The Sun.
London, England, 1844-11-02 00:00:00

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MAGAZINES--(CONTINUED,)
HOOD'S MAGAZIIVE.
Mr. Hood here furnishes us with one of the most
spirited sketches that have ever proceeded from his
pen. It is called the " Lay of the Labourer," and
describes a visit which he paid to a rustic way-side
ale-house, where he mgt with a party of agricultural
labourers, who were bewailing their physical and
'mental sufferings over a can of cold water in lieu of
strong beer, with which they were all too poor to pro-
vide themselves. The account which our author
gives of their woe-begone appearance is painfully
afflicting, and the reflections which it suggested to
him are of the kindliest and most catholic character.
In the course of this sketch he relates the sad story
of poor Gifford White--a youth, aged eighteen, who
was transported for life by Lord Abinger for having
sent a threatening anonymous letter to some farmers
in the neighbourhood,,announcing his intention to set
fire to their barns unless they provided him with
work. Mr. Hood justly observes that the sentence
was a most harsh one, and pleads the poor fellow's
cause with infinite force and feeling.. The " Streets
of Paris" alludes to the historical associations connected
with some of the principal streets in the French
capital. The " Brace of Birds" is a vigorously told
story, referring to the death of a poacher who fell a
sacrifice to the flagrant injustice and inhumanity of
the game-laws. The " Acorn" is an elegant poem,
but we prefer quoting the melancholy chaunt which
Mr. Hood has introduced into his " Lay of the
Labourer :"

A spade ! a rake ! a hoe !
A pickaxe, or a bill !
A hook to reap, or a scythe to mow,
A flail, or what ye will—
And here's a ready hand
To ply the needful tool,
TAndh harvest
irvl
vel
er ftds
eabr stack enough,airnnthmtoeorby mybf
apianrotdmeumatch.
lessons rough,
s
In Labour' rugged school.
To hedge, or dig the ditch,
To lop or fell the tree,
To lay the swarth on the sultry field,
Or plough the stubborn lea ;
The wheaten rick to thatch,
Ande
The tinder
er or c.
To h to find
My fancies never roam ;
The fire I yearn to kindle and burn
Is on the hearth of Home ;
Where children huddle and crouch
Through dark long winter days,
Where starving children huddle and crouch,
To see the cheerful rays,
A-glowing on the haggard cheek,
And not in the haggard's blaze !
To Him who sends a drought
To parch the fields forlorn,
The rain to flood the meadows with mud,
The blight to blast the corn,
To Him I leave to guide-
The bolt in its ereoked path,
To strike the miser's rick, and show
The skies blood-red with wrath.
A spade ! a rake ! a hoe !
A AAh hook
flail, pickaxe,
reap,orw
or a c
raat ybiel slw!yi
will—
The
to mow,
The corn to thrash, or the hedge to plash,
The market-team to drive,
Or mend the fence by the cover side,
And leave the game alive.
Ay, only give me work,
And then you need not fear
That I shall snare his Worship's hare,
Or kill his Grace's deer ;
Break into his Lordship's house,
To steal theylate so rich ;
Or leave the yeoman that had a purse
To welter in a ditch.
Wherever Nature needs,
Wherever Labour calls,
No job I'll shirk of the hardest work,
To shun the workhouse walls ;
Where savage laws begrudge
The pauper babe its breath,
And doom a wife to a widow's life,
Before her partner's death.
My only claim is this,
With labour stiff and stark,
By lawful turn, my living to earn,
Between the light and dark ;
My daily bread, and nightly bed,
My bacon, and drop of beer—
But all from the hand that holds the land,
And none from the overseer !
No parish money, or loaf,
No pauper badges for me,
A son of the soil, by right of toil
Entitled to my fee.
No alms I ask, give me my task :
Here are the arm, the leg,
The strength, the sinews of a Man,
To work, and not to beg.
Still one of Adam's heirs,
Though doom'd by chance of birth
To dress so mean, and to eat the lean,
Instead of the fat of the earth ;
To make such humble meals
As honest labour can,
A bone and a crust, with a grace to God,
And little thanks to man !
A spade ! a rake ! a hoe !
A pickaxe, or a bill !
A hook to reap, or a scythe to mow,
A flail, or what ye will—
Whatever the tool to ply,
Here is a willing drudge,
With muscle and limb, and woe to him
Who does their pay begrudge I

ILLUMINATED MAGAZINE.
The illustrations to this Magazine--more especially
those for the present month—are of the choicest
character, the landscape sketches in particular, which
are as true to life as one of Copley Fielding's. Nor
is the literary portion of the work less carefully
attended to, whether as regards selection or variety of
subject. The " Old House at Home" is the com-
mencement of a tale from the pen of a writer who
signs himself " Craven." It opens well, but we must
see more of it before we can venture on a decided
opinion. " Louis Philippe and the Irish Tutor" is a
whimsical dialogue, which is supposed to have taken
place between the King of the French and one
Doctor O'Toole, during that Monarch's recent visit to
Windsor Castle. It is accompanied by a clever em-
bellishment of an Irish peasant flirting with two
coquettish young girls, who seem bent on making a
fool of him. The " Life and Writings of the Swedish
poet Vitalis" contains- some ingenious criticisms on,
together with translations from, the songs and ballads
of this popular author. A " Sketch" is an affecting
story of a wife's desertion by.her husband, and her
ov
consequent lapse into vice. The subject is a
Nn
hacknied one, but it is well treated. In the article
headed" Some Points for a new People's Charter," we
find the following allusions to " Young England:"—
" Malthus is dead in philosophy as well as in the flesh;
and Young England is born a vigorous, right-hearted
youngster, worth a dozen dead philosophers, even if they
were all real ones. How he bustles and rattles about.
What excellent things he does, though it must be ac-
knowledged, not always aware of the ulterior con-
sequences of his doing. How be brings forward a ten
hours' bill, and revolutionises a whole system of legisla-
tion; rates a minister, and breaks to pieces a party;
forms societies for the mental improvement of working
men, and thus, by removing all fair objections, forwards
might and main the advent of the peoples government
that he so abominates; abolishes distinctions of classes
in the formal worship. of God in our churches, and thus
prepares the way for a similar abolition in that grander
system of prayer and praise, which has the wide world
for an altar, and which makes life itself an uninterrupted
series of Sabbaths and holidays. Young England has
faith. Let this belief be a part of his faith—that what
is begun in good, that is to say, .with good motives kr
good objects, cannot end in evil. Let him, therefore,
pursue, rejoicingly, his endeavours to promote the well-
being of the people in his own way ; the people will be
grateful for it in theirs; and no doubt the' issues' will be
just what they ought to be, whether in the form of a
more or less popular regime—whether they exhibit a
vast improvement or entire reconstruction of society.
To be sure, in any case Young England will make these
issues triumphs. It stands upon the old ways ; and
very skilful but peculiar use it makes of its position.
Does Universal Suffrage prevail? why Young England
will show you how old was the principle that taxation
and representation should be co-extensive. Are An-
nual Parliaments law ? why Young England says 'Of
course, it was so in former times, was it not?' Very true;
and for our parts we don't despair yet of seeing poems
from Mr. Monckton Milnes, written to revive the old spirit
of democracy, or Mr. D'lsraeli taking a tour through the
provinces during a Parliamentary vacation to give a series
of lectures on the People's Charter, expatiating in due
succcession on the antiquity of its different points with
all the unction of an antiquarian who publicly unrolls a
mummy."
•

UNITED SERVICE MAGAZINE.
Her Majesty's recent visit to Blair Athol gives
the editor of this journ?l an opportunity of inserting
an article on the subject of the splendid festivals that
took place in the Highlands when any of the
Scottish monarchs visited that portion of their do-
minions. The article contains, inter alia, an amusing
account, drawn up by Lindsay, of Pitscottie, of the
magnificent reception which the Earl of Athol ga• e
to James the Fifth, when he announced his inte,
tion of going to hunt among the braes of Athol.
" Fiance and Morocco" is here brought to a conclu-
sion, and furnishes us with some geographical parti-
culars respecting the sea-coast and the principal
towns of the later country. Of the remaining ar-
ticles the most entertaining is the one entitled
"Military Anecdotes," which is contributed by
Colonel Wilkie.