The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-03 00:00:00

THE RIAGAZINES.

Blackwood. —Tito instalment of "What will he
do with it r which is hero presented to the reader,
is, perhaps, one of the most interesting that has
yet appeared. We are not introduced to such
agreeable phases of life, it is true, as in some other
passages, nor are the persons met with endowed
with the genius, whose halo casts a glory ever the
path of Darrell, or gifted with the sweet and at-
tractive qualities that charm and fascinate in the
gentle young Sophy ; but there is a vigour in the
startling revelations disclosed, that gives a character
to the story, and stamps it with individuality and
importance. We are carried back through the twi-
light of the past to take a glance at the early days
of " grim Arabella Crane." Austere and ungenial
as she has appeared to us, it must be confessed that
she had endured enough, to harden the mind, and
deaden the feelings. Hers was not a nature that
softens by suffering. She required all the refining
influences of affection, and the warm sunshine of
kindness, to ameliorate the hard and harsh attri-
' ef her mind. Her character was not of that
sublime eider vseich le the Fever)+, -uses of adver-
sity ; her heart could not iespousl to tee beautiful
impressions of grace, by which the mourner can
find the dark path illuminated by the clay-spring
from on high, and through tears see the heaven
where they shall never more be shed. It is not
surprising, after reading of the fiery trials of her
youth, to notice the adamant disposition which ap-
pertains to Arabella Crane. Such wrongs rankling
in her mind, such sentiments pervading her
existence, could not have produced anything
different. By various accounts and remi-
niscences, we are enabled to form a more
correct idea of the plan of the work as a
whole, and to estimate more thoroughly the in-
fluence of events, upon the characters of those
before our notice. Jasper Losely is left in the e tre
of Poole, to the horror and dismay of that latter
individual, who finds too late the danger of mixing
with rogues, and the difficulty of shaking off the
acquaintance when its relinquishment seems de-
sirable. The most satisfactory incident here re-
corded is the decision of Darrell not to marry
again ; and the reader rejoices with him in his
freedom, when, escaped from the snares and pit-
falls of the town, he finds himself at evening hour
again safe in the beautiful shades of Fawley Manor.
"My First and Last Novel" is an amusing tale,
which narrates the singular adventures, met with
by a young wife in her attempt to compose a fiction
in secret. Her intention was good, but she carried
it out in a most unwise manner, and acted
so strangely, that her husband could not be
blamed for thinking she was implicated in some-
thing wrong. Hdi work gained the remarkable
success which always attends the hurried attempts
of inexperienced writers in sketches like the pre-
sent. Minnie had some claim on fate, however,
to accord her renown, since she had suffered so
many ills in her task of authorship. 'The First
Bengal European Fusiliers at Lucknow" is con-
tinued from the June number. It is a subject that
attracts attention at the present moment, and a
perusal of this account will afford gratification,
as there can be but one opinion concerning the im-
portance of the struggle, and the merits of those
engaged in it. Indian affairs are also treated of
in " The Poorbeah Mutiny," which contains
much useful information of that memorable event.
" The Soldier and the Surgeon " is the title pros
fixed to some judicious -observations on the sani-
tary condition of the army, which are written by
one who forms a true notion of the importance of
his subject. He observes, at the commencement,
that—" Though peace may have her victories not
less renowned than war, yet it fares ill with that
people among whom the soldier and his services are
not duly esteemed and suitably acknowledged."
We have elsewhere alluded to the two brilliant
articles on " The Great Imposture and " Mr.
Dusky's Opinions on Art," which appear at the
conclusion of this number. They will be found in
every way to repay perusal. .

Dab/in.—The story of " Gerald Fitzgerald" is
continued with increasing interest, and there is
some skill displayed in the gradual development of
the youth's mind ; it truly shows how evil impres-
sions once instilled into the mind are difficult to
eradicate. At the conclusion of this part of the
narrative a new prospect of a settled life seems
once more to dawn on the wandering hero.
"Olympia Morata" is the subject of an agreeable
sketch of the life of that remarkable woman. She
is described as the most learned woman of her age.
It is amusing to notice how distasteful to her mind
were the mean occupations in which she was com-
pelled to engage, on account of the straitened cir-
cumstances of the household. It is said, while she
patched the old habiliments, she envied the
Israelites in the wilderness for the garments which
waxed not old during forty years of
" The Lady Agnes," translated from the German,
is a legend in verse, which is well worthy of regard.
The story is a pleasing one and gracefully de-
scribed. " The Right -lion. Sir Edward Bulw, r
Lytton :—his career, genius, and writings," is the
subject of an article that will doubtless arrest at-
tention. It is always interesting to trace the prc-
gress of a master mind from the first dreams of
ambitious youth, till the proud period of their
realisation. Many whose early days were devoted
to castle building, find their maturity approach,
while yet no chaplet has adorned their brows, and
no admiring world has sounded their applause. Of
those aspirants who fail from their powers being
too much estimated by themselves, or too little
regarded by others, was certainly not that
dreamer by the banks of Windermere, whose
life is here brought before our notice.
It is an endeavour to combine an epitome of his
career, an analysis of his talents, and a summary of
his works, in the small space that is devoted to one
theme in a publication like the present ; and it
will appear to most readers that the project has
been successfully carried out. The generality of
people will differ on particular points, the favourite
of one is unnoticed by another, but the true-think-
iing and the right-judging will recognise the nobility
'of mind, and yield to the spell of genius. Putting
aside the considerations of political prejudice, and
literary jealousy, they will appreciate intellect by
whomsoever possessed, whether by statesmen whom
they know are not dependent on the transient
plaudits of the hour, but whose names belong to
their country's history, or by authors whose works
will outlive their critics, and delight by their
perusal

" The future sons and daughters still unborn"

of the generations that shall flourish when our own
has passed away. "The Identification ; a Narra-
tive of Facts," by a Constabulary Officer, is an ex-
ceedingly interesting story. It is a singular cir-
cumstance, which is related in an ingenious man-
ner, and the important points.of the evidence, the
trial, &c., seem to furnish overwhelming proofs of
the guilt of the accused party. After all has been
decided upon, the fatal sentence passed, the awful
hour appointed when he, who then stood in the
court should be compelled to exchange time for
eternity, a sudden change occurs, an unlooked-for
incident intervenes, to rescue the doomed one, who
was wrongfully accused. Another had committed
the crime, who resembled him in appearance, in an
extraordinary degree, so that in the shades of n'git
he was easily mistaken by inany persons. The
sudden transition from despair to hope, from the
valley of the shadow of death to the light of day
and the charms of home, may be imagined. The
striking passages are p)werfully dwelt upon, and
the exciting interest of the tale well sustained.
" The True Stoty of a Cock and a Bull" is a brief
sketch which contains some humorous remarks re-
lating to the fallacious idea, that was recently so
prevalent, of foreign invasion, and the star:ling
announcements that wore made of the manufac-
ture of—

"Armaments to thunderstriko the walls
Of rock-built &ties, bidding nations quake,
And monarchs tremble in their capitals."
"T' (Inman Legend,"byJ. Slingsby, is pleasing.
It relates tn. n.ury of 01 cli 1,l will besought its
mother not to mourn for its loss, as
would not let it sleep in the grave. She struggled
for composure, and checked the starting tear, and
hushed the rising sigh, and again in her ski? she
saw a vision, and heard a voice, but brighter and
happier than iu her earlier dream—

" Slecp on, thou patient mother,
No more with grief opprest,
Untroubled now, and sweetly,
Thy little one takes rest.

" He that for ever giveth
Rest to his children dear,
Seudeth to thee this vision
Thy loving heart to cheer."
Awoke that mother lonely,
As passed the voice and light ;
But, she knew who stood in glory
Beside her bed that night.
The angel of her little child
the message blest had given—
One of the angels that behold
The Father's face in heaven.

Fraser.—There are several articles in Fraser
this month which will attract and gratify the
reader. The commencement of a new story pro-
mises well for the lovers of fiction. There is little
incident in this introductory instalment, but it
brings the actors upon the stage,. and they will no
doubt play their parts with spirit. The concluding
volumes of Mr. Froude's History of England
receive a favourable notice, which commends his
research, his industry, and the graces of his style.
The article proceeds to °vivo an interesting sum-
mary of the career and character of Henry the
Eighth, but the conclusions at which both Air,

Fronde and his critic arrive are contradicted by
the plain voice of fact. No political sagacity, no
steadfast self-reliance, no patronage of education,
can compensate for the darker shadows of his
career. Mr. Froude admits him to have been
without the gift

" which becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown ;"
and though the reviewer would fain extenuate oven
his cruelty and injustice, the deaths of Sir Thomas
More, of Anne Bolriyn and Catherine Howard, are
unanswerable contradictions to the endeavour to
paint Henry as au upright and much-maligned sove-
reign. Frederick Ten Dyson contributes some graceful
verses on Roseleaves, displaying some amount of
poetic feel ing,yet some whattoo dreamy and mystical.
" Teneriffe—a summer above the clouds," is the
title of an interesting an instructive paper,
founded on the experiences of Professor Piazzi
Smyth, Royal Astronomer for Scotland, who re-
cently ventured on an expedition to the Peak.
His scientific observation will of course be read
with the greatest advantage in the original volume,
but the article before us gives a summary of what
is most remarkable in it, as well as a few introduc-
tory pages on the characteristics of that lonely
ial,nd, which well desPrve attentiou. Church-
yards are a favourite 6ubject for the theu:,;liful a,n(l
reflective. Even if the writer confines himself to
the mere practical view, there is always something to
a.ttr set the curious and speculative reader in the
different modes and ceremonies with which the
varying nations and races have interred
their dead. There is much to engage the
reader in this paper, and the extracts
from tho different works on the subject
give it a variety and freshness. The writer com-
ments on the miserable failures which have always
attended the attempt to withstand the Creator's
law of dust returning to dust. "Surely," he
exclaims "it is better a thousand times to bury
our dead from our sight than to preserve a hideous
mockery cf the beloved form: The method of
urn sepulture excites equal indignation. " Only
think of a man pointing to half-a-dozen urns on.
his mantlepiece and chetionier and saying, There
the wicked cease from troubling, and there the-
weary are at rest.'" Epitaphs and monumental
inscriptions must necessarily find a place in such an.
article, and an interesting selection is made; some
long and elaborate, others brief and emphatic, like
the " Miserritnus," which inspired Words-Worth.
or the happier " Einigravit," which marks thetoMb
of Albert Darer. Among the celebrated writers
who have lent their aid in commemorating the dead
are Ben Jenson, Pope, and Walter Scott ; but
few inscriptions can be more impressive than
the plain stoi. sr that cover the resting-
places of John Howard and the "Man of
Ross." The papers on Natural History
are continued, and tell us same of the peculiarities
of man-of-war birds, boobies, and noddies. " Con-
sumption in the Guards" is the title of a paper
which treats of thejquestion of military sanitary fe•
form, which has lately attracted so much public
attention. " Catarina in Venice" is the first part
of a Study on the Lagoon, written in a dreamy
style, not without ability and interest. The most
attractive of the remaining papers is one on Petrie's
Ancient Music of Ireland. The rich variety and
the mournful pathos of those beautiful Celtic airs
must be familiar to most lovers of music. There
is much truth in the following remarks, which,
treating of the great principles ofiArt, are equally
applicable to the sister arts of Poetry and Paint-
ing in the present day :
"But it is not only on account of its historic interest
that we plead for the study of national music. Our loving
care is justly claimed by the pure and beautiful merody
to be found among the still surviving relics of ancient
song. Arising, as this music has done, from the breast
of man in his untutored state, these songs, at first the
improvisation of some unknown artist, caught up by his
children or companions, and chanted from place to
place, have gradually taken the form of purest melody,
in which natural feeling speaks forth simply, unfettered
by rules, and unrestricted by conventionalities. •
" Time has borne witness to the truth of the assertion
'that it is by force of Melody and not Harmony, theta
work endures successfully throughout all ages.' And
yet how little is this truth acknowledged in the present
da,y when it is the complaint of all who think and speak
truly on the subject, that the great value placed upon
the technical and mechanical part of the art has brought
our composers to a strange state. Their productions
are 'no longer music; they wander far without the com-
pass of human feeling, and we can give them no re-
sponse from the mind and from the heart.' This ten-
dency in the present day to substitute mechanism for
thoughtful work, and the mere show of truth for truth
itself, is to be lamented in other arts besides that of
music. For the spirit, be it good or evil, which animates
one art will tell is all ; and on the truth or falsity of
this animating spirit it is that the greatness of art
depends."

Bentley's Miscellany. —This magazine claimsths
congratulations of its readers on attaining its forty-
fourth volume, a dignity which encourages it to
take a survey of public affairs, and to express the
opinion shared by so many Liberals of the present
day, on the removal of Lord Palmerston's Govern-
ment. It will be entertaining to many Eeglish
readers to examine the character given of this
statesman by a German writer. It forms the sub-
ject of another article, entitled " Palmerston and
his Policy," and is taken from a Leipic publica-
tion. A concluding paragraph by the translator,
though disclaiming some of his opinions, endorses
the principles on which they are founded, and ends
with a vigorous denunciation of. the fallen Whigs,
whom all other parties agree. in distrusting.
" Going into Exile," is the continuation of, the
story of the missing bracelet. The mystery is not
cleared up, but Alice Seaton, in her anxiety to
screen her lover and her sister, places herself in a
somewhat awkward predicament. Suspicion falls
on Gerard Hope, who leaves the country, but the
suspicion of the reader is rather directed to the
sister. It is au unfortunate fact for Alice's peace
of mind, that both parties declared their pressing
need of money on that occasion. " A Lady in
Spitzbergen," is a title to excite the emulation of
fair adventurers, but the traveller does not seam to
have found her expedition very prepossessing. •The
grim solitudes of the northern seas had few attrac-
tions for the lively Partsienne. Monkshood, in
his New Book Notes, takes for a subject a volume,
recently publisheti in Paris, on the Lives of Mary
'Stuart and Catherine de Medicis. Tho eventful
lives of these two remarkable women have so often
filled the pages ofthe historian and biographer, that
little now remains to be said ; but the summary of
their lives is not without interest. A sketch of the
life and writings of Eugene Sue contains some curi-
ous accounts of his vicissitudes and engagements.
There is much that is melancholy in this brief and
business-like record of the life and death of one
who should surely have been capable of bettor
things. " The story of the Ghetto" takes a retro-
spect of the Jews in Rome, which at the present
epoch will not be an unattractive subject. " As-
tronomic Fancies" display considerable ingenuity,
and wine originality of design. " A Few Words
about South Australia," presents that colony in a
most favourable light.

Colburn's United Service.—The opening article
is on "Our Position iu India," and strongly advo-
cates a vigorous policy. Nevertheless, it upholds
some impracticable opinions, and there is a want
of that large-minded and csmprehensive spirit
which is necessary for the government of millions
of a different race from ourselves. The writer
seems to consider that it is necessary for European
supremacy that all efforts to improve or en-
licihten the native population, to -ra,isre --them
in the social scale, must be suppressed and dis-
couraged • that the more degraded and crushed the
native, the more secure will be the English rule.
" Whatever conduces to the greater self respect or
to the greater self-confidence of those to whom our
presence must be always a grievance and injustice,
from that moment we are acting to our own die-
comfititi e." No wonder that holding such opinions
he
.should say that England would be none the
worse if India were lost to her to-morrow. He
forgets that he himself contradicts his assertions
when he states that the native is now what
he alsra,ys Iris, a contemptible foe ; and that the
century which has ellocGcAl. illilCh for us less done
nothing for him.
:The innate superiority of the race
will always show itself ; there is no need for the con•
staut use of the bayonet and cannonade. Where
the two races come together the European must
rule, and surely it should be the aim of a groat
natitat to rule worthily and well, a consummation
never to be attained if we look on our Indian pos-
sessions and Indiau subjects with scorn and indif-
ference, and make it an object to debase and crush
them. The unpopularity of the navy is a sensible
ar icle on a subject that is well desetving the con-
sideration of those in authori.y. The m'smange-
ment and vacillation so often displayed by succesive
the minds of seamen. The contradictory
Boards of Admiralty has had the most injurious
oeffrdeeerts thaton have been issut d within a few) errs ate
sufficient to disgust the sailor and coast-guardsman.
The present naval administration escapes the cen-
sure of its predecessors, and we hope it will continue
to consider the grievances of naval officers
and seamen with a view to their removal,
a task which is worthy of any amount of time or
trouble, as it is futile to expect that able and well-
conducted man will devote years to a service which
offers them so few advantages for long service and
good conduct. ' Cuba and the Slave-Trade " are
treated of at length. The horrors of that abomin-
able traffic have been so often detailed, that most
readers are familiar with them. Nevertheless, it is
somewhat startling to read that, " from close
packing in small space, the deaths are now com-
puted at 50 per cent." It is a sad reflection that,
after our iitvi§ll oxpendituro and constant., super-

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