The Press.
London, England, 1856-01-05 00:00:00

Tll E pnEss,

"altered, magnified, itnd.—." no, not" believed',"
except amongst 'orthodox MaCaulayites.
The story of the Catiline conspiracy is told
tamely by Dean Liddell. There is feebleness
in the account of his death—described by
Sallust so tersely and vividly :

Before the execution of his accoMplices, Catiline tvas at
the, head of two complete legions, consisting chiefly of
Syfla's veterans. But servile insurrections in Apulia and
other places, on which Catiline counted, were promptly
repressed : his own small army was very imperfectly armed ;
and their leader avoided a conflict with Antonius, who was
continued in command as Proconsul. When the failure of
the plot at home reached the insurgents, many deserted ;
and Catiline endeavoured to make good his retreat by Pis-
toja into Cisalpine Gaul. But the passes were alre.ely
beset by the Proprietor Metellus Celer ; the Consul
Antonius was close behind ; and it became necessary either
to fight or surrender. Catiline and his desperadoes chose
the braver course. His small army was drawn up with
skill. Antonitts, mindful of former intimacy with Catiline,
alleged illness as a plea for giving up the command of his
troops to M. Petreius, a skilful soldier. A short but
desperate conflict followed. Mallius and his best officers
fell fighting bravely. Catiline, after doing the duties of a
good general and a brave soldier, saw that the day was
lost, and rushing into the thick of battle fell with many
wounds. He was taken up, still breathing, with a
menacing frown stamped upon his brow. None were
taken prisoners ; all who died had their wounds in front.
The question how far Salhist was a mere
pamphleteer, and Cicero an oratorical alarmist,
has given rise to some ingenious conjectures
amongst scholars of our own time. Catiline
has not wanted adroit apologists, and a living
historian has applauded Caesar for his at
tempts to crush the aristocracy of Rome. As
to Caesars alleged complicity with the first
Catiline conspiracy, Dean Liddell judiciously
observes :

In truth, -f evidence to prove Cicsar's complicity with
Catiline, there was really none; and the further the case
is examined the less appears to be the probability of such
complicity. The course he had pursued for the purpose
of undermining the power Of the senatorial aristocracy was
perfectly consistent, and had been so successful hitherto,
that he was little likely to abandon it at this precise
moment for a scheme of reckless ruin and violence, from
which others would reap the chief advantage. Even if
Catiline had succeeded, he must have been crushed almost
immediately by Pompey, who was preparing to return to
Italy at the head of his victorious legions. The desire of
Cesar to save the lives of Lentulus. Cethegus, and the
rest, is at once explained, when we remember that he had
just before promoted the prosecution of Rabirius for obey-
ing an order of the very kind against which he now argued.
As the leader of the party of the Gracchi, of Saturninus, and
of Marius, it was his cue always and everywhere to protest
against the absolute power assumed by the Senate in such
emergencies, as unconstitutional and illegal. It is possi-
ble that he may have suspected the designs of Catiline;
and at an earlier period he may have been sounded by that
reckless person as a well-known opponent of the Senate.
lint without claiming for Caesar any credit for principle or
scrupulosity, we may safely conclude that it was utterly
inexpedient for him to have any dealings with Catiline ;
and we may be sure that he WAS the last man to be mis-
led into a rash enterprise which was not expedient for
himself.
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In his comments upon several similar dis-
puted passages of Roman story, Dean Liddell
ought to have quoted the conflicting authorities,
and referred in the notes to the works, wherein
students would pursue the subjects further.

Character-writing is not the forte of Dean
Liddell. He wants the subtle talent which
distinctively marks individualities. What he
has written of Hannibal might be applied to
many other generals. His view of Coesar's
character is better executed. We shall cite
some of it:—

Thus died " the foremost man in all the world," a man
who failed ih nothing that he attempted. He might,
Cicero thought, have been a great orator ; his Cornmeal.
t:u•ies remain to prove that he was a great writer. As a
general he had few superiors; as a statesman and poli•
tician no equal. That which stamps him as a man of true
greatness is the entire absence of all vanity and self-con-
ceit from his character. If it were not known that Cesar
was the narrator of Ids own campaigns, no one could guess
that cold and dispassionate narrative to be Horn his pen.
His genial temper and easy unaffected manners hear testi.
mony to the same point. It is well known, indeed, that
he paid great attention to his personal appearance—a
foible Which he shared in common with many great men
equally free from other vanity. In youth he was strikingly
handsome, and was the welcome lover of many dissolute
Roman names. His hard life and unremitting activity
had furrowed his face with lines, and left him with that
meagre visage which is made familiar to us from his coins.
To the same cause is to be attributed his liability, in after
life, to fits of an epileptic nature. But even in these days
he was sedulous in arranging his robes, and was pleased to
have the privilege of wearing a laurel crown to hide the
scantiness of his hair. His morality in domestic life was
not better or worse than commonly prevailed in those
licentious days. He indulged in profligate amours freely
and without scruple. But public opinion reproached him
not for this. When it was sought blacken his character,
c:imes of a deeper (lie w•er ; but they

17

were never provtd, 'era he alvil46 inclignintly denied
them.
That is not a j'ortrait of Ctesar so much as a
judgment upon him. He winds it up with
the following reflection
His political career was troubled by no scruples
to gain his end he was utterly careless of the means.
But before we judge him severely, we must remem-
ber the manner in which the Marian party had been
trampled under foot by Sylla and the Senate. If, however,
the mode in which he rose to power was questionable, the
mode in which he exercised it was admirable. By the
action of constant civil broils the constitutional system of
Rome had given way to anarchy, and there seemed no
escape except by submission to the strong domination of
one capable man. The only effect of Cresar's fall was to
cause a renewal of bloodshed for another half generation;
and then his work was finished by a far less noble and
generous ruler. Those who slew Caesar were guilty of a
great crime, and a still greater blunder.
It is in that easy, colloquial manner that
the author gives his opinions on knotty ques-
tions.

When describing the famous battle of Zama
Dean LiddellzAtes

Thus was Hannibal defeated, but not subdued. The
battle of Zama has often been compared to that of
Waterloo. In both the two greatest generals of the respec-
tive nations met for the first time; and in both the more
famous chief, fighting with an array hastily drawn top-
ther in defence of his country, was defeated. But in
other points they were unlike. Waterloo left France help-
less ; and her ruler had no hope but iu withdrawing from
her shores.
Here it would have been well to have men-
tioned iu detail the points of resemblance
between Zama and Waterloo. Livy might
have been cited with great advantage. For
example, in the commencement of his account
of the battle Livy writes :—" Erexerant om-
" nium animos Scipio et Hannibal, velut ad
" supremum certamen comparati duces. . . . ,
"Ad hoc discrimen procedunt poster() din
" duo•urn opulentissorum populorum longs
" clarissimi daces, duo fortissimi exercitus,
" multa ante parts decora, ant eumulaturi etl
" die aut eversuri"—language singularly ap-
plicable to the tremendous eventuality immi-
nent at Waterloo.
But " Crurwood's Despatches " enables uS
to point out a still closer analogy between
Zama. and Waterloo. Thus Livy records that
Hannibal, even in the opinion of Scipio,
showed rare military art :—" Hannibal cum
" paucis equitibus inter tumultum elapsus
" Adrumetum perfugit, omnia et in prtelio et
" ante aciem priusquam excederet pugna ex•
" pertus, et confessione etiam Scipionis,
" omnium gtte peritorum militite, illam laudem
" adeptus sing►ulari arte aciem co die in-
•' struxisse." It is very curious that the Duke
of Wellington, a couple of days after Waterloo,
wrote to Lady Mornington as follows:—" Bona-
" parte did his duty. Ile fought the battle with
" infinite skill, perseverance, and bravery; and
" this I do not say from any personal motive
" of claiming merit to myself, for the victory
" is to be ascribed to the superior physical
" force and invincible constancy of British
" soldiers." These are singularpoints of resem-
blance worthy of special notice. The opinion of
the best military critics, " omnium peritorutn
" Milithe," has been that Napoleon showed
wonderful talent in his plan for separating
Wellington and Blucher, so as to engage them
in detail. The recorded tributes of Scipio
and Wellington to the amazing genius of their
mighty adversaries is a most remarkable
coincidence.
We have rarely seen a work which could be
more improved in a second edition; and even
in its present state its utility deserves to be
so rewarded. We think that Dean Liddell
should expand, and not contract, his history.
He should assign a special portion to a suc-
cinct classification of the authorities for
Roman story, and discriminate more closely
between the legendary and the half-historical
periods. A dissertation on the modern
classical critics, with an enumeration of their
best portions, would be a most valuable addi-
tion to the work. There are too many separate
sections in every chapter, and wo should
prefer a smoother narrative. As a writer for
schools we do not think the Dean of Christ
Church well adapted. His mariner is too dry,
but his sense is always weighty and manly ;
and we do not object to the strongly Euglieh
character impressed on his pages. Tables of
chronology, and a map of the empire, are also
wanted fur completeness. In short, to be

i L-.-

18

opal to tie writer's own aim, more elabora-
tion is required. Its large knowkdgc, truth-
fulness, and unaffected tone will recommend
it to many who do not care for a vivid style ;
and what is often said of the wine at Oxford
may be applied to the whole work—" It is too
" new; but the body of it is sound, and time
" will greatly improve it."

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THE PRESS.

worthily pith an essay on the leading topic of
public interest. Ot the above-mentioned articles
that upon the " Songs from the Dramatists " is, we
think, notwithstanding its wordiness, the most read-
able, and contains many observations which evince
real critical power. Why in the world the writer
should wonder at Charles the Second's admiration
of the splendid lyric, "The glories of our
birth and state," we are at a loss to understand. His
elegant and cultivated taste, and his experience of
the instability of crowns, must well have fitted him
to appreciate the exquisite harmony and philosophic
sadness of these beautiful lines.

The London Qaarterly gives us ten articles, of
which seven are decidedly interesting. The review
of Mrs. Green's "Royal Ladies of England " contains
some very sensible remarks on the subject of history
in general, which, as the writer well points out, is in
danger of subsiding into mere essayism. A capital
article on the " Noctes Ambrosiante," in fact one
of the best we have read, contains a characteristic
sketch of the Professor, likening hint to one of the
Scandinavian sea kings who disturbed the Heptarchy.
"Thirty Years of French Imaginative Literature" is
a most instructive and able article. It sets forth the
various schools that have existed since
that of religion, that of domesticity, and that of
poetry for itself, Lamartine, Sainie.B..?uve, and
Victor Hugo being considered as their respective
exponents, with remarkable accuracy and judgment;
and the account of the present condition of literature
in France is, in our opinion, most undeniably true,
and evinces deep thought upon the subject.
" Donaldson's Book of Jashar " is a slashing attack
upon that notorious work. The writer is evidently
in his element, and attacks the doctor with a vigour
and animosity which is now rare among critics. The
article entitled " Popular Authorship " is a rather
weak attack upon Dr. Warren. We must especially
notice the unfairness of selecting from the " Diary "
the very worst paper in the whole collection. The
number concludes with a rather bellicose article on
the war in Asia.

Blackwood opens with a long article—by Sir A.
Alison, we presume—oh the " Gold Screw and Its
Consequences." The writer argues that as gold is
sent out of the country on exceptional occasions,
an equal amount of paper-money should be issued
to fill the vacuum, and that these notes should be
cancelled as the gold returned. He insists that it
will be impossible to continue the existing system,
and that in a few months we shall have a suspension
of the Act of 1844, and probably an issue of If.
notes, setting free many millions of sovereigns for
use abroad. Time is a sharp test of political pro-
phecy. We shall ;.ec. " The New Peace Party " is
a dialogue between certain imaginary persons on
Vie policy to be pursued with respect to Russia. The
dialogue is so candid that we think the peace advo-
cates have the best of it. Tlepolemus is for war to
the knife. He is one of the European chess-board
people. "Denmark might be added to Sweden, and
the Confederacy be further strengthened by Finland
being taken from Russia; " " Could we but manage
" to consolidate Germany and Scandinavia; " "Spain
" might receive a great accession of strength by a
" union with Portugal—a union geographically
" suggested—and t'►ke somewhat of her old position
" i❑ the councils of nations ; " " the Allies will, per-
" haps, find it necessary to reconstitute Poland and
" Hungary," ,t c. Of all the fools destined to people
the limbo•paradise, your political theorist is the
most incorrigible. As for Russia, " mercilessness to
" her Government would be, perhaps, mercy to ber
" people." She it; the " boa-constrictor of the North,"
and a " burglarious nation." The only safety against
her is, that she "be perpetually imprisoned," and
made "to listen to the gaol chaplain." How long
ago this dialogue was written must be left to con-
jecture. The following passage reads curiously,
coming before us some weeks after the pacific pro-
posals of the allies have been sent to St. Peters•
burg :--

As for making overtures for peace, all Europe would
have looked upon us as either beaten already, or on the
point of being so; our prestige would be lost, which is the
keystone of the arch of our national position ; and which
gone, the ruin of our do►ninion, and perhaps our rode•
pendence and separate existence, would be sure to follow.
At this rate, we must be on the high road to ruin
at present. Celsus, the peace advocate, is allowed to
say very little, though he seems a shrewd, sensible
fellow. For example: "The Duke of Wellington
" opposed the severe measures proposed by some
" of the allies against France, on the ground that we
" might some day have need of France against
" Russia." The inference is obvious. An article on
" The Inns of Court," analyses the report of the
Commissioners on this subject. This able paper is
probably contributed by Mr. Warren. In the notice
of " Lancashire Strikes," the plan adopted by the
carpet manufacturers of the north, of a conference
between masters and men, is warmly recommended.
The plan has worked admirably since 1839. The
other papers are of a lighter cast. The first part

SATURDAY,

of "A Military Adventure in the Pyreneee" is full
of animation and adventure.

In Fraser's Magazine "Friends in Council" is
remarkably good. The opening pages, on the in-
fluence of scenery, strikes us as peculiarly truthful.
" There are two kinds of scenery which fascinate a
" man : one connected with his early associations!
" the other corresponding with his character." All
our readers who are susceptible to such emotions
must comprehend the reality of this remark.
The observations on Sunday amusements are equally
just; and, on the whole, the paper is a decided im-
provement on last month's. But the prize article of
the number is unquestionably "Kate Coventry."
This story purports to be edited by Digby Grand,
and it is well worthy of that elegant and romantic
writer. As a narrator of fashionable life he is
facile princeps among the magazine-writers of the
day. There is a freshness about his style, and ACT
actuality about his incidents, which convince the
reader that the story is not composed by one who is
drawing merely from his own imagination. The re-
maining articles are, perhaps, rather less interesting
than usual, though none without considerable merit.
The review of Prescott is a careful and learned
paper; that of Browning a sensible and impartial
one. More we cannot say of either. We have no
space to notice the remaining ones in detail.
Bentley contains two such stories as we find only
in Bentley—" The Man with the White Hat," and
" How I Grew to be an Old Maid." Mr. Dudley
Costello's "The Dock Warrants" is a capital sketch
of the career of certain notorious City criminals.
" Benjamin Bobbin " has degenerated into gravity ;
and Monkshood has rather a dry mouthful in Lewes's
" Life of Goethe." Of course we have the regular
business about the war, and an instalment of the
" Spendthrift," with gambling and flirting, a mas-
querade and a tr ystery
The New Monthly has almost too much variety of
matter. Ten or eleven articles at the outside aro as
much as a magazine of 126 pages ought to contain.
The best articles in the present number are those
on Samuel Butler; on" Wine and Winter," by Cyrus
Redding ; " The OH Grenadier's Story," by Mr.
Thornbury; and "The Eighteenth Century," by
Alex. Andrews.

No. XIV. of the Martins of C7'o' Martin contains a
lively account of young Nelligan's success with his
first brief, Rome amusing convivial conversation of
legal veterans at a bar mess, and a sketch of Mr.
Herman Merl at his dinner "of fresh salmon,
" mountain mutton, and fat woodcocks," wbich shows
an intimate knowledge of the peculiarities of the
class to which Mr. Merl belongs.

Part XV. of Horny Coverdale's Courtship con-
cludes the story. All comes right—Horace Dal-
mayne goes to the diggings and worse—Lord Alfred
marries Emily—Arthur marries Bate—Alice gets
well—and so they all retire from the stage in the
best possible health and spirits.

No. VI. of The Amateur contains some amusing
sketches. That of " The Lawyer's Clerks" is very
good, and all the articles have considerable merit.
The Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine for Ja-
nuary appears to be carefully edited. There are
some very readable stories, and a great variety
of subjects. " The Fashions" are an important
item, and we see with pleasure that bonnets still
continue to get larger.

The Train is the first number of a new shil-
ling magazine, and we must say its promise is
excellent. The contributions of Mr. R. Brough, Mr.
B►idgeman, and Mr. Yates, are capital, especially
" The Story from Boccacio," by the first-mentioned
gentleman. The artich on " Parisian Entertain
ments" is not quite so much to our taste; and why
Mr. Sala should think it necessary to drag in the
unfortunate Plato as a sort of man likely to take a
pleasure in " going about " at nights, we really can •
not comprehend. This conception of his character
is decidedly original, and if Mr. Sala would only
work it out through the medium of the philoso-
pher's writings, with which he is doubtless well ac-
quainted, be would lay the classic world under a
great obligation. Of the " Noctes," we can only say
we are sorry for their own sakes that these young
men should have been the first to don the dead
lion's skin.

The first number of a new " monthly " called the
Idler contains the opening chapters of a novel by
Mr. Hannay, a pa per by Mr. Shirley Brooks on
"Ghosts by Advertisement," apropos of a most sin-
gular announcement in a county journal, and the
commencement of a smart tale, " Madly in Love," by
Mr. E. F. Blanchard. The expectation of contri-
butions from such writers as these three gentlemen
may, perhaps, for a time promote the circulation of
this periodical; but unless the extremely lofty pre-
tensions of the prospectus and of some of the
staff be more satisfactorily sustained than they
are in the present number, we cannot say that
we expect any very great success for the under-
taking. The prevailing tone of the articles is