The Express.
London, England, 1858-12-25 00:00:00

(Stamped Id. Additiamel.) [TWOPENCE.

"Ob pray, pray, duet take me bw:k again I' and Ms
bay ; " Oh. goad de, I have bola brava thare, and redly
sad.
wod Owl win kW me now if I go hack."
- heel thse le make Ma km thy Lain," mid
the ress, Medea lde kame's heed; ifs Dr. Tonle as rams
you Idle dam, I nckaa."
"Ti., bat I don't mesa him," wad Robert despakkeY.
" See hen, way fingers an all eat shout with pealonivar by
the boys, sad leak where the hot halfpennies wars pat. I
cannot does my hand.'
• Pseindwar I Hot hidtpawaiss l Good God ! Why, I
mem hued of sack thimp—wwww. Theo shan't go hack—
saw has. HI, her ; hi, Dobbin; so you Hinton road spin.
Mat Irlipariss Wail, lam d—d Why If you'd a boa
ray ma Pd wf the villain in two with my whip, ea slue so a
lived."

" haw is dead," rid Robert eorrowfuDy.
" Pose by I poor boy rid the carrier ; end, u his large
Lad WNW tb ohild'e heed twiderly, the teem whieh bed
boa Iters dew* solute ever mince when he lied stood
losears as pea Wee of the gnuninar school, end thought of
haft% streamed down in plenty, and relieved hie bereft
heart .

" Poor boy Well, lam d—d ! Poor boy I" repeated
the oarrler, spin and again, and it wee long before he could
express hinmelf more fully. " Why, I remember farmer
Bolt's boy being sadly banged at liinaeon school for his
laming, and snob a row as way to be sore, oh Lord! Bat,
u foe boys putting hoe —, eh, what's that years cling,
my lad r
" Can Igoto If inston school? I'm got a sovereign,"
asked Robert timidly.
Well, I ain't say—we'll me. I'U take you to Mr.
Phmktes ; he knows about them things," mid the corner
" Come, this'l gee cold. my led ; wisp
maid tithe asek yoner. Ind ne to elddlii"
7od bkee yes. sir ; good night," maid the retold boy.
"Ond bias desk lad," inns& ths other heartily: then (to
himself), " and d—sc eheas Sunbury okapi Hot half-
pennies ! Penknives l"—Pp. 84-86.

We would fain give the lively estimate of the good
and evil influences of Eton, under the form of a de-
scription of Mineton, but we have not room for it:
nor for a view of the work got through at Dimble-
don, under Mesas. Hurry and ellialral ; nor tor the
Military College of Sandwich, where pain and fever
in the infirmary are a weloome change from ordi-
nary cadet life to not a few of the inmates. When
the Foster-Brothers get to " Camford" the scene
brightens, though it has its own storms and shadows.
To University men of a very few years ago there
will be little mystery in regard to the personality of
the Revs. Swett Smyler, Ruff Diamant, and Incense
Flexion, Mr. Swsyaive, and Mr. Straitlace, and the
club of " the Disciples," of which we are told that
"the origin of sin, the squaring of the circle, the
meaning of a university sermon, would, it proposed
as problems, have been explained most satisfactorily
(to the members) at a single sitting of this
celebrated society for the propagation of belief in
themselves." Then there is the opposition " Mutton-
chop Club," more exclusive, if possible, being corn-
weed of the wealthy and high-born, who can never
be in need of the intellectualism which is the boast
of "the Disciples:" and there are oratorical clubs,
and a Bhakspere club, and " the Rummy Cockatoos,'
besides all the associations for out-door sports. The
Corintkenm, popularly called the Nil Admirari, ap-
pears in its place ; and so do the dons of St. Boniface,
of whose minds, hearts, manners, and conversation
our author speaks with real enthusiasm, while well
able, and wittily disposed, to amuse as with hints of
the foibles of some of them. He has a vehement
objection to the obtrusion upon such men of raw
lade, who dine with them in virtue of the rank and
silver spoons which they bring to the board.
" Honest dear St. Boniface " is " incontestably snob-
bish," he declares. "But," says Boniface of these
raw lads :

" They will not effect say change in my true era," say
you, "for I have most admirably educated them."
"Perhaps not, you deer old creature; but neither will
your sons effect any change in them. Don't let them later
themselves to any suck absurd extent. Lord Yornaway,
notwithstanding that be sat next to your Women, was almost
bored to death (fur ha told us so) by the stupendous came-
satk ur m of that oar
man. t
of years, the Roe. Henry AdotTphiebroulolantsg==
Hollis also made one of the greatest mistakes poosible. Ma
was communicating to or of your lawful eons (Whitlow.)
the last good thing of his frilled Ligion'e—for to that yor-ig
rodeman Hollis warn everlastingly playing Boswell—(ths
which Mr. W tailors was fully capable of appredatleg,
St. 8., insomuch as he was preent of the Barmy Cock-
atoos himself, at a Wee period, too, than we should gatelike
to dicks* to you r W father)—and this we. ft."

"Do you know," whispered the
the real test of onesisratlon P'
" No," replied Whelan), his eyes twinkling furtively, but
otherwise engaged exclusively upon his plum padding (with
that particular sauce of yaws, et. 8., which we love so well).
" Nay, how should I V'
" It le bug bora with a caul," replied the young mu la
sestacy.
" What was that, Kr. RoDL ?" observed the Rey. Bwete
&Dyke, woes the table, " I did mot quite °Mak it."
Lrd CourtvWl dared not open his mouth before
Toddy,
,tlie man who her discovered that we are not warmed
by the sea at all, as has been so long and generally
bat ;by • Azad tor, which will not come into the =lit
nage of the unlearned vulgar for a babas sad a half of
years. And what is the good of Toddy talking to blot?
MeV.sits lookiog at the sub-warden as if feicinated,
;lest of the Ancient Marbar, la those glittering
eye., weadeteg whetter then wss
iag which be dd
sot k w, aaL tlbktag hew straags it meat eases to me to
feel so clever. Don't tidak it would be • great deal
mots measles he dem shares to a pert oompsay,
Iledheef - ea have. sandy, got enough spoons
by ale Yore. sea meg mesh suss those silver implements
•1111, of Which, by the bye, mak of them young traatleassa
b seld to have in his mein when born—from fellow-com-
munes any more.—Pp. 213-295.
It will be said, and with some truth, that this
book conveys a suspicion of an unfortunate expe-
rience of school, if not of college; and that nobody
will believe that it represents the real case, becalms
our publio-sehool men are of a higher order than
such a system could form. Allowing this to be pro-
bable, and making every deduction for painful recol-
lections, and the bias which they give, it remains for
parents to consider whether they can be satisfied to
commit their young children to such chimes as we
find exhibited here. Every reader of tin volume
will believe every story in it. The counter-
action must come, not by denying the stale-
meats, but by bringing up an overbalimes at good
on the other ride. It is for parents to see whether
this can be done, and to decide for themselves and
their sons whether, if it be done, an atmosphere so
strangely composed of the vital and the deadly, is
one in which the immature ought to be sent to live.
Whether the noxious elements are necessary is
question for society to take up and solve.
As for the undisclosed author of this book, we
hope we shall meet him again. We would not say
what we wish in regard to his line, if there was tie
slightest reeemblance between his style d aseleeit
expression and Mr. Thackeray'o ; but, as we IMAM
none whatever, we will say that the satiric 110.11
seems to be his destination. There is heart, or ems-
tion, enough in him for the sentimental ; but he has
too much sense and world•knowledge for that line.
The early chapters of this work manifest a pathos
se direct and real (as opposed to try eying;
thetic) as the humour is vital and pressible.
faults which impair the operation of this pomp
are curable, by pains and patience. Ms ember
must lay a better foundation, and proportion his
structure better. It is an abuse of his gifts to amuse
his readers and himself with a series of capital'
sketches, when be has in him capacities for ea
organised work of notice, whether novel or tragedy.

" what

FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE STOCKTON AND DAR:
LTNOTON RAILW•T.—On Weclasalsy sight, so th.=Mao
which talus tag lam train from Darltaccas to Balm •••
Marvin, Ow me, fa the aeophoy d Wears. Daiatraw mot
V who wen gaa:. Ire alma the aliMi=
goal tails T roa over and the sight imam
sad dark, that leather the memo= or weber twastawine
of maythlag Wag fa the way, rod it woo eel/ by were s-
immer la the resoles that weed the yseelme aa the
Inaba to bay, • auspidea Ibs4 ell wee ma P. Thy,
casetraatly, stepped as easirmiab=land
ma—use of them la a very awl Ihe
other aefitiored teat be wee ase ogallaila NMI& Them
L • public path by the dds d the valhare, ; olio as Ike
INCikillit moaned la • wake bebeeta Beeenami Chimp
Reek tare ma err ae drabs beilbeilbe era washer mese-
ftwai tbe weather by maims MB ib• lalwaY. Aro=
set whit seek ea aseepeessi iebbetase.—/C
Canaaele.
CILTNTAL PALACE. ONI SHILLING DAT.
FZIDAT, Dam 14.—a4raiatioas Oa MOW, 402 ; 41450
by mama tisk" 490 ; Mel, 903.

FINE ARTS.
PICTURePROVERBS.

We suppose the ailish modesty-Of Mr. Charles
H. Bennett revolted from the Gensessegui compound
which we have placed by way of title at the heed ci this no-
tice; and that, In calling his book of dolga. " Proverb,
with Pictures," he studiously subordinated the plobarial
work.soahip to the proverbial imbalance. Kr. Beamott is
as artist who is rapidly gaining repute for a Ilona deems*
caricaturing, dtetiagotehas by much originality ; and if the
volume now before us (" Proverbs with Pictures"—London
1869, Chapman ar.d Hall) is ler original, as we shall by and
by have 000118i0D to indicate, than some of its predications
from the ems hand, we have yet abundant room for the be-
lief that Mr. Bennett's faculty of production Is not liable to
ran Itself out, and to have him no resouros but that of tedious
repetitions.

When we ham said that Mr. Bennett is naturally original
in what he does, it will be required of us that we givehis work
the tribute of end analy els. The remit of ea endeavour to
arrive at tome acquaintance with Mr. Bennett's rattier is
that we discern in hint, as a caricaturist, the minimum of
" hack= prepense," but a peculiar dry humour, a very
strong satirioal tendency, and a playful fancy which invests
ell his highest efforts with true poetical pace. Whin Mr.
Bennett takes paint ho can draw very penny sad delicately,
U not well. Same et his tea= tones ham • befog, linger.
beg tomb, that keeps the eye entranced in the mere way that
the °amountl work appears to have kept the artist's hand
hovering over microsoopic beauties. But there is nothing
which Mr. Bennett does without this evil/nos of *w-
inking that we as honestly praise. Re ought never to be
In • hurry; never to be quick in shaping ideas, however
quickly they may occur to him in the rough. He has no
temptation, in the shape of a fatal facility, to sketch with an
eye to rapid and dashing effect. Indeed, with regard to that
peados which we understand properly by the term
" sketelting," he appears to be totally in the dark. The
only temptation, therefore, which there as be for him to
work in haste is one for which we would
prefer to hold responsible his admirers rather
than himself. His figure of " Harlequin Time,"
on the cover and title-page of this book, with the old
grave heed on the young lithesome figure, and the old grave
beard fluttering in snowy flakes over the parti-coloured
jacket, and the hour-glees dangling idly by • silken string,
is redly exquisite, both in conception and finish. The
motto from Shakopee. which Mr. Bennett has appended to
this admirable design, " l'atch grief with proverbs," le in the
happiest spirit of adaptable quotation. Mr. fienaat'e fault
of manner, next to hie occasional alovenlinees, consists la the
inordinate disproportion of size among the various parts of a
dedgn. Relative objects are introduced with no regard
whatever to their relative dimensions. The row of boots, for
Malmo, which Mr. Bennett, with strange poverty of pen-
ning, gist by way of illustration to the prevent, " • fair
booty makes many a thief," includes no pair that is net at
the least three times too large for the bare feet of the bur-
gin' who is contemplating that array of neat's leather. And
what boots I A child, with no instruction, would have
drawn something nearer • resemblance to the extremities of
civilised humanity.
We have now given some faint description of Mr. Bennett's
style, exemplified by specimens from his latest work. That
he has Innate power, which has been imperfectly and in some
dbeclions quits wrongly developed, will be inferred by most
readers of oar ramekin. Inequality of work is the ootomonest
sign d deficient knowledge and unregulated talents. With
wall-di acted study Mr. Bennett would have been by this
time a leading man In hie walk of art. The book twine us
contains peat wealth of crude ability, numerous excellences
of thought and pictorial design, and not • little that is
utterly worthless. We are afraid that Mr. Bennett la hying
to achieve too much—that is, of course, speaking quantita-
tively. However, let us thank him for the delight that his
good things in this volume have given us. Among those
good things we may mention, as perhaps the very best, en
unpretending design to the proverb, " If the cep fits, wear
it." Here is every conceivable kind of hod-gear—coronet,
mitre, cocked hat of generalissimo, red-bonnet of sans-culotte,
all twisted and fashioned off somehow into fool,' caps. The
satire is true and instantly striking in its effect. Very
good examples of Mr. Bennett's real strength of chancier-
laic drawing are, "Birds of a teethe: flock together," "The
grapes are sour," and " After the blossom comes the fruit."
The first of the:e apophthegms Is represented by two vultures
perched at the opposite ends of a gigantic and wall-filled
purse. lo " The grapes are sour," =have our old Xsopiazi
friend, the fox, Intently regarding • bench of wooden grapes,
dangling as a sign from • very inviting tavern ; while from
master Heynaxd's neck depends a teetotal medal. The last-
named picture is in two divisions; one containing an elderly
bacchanal, with nose like • drooping carnation ; the other a
eminterpart of the mine linen= in the sot of begging. It
may be remarked that three subjects are great lawarine
with Mr. Bennett. They are them —Lova, Angling, end
Money. Of the first we have an agreeable variety at Mew-
trationa ; the simples 4 quaintest, and prettiest of deem en
being " Love laughs at Locksmiths," which old "ion=
is fancifully embodied in • heart-shsped padlock, the hey
being formed half like a key and half like an arrow.
It is a disagreeable duty, but it la • duty, for the arida to
point out that Mr. Bennett has committed the inexcusable
fault, foe • man of genius, of sheer plagiarism. At least
one of the angling loose already alluded to will remind
many people of Granville. The group of boys Tilling
• sugar mak is, even to the very ineaription, taken
from Hood's " Whims and Oddities." Another and still more
filigreed case is that of the dosign attached—not very appo-
sitely—to the proverb, "Necessity is the mother of Inven-
tion." It npresente a wooden leg caught in a mantrap,
Nadi left there by the unlucky ripple. The original sketch
la to be footed, with only the difference of for better drawing
then Mr. Bennett's, in • collection which is well known in
literary and artistic circles. We allude to the delightfully
amusing monp-book of Mr. Edward Draper, as gamine
a humour= se ever found expreffidon for his mirth by peace
or pea

If, fn spite of the blemishes sad graver errors which we
have been compelled to mottos la Mr. Beenett's volume of
Atha( Proverbs, the work will appear from our deteriptive
amount to be worth the purciaming, we shall feel that we
have not misled our readers. One fact will speak the book's
beet praise. We have not been able to say half ea much of
the contents as we bad wished ea say ; end the matter we
have left *rag le reptemated by at Item two columns el
frialbtar7 t7PD.