The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-05 00:00:00

401
OCTOBER 5, 1846.

MAGAZINES-(CONTINUED
HOOD.

"Ignez de Castro" is brought to a conclusion
and, though a drama of singular inequality, is, never-
theless, a very clever performance. The author has
transported his whole soul back many centuries, and,
cwhiathracttheers intuitivewh aimil;o.:.ets,indciescreirmuninoa,tieel
se
into dull clay. There is always a Inarvellous fascina-
tion in reading any work of an historico romantic
cast, whether it be a novel, a drama, or what-not;
and that. fascination is in beholding revived to us
hearts that have years upon years before ceased
to beat, and features that have dwindled into
dust. To discern the possible causes of
some striking incident recorded in history,
to scrutinise in the cabinet some personage with
whom we are only familiar as the occupant of a
throne, the champion of a populace, the captain of an
army, or the counsellor of a Parliament, and to watch
the household movements of those hitherto only dis-
played to us in their public capacity, constitute the
principal charms of historical romance, and in a
manner elevate it above all other species of imagina-
tive composition. In selecting this style of pen-
craft, however, a writer entails upon himself a
heavy responsibility; he renders himself accountable
for all the misapprehensions of facts formed by his
reader; the memoirs of the past great and good are
committed in a measure to his care ; he may become
at pleasure the moral assassin or the apotheosist of
some illustrious name. The dead and living alike
look to him for an honest narration of occurrences,
and a candid exposition of bygone humanity.
Unless an historical romancer be armed with
the panoply of impartiality, he degenerates into
a garbling gossip ; and unless that impartiality
be again tempered by intrepidity and self-con•
fidence, the author sinks under the burden of
his self-imposed responsibility. Mr. Jones has
clad himself with this armour of impartiality, and
animated himself with this courage. In this respect
his tragedy is singularly successful. We are grati-
fied to observe that " Ignez de Castro " is about to
be republished separately. " A Word with Dr.
Johnson " is a most audacious assault upon the
judgment of the monster critic, Samuel Johnson ; and
that, too, on his monster criticism, William Shak-
spere. The impeachment, however, thus ventured
upon is one sustained by its own inherent
justice. There are no plausibilities about
the arguments employed against the great
Doctor; but simple homa-truths. Nor is this paper
a mere castigation of a blundering criticism—it is a
splendid panegyric upon the greatest poet the world
ever saw; and, according to the German enthusiasts,
the greatest poet the world ever will see ! We com-
mend those who are blessed with a curiosity in liters•
ture (we don't mean one a ts Disraeli) to peruse this
" Word with Dr. Johnson," commenced in the two
preceding numbers of hood's Magazine, and con-
cluded in the number for October. "Blanche Neville"
and "Nell Gwynne" are continued, and the plot
of each gets more and more delightfully entangled.
The residue of this periodical is dedicated to certain
unset jewels, some of which, however, turn out, on
investigation, to be mere glass and tinfoil. Never-
theless there are some excellencies among these frag-
ments, as, for example, the three " Sonnets for the
Times," addressed to the Champions of Civil and
Religious Liberty. We observe that this author has a
most lamentable facility, month after month, of mur-
dering his admirable Rural Sonnets by alterations,
which we regard as anything but improvements.
" Let well alone" is a sensible maxim.

DOUGLAS JERROLD.
We have an additional chapter of " St. Giles and
St. James" in the present number. The scene is laid
at Snipeton's house at Hampstead, where Beckey
and St. Giles have arrived as servants, and have been,
by Clarissa, introduced to the household. Crossbone
by
arrives
hwiatnhimtha,
elhoN‘r,shee,nwhhiechis
he
estoepmpped employs Tom
St.
Giles. Blast
to hold, and that worthy is on the point of making off
with
Blast terrifies St. Giles, by a threat of disclosing the
history of his early career, into giving him a shilling,
and almost promising him a guinea a week, and hints
at a plot for purloining Snipeton's plate. The scene
is short, but it is admirably drawn :
" ' What have I to do with Mr. Snipeton's plate, but
to see nobody steals it ?' said St. Giles, firmly.
" To be sure ; and yet when there's so much silver
about, and a guinea a week—well, say a pound, then
—a pound a week would make a fellow-cretur happy,
and silent for life—l said, silent for life'—
"St. Giles suddenly paused and turned full upon Blast.
Go your ways, man—go your ways. Silent or not
silent, you do not frighten me. What I may do for you
I'll do of my own free will, and with my own money,
such as it is. And, after all, I think 't will serve you
better to hold your tongue than'—
" 'I wouldn't kill the goose for all the eggs at once,'
said Blast, grinning at the figure.
"St. Giles felt deadly sick. He had thought to brave
—defy the ruffian ; but the power of the villain, the fate
that with a word he could call down upon his victim,
unnerved him. St. Giles, with entreating hoks, motioned
him away ; and Blast leering at him, and then tossing
up the shiling with his finger and thee), passed on,
leaving St. Giles at the garden gate, where stood Clarissa,
brought there by the earnest entreaties of Crossoone, to
view the horse—the wondrous steed that was to endow
its mistress with new health and beauty."
Paul Bell, in his " August Visions," draws an
amusing contrast between the doings of August,
1846, and those of August, 1746—the trials of the
rebel Scotch Lords, &c., as detailed in Horace Wal-
pole's letters. The article on " Railroads in Egypt"
is written by one who is evidently intimately ac-
quainted with the country, and who exposes the
manner in which the French consular agents have
constantly endeavoured, in that country, to thwart
British interests, and to prevent the formation of the
railroad.

"It now remains only to inquire how it is that we
have suffered France successfully to oppose us in this
particular. Certainly there has not been any remark-
able reluctance on the part of our Government to give
it support. Opinions have changed since a British
Minister so singularly thwarted the desire of Mohammed
Ali, and rejected his overtures. Lord Aberdeen, in
October, 1843, after the French Consul had dissuaded
the Pacha from commencing the railroad, forwarded the
most positive instructions to Colonel Barnet, our Consul-
General in Egypt, to give every support to the under-
taking ; but we are sorry to say that the supineness or
indifference of this gentleman, or it may be the per-
suasion of his boscm friend, the French Consul- General,
prevented him from fulfilling those instructions, and in-
duced him to neglect, in a most singular manner, his
duty to his employers and his country. On him rests
the responsibility of having been the means of prevent-
ing instead of assisting, the execution of a work of such
paramount importance to British interests, both in a
commercial and political point of view."
Colonel Barnet, we are happy to say, is now re-
moved; but if he have been guilty of the neglect, or
something worse, here imputed to him—if British
interests have been sacrificed, either wilfully or care-
lessly, surely he should be brought to account and
punished, as an example to others. At all events,
some inquiry should be instituted info his conduct.
The "Fable for foolish Fellows" is a capital bit of
drollery, but "Pearls for Popish places" is dull;
it is, however, the only dull paper in the number,
which contains more than the average quantity of
good, readable matter.

PRICE SD.

gate, stone wall, or very thick cover, take off your copper
caps. In the event of your ramrod stickipg fast in your
gun, do not allow a clod to try to extract it with his
teeth, but having removed the cap, force the ramrod
home by knocking the end of it against a tree. To these
I will add two maxims, the one from Hawker, the other
from Daniel. The Colonel thus writes :—' Never suffer
a, gun at any time to be held for a moment -so es to be
likely to come in the direction of either man or beast.'
And the author of 'Field Sports' gives the following ex-
eellent advice In shooting with a stranger. who
perhaps keeps his gun cocked, and muzzles usually
pointed to the 1,-ft, plead for the right hand station, and
urge that you cannot hit a bird fling to the left : with
a gamekeeper take the right hand without ceremony.'"
• With its usual statistics and light reading, the
Sporting. Review is almost worthy a Jewess' eye.