The Press.
London, England, 1857-11-21 00:00:00

THE PRESS, NOVEMBER 21, 1857.

1140

" fears of the brave and follies of the wise"
are a more attractive spectacle than their cou-
rage or their wisdom But Mr. lluttou seldom
or never sneers ; ho is too much in earnest.
He seems rather to gaze upon the weak-
nesses of mankind in a mood of indulgent
melancholy. " Expende Hannibalem" is his
motto upon every occasion. His irony is pe.
culiar ; it is felt in every page like a kind of
invisible presence—a faint but ever perceptible
aroma, imparting a pleasant piquancy to a
subdued and unaffected style. It does not,
like that of some satirists, surprise us at
unexpected corners, or flash on us in sudden
jets. It flows equably along—indicating a
calm conviction that virtue is usually hypo•
crisy and vice usually misfortune, but that,
after all, it does not much matter which it is.
and that the least said the soonest mended?
It must be confessed, however, that a study
of the last ten years of George 11.'s reign is
not calculated to convert a cynic. A been-
tiousness of manners, redeemed neither by the
elegance of the Caroline nor the vigour of the
Augustan era ; a Parliament in which the job-
bery of the Pelharns had succeeded to the
Homeric conflicts of Windham and Walpole ;
a literature from which the greatest poet and
greatest prose writer of the century had just
disappeared, and left no visible successor; and
last, though not least, a war in which Brad-
dock and Byng had recalled the humiliation
of Fontenoy and Laffeldt, and a cowardly
Ministry had aggravated the national disho-
nour by the very means they adopted to efface it.
Such is the picture upon which Englishmen
now look between the years 1751 and 1758;
and no doubt they have cause to congratulate
themselves on the contrast. Yet the inference
is hardly fair, for if Mr. Hutton had written
but a year or two later, what a widely diffe-
rent story he would have had to tell !
Passing from polities to the social and lite-
rary features of the day, Mr. Hutton has col-
lected a large amount of illustrative anecdote,
linked together by reflections which are gene-
rally sensible, and often cleverly expressed.
Some exceptions we fed bound not entirely to
omit. It is Mr. Hutton's very impartiality by
which he is sometimes led astray. His pur-
suit of candouv is per fits et nefas. He is so
resolute in finding out something to be said
for those whom popular feeling has condemned
that he is occasionally unjust to himself and
his own good sense. His treatment of the
great Chesterfield and Johnson case is an in-
stance of this mistake:—
Johnson had originally dedicated his Dictionary to Lord
Chesterfield, whose patronage he courted for a time.
Being afflicted, however, with deafness and other physical
infirmities that militated against the Graces, his lordship
had of late withdrawn from the world, and neglected his
rough but thin-skinned protige. On the announcement
of the early appearance of the Dictionary, the noble lord
suddenly bethought him of his humble friend, and wrote
two excellent papers in its praise, which were published in
the World. The tardy favour was spurned by the surly
moralist Perhaps all men whose position in society is
inferior to their rank in the intellectual scale, become
morose, disappointed, and envious. Aud these feelings
stand sadly in the way of true dignity. Johnson, with all
his mental superiority, was full of the littlenesses of human
nature. Ile accordingly writhed under the patronising air
assumed by Lord Chesterfield,—most likely, quite uncon-
scionsly,—and, in a vain attempt to assert his dignity,
exhibited much rudenessa and ill temper. Nevertheless,
there are many who profess to admire his " spirit,"—for-
getful that it was not displayed until the coveted patron.
age was no longer necessary.
He then quotes the well-known letter, and
comments on it as follows :
This famous letter, then, amounts simply to thin. Seven
years before it was written, an ungainly scholar took
offence, that the most elegant man of the age was not as
much fascinated by his profound erudition as he himself
was by the other's manners and address. Mistaking
suavity of demeanour for heartfelt interest and sympathy,
he imagined that he had made a most favourable inipms•
lion, and that flowers were henceforth to spring up
beneath his tread. But the statesman and orator had
other matters to occupy his mind than the image of the
big, awkward man who was compiling a dictionary. The
vanity of the latter was hurt by this apparent neglect—not
his pride, for that would not have prevented him from
accepting any amount of favours. If he could not be all,
he would be nothing. So he ceased to attend his lord-
ship's levees, and, in consequence, was very likely forgotton.
But when it was announced that Mr. Johnson's Dictionary
was about to issue from the press, his lordship kindly took
the trouble to anticipate its publication, by two most
flattering notices, and this prepared the public for its
favourable reception. It would no doubt have been more
gratifying to Johnson's feelings if his wife could have
lived to hear his praises; but her death was certainly not
imputable to Lord Chesterfield. And the assertion that he

no longer needed a patron's aid was simply balderdash, for
in the following year he was arrested for a paltry debt of
iSs., which Simnel lliebardson—at his urg...nt request—
sent him six guine,ts to discharge.
Now, to say nothing of the fact that Mr. Hut-
ton hero contradicts himself—admitting in
one place that the patronage was no longer
necessary, and asserting in another that John-
son's words to that effect were " balderdash"
—we would ask him whether it is not quite
possible for an author to be in want of money
even when his reputation is sufficiently
established to enable him to dispense with
patronage? We think Mr. Hutton must admit
that his language on this point is inconsi-
derate. The remainder of his observations
are, we think, equally ill-founded. Chester-
field did profess heartfelt interest and sym-
pathy for literary men, for they never would
have sought his acquaintance fur the unsub-
stantial reward of being permitted to gaze on
his demeanour. And what is more, if he only
knew Johnson as " a big, awkward man who
" was compiling a dictionary," what more
damning evidence of his unfitness for the
part of a Mmeoenas? Chesterfield neglected
Johnson as great men will neglect obscure
ones to the end of time. This sort of thing,
if not generosity and magnanimity, is at all
events human nature, and this alone would
not have been visited with the general cen-
sure of mankind. \Vhat constituted the mean-
ness of Chesterfield's conduct towards John-
son was not so much his neglect of him in ad-
versity as his patronage of him in prosperity
—his attempt to make literary capital out of
him, and persuade the world that he had done
all along from benevolence what he only did
at last from selfishness, when ho could gra-
tify his own vanity and conciliate a successful
man at a single stroke.
Neutiquam officium liberi esse hominis puto,
Cum is nihil promereat postulare id gratite apponi sihi.
The latter part of Mr. Hutton's book will
be found very good reading. The extracts
from newspapers and other periodicals are
well chosen, and display a keen eye for
"points." He is sometimes, however, careless
about particular facts—as, for instance, in his
account of the Beefsteak Club, which is so am-
biguously worded as to leave it doubtful
whether the Beefsteak Club and the
Society of Steaks wore, or were not, two diffe-
rent institutions ; the truth being that the
original Beefsteak Club is of very much earlier
date than the " Sublime Society," having
existed, at all events, as far back as 1709, in
which year Dr. King dedicated his " Art of
Cookery " to its members. But the Society of
Steaks was established in 1735 by John Rich
and Lord Peterborough, and is the parent of
the club which exists under the stune rune,
and in possession of the original gridiron, to
the present day. But it was the old Beef-
steak Club which met at the Rummer Tavern
in Covent-garden, which numbered Peg Wof-
fington among its members, anti not, as Mr.
Hutton says, tho Society of Steaks ; though
it certainly is not improbable that Peg, who
was one of Rich's Covent Garden company,
might have been enrolled also among the
Sublimities, of whom he was the parent.
But this is pure conjecture. An evidently
well-informed writer in the National Review,
who seems to have drawn his inspiration
" direct from the gridiron," and to whom we
are indebted for some of the above particulars,
clearly implies that she was not a member of
that society.
We take our leave of Mr. Hutton's book
with many thanks for the entertainment it has
afforded us. He has written nothing which is
not readable, and very little which is not
worth reading. Some of his invectives in-
deed are mere conventionalities, and evince
thoughtlessness rather than malignity. And
we should add, also, that the work has been
so hurriedly sent to press as to leave it dis-
figured by a variety of clerical errors—its
Jupiter Sotor for Soter, 75 for 55, a misquota-
tion of Horace, &c.—which are open to mis-
construction, and which use trust in another
edition will be removed. We hope, however, to
meet Mr. Hutton again. He is earnest and
thoughtful, and requires nothing but leisure
to produce a work that shall be valuable as
well as entertaining.

The Norse-Folk; or, a Visit to the Homes of
Norway and Sweden. By Charles Loring
Brace. London : Bentley.
DIFFERENT countries come into and go out
of fashion among travellers, liko their
shooting-coats, knapsacks, and walking-
sticks. Twenty years ago " Spain " was
the place about which people loved to read.
Now-a-days Norway and Sweden have got their
turn, and books about them, if well done, are
almost sure to be popular. This volume before
us is very pleasant light reading; it is sketchy,
lively, and cheerful. The writer wants the
social logic of Laing, and he has not the
acuteness of H. 1). Inglis, who was at the
head of all superficial travel-writers in his day;
but Mr. Brace is intelligent, and he is a toler-
ably trained observer. Like his countrymen,
he is prolix, and intrudes himself too often,
but he is generally good company, and tarry-
at-home readers of " travel " must take writers
as they find them.
Mr. Brace reminds us at times of Prince
Puckler-Muskan. For example, in the following
sketch of a castle in Sweden we catch the
mannerism of an old acquaintance :
The next morning I was forwarded to Count X.'s estate,
in my friend's carriage, the horses being aupplicd at the
post-stations. The entrance of the property was through
au old stiff avenue of beeches, perfectly straight, leading
to the front of the castle. It is remarkable how poorly
placed and ill-kept are many of the estates of the highest
nobility in Sweden. The rich middle classes seem usually
to possess more tasteful properties. Here we came that
upon the barns, brick buildings with high-pointed gables,
not at all screened ; then to a mill, built upon what was
the old moat probably, now a rather unseemly weed-grown
stream. There was nothing of that nicety of care one sees
in such places in England, but the broad carefully-
ploughed fields on each side, and the herds of Ayrshire
and Durham cattle on the meadows, showed the owner an
agriculturist, perhaps more occupied in that direction at
present than in beautifying.
September —. lam in a comfortable old bedchamber
on the ground floor, looking out on the court, which is
closed by two brick wings with little Gothic turrets. An
ancient clock is in the centre, and the date says 1612
probably the date of the restoration of the building. My
room opens into a huge dining-room, not now used appa-
rently, and lined with old portraits. There is a heap of new
books in their paper wrappers, unopened, on one of the
sideboards, just as they have been sent from the agents and
publishers. A servant in livery in the hall has especial
charge of me and my wants. It is two o'clock, and we are
having the hour to ourselves to dress for dinner.
Mr. Brace ought to have told us who was
Count X., especially when he has so mi-
nutely described his castle. There, also, he
met the Countess S., with an album full
of autographs. The inside of the castle is
thus described :
I have been kindly shown over the castle by Countess S.
Three large saloons—those most used by the family —were
filled with costly paintings. Here, as so often in the rich
houses of Sweden, I have been surprised at the rare cave,
tions of art. Even the English castles, especially in the
medieval art, are not superior, and only some Austrian
and Italian private collections can be judged finer.
Rubens, Caracci, Rembrandt, Wouverinann, Poussin, and
numerous others, each of which is a gem. There were
also pretty collections of china. Plate is not shown as it
is in England, or perhaps not so richly possessed. Thu
rooms were usually uncarpeted, with parquet floors; fur•
niture solid and tasteful, with now and then some antique
oak or walnut piece, quaintly carved. The bedrooms have
very heavy hangings over the beds and at the windows, the
pillows and all being covered with red drapery. The charm
of the whole was in the antique grandeur of the apart-
ments, and the historic air from the portraits. Each route
had its paintings and its ancient Laces, connecting the
Present with the far-away Past; sweet womanly looks,
cheeks fresh as if copied yesterday, stern and manly coun-
tenances, and one or two crowned heads, for the family
number these among its ancestors.
Some ghost stories are told about the old
castle, which are not very thrilling, and tho
manners of the Swedish gentry at table aro
described at full length. The author had
several distinguished members of the bush
family among his acquaintances.
We cannot put entire faith in the writer's
remarks on the state of religion in Sweden.
It is extremely difficult for a foreigner making
a rapid tour in a strange country to attain
general conclusions about the actual state of
religion amongst a people. He prophesies in
the following style
We believe it is no rash effort at foretelling, which
should say that this century will see the disruption and
convulsion of the Swedish State Church. The Baptists
End Methodists are labouring in a quiet, earnest way, on the
great principles of Christianity ; and the very nature of
these truths is to shatter hierarchies, and to tear open
formalism and hypocrisy. They have Oils far suffered
persecution, banishment, and reproach; but each day their
I cause grows stronger, and takes deeper hold of the heats

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