The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-12 00:00:00

MAGAZINES, 8:c —(CONTINUED.)
FRASER.
Fraser commences the new year with the first in-
stalment of a new novel from the pen of the Rev. C.
Kingsley, the author of " Alton Locke." This Rev.
Gentleman is a mighty stickler for sacerdotal supre-
macy, a great hater of cities, a despiser of learning
and refinement, rather Proudhonish in his notions
about property, and the propounder of a scheme de-
nominated Christian Socialism, the object of which
seems to be to eventually destroy all the towns, and
turn every country. parish into a slave plantation, of
which the parson is to be the benevolent and philan-
thropic negro driver. His new novel, " patia ; or,
New Foes with an Old Face," has been evidently
undertaken as a means of propagating his peculiar
notions on the subject of social reform. The scene is
laid in Alexandria, at the time that Cyril was bishop,
and by his fierce appeals to the sufferings of an igno-
rant populace endeavouring to hound them on to the
destruction of all learning, in order to reduce every-
thing to that one dead level of ignorance which is the
only sure foundation of that unreasoning obedience
without which a sacerdotal despotism cannot be estab-
lished. Thus does Cyril denounce the lecture-rooms
of philosophy :--
"But never, while these lecture-rooms last—these
Egyptians chambers of imagery—these theatres of Sa-
tan, where the devil transforms himself into an angel of
light, and apes Christian virtue, and bedizens his minis-
ters like ministers of righteousness—as long as that
lecture-room stands, and the great and the powerful
flock to it, to learn excuses for their cwa tyrannies and
atheisrns, co long will the kingdom of God be trampled
under foot in Alexandria; so long will the princes cf
this world, with their gladiators, and parasites, and
money-lenders, be masters here, and not the bishops atd
priests of the living God."
This is a very eloquent passage, but not more eloquent
than many other passages to a similar effect to he
found scattered up and down Mr. Kin sle 's sermons
and his other works. llypatia h. gerselfis aYdelightlul
character; high-minded, educated, learned in all the
learning of the Platonists, yet most modest, most
gentle, most virtuous, and far- seeing, she is the"repre-
sentative of the refined philosophy and learning of her
time; and it is against this wise, and good, and high-
souled maiden that Cyril breathes forth the fierce de-
nunciations we have quoted. In the second chapter
we have a description of the Laura, an establishment
of monks in the desert of Thebais, and a sort of pat-
tern Phalanstery, to make use of a Fourierism, of
Christian Socialism or Communism. The garden,
we are told, was the common property, and therefore
the common care and joy of all; for the common
good each man had toiled up the glen, bringing mud
for manure from the Nile ; for the common good each
man had swept the ledges clear of sand, and sown the
harvest ; and to buy clothes, books, and chapel furni-
ture, for the common good, each man worked at
basket making, " his mind full of high and heavenly
thoughts," &c. Now this is really quite a de-
lightful picture, a heaven upon earth ; and did it
stand alone might make all mankind in love with
Christian Socialism ; but as we proceed we discover
that the common good is not of itself a sufficient
bond to keep these good people together—to do that
requires the occasional aid of a sturdy cudgel, duly
applied by the head priest. Let those who are inclined
to admire the view of Christian Socialists labouring in
common for the common good read the following
passage :
" Desperately and breathlessly did Philammon drive
this speech oat of his inmost heart; and then waited,
expecting the good abbot to strike him on the spot. If
he had, the young man would have submitted patiently;
so would any man, however venerable, in that monastery.
• • . Why not?"
T hat the wielder of the sacerdotal cudgel should ask
why not is not surprising, but surely the man over whom
the cudgel is uplifted has an equal right to ask why ?
a question to answer which would somewhat puzzle
the cudgeller. The language of these two chapters is
eloquent, earnest, and not unfrequently poetical, and
the treatment is highly dramatic ; in fact, the lan-
guage and treatment is as good as the philosophy is
bad. The " Autobiography of Captain Digby Grand"
is continued, and " The Age of Veneer" is brought to
a conclusion. The third chapter of the " Hungarian
War" brings the history down to the period of the
advance of Windischgratz, when Kossuth by his
eloquence "realised the poet's idea of an impossi-
bility, and stamped soldiers out of the soil." We
commend the following passage on the death of the
Count Lamberg to the attentive perusal of those who
throw away so much virtuous indignation on red
Republicans, whilst they can see no faults in red
Emperors :
" There can bo no doubt that the death of Count
Lamberg at Pesth, as well as the assassination of the
Prince Lichnowsky and Major Auerswald at Frankfort,
are chargeable on the absurd interpretation of the doc-
trine of popular sovereignty, ,which in 1848 was rife
throughout the countries of the continent. The advo-
cates and parasites of popular power had so long and so
loudly proclaimed that the will of the sovereign people
was a sacred law, and that the people's will was the
voice of God, which must be right, that every part and
fraction of the people claimed the sanctity of inspira-
tion for its whims, passions, and prejudices. But the
burden of the guilt does not lie only on the agitaters of
that fatal period: no! part of it falls on those who, by
precept and example, accustomed the continental nations
to consider sovereign power, no matter with whom it
rested, entitled to defy all laws, human and divine, and
to believe that the strong hand must do light, whatever
it may do. Those who accuse Mr. Kossuth of directing
the weapon which struck down Count Lamberg, ought
not to spare Francis 11., who forged it."
These are words of truth, of Risdoin, and of justice,
and should be pondered well by those who prate
about the divine right of monarchs and the blessings
of a strong government. The number concludes
with a weak and senile scolding of Louis Napoleon,
signed A. V. Kirwan. The writer, who is a personal
acquaintance of the reactionary leaders (both Legi-
timatist and Orleanist) in the Assembly, is very
angry because his friends have been out-manoeuvred.
%Ve cannot share in his indignation ; they endeavoured
to make a tool of Louis _Napoleon, whilst he has
cleverly turned the tables on them. But for them
he never would have been elected President, and the
only reply to be given to their present complaint is—
Vous l'avez voulu, Georges Dandin, you: l'avez voulu.

SHARPE'S LONDON MAGAZINE.
This number contains a biographical sketch of
Andrew Marvell, and the first part of an amusing
tale by Mrs. S. C. Hall, entitled " Nelly Nowlan's
Experience in Service, and other Matters ;" and a
highly interesting article by Mrs. Traill, entitled
" Female Trials in the Bush." It describei the great
difficulties met with by young women of refined
education and habits, when unprepared for the true
state of affairs in the less civilized part of the country.
The magazine is embellished with two engravings of
the game of tric-trac, and a mountain torrent.