The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-01 00:00:00

THE MAGAZINES.

Blackwood'., Magaztne.
There is an article called " The Epic of the
Budget," which is written in an effective style.
There is much truth in the epitome thus given—
" As patriots, hardly anybody is satisfied ; as parti•
sans, nearly everybody is pleased." The writer of
this sketch takes a very hopeful view of the future
prospects of the Conservative party, and declares
their advent to power may soon be expected through
the disruption of the ranks of their adversaries, who
are gradually failing through their qwn mismanage-
ment. All lookers-on at the momentous game of
politics must know the truth that exists in the
following statement, although of course many would
not own it, and some for party purposes would
deny it:—The Whigs, from a long enjoyment of
the spoils of office, cannot bear to be deprived of
what they regard as their perquisite, and conduct
their opposition with unusual virulence—by foul
means if not fair, by calumnies, by unnatural coali-
tions, they will move heaven and earth to get back
their places. We know of few things more dis-
graceful than the manner in which the opposition
to Lord Derby's first and second Administra-
tions was carried on." After criticising Mr.
Gladstone as a hazardous Chancellor of the
Exchequer, and alluding to the arrogance of
his tone in debates and the " paroxysm of passion"
which he displayed when his measure was threat-
ened with defeat, this article concludes with a brief
resume of the unsuccessful results to the Ministers
of the Parliamentary campaign—" It is the, fate of
a weak Government to grow in weakness, and of a
strong opposition to grow in strength. We do not
know whether in the records of any session of Par-
liament a Government was known to have sustained
so many and so humiliating defeats as the present
are. The decision on the Galway Contract was not
that of a particular minister, it was a decision re-
viewed and confirmed by the Cabinet. They adopted
it in all its force, yet a few nights after the repeal
of the paper duties had been decreed by the House
of Commons, the Government were forced to eat
their leek and to accede to the motion of Mr. Gre-
gory, that a select committee should be appointed
to inquire into the wisdom of the decision at which
Ministers had arrived. Mr. Disraeli did not miss
the opportunity, but distinctly pointed out that
here was a question of confidence, and yet the Govern-
ment meekly conceded to let a select committee ques-
tion its decision and override its policy. It was a just
retribution, and a symptom of inevitable decay. It
was the former, for it amounted to a confession that
after' all their calumnies there was a case for inquiry
that the Tories might not have been so very far
wrong, nor the Whigs so rigidly correct as had
been imagined." Those who desire the most to
uphold the conduct of the Ministers must have felt
that they were either too hasty at the beginning or
too wavering at the end of this dispute, and cer-
tainly no one ever damaged the consistency of a
cause more than Lord Palmerston, by purposely
going out of his way to boast of having annulled
the contract, and then turning round to agree to a
reconsideration of the entire question. If it was
the duty of the Cabinet to make a departure from
established custom and disavow the promises of
their predecessors it was still more their duty to
stand by that decision, and boldly explain why
they had done so, and then take the risk as they
had before taken the responsibility of the affair.
However, public objects of interest are made
the rise and fall to suit party motives.
" Norman Sinclair" is approaching its termination,
and in this instalment some of the characters are
withdrawn. It was rather heavy at the outset, but
for some time past it has improved in animation,
and been an object of interest to the readers of this
magazine. " The Barbarisms of Civilisation" is a
very amusing article, that satirizes the many so-
called improvements of the day. It is written in
a very humorous style, and cannot fail to attract
even where the reader may not altogether agree with
some of the diatribes launched against the innova-
tion of the social system. It is said, " There are a
greet many inventions amongst us of which neces-
sity was never the mother, and which we should be
a great deal more comfortable without." A very
ludicrous liummary is given of the various plans
that have been made in the domestic arrangements
by the untiring energy of these ruthless inventors ;
they are here stigmatised as "justifying any amount
of persecution that could have been brought to bear
upon I hem in the ages which we call barbarous, and
which do seem to come direct from the fountam of
evil." This smart sketch will be found very well
worth perusing, and no one can fail to be amused
with its sallies and witticisms. " The Bookhunter
Again" is a continuation of the subject that was
before considered in these pages. It is a very st!g-
gestive subject, and will doubtless be studied with
satisfaction by the erudite reader. "The Orleans
Manifesto" is a brief analysis of the celebrated
letter. It observes that the French ministers were
most impolitic in resorting to such violent measures,
as they thus spread the evil they wished to sup-
press. " Here it is, in our hands, in a
Berlin reprint, and it exists also in a German trans-
lation." " Judicial Puzzles" in this number refers
to Spencer Cowper's case. It was a very singular
one, and additional importance is given to it from
the fact that Lord Macaulay has made mention of
it in his last volume of history. It is observed that
" the opportunity of a double fling at Quakers and
Tories has been too great a temptation." There are
some verses entitled, " The Farewell of the Seal,"
which refer to a tradition of Shetland, which is
very curious, and the lines are written in a flowing
measure, and without being remarkable for merit
they are pleasing. "The Demise of the Indian
Army" take a lugu brius view of affairs in that country,
butconcludes with a hope that the fears of the writer
may not be fulfilled in the future, he not
being of the number of those who—
" Would rather that the Dean should die,
Than their prediction pi ove a lie."

" The Disruption of the Union," is a sensible article
on affairs across the Atlantic. It states that the
present outcry against England is unreasonable
beyond all precedent. This difficult subject is very
fairly treated in these pages, " Hook's Archbishops
of Canterbury," are criticised in the opening paper.
It is observed that his promotion to the Deanery
will have been of service, if only to furnish us with
a readable History of the English Church. "It
was much wanted, for drier food than was usually
presented to the reader under that title can hardly
be imagined." Altogether, there is much to fur-
nish the reader with interest and information in
the contents of this number of Maga.

FraEer's Magazine.
'The opening article in this number is founded on
Lord Stanhope's Life of Pitt, and pays a high tri-
bute to the genius, resolution, and public spirit of
the great Minister. it is remarked that he has
been, until the present year, without a Hographer,
in the true meaning of the word, as the memoirs
hitherto published have been little more than chro-
nicles of his public acts and sayings. The article
is chiefly devoted to the earlier portion of Pitt's
career and his startling entry into public life. In
commenting upon his immediate success in that art
of Parliamentary debating, which it usually requires
long years of study and experience to mature? it is

justly said, that although his father's fame and his
own academical reputation secured him a favour-
reception, they only made the trial more severe,
since he had to fulfil great expectations. Much of
the readiness and confidence which were remark-
able in so young an orator was, doubtless, due to
Lord Chatham's skilful training, and it must always
be matter of regret to his admirers that he did not
live to witness his care so worthily repaid. Of
course, in the limits of a brief paper like the present,
it is impossible to do more than touch:upon the chief
points in Pitt's official career. It is justly observed
that he had many difficulties to contend against,
from which modern statesmen are exempt. Among
these are reckoned the interference of the King,
the insolence of his own Chancellor, the separate
Parliament of Ireland, the,prejudices against want of
pedigree and the intense acerbity of political an-
tagonism in those days. The greater diffusion of
genera' knowledge, the higher character (and in-
creased force of public opinion, and the extension
of the fourth estate have all combined, the writer
considers, to lighten the task of our legislators.
" Under all aspects, therefore." he remarks, " even
the ordinary difficulties of ruling the State would
seem to have been
,greater in Pitt's time than in
our own, and astonishment at his character is vastly
increased when to all these there comes to be added
the immense and extraordinary weight of responsi-
bility which was singly thrown upon him from the
outbreak of the French Revolution to the close of
his life." The present instalment of " Good for
Nothing" brings us to a startling event in the life
of poor Gilbert Orme. In his rambles in Australia
he discovers the long absent Latimer, Ada's hus-
band, who was believed to be dead, and whose sud-
den re-appearance annihilates all his castles in the
air. The other story, " Ida Conway" also chronicles
important events—the elopement of Countess Doro-
thea with the Pole, and another addition to Ida's
admirers. A criticism on Mr. Theodore Martin's
translation of Catullus speaks of the recent emenda-
tions and abstractions which have transformed the
ancient versions of the Latin poet. Another paper
treats of another poet of the same sunny clime, but
belonging to a very different age. " Petrarch and
his Times" are discussed by the same author who
recently gave us an essay on the greater and sterner
Dante. It is remarked in the opening passages
that the two great men who gave the first impulse
to the literary renown of their country were also
intimately connected with its troublous vicisstude.
If Dante's life was darkened by the fierce contests
of the Neri and Bianchi, Petrach was saddened by
the Papal abandonment of the seven-hilled city for
the undignified rain ment of Avignon. But in
outward circumstances, Petrach was by far the most
favoured. "He was the minister of Popes and
Emperors, the chosen envoy of States, the
cherished friend and counsellor of warlike
and astute chieftains; while, at the same
time, he was the pride and admiration
of his humbler compatriots, the oracle of the learned
over all the civilised world. If the consciousness
of unbounded fame and universal respect are the
most valued rewards of genius, Petrarch enjoyed
a happiness which Dante and Shakspeare might
well have envied." The clever and eloquent writer
who assumes the pseudonym of " Shirley" contri-
butes an able and thoughtful paper on "The Im-
potence of History." He entitles it "Tue Sphynx,"
and enforces his arguments by some remarkable
illustrations. There is undoubtedly much truth in
his observations, and it is to be hoped that they
will serve to caution his readers against that hasty
and decisive judgment of motives to which we are
all so prone, and by which we compensate
for our cautious scepticism en other points.
" Saint Saturday" is a very just and sen-
sible article which enters fully into those prac-
tical difficulties which beset the artisan in the ra-
tional employment of his holiday, and which theo-
retical philanthropists so often refuse to recognise.
The plan which has been adopted with such signal
Success at Derby, Chester, and other places seems
to meet the difficulty admirably. It consisted of Sa-
turday evening entertainments, composed of vocal
and instrumental music, and short readings of prose
and verse. The programme was carefully selected
and judiciously varied, and the proceedings only
extended over two hours. The success of these ex-
periments has been remarkable, and it is observed
that in all cases they paid their way, " which
cannot often be said of philanthropic ventures."
At Derby "the campaigns of three winters proclaim
the experiment a complete success." On fifty Sa-
turday nights the hall has been opened, and there
have been audiences every night, in ali weathers
ranging from 200 to 300 when the programme
was dull and the night unfavourable, to 1,200, with
numbers turned from the doors, when there has
been some special feature of interest. Surely it
would be worth the while of our active social re-
formers to inaugurate some entertainment of this
kind in the metropolis when the long dark evenings
set in, which drive the workingman on his Satur-
day half holiday to the one comfortless, crowded
room, probably undergoing tne weekly cleaning,
or to the too attractive gin . palace. Before
creating a want it is wise to find a
supply and it is useless to give so much spare time
without the means of spending it. It is very well to
talk of mental cultivation, but men who have been
hard at work all the week, and can scarcely perhaps
read or write without an effort, are not very likely to
acquire much of science or literature through the
medium of solitary study. If few among the
educated classes would care to spend a leisure
evening over solid works of instruction we may
very much doubt the probability of those whose
bodies are more trained to exertion than their
minds, resisting all temptations and forsaking the
public house for solitary reading. An entertain-
ment of the kind alluded to is a very different thing
and would go much further towards cultivating the
higher faculties, besides having the beneficial effect
of " uncanonizing Saint Monday," whose place in
the workman's calendar would be well supplied by
a rational " Saint Saturday."