily dark,
osnioky, lage, setni-reportable 'lenses it hoe? Whitt are
they like inside 7 Who !hes in them ? we I'llll imagine
the old-fashioned broad staireast.—the chimney pit. 4.4.4. half
way up 1., the cute ualosisly high tall ridding
doom—the fel-ideated gabled mouldings of the walla and the
shiottera—the woni•eaten theirs—the wainsefits 41 paint,
deal, Aye feet high—atoll the high, loam* wlndoaa, with
a thick crust .1 I.4ng undisturbed li,i darkening their
slender pence. We can fancy them his 11i5114.41 with old Ca.
l'arkey earpeta show pettenia are 114.16•11101 %I/414.,
high-backed deers, /II iii l otly coma, and FIP roniettely
uneomf.ortable, venerably 04114 a, with their kg* bulging
I alit lit the lost hi am into a kind of stumpy beg ; 41144gy moreva
curtains, that 010 e were dial., but are now a fresh coffire
colour; old 441atioilelirre of rusty brass, with a few little
ilistinotel-shaped pieces at glass knout/ in oniamental fes-
toons on them ; anal little r 441111.1 alllTaall in 1.1111111.11, that
/glee were gilt, muck up even allalve the hill chi 1pi4.4.44,
noel siwneon,l4.4l lay an eagle, Min whose benk hung* a
chain with a hall at the end of it. All this we ran imagine ;
but who liven amidst all these ghostly memorials of aria.
age'/ We. 'haft knew, ti gh we hite to fancy it So only
miserly old 34. w nioney•lendern, ancient Chancery lawyers,
and venerable spinsters, who hate the world-1%101.1'4g
fresh, or beautiful, would be sou monstrimply out of
1111311.1. in 10101 a hienlity.
" jingle gentlemen" will, no doubt, benefit
by the perusal of the following paragraph, ale
scribing a small subn r.ban square :
A f4.iv of the whitlows have neat little bills in dein
with
funoisinllapartiotenta- inseribeil on them, and most of dm
etiollslis the additional notification that the apartment%
are " for singly gentlemen." who, let apartments
have * strong ',satiably to single gentlemen : they dont
dine at home—they don't lock anything up--they never
recolleet how much tea they len in the canister—they 004
(loin pitiable at " extra., " in the bill—they are f•erfectly
{tannest of any nequaintanee ant. the price esirrytot 44
bread, meat, tea, 44r auger—they don't make fiats " if
the rooms are not diosted—in abort, they are cella) "done
for " in every seamy 41 that very conoprebennive etpressien.
Frank Nugent, the hero, oik becoming a
tWier, with a certain
Fanny Marsden, and the followiug desatiptios
of the feelings of a pair of 110 V kV* Ia adiotioai

of the heart in clever, and touched in a style
highly chanteteristie of this amusing writer :
During these two hoar% Fanny always suit in the little
front parlour, which served for the schoolroom, and worked
hard with her neetUe. Rut it is a very serious hut that
Fanny made so many false stitches, and sewed tap
buttons on in wrong places, Mail darned ow many 'amine
loan; together in mistake for rents during these two hours,
that it gave her a vital deal of trouble to mob, all her work
afterwards, and do it over again. Perhaps Fanny listened
torsi such to the French lelilloll, laid, 11144441, Mlle wialietl
very much to aequire a knowledge of that language, tual
II gist it rather hunt that her mother had never let the
garret* top tooth her French in former slays. But in Faunas
aehool day* the Marsden* lived more 111111114:1 tl now, fear
Mr. Mambo' hail not then hit upon a certain method of
supplying the domestie exehtspier which he had since
lowed with gnat success.
Frank wax very conwientions man teacher. Ile lalsairell
hard to drill the necessary knowledge into the little ittib
malts he had to instruet, and he displayed gnat patientse
and good temper. His pupils were not deficient in indlind
abilities—espeeially Master Tommy, also was a very sharp
but a great rogue in Isis small way. 11 is o....opeopiex
afforded much anlasement to Frank, alto sways looked
towartla Fanny as he smiles!, and then I y smiled 11140,
and Fanny blushed. But Frank wryer conversed with
Fanny till the two lusting' !Casein% were over, and then lie
e'en/Only never left the room without addressing a few
words to her; and oh, how y looked forward to that
nine ! She trembled a great deal, tap, at the idea of it
hut it was very pleasant, notwithstanding, Frank had such
nice voice, and such a pleasing address, mid was so easy
in his manner, and never paid her pourid compliments,
like that humid Mr. Iti4l4lle.
Frank liked his little garrets—they were always all neat,
and a., sacra. Not that he MINA " tidy •'
of nun ( to use a good hiptiptewire'a favtittrite expression ) ; on
the contrary, he hail as awkward habit of throwing things
aboont—his rout here, his waisteoat turn', his betas some•
where else, and his Klippen* anywhere. But somehow or
other they always returned to their right places—the
!writ, especially, were' always just where he liked them
to be when he returned home tired. .Ind then his papers
were never disturbed—a great sultantage ; for what caps be
more distressing to a literary Male* temper than to lilad
all his menionitela and loose papers, left Ipv bins in algal•
rent negligence, hut in real order ter use—nil gathered up
in unit !Packages, for the make of " tidiness " ? not to 'mos-
t on their being occasionally appropriated to lighting the tire.
Imagine the hing•ronceived anti lalapiionslyit I Otkl 'el out
plan 44 a liVe•art 4lratila tlirltht IketWeell the bars of the
grate, and ruthlessly consumed by the slovenly lentill.oball-
work.
Nothing of the kind ever happened to the labours of
Frank's brain. Whether the w 4 old or himself womb! stlwit3s
have been sufferent by such an event we won't !west ttttt to
guess. It was astonishing, too, how clean the et.a.ltet
miti-maensmar of the old ens) chair, that had lwen m 1414.411..
his stock of furniture. always looked. lividly that stiipipb
looking girl must be a very good servant. alter all, thought
Frank. imple.eyed Frank Nugent! Did stupid ser-
vant girls ever keep potting clean anti-nitiouvoirs into ba-
clielors' rooms? Ilist they ever leave literary rapers
Abate they ever put their slipper% NO carefully every
slay into the very right place And above rill, di.lthey ever
put Nina bouquet', of fresh flowers to onranseut the mine
telpieee, and pert' . the poor garret .'thillwit
Frank, tot think of stupid twnputt girls!
" You don't speak Frond', I think.'" said Frank to poor
Fanny, one day after the lessons were over,
"(Ili tio--list at all—l never learnt it " replied Fanny,
in her usual tremor sets hearing Frank's " nice " voice.
" Sloptil4l son toot like to acquire it ?" he asked.
" I shoulli like it of all things," said I' y—"
" I should lie happy to teach you if you would like to
leans of so bad a mambo.," said Frank.
1111, thank you—l should like so very di ; but I'm
afraid—Non know—Fin afraid you'd find very stupid."
" I clout believe that at all," critsl Frank, gallantly.
" ton the contrary. I feel sure that pat would he a most cre•
Bitable scholar. Will you try lesson now ?"
Fanny expressed her gratitude and delight : but really
the agitation into which slie was thrown by the Imprit t!
mode her quite giddy. Frank. however, set all (lad +ma
to the score of natural bashfulness. Silly Fond( Nugent
mid yell talked about a woman's heart as if you untlerstotsl
it. You bad not t.‘ tot learnt its alphabet.
After the long spell of dull novels during the
last year, those in want of light reading will do
well to put upon their lists, along with " Chris-
tie Johnstone" anti Mr. Coulton's " Fortune,"
the two interesting fictions that we have here
noticed.

rate Trinh i►t ('rimi►tal (avg. London :
Butterworth.

Tuts is a pamphlet of twenty-one p►ges, in which
Nome of the arguments in favour of and against new
trials in criminal eases are discussed, while the eon•
elusion at which the author tuTives is that they
ai 1,1 be granted.
in page 1 he says, " All human tribunals are fail-
" little. Judges are liable to error, and juries may
"occasionally be mistaken. it is on this pre.nmp•
" tion that in civil eases the litigant parties are not
" left without a remedy. Then why should a ills-
" tinetion be made in criminal ?"
One reason is, that in civil cases the law is com-
plex, anal in criminal cases generally simple ; and in
an immense majority of eases new trials are granted
on points of law, which render necessary new deci-
sions on issues of fact. In criminal cases a new