The Press.
London, England, 1856-05-17 00:00:00

NEW NOVELS.

1. John Halifax, Gentleman. By the Author of
" The Head of the Family." London : Hurst

and Blackett.
2. Leonora. By the Hon. Mrs. Maberly. Three

Vols. London : Smith and Elder.
1. " John Halifax " is one of that class of novels in
which attention is arrested by the dramatic skill of the
writer, and the natural and forcible delineation of
character, rather than by any artful complexity of
plot. It is a plain story of every-day life, in which
the hero, by the early exercise of industry and self-
denial, instead of being shipwrecked, arrives safe at
the haven of wealth and happiness. It contains a
picture of married life, both attractive and purifying
—intended to show that marriage is an institution by
which humanity attains the highest point of develop-
ment of which it is capable—that it concentrates all
the best elements of two natures into one—and per-
petuates the passion of love in its highest and most
Christian form. The influence of parents upon
children, and the subject of family government,
form, also, prominent features in the narrative ;
while by the outbreak of passion in the second son,
and his violent quarrel with his elder brother, we are
taught the wholesome lesson that at a certain
period of life men, however good, must be expected
to exhibit the results of ripening passions. Indeed,
the whole episode of the governess, Louise d'Argent,
is instructive in the highest degree. The mild
parental exhortations of the father and mother, never
once losing sight of the fact that their child is now
a grown man, and ultimately, with rare wisdom,

SATURDAY,

yielding their ownprejudices to his inclinations, are
a model for imitation in life and for study to future
novelists. The characters in "John Halifax" are
distinct and well chiselled, and if not always true to
nature are still true to themselves—the colours do
not run into one another. Old Abel Fletcher, the
Quaker, and his son Phineas, and John Halifax and
his wife, are the figures which occupy the foreground,
and they are painted with consummate skill. The
style of the book is unaffected and graceful, and it
may be taken as one of the best specimens of that
class of fiction known as " the romance of common

2. We were never more sensible how much the
merit of a fiction depends upon its choice of a sub-
ject than in reading this tale by Mrs. Maberly. It
is equally as well written as her previous novels : the
action of the story is skilfully carried forward;
and the sketches of society are marked with
an air of entire truth. But the subject is unpleasing ;
and that it is instructive, or meant to be so, does not
at all counterbalance this defect. The time has
gone by—if it ever existed—when people were to be
made good by lugubrious fictions. Leonora is a beauti-
ful and accomplished girl, cursed with a vicious nature;
and hence, from a first error, condemned to sink con-
tinually lower in degradation, and to bear increasing
punishment and shame, till she sinks beneath the
burden. Mrs. Maberly tells us that " Leonora "is
rather a biography than a romance. We can believe
it. But is it necessary to publish biographies of
criminals in three volumes? Every fiction should,
in our opinion, be rather of an elevating than de-
pressing character; and we may be quite sure there
must be something wrong in that practice of an art
which, primarily intended to afford pleasure, and to re.
fine moral feeling,occasions only pain and regret. Ugly
things will force themselves on our view in red life,
without the necessity of our seeking them for
amusement.

Travels in the Sandwich and Society Islands. By S.
S. Hill, Esq. London : Chapman and Hall.
Ma. HILL, who has published an intelligent account
of his travels in Siberia, left Kamschatka in the
autumn of 1848 for the Sandwich Islan(ls, and spent
some months in exploring them. His opinion of the
progress of the natives in civilisation is on the whole
favorable. The government is orderly, and the
Christian faith is making progress. The recognition
by the maritime powers of the independence of this
group of islands is in their favour. The author was
present at a reception given by the King to some
Russian officers, and was pleased with the "modest
" semblance of a European court." To the author
the King said :
On a small scale i am endeavouring to do, with the
blessing of God, what Peter the Great of Russia did on a
large scale. The success I have met with encourages me
to go on, and I count upon the sympathy and good-will of
all friendly nations.

From Otaheite, Mr. Hill bore away a less favorable
impression. He thinks French rule unfavorable to
the prosperity of the island, and he strongly recom-
mends the recognition of its independence by all
maritime powers. The only favorable circumstance
he notices is that the population, after having been
reduced from 200,000, the supposed number when
Cook first discovered it, to 5,000 in 1817, is now—the
fatal effects of contact with European life having in
degree subsided—about 20,000, with every probability

of further increase. Mr. descriiiiOns of the
natural features of these oceanic groups are good,
hut we could have wished more minute particulars
of the present life of the people.

Essays, Biographical and Critical, chiefly on
English Poets. By D. Masson, A.M. Cambridge:
Macmillan.

To indicate the character of these Essays, it may be
mentioned that most of them have appeared in
Reviews. The essay on Chatterton is an exception ;
and for this reason perhaps it is the best of the
series. The author, not being confined to space, has
been able to give a close and critical biography of the
poet. It would well afford to stand alone as the
fairest and most searching " Life of Chatterton " ex-
tant. The other essays appear to us more remark-
able for elegant diction and critical sentiment than
for novel views and deep thought. We cannot think
that the notion of Shakespeare's character, leaning to
sentimentalism, is correct. His mind was better
balanced than Mr. Masson supposes it to have been.
It must have had a centre of gravity not to be easily
shaken by his own conceptions. We cannot think
that after writing the speech closing the pageant
scene in The Tempest, Shakespeare " laid down his pen,
" too agitated to write more that night." Mr. Masson
does not appear to be aware that the lines which he
supposes excited Shakespeare's mind so strongly
were in all probability borrowed, as to their leading
idea at all events, from Lord Sterling's tragedy of
Darius :

II

ale

i scepters vaunt,
.. reeds soon bruised, soon broken ;
pomp our wits enchant,
' leaves behind a token.
,hose gorgeous halls,
superfluously fair,

in the air.
are given in Mr. Singer's
The repetition in Shake-
fabrick of this vision," and

pageant faded," with the
. the whole passage, lead us to
written hurriedly. The idea that
;tially a meditative, specula-
solitary hours, an abject and
we imagine, find few sup-

1e on Chatterton, we think

, Devils of Luther, Milton, and
original. We do not, however,
anything " amazing " in the
• as to the " direct agency of
We rather think that such
fixed in the mind of every
receive continual confirma-
daily experience.

Itlement, its Rise, Progress, and
• Alexander ROES. London :

original. It gives—in part
observation on the spot—a
Red River Settlement, from
Selkirk in 1812 sent the first
to that distant region, down
le exceptional circumstances
_ isolated from the rest of the
progress and present state with
is about equally divided
der, the thermometer rising
and in the latter falling
'et the climate is healthy,
everything attains its full
et the last census in 1849
still poor from the want of
ibtful whether it could exist
it receives-2,0001. yearly
ngland, 1,0001. from the

, and other sources of revenue.
settlement would appear to be an
Agricultural labourers receive
12s. per week, with their
sleep in." Provisions are
. per lb. ; butter, 7d. ; eggs,
3s. 6d., and barley 2s. per
Jtages of its remote position
useful in connection with the
udson's Bay Company. The
Red River Settlement, June
we hope will do much to
, though the narrative has
worth to need indulgence.
'lad harder trials to sustain.
Indians tinge the labours of
Lance, while the piety of the
throws rays of light on their
struggle. It is satisfactory to

on a small scale, no settlement
can be pronounced so happy,
ible as those in Red River.

.nglish Nurses. By a Lady
ols. London : Hurst and

. full, and as we think fair,
done by the English nurses
from the commencement of
(as far as those localities
read this narrative of a
writes in a conscientious
that her• pen may have made
vents with a simplicity and
• that prepossess us in her
to credit her with perfect
following her step by step,
unaffected words all the

devoted women had to go
sufferings they had to witness and
that we comprehend their
that their spirit, high as it
when they found that their
arduous than they antici-
Mr. Herbert's original plan—
thilanthropy—broke down on
the costume arranged for
the ladies were soon corn.
the misapprehensions it
good English hearts were
ed their parts nobly, and RUC-
'lout great difficulty, in keep-
good order. The opinion
be that the employment of
hospitals must always be, as on
exceptional. When there was no

THE PRESS.

longer pressure on the regular hospital staff at
Koulali, Dr. Humphrey determined that nothing
was to be given to the patients except from the diet•
rolls :

The ladies' plans of nursing were upset, and they did
not know what to do with themselves. . . . In a few
days the ladies saw the reasonableness of Dr. Humphrey's
regulation—hospital routine had been infringed upon for
many months. The infringement began at a time of dis-
tress unknown in the annals of military hospitals; it had
been carried on beyond that period, and the time for its
discontinuance had now arrived. A regulation once made
for a military hospital should not be broken. If it is not
sufficient for the wants of the men, it should be altered ;
if it is sufficient, it should be obeyed.

Miss Nightingale, however, seems to have found use-
ful occupation at llalaklava, after the necessity for
female nurses at the Constantinople hospitals had
entirely ceased. The "Lady Volunteer" has, in
tracing her experience, produced one of those real
and authentic narratives which are calculated to
endure beyond the day for which they are imme-
diately written. Among the books of the war, from
which its history will henceforth be written, this
modest one must. occupy a place, and from its ster•
ling, and in some measure romantic, character is
well deserving a permanent place on our book-
shelves.

Travels in Persia, Georgia, and Koordistan. From
the German of Dr. Moritz Wagner. Three Vols.
London : Hurst and Blackett.
DR. WAGNER is a naturalist, and in 1843 visited the
Transcaucasian provinces of Russia, and afterwards
Persia, that he might enlarge the bounds of the
science to which he is devoted. This account of his
travels shows that he is something more than a
naturalist merely; he has a keen eye for the obser-
vation of men, manners, and countries, and has, in
addition, an agreeable and picturesque style. He
gives in these volumes an authentic account of the
present state of the Russian provinces south of the
Caucasus, and enters largely into the character of
the Circassian tribes, and the peculiar circumstances
. .

which have enabled them to withstand so long the
persevering arms of Russia. In the field, the Circas-
sians want discipline and force to stand against their
foes, but in mountain warfare the Russians com-
monly sustain the heaviest loss, and are unable to
gain any permanent advantage. According to the
author, Georgia is one of the most beautiful coun-
tries of the globe; in his ten years' wandering he
met with no region which afforded him such unmixed
delight :

At no period was I. more bereft of comforts and of
society, yet never have i felt freer, more elastic, or happy
than on these adventurous excursions, when we made pil-
grimages throughout the land, pitching our tent in the
choicest spots, and leading the lives of hunters, explorers,
and botanists.

We must allow him to describe an Imeritian land-
scape :

The country through which we passed to the west of
Kutais is surprisingly beautiful, resembling a vast English
park, with mead3ws, rushing streams, mighty groups of
timber trees, heavy with leafy honours and fruit ; it is a
fairy garden like the park of Titania embellished by the
gorgeous vegetation, sunshine, and azure skies of Colchis.
The character of Imeritian landscape is gay, lovely, and
simple without monotony. The eye is never wearied with
looking at these fresh,verdant,and variegated glades, carpeted
with flowers and plants, or of gazing up at the light-green
shrubberies of the hazel and ash trees, of the willows and
silver poplars, of the pear, cherry, apple, and apricot trees ;
whilst at other times your path carries you past the pri-
meval giants of the forest. Yet the vine presents the most
graceful ornament of these Colchian groves. This is its
original cradle; it was here that it yielded its purple grape
and fiery wine to the earliest races, and hence it spread
into all lands of Europe and Asia to strengthen and rejoice
the heart of man. The Colchian vine presents a splen•
dour, luxury, and size, exceeding the conceptions of Euro-
peans.

An admirable account is given by the author of the
city of Tiflis, which seems to have made great pro-
gress of late years. Dr. Wagner is of opinion that
from Georgia, Russia will soon spread her power over
Persia, and Central Asia, and will ultimately invade
British India. His speculations on the latter point,
however, are wild, though the increasing influence of
Russia in Asia is no doubt a fact. The volumes of
the author are of the more value from the attention
just now directed tl the Transcaucasian provinces of
Russia, of which the work supplies such an ample
and authentic account.

..* We are much obliged to the numerous corre-
spondents who have favoured us with communica-
tions on the " Text of Shakespeare." A pressure of
new books prevents us from returning to the subject
just at present. But we propose to do so shortly ;
and meanwhile our kind and ingenious correspon
dents may rely on it that their letters shall not be
.ost sight of. We venture to solicit a continuance of
their favours.

475

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.-MAY 15.

What is Truth ? J. Chapman
The Characteristics of Styles. Chapman and Hall
Gloucester Cathedral, or, the Last Days of the Tudors.
Hope and Co.
The Song of Drop o'lrater. Routledge
Gonsaga di Cappino. Longman,
Sketches and Adventures in Madeira, Portugal, and the
Andalusians of Spain. Sampson Low and
L Co.
Signs of the Times.
June. Smith and
oigrnnlEiaders
Natural Theology. Lord Brougham. Griffin and Co.
Yarns Yarra. Hope and Co
Works of Professor Wilson. Blaekwoods
Memoirs left by the Bight Hon. Sir Robert Peel, Burt., M.P.
Part I. Murray
The History of Greece, under Gillman and Venetian Douai-

MAY 17, 1856.
Let greatness of her glassy in
Not scepters, no, but reeds
And let this wordly pomp ow
All fades and scarcely teem
Those golden palaces, those
With furniture superfluoue
Those stately courts, those sl
Evanish all like vapours it
The parallel passages al
edition, now publishing.
speare, "like the baseless
" like this insubstantial
confused construction of 11
believe that it was written
Shakespeare was " essenti
" the, and, even in his sol
melancholy man," will, 1
Fir • After the article
ter; •
that on the " Three Devil
Goethe " the most origina
agree that there was ar
sincere belief of Luther as
" Satan in the world." NV
belief must be firmly fib
Christian man, and must
tion from the facts of daily
The Red River Settlemer
Present State. By Al
Smith and Elder.
Ma. Ross's volume is or
derived from personal ob
complete history of the Re
the dine when Lord Sel
party of Scotch families to
to the present time. The
of this colony—almost is
world—invest its progress
much interest. The year
between summer and wint
in the former to 100 deg.,
to 40 deg. below zero. Ye
crops are abundant, and
growth. The population
was 3,391. The colony is
export trade, and it is dout
without the capital which i
from the Church of En
Hudson's Bay Schools, ant
For labour, the settlement
advantageous place. Agri
on an average from 10s. to
food, and "a blanket to
low,—meat, 2d. or 24d.
6d. per dozen ; wheat 3s.
bushel. The disadvantage
are great, but it is usefu
operations of the Hudsor
author dates his book " Re
10, 1852," a date which we
secure for it favour here,
too much substantial wo
Seldom has any colony he
The conflicts with the It
the settlers with romance
Presbyterian character Or
gloomiest times of strugg
read now:—
\o farmers in the world, on
or colony of agriculturists, car
independent, and comfortable
Eastern Hospitals and En;
Volunteer. Two Vols
Blackett.
WHOEVER would read a
account of all that was don
at Scutari and Koulali fro
their mission to its close
are concerned), should
"Lady Volunteer." She
spirit, though it is likely th
slips; and she relates eve
succinctness of' manner
favour, and disposes us I
accuracy. It is only by
by reading in her plain,
dangers this band of de
through, all the suffering,
to bear part in alleviating,
heroism. The wonder is
was, did not fail them le
task was so much more
paced. Some articles of M:
the mere foppishness of phi
the first trial. Such was
all nurses alike, which tl
pelled to abandon from
occasioned. But the goi
there; the ladies played t
seeded, though not withou
ing their subordinates in
of the authoress seems to 1
nurses in military hospiti
this occasion, exceptions