The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-02 00:00:00

THE MAOAZINES.

Blackwood.—The first article is on " The
Length of Human Life," from which it app-,ars
Buffon arrives at the satisfactory conclusion that
man ought to live 90 or 100 years. This idea is
founded on the proportion the lives of animals bear
to the length of time they take in growing. The
duration of life is generally five times longer than
the growth, according to which ratio the natural
life of a man is fixed at about a hundred years. To
attain this result, however, it is necessary to follow
the laws of nature, and to adhere to some of the
great principles of health. The continuation of
" Zaidee " relates the failure of the unfortunate
little heroine in her part of nursery governess to
the unruly tribe of juvenile Disbrowes. If the
younger members of the family resemble their
elder sisters, it is not to be wondered that they are
disagreeable and unmanageable ; and we cannot
admire the taste of Mr. Edward Lancaster in
selecting the bustling Charlotte for his wife. Mrs.
Disbrowo herself, with her really kind heart under
all her model management, is the most attrac-
tive of the family. At the conclusion of this
instalment, . a new home and new frier,ds are
offered to Zaitlee, whom we shall no doubt meet
again in another country with other companions.
A criticism on the "Poetry of the War, reviewed
before Sebastopol," contains notices of Alnia, and
other poems by R. C. Trench, and Sonnets on the
War. The critic asserts he has read the poems
" with the accompaniment of the frequent guns,"
and therefore cannot review them in other than a
kindly spirit. He renders full justice to the merits
of all the authors, though some isolated expressions
naturally excite his ridicule, especially the epithet
of " cold demons," which he declares to upset all
one's most cherished ideas on the subject. We
think the suspicions he expresses as to the public
estimation of military merit to be unfounded, and
scarcely fair, as, although we have a Peace Society,
we have never withheld our tribute of admiration
from the distinguished soldiers of ancient or modern
times. " The Campaigns of a French Hussar" is
founded on the memoirs of Colonel Combe, who
was engaged in the campaigns of 1812, 1813, and
1814-15, aFrench work lately published. At the pre-
sent time it is curious to read such narratives and
compare them with recent events. A criticism on
" Modern Novelists, Great and Small," ridicules
and deprecates the system of quarrelling which has
recently crept into works of fiction. Certainly the
instances given are numerous—" Jane Eyre,"
"North and South," "Grace Lee," " Agatha's
Husband," &c. The critic asks, "Do you think
that young lady is an angelic being, young gentle-
man ? Do you compare her to roses and lilies, and
stars and sunbeams in your deluded imagination ?
Unhappy youth ! She is not an angel. She
is a fair gladiator." In despair he exclaims—
" Shall all our love stories be squabbles after
this? Shall we have nothing but encoun-
ters of arms between the knight and the
lady—bitter personal altercations and mutual defi-
ance ? It is a doleful prospect." Notes on Canada
and the North-West States of America contains
some interesting details of transatlantic life. A
criticism on the Royal Scottish Academy takes a
brief review of the progress of Northern Art. It
is remarked that to those who remember what it
was thirty years ago, the present exhibition of the
Academy must seem especially wonderful. A con-
versation on " The Cold Shade," and the continu-
ation of " The Story of the Campaign," conclude
the number.

Lublin University.—" The Dramatic Writers of
Ireland" has several names in its list this month ;
the first mentioned is that of William O'Brien,
who, it is remarked, is a solitary instance of an
actor who made his fortune by marriage. His
social elevation was, however, the ruin of his
histrionic prospects, for the noble family to which
he allied himself procured him a foreign appoint-
ment in lieu of his profession at home. Simons
does not rank very high as a dramatist, having
only written a short comedy and a farce, but he is
mentioned here on account of his peculiarities.
"In imitation he was strong as a Hercules, a per-
fect giant, superior to Caulfield, Foote, Wilkin-
son, or even the late Charles Matthews." He
played Jane Shore as Mrs. Siddons, and Alicia
as Mrs. Crawford, and a person whose eyes
were shut might have thought that the two
great actresses were in the place. O'Keefe
was unfortunately blind nearly all his life, but that
did not prevent his being one of the most prolific
writers ; ho gave a list of sixty-eight all his own,
and was not sure that this number comprised all.
" Scottish Cavaliers and Jacobite Chieftains" is
very interesting. " We will leave," it is exclaimed
at the commencement, " the cold patriotism of the
Dalymples, and the calm wisdom of President
Forbes to cast back a glance on Scottish worthies
of less prudence and more spirit, Montrose, Dun-
dee, and Lochiel. Would we had such men by
Sir Colin Campbell's side wherever he may be
above ground this day with his bonnetted warriors.'
Some verses of the admirable poem in which
Aytoun describes the last moments of Montrose
are quoted here, including that glorious verse—

" He is coming, lie is comin2.,
Like a bridegroom from his room,
Came the hero fr,,m his prison,
To the scaffold and the doom.
There was glory iu his forehead,
There was lustre in his eye, •
And he never walked to battle
More proudly than to die."
It is a curious fact that is related of the devoted
Flora Macdonald, that the shrciud which she was •
buried in was made of the sheets which Lady Kings-
burgh had lent the Prince when ho took refuge
in her house. This shroud Flora Macdonald kept
by her from the days of her heroic youth till she
died, at the age of seventy. She sleeps in the
churchyard of Kilmure, her grave unmarked, but,
as it is truly said here, her memory lives in the
traditions of her country, and her name is hallowed
by all who reverence heroism. " Hans Christian
Andersen ; his Life and Writings," forms the sub-
ject of a very interesting article. The Danish
poet, novelist, and traveller, is well worthy of at-
tention, as being one of those who has not attained
his eminence by sudden flights of fortuitous circum-
stance, or friendly assistance: He had to toil upwards
alone and unaided. His most striking comp.si-
tion, the " Improvisatore," was composed in Italy.
" I am a poet" was his exulting exclamation, as ho
stood ou the brink of Vesuvius, and well does he
prove the truth of his boast. It is said that his
life is a " romance of reality." " Onward up the
hill" was the secret cry of his heart, and now great
men and princes, yea, kings and queens, greet him
kindly and take him by the hand, and tell him
how they admire his works and his heroic victory
in the great battle of life—and so the crosses and
stars of four orders of knighthood glitter on
his breast, and he is .the friend and companion
of the great and noble, and the cherished author of
innumerable works in both hemispheres—be, the
son of the poor Odenshee shoemaker." " The
War Budget" suggests some remarks of a dis-
paraging nature, which is only what might be ex-
peded from such a failure. "Recollecting," it is
said, " the able and brilliant men who have held
the office, it is painful to consider how incompetent
the present Chancellor is. The only consolation
(the writer goes on to say) is in the fact of the
people of England being dissatisfied with the affair,
and, consequently, •it is in the highest degree im-
probable that we shall ever again be called upon to
review another budget of Sir Cornewall Lewis."
" Ninette Pompon" is the name of a tale which is
given in this number; it describes French peasant
life in the era of the Revolution, and is
well told. The plot of the story turns
on the old idea which is immortalised in.
the legend of Roland, who fell at Roncesvalles,
and which is ever and anon reappea.ring in fiction
in all ages and countries. The lover is supposed
to die in battle, the object of his affections is
informed, and hence mistakes and miseries arise.
In the instance before us Ninette was to blame
for the imprudent step she took ; she affords an-
other proof of the folly of concealment and subter-
fuge. On the other hand, Hubert Dessert is an
example to hasty persons, who will prejudge and
presuppose, and rush madly. on, following the bent
of their own fancies, instead of seeking information
calmly and deliberately. "De Re Pootica" con-
tains some well-expressed thoughts, and some good
ideas on the subject of which it treats ; but one
point is strange in the remarks made, where Word-
sworth is placed above Shelley, and the latter's
beautiful Ode to the Skylark declared inferior to
the former's lines on the same subject, which,
though certainly good, and possessed of merit,
immortality.
d ;
Poetry,
tlwoialerejtgrbiu.iymoes
are immeasurably surpassed, both in fire
of genius and beauty of language, •by
Shelley's composition. Some valuable advice is
given to the writers after the remarks have been
aoarigtsyeevoa,
nfe
plrtfeoot
dyeoe.tfv.
ar oyelslifnriiet ntnshmaioaltvai:ysel.
made to the readers :—" Poetry is the expression
historian and a
of the want of something better than this world
can give. God has giveui us no want which has not
its
i)
n)
per
prophet—the historian of a glory that is passed, the
y
ps 1 100oetIts:lc:Ia, prophettvaeosltfv( otghe
buto c:
spetonhinoa:abet shallvlree,
ex-
alted subject, and in a spirit kindred to the great-
ness of the cause it advocates, and appreciating the
excellenoe of the art it upholds, the writer wisely
concludes for the present his reflections, which are
inspired by love and admiration for the glorious