The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-11 00:00:00

LITERATURE. c6l
TILE MASTER PAS SIGN, -c., By
tan, 3 vols. ,slc~ esl
These volumes contain many tales and
have already appeared in different periodtcal onsi,t
now collected fur the first time. They elliefildes oft
travelling reminiecences, anecdotts, and I, btst
traits of original characters whom the auto";
with in his wanderings. The style is bold'and two
it interests without fatiguing. This is stew
quality in a work of fiction. We nlLroti
dull history for the sake of obtaining ttfrottO
but in a novel we only seek for amusement ;
ment we are sure to find in Mr. Grattds "01
there is no affectation, no striving after effileit''v, are t
and unstudied, full of vigour and reality. i the;
that many of the incidents are -true, zeal °l.ttle,
racters; real this may.be so or,not, it matters little,
enough 03')
enough that they are natur Ily described or
dily be believed, and in this is their great cb..ta'l
impossible may interest, but it is probabllL
amuses.

opPf'

-------
The principal tale, "The Master F=ission, ifs
Colburn's Magazine some years back. Iht 1., is
of Chamouni, and is full of intere t. 'lke, m, ,re '
those dark and dreadful characters, haPPlespisiog.
found in fiction than in reality, hating Rod , sss Os
world, shunned and feared by all. This glovriirl)
thrope is softened by love for a young Pease his JAI
feeling becomes the "master passion 0'...e ot'
redeeming trait in his dark character ; but its tiSs4
" Love flows like the Solway, and ebbs like eel` ore,
the master passion of love being changed ore,
renders him even more terrible than bern,rew' TWO+,
eluding chapters of this tale ere powerful'Y °theist's
are full of thrilling interest. Many of the odtriv
are of a very different character, some light,iectioo
only calculated to amuse—others full of
......1 •
individual dispositions, tending to show tha'o 1
" The proper study of mankind is In 013 do•
The first volume is embellished with a P°' sr. i
author. The following extracts will show
.. isi
tan's opinion of the wisdom of his count:lo3o'
0
excuses for American vanity : els ill
. s searass.
The extreme diversity of shades in Irisu ~ sseed
more remarkable than the wild harmony tris; up So
blend together. Almost every individual is Inrsolelo
tradictions, or at least of contrasts. The PY °ssesets.
has always a dash of melancholy in it; and s" 0
bow even in his most clouded sky.
It is incontestable that Ireland is more fertill.efallitl
other country in wliat is generally called f°Matiogtii
its Proteus forms, but specially of that Int"eiA
have just alluded to. lam almost inclined to Irishs;ii
is quite a matter of chance whether any Olen 00 )
turn out a wise or a foolish man; and in theloop
adults it is hard to say to which category they beige
,)
almost without exception, seem to hover thrstesh,so a 1.,0
the two attractions : and in nine cases out of I,l'sicil 9
would turn the beam. It is this uncertainq tureelgd
such a racy flavour to Irish humour, and such Inc bss raid
to Irish conduct. Other nations scarcely kn°kat t"
mate us. Our fools perpetually say the shre'. IS
our wise men constantly do the most foolish.
„e if, t!)til
And is it then, really, I have often asked lu.!stissio9
quickness of intellect which is admitted to ill'iiiibri
mass a my countrymen, is but a chance item insosssy
sheet of the national character, and that, due o!' 5 bey
bon p,co
shades of difference being made, and the proper bti,
sense and nonsense fairly struck, it is even tlnn slst
Orr • jeJ .
ought to be held predominant? Is the boun s sect s
intellect and idiotism so narrow? Is it a 1116-010.`P
cerebral formation that makes. one man an orat°l;
the
an "innocent?" Of what are "Irish eloquence' the ''''.,:l'
wit" compounded? And how are we to drayr id* `'ea
tween them on one hand, and bombast and ribajcoo
other? Does the reputation of our bold-voiced till 00.4
and spirit-stirring speakers in Parliament bangssefea Or
thread of a phrenological subdivision? May 1)1 0
"Great wit is sure to madness near sallude,
coop
And thin partitions do their bounds °s, col'
be specially applied to Irishmen? and must we u;sriter,
prove a pendant to the truism of an old Latins, sr
" scholars are the most foolish men in the worldrtroalleFy,
Is it not unfair, or at best puerile, in Englislisair e'°;i'
be surprised or angry winh the Americans for ts bt to
displays of national vanity ? Have they not 8 %illg'.l
Bider themselves one of the greatest nations °' is so.
that point conceded, is it wonderful that they siwusressic
themselves the greatest? Why, then, those e' Olt"
annoyance and disgust at this strongly-develop ?
Transatlantic character? of,'`'. 0'
Let it be remembered that the United Statcstio 9
have made for themselves a distinguished Prod Visr
scale of national greatness—they have fought for of Es'l of
their liberty from one of the most powerful peoln,etbely
In a later contest, the" maintained gallantly wit's' their
so gloriously won. 'I hey see their population allu„r01 ft,
every day increasing with almost incredible Seae9
Their greatness is all visible, while their reou'csofsii
other countries leaves them without contrasts tss'osey)
their inferiority on miner points. They hear ft 7.4,,i r,
the Union to the other but the language of osier:, tile,"
The voice of sarcasm or blame comes faintly' El—,
lantic deeps; and, when heard in feeble echoes• iti. s'
envious whisperings rather than full- toned repro ;001,r'
A blustering self-sufficiency is the inevitable, cot' I,p'
of all this internal combination ; and a perpetuoi,;s of ,
given to it from outward sources. Every ship " a 1011"0,.
grants that reaches the American shores brings., so tg,
practical eulogy to increase the stock of Artier' V
Each new settler is a living tribute to the worth o
r, oseow
d4s
and all who come predisposed to admire and tstes goo:'1,4(
come an integral part of the vanity they feed. '-"ci-sell'ist
nion they at first formed for the country is not os sr'
crease when it is converted into pride of thernse' and '-f$
every additional settler abets the general disease', tea'
9
the few travellers that Europe sends out to makes7s pre i,
sojourn, can have ill-bred candour to combat ''' sleOe
weakness of self-satisfied millions ; civilisation ,4
cure it. , itil9
But is America likely ever to become
nation, if civilisation be taken to imply exPansiP° itilll
and refinement in manners and habits of thought 'aisseaf,
constant contact with other countries that eat',
a truly of 0,0
rub off the asperities of national prejudice,--she gr,,,so°4
true refinement. Such a remedy America can never :10p'
the days when her overgrown empire shall break - e 0 p•
ments of territorial separation. its isi
Then every rival State will discover faults .P
.a fey
bout-which it never saw when their interests a" the,
were in common, and jealousy will see defects niisai9 0
qualities that self-love considers as perfections. , csiggi:s4
southerns, monarchies, and republics—despots anus coio,o,
will then, by opposing efforts, disperse the ve'-'ts l' 40,
they had while united upheld ; and every seP3r,.3se 01-,:r9
lopped from the great national tree will lessen ' sets -s,
congregated vanity which overshadows the land. ea Pls!
then, we must bear with the Americans, ande:,:s•r°
them, while they say, and write, and believe
1.
to be

" The wisest, virtuousest, discreetest, best!"

MAGAZINES CONT[Nqiyllim,
DUBLIN UNIVERSITY AIAGAb`7CO7
This is a good number. The' " Gernaal! gda
Church " is a capital essay on the present jeofi
phase. of Catholicism in relation to Romanis soil
many ; and, among other things, literally " Pienkncle,l'tbef
of very discouraging extent in that most itnrci P)io.
modern impostures, Bishop Von Hommel; En%ey,lPeri
Arnold's (of Treves) " Holy Coat." It con2lol'Vre
by far the best notice of Ronge (the moderrlaild Piet
as his Countrymen term him), his past histoll)
sent doctrines, that we have yet seen. "Blpied
Recreations" are very amusing and instructive et))
Under " Irish Dress and Customs " we have 51or
curious lore, portions of which we extract lid
amusement of the reader :
tie)
"All the laws against Irish customs, especially
ones, were evidently made by men extravagant'cos
diced against the native Irish. The Enplisb beysett',) ti
regarded the mere Irish' and the wild Irish' Tiltileir ;if
do a Mohawk or an Ojibbeway. The language ca
is therefore almost invariably that of a civilised in
a barbarous people. The Norman settlers, indeen'reel"tb°
things seem to have been as credulous as the
graphers of several centuries before. Strabo des',,
native Irish as being greedy cannibals,. delighting
,„,i,71
their dead fathers • and publicly committing incest least'
lar crimes. In the reign of Richard the Second,,,s"gAisb'd
story of Irish cannibalism was believed by the r•l':„otle'ele
is recorded in Froissart, on the authority of a '-eat.,e,
who had been much in Ireland, that the natives .I,po-pr
throats of their enemies like sheep, and take out tb,clo4ves' pe
which they eat as a great delicacy. They use porot If
says, 'dont ils occient leur ennemy et ne no-1net 'coort
homme pour mort jusque a taut gulls lui a.Felicitre e
gorge comme I tin mouton, et lui ouvrent le v.e',,,013e,
prennent le cueur et l'emportent ; et dient les g°,,,.-101,reJ
congnoissent leur nature qu'ils le mangeuent par
lict.' According to the same authority, the nativesiio.;
in forests, and lived in buts 'made of boughs,
beasts. 'Et demeurent on grotes faites dessous
hayes et au buissons, ainsi comme bestes sauvagg"OinP,Do
sart Chronicle, tom. iv., c. 63. Edit. Lyons. ;to
Cambrensis, in his history of the conquest, mePalgbY
Dermot M'Murrogb, seeing among the beads 1" 1,01
him the face of one he particularly disliked. bad nr,ll'
and lips off. He also mentions that one Donal' DO c". 00
out the two eyes of M'Murrogli's son, upon which 09 It 4,
mcntator, Hooker, notes that among the barbar,°„o-ib.;,c,s
this was a courteous kind of punishment.'—Girol• Liao
"Froissart states.that this account was given to 04, r
gentleman named Castide, who, by his own statenhiceref 1;1)i)
in early life a retainer Of the Duke of Ormond P„sole,vsi
taken prisoner by an Irish gentleman (wboso ce
Frenchified into 'Thin Costeret'), who kept him ses ell lor 0
and it would appear treated him very ItindlY' lie pfld
married his daughter and had two children by hier, a ""lif
afterwards retaken by the English, and as lie Damsel do
quite familiar with the Irish language, was cr,,, le
Richard 11. to be with the five Irish kings
homage to him in Dublin, to teach them he( too vecryi
themselves. His account of his progress in t bislade eveir
amusing. He first observed that at dinner the)?,,,,,ed °lto
who --11bev-_e
faces, which he resolved to correct. They also ai'" . o'4a
dependants to eat off the same dish, and when nrels'w
correct their taste for low company, put the ll'intsotolt.
servants at the lower part of the table, they at first 640'4
objected, but afterwards good-humouredly doth-lreec"
sented. He also objected to their not wearing ti meet
Their names are Frenchified as follows : —Le th;tllinowle
Roy de ]Neste, Brun de ThJmond, Roy tic T'11;40,• ,r,3
D'Aire, Arthur Maquemaire, Roy de Linstre,
de Cheveno, and D'Erpe. 'When at last they w're.C;i'foc
and brought to dine with the king, they-were,
much stared at by the lords present. not without 1.-intc,
it was, believe me, a great noveltyi grand nouve'
see four Irish kings.--Froissart, tom. iv., eaP• that
Lyons. The whole account leaves an impression
wild Irish majesties had much more sense and Railov
politeness than their self-sufficient and frippery
otlier
instructors. also the
"Besides their inveterate prejudices, there were 'lO
reasons for the low estimate these early writers gO:,, t
Irish. The country had been for a long time preVi°.',ll
English invasion torn by internal dissensions and CI:, e
and the natives had, in fact, much declined frco-'lolf
state of cultivation we read of in the golden ngBo-09
civilisation; in addition to which the Angio-Nortuther rrie
little opportunity of being acquainted with any et on „ti:•
tives than the hostile septs engaged in the Inats-„":ren
border of the pale; whose habits, like those of n"
gaged in an irregular border warfare, were wild o_o.ooo- ft
Some of these writers, too, were so extravagantb' c'jk.,ol° an,
that they are to be believed no more than Marco
Pontoppedon. Giraldus Cambrensis, for CxamPle' to fr°
many stories of dreams and prophecies, stoutly asset, atop
truth, and endeavours to prove the probabilitY,
of a conversation between a wolf and a priest in 'llccer—
►
a coin that always came back to Dublin of its own
and numerous other equally extravagant miracles; anii`v coo;
asserts that the true cause why Ireland was not .wlnongli
quered, was because Prince John came bore when bu
to have assisted the holy church at the crusades"
.„a or?
The best of the other papers in this MagaThol
",The Whychcots--% Toot fr9ul Censum of