The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-21 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Curious Things of the Outside World. Last Fire.
By Hargrave Jennings. 2 Vols. T. and W.
Boone.
It is but justice to the laborious and enthusiastic
author of these two very:singular volumes, at once to
pronouncey his work bath original and remarkable.
1 ehave rarely met with any book more accurately
justif_ting its title throughout. Exclusive of the
preliminary leaves set apart for an ingenious Pre-
face and a comprehensive Table of Contents, these
volumes comprise within them very nearly seven
hundred (693) pages of, in very deed, Curious Things
relating avowedly to the Outside World, but sugges-
tive
at every turn, as we thread the labyrinth, of
their inner significance ! Yet accurate and com-
prehensive though the title of the work unques-
tionably is in itself, it appears, after all, to have
been neither sufficiently accurate nor yet suffi-
ciently comprehensive for the writer of it—already
known to us among the rest of his readers and critics
as the author of a kindred production, though one
of a less ambitious character, a volume published
three or four years back under the name of " The
Inchon Religions, or Results of the Mysterious
Buddhism. By an Indian Missionary." Accord.
ing to our author, the titlepage of his new
volumes ought to have run very differently, sup-
posing he had wished to display the inner and re-
served side of his super-naturalism. Allowing
that to have been his design, the work before us
would, he acknowledges incidentally in his con-
cluding chapter (vol. ii. p. 346), have been thus
more lengthily entitled:—
" Curious Things of the Outside World ; con-
cerning that also which is to be understood in the
Divinity of Fire." By Hargrave Jennings, F.R.C.
Rosicrucian !
As his epigraph, he adds, there would have ap-
peared an excerpt from that daring " attempt to
draw aside the veil of the Saitic Isis," known
among those interested in these recondite subjects
forinvestigation under the title of Anacalypsis.
As it is, Mr. Jennings' motto is truly Shaksperian.
" Can such things be ?"—an allowable exclamation of
wonder from the lips of all as to thepossibility of the
" Curious Things" here numbered up for the reader's
amazement ! Another motto from the same
source might have been adopted as a no less appro-
priate quotation—to wit, Hamlet's ejaculation—
" There are more Things in Heaven and Earth,
Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy !"
That there are—it is only necessary (in order
to recognise this) to glance through these
twenty-seven chapters of " Curious Things" by
our English Rosicrucian. Our author's -notion,
so far as we can comprehend it, is that the one
Supreme Divinity is alone capable of being sym-
bolized or typified, or for that matter simply ex-
pressed accurately under the monosyllable Fire—
and that the recognition of this truth is discoverable
everywhere upon closer investigation in all the reli-
gions of the earth, not alone in Judaism and Christi-
anity, but in like manner also among all the
various barbarian and classic mythologies.
Having said thus much of the purport of
Mr. Hargrave Jennings' argument we need
scarcely add, though we do add, nevertheless quite
explicitly, that we have not one syllable to utter
in support of, much less in commendation of his
theology. In remarking upon his work we have
nothing whatever to do with its dimly avouched
inner signification. Its philosophy, its theology,
its metaphysics, in fact, supposing them to have
any definable coherence, we stand apart from alto-
gether. In their illimitable and immeasurable pro-
fundity they are altogether beyond our capacities,
they are above our ken, they are beyond the reach
of our comprehension. If we attempt to traverse
their depths, we are at the first instant flounder-
ing as helplessly as the rebel angel in his flight
across the the abysses of the universe. The latent
glow of Mr. Jennings' " high argument" acts upon
our feeble pinions as the sun-rays in the Greek
myth acted upon the waxen wings of leer's.
We learn anew the old Virgilian truth of the
facilis descensus—we learn it anew not upon the
verge of Avernus, but in the very empyrean of these
rarified imaginings. Conscious of our own inapti-
tude, therefore, of our uttermost incapacity to soar
through regions so exalted beyond the scope of our
comprehension, we seem to hear another echo from
Virgil as we loiter upon the threshold of the elabo-
rate structure here raised by this daring literary
architect—an echo surely sounding to ourselves
among the general multitude. Procul, 0 procul
este profani ! We bow in modest submission to the
mandate. The esoteric significance of the work
now under examination is not, we feel that, for
ourselves. The production of Mr. Hargrave
Jennings' mingled researches and medita-
tions can only be viewed by us humbly and
exclusively in its exoteric character. We
turn then to " Curious Things," and examine them
simply as they relate to the Outside
.World. When-
ever we come to any of these mysterious comments
written by our author in regard to them—whenever
we find ourselves beginning to float out of our
depth in the marvellous deductions drawn from his
consideration of them singly or together —we
wisely follow Samuel Rogers' advice to all
readers, to emulate the flea judiciously, of course,
and—skip ! Thus treating these volumes of Mr.
Jennings, we have found them singularly readable
and altogether wonderfully entertaining. Such we
pledge ourselves to it, the vast majority of our
readers cannot fail to jnd the work to be, when
examined (after this fashion) by themselves. How,
in fact, could it well be otherwise ? For the
book is in itself a very wallet of most
" Curious Things." Here, in effect, we have,
and have in abundance, the " pick" of all the most
remarkable and best authenticated ghost stories
upon record. Apparition after apparition flits
before us. We read of omens the most appalling,
of dreadful prognostics, of dim but fearful presen-
timents. We hear tell of most strange repetitions
of events—called in the world's language coinci-
dences. We read of predictions verified to the
letter ; of second sight ; of supernatural prefigure-
tions. And Mr. Hargrave Jennings can tell a
story with the best of them—instance his
admirable mode of narrating (vide vol. i, pp. 114-
140) that " Wild Story of a Scottish Glen"—a story
we would advise no nervous reader to peruse when
all the rest of the household has long retired
to rest, while the wind and rain are storming out-
side the house as, let us say, upon the memorable
night of Pip's reception of Abel Magwitch ! There
are several of these extraordinary narratives—
ghost stories chiefly—that, although world-famous
in their titles, it is almost impossible to discover any-
where else related with all their minute details and
minor particulars. These—so far from being tedious
as more then " Twice Told Tales"—will be found no
doubt by others, they have certainly been so found
by ourselves, and we are therefore speaking from our
own pleasant experience, espec Jelly welcome, as here
revived to recollection in this book of " Curious
Things." There is the best of all the ghost stories
for example—the best because one so strange in
itself, and one moreoverso marvellously well authen-
ticated—the ghost story connected with the death
of Lord Lyttleton, the wicked Lord Lyttleton.
Here it
will be found related by Mr. Jennings with
all regard to the minutiae. It is only elsewhere to
be met with, as well told, if we remember rightly, in
Nash's History of Worcestershire and in Miles Peter
Andrews' Recollections. It is but very rarely that
we find our author missing a good thing—either
from a wane of knowledge of its existence—or
possibly from the mere result of the einbarras des
riehesses. For example, when talking of the
slave's prediction of the future greatness of the
Empress Josephine, when the latter was a young
slip of a creole at Martinique—and when talking a
little before that of a certain strange forecasting or
divination by her wonderful husband Napoleon
Bonaparte—upon neither of these occasions does Mr.
Jennings avail himself of the opportunity (possibly
he is unconscious of it) for recounting that extra-
ordinary vision or multitude of apparitions beheld
one beautiful summer's night, from an open win-
dow of the palace of the Tuileries, by the Empe-
ror Napoleon the Great and his first (would that
she had been his only) Empress, Josephine. The
incident may be found related in the memoirs or
recollections of the Prince Cambaceres. Again,
when referring to the loss of the ill-fated Amazon
—Mr. Jennings makes no mention at all of those
astonishing descriptions of death .by fire at sea,
written by poor Eliot Warburton, in
his last work,
his 3 volume novel called' " Darien," issued from the
press upon the eve of his fatal departure for that
isthmus on board the Amazon, in which and with
which he perished. But if he misses an opportunity
very rarely, here and there, how very frequently
does not our author
hith the mark,
with a quick
an.d,
historysuch
of the appa-
rition of Lady Be.re.sford.-.—the curious ac-
ready
pu,p9earoiftio.n
Charlemagne—the Hampshire—the
story of
ac-
countfatalities
f of
an English country family—the historical prog-
nostics of Charles 1, of England, of Henry IV. of
France, of Mary de Medicis—the story of Dr.
Pricetley and Mr. Pitt—that other story of Dr.
Johnson and Mr. Cave—the wonderful incident of
the Field of Malplaquet—the various circumstances
in the histories of James 11., of Marie Louise, of
Marie Antoinette. And so en--and so on ! It is

difficult to lay the book down when you have once
opened it, Ur, Hargrave Jennings has in the
gleam of his eye something of the glamour of the
gaze of the Ancient Mariner. We may beat our breast
like the marriage guest, while we pause, battled and
bewildered, before our authoes mystipil dreamingo
in the region of abstract metaphysics in which
Buddhism appears to his view, if we might dare to
say so, even loftier and diviner than the awful, and
1191 y; And tutor4/40, and (41 B§ 14livving.

the sole truths of God's universe, the truths of
Christianity ! But while turning astounded from
the mystic conclusions arrived at by our English
llosicrucian he " hath his will " with us like the
Ancient Mariner, in his character simply as a nar-
rator. We needs must hear him to the last. He
has captivated our attention from his title page--
and the allurement carries us on securely enough to
the Finis. We lay not the book down until its
whole store of " Curious Things " has been ran-
sacked.

ild Life on the Fields of Norway. By Francis
M. Wyndham. Longman.
This is a very interesting book of travels, that
cannot fail to amuse. It is written in a very ani-
mated style, and furnishes us with considerable in-
formation regarding the customs of the country
and the manners of the people. The author informs
us in the preface that, "To lead a wild life among
the snow-clad mountains of Norway was the hope
entertained in sailing from England—a hope which,
through the kindness of acquaintances formed in
the country, was fully realised. An opportunity
of gaining an insight into the pastoral and wild
life led by the dairy folk at the soeters or chalets,
and the reindeer hunters on the fjelds was thus
obtained; and as glimpses only of that life have
have been given in the numerous works on Nor-
way, I have been induced to offer these few pages
to the public with the hope that they may afford a
more intimate acquaintance with, and supply a cha-
racteristic feature of the rural life of the Norwegian
peasantry." It is certain that this hope has been
realised, and that the reader of this pleasing little
volume will become fully informed of all the Munit ias
of daily life which constitute in their entirety the
peculiar and distinctive features of a race, and mark
out nations in their segregating influence. Some
of the descriptions of the traveller's adventures
are very amusing. When they entered the
cottages of the peasants they were regarded.
with the greatest amazement. "By degrees
as the rumour of the presence of two
strangers spread about the room began to fill
with men, women, and children, who stood round
us in groups gazing in mute astonishment. All our
actions were watched with intense curiosity, and.
guns, rifles, and other baggage were minutely
examined as soon as our permission had been ob-
tained." Among the peculiarities of the Norwegian
peasants is mentioned the great predilection for
salt. They place, fish, flesh, and fowl in a salting..
tub, and "if after some months it comes out in a
semi-putrid state it is most highly prized." They
would rather go without butter altogether than eat it
unsalted. The Norwegians are no sportsmen. It
is oniy among the peasants that it is practised from
necessity, not choice, who only proceed to the
mountains in search of reindeer to provide them-
selves with food for the winter months; and it is
said that those who are not obliged to seek their
food in the fjelds seem scarcely aware that such a
thing as game exists in the country. Among the
strange people met with by the travellers was one
very eccentric man called Old Joh, He was quite
a character in his way. It was said of him after
returning from a long expedition with a party who,
ascending the steep slope of the glacier, had ex-
plored the innermost recesses of the ice-clad rocks,
" thst the strength, endurance, and presence of mind. at critical moments displayed by Joh were quite
wonderful, and notwithstanding the fatigues of so
arduous a day, the old hunter of three score and
ten was a fresh and lively as any of the party."
The sketches of the people and the various scenes
described in the different places passed through,
together with numerous adventures, some curious,
others of a serious nature, but all noticeable one;
render this a most delightful little work to take
up at any time, and learn somewhat of the ways
of an interesting people, and the character of a fine
country. The book is elegantly illustrated with
some beautiful chromo lithographs, which are sin-
gularly attractive ; also we meet with several wood-
cuts descriptive of places of mark mentioned in
the volume, and with two maps, one showing the
author's route, and another exhibiting the Ejendin.
Lake and surrounding counties. The style is
flowing, and throughout the whole course of the
events the writer is evidently impressed with
the pleasures of his trip in a great degree
from his departure from Hull till his return to it,
"when the recollection of a wild life among the
savage mountains of Norway was speedily effaced
by the bustle of custom-house officials and vociferat-
ing omnibus-drivers. Thus, then, ended a pleasant
and agreeable tour with which the happiest recol-
lections are associated." It would be well if all
rovers to distant lands could return with the same
satisfaction to their homes, bringing with them
such agreeable reminiscences of far away coun-
tries as animated the writer of these interesting
records. The following descriptions of some object
of particular note is worthy of notice :—" A
Fjeld hes been described as a plateau or table-
topped mountain, and also as being one of the
peculiarities of the mountains of Norway, and I
was, therefore, disappointed in not finding any-
thing very striking in the appearance of the Segue
Fjeld. The large extent of tableland is one of the
most characteristic features of the country, but
the traveller is mistaken when he applies to these
plateaux the specc name of fjeld. For very long
I did not discover the meaning of the word, but at
last on hearing it so frequently applied in complete
variance with the idea of its being a tableland, I
asked for a definition of the word, and was told
that in the term field is included every
part of a mountainous region which from its
elevation is entirely devoid of shrubs and bushes of
any sort: At the same time, I was also practically
shown what was, and what was not, a fjeld."
An account of an aurora borealis is always de•
sirable to dwell upon wherever it is met with--
flickered " opening the door I stepped out. The night was e
furnace. and frosty, the dark blue sky was bespangled
stars,
the
and in the northern heavens gelaarsd,aiabricihollueialdhnit "ars,
iseknyfis:alwnedhoirefehaa
enhs
nnrtgeeantdsoi
enitgyh
ehoeva
zenith,etre d
funi
ing far and wide in a fan-like shape, and sh,aignglloeultiencrird;
the
estAtr gazesm:so u s scene it was, and long and intently
upon it."
northerntransparent
v:e have
olfhethaetit hospitalityh ore t' el'Yw
thathere speaks
i''n the country, and
here pays a grateful tribute to the people who wel-
co,m,Nedothhiinmg
canso ebeerradioarlelypl
Zing than
.the ready recep-
tion, proceeding from sheer kindness, winch is granted to
the wayfarer in Norway.
"And stranger is a holy name;
Guidance and rest, and food and fire,
In vain he never must require."
P--

•
'note Correspondence of 2honias Raikes.
Edited by his Daughter, Bentley.
This volume forms the supplement and comple-
don of the Diary of Mr. Raikes, which was pub-
lished a few years since and attracted a good deal
of public attention. Though not conspicuous him-
self in arts or politics or literature, Mr. Raikes was
intimately associated with the celebrities of his
time, and his private correspondence furnishes us
with a running commentary on the events of the
day. He was a conspicuous member of a set who
then ruled society, though neither through rank or
wealth, as the introduction observes; "nor did the
possession of either in itself ever suffice as brevet
to the freemasonry of the then termed Dandies."
Of the members of this fraternity we have the fol-
lowing description ;--
"Theirs was a fraternity, founded upon the science of civi-
lised existence, not altogether conditional upon rank, sines
station need not imply powers of observation and compari-
son, even did it always furnish that early and familiar
acquaintance with foreign countries and modern lingui!ges
influences of of
ding
gentitliafil
andthat
sftoirl
Iml
eas sac
coopoes
af
joi:i
et ht
oe fmreeeree xweeracli
wealth,
osfintcheolsees
afa cunulitvreest
re-
fine-
sally a deseno
t wfho
let
hu
ief,
thesesu ppo
aser s uindeed
form-
ing of the social judgments and appreciations of after life,
must have been breathed with its first instincts in their
origin; and of such elements the Dandies, with criticising
into
art, worked the indigenous material of English high lifo
a coterie, which combined, at least, the pleasures of
intelligence with those of dissipation. With them society
was not understood to be, as now, a coalition of interests,
where both sides are on the defensive, and where the day
has no recreation without a view to the ambition on the
popularity of the morrow; sufficient for their day Was its
own excitement of festivity and wit.
" The manners of the Dandies were in themselves a
charm, retained by some through infirmity and age. Their
speech was pleasant, their language thorough-bred, their
raillery conciliating, their satire—what they intended it to
be; many among them highly-gifted—doing all that they
did well; the less apt, always to the point, letting it alone ;
without enthusiasm, without illusions, a school of gentle-
men, liberal and open-handed ; ephemeral as youth and
spirits, yet marked by this endearing quality, that they re-
mained (with few exceptions) true and loyal friends, tested
through years of later adversity, and even death's
oblivion."

The members of this fraternity were able and
ready letter writers, and their gossiping pleasant
letters have preserved the names of many of them
who would otherwise have been altogether for-
gotten. The correspondence in the present volume,
extending from 1812 io 1847, includes comments on
the French retreat from Moscow, the Princess
Charlotte's death, and all the shifting changes of
Continental politics,
ending with the Spanish
marriages, O'Connell's trial, and the panic
which succeeded the railway mania. There is a
gap from 1813 to 1817, and, consequently, the
eventful period which intervened is lett unnoticed.
No rAferenee is made to our Reform agitation the
work being principally occupied by foreign affairs.
There are many letters to and from the late Duke
of Wellington, who was on intimate terms with Mr.
Mikes, and appears to have attached some impor-
tance to his opinion and to the intelligence which
he supplied. Those interested in French politics
will he attracted by the details given in the various
letters of the state of feeling in the French capital.
The letters themnlve4 present faithful pictures of
the times c,71 of the men who wrote them, being
mostly 'nwed in tlio spirit of un philoiophs qu