The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-01 00:00:00

FRASER'S MAGAZINE,

The " Great Reformation of the Sixteenth Cen-
tury" is by no means an ill-written paper, but the
field of discussion respecting this great religious
movement has been so carefully reaped, that there is
scarcely an idea left for even the most diligent gleaner
t 6 pick up. Lives of Luther, and essays on Luther ;
histories, some in abuse, and the majority in praise of
his reforms, have of late been singularly prolific ;
and, as if this were not enough, a poem ha;
appeared within the last few months on the sub-
ject, which has had the effect of quite weary-
ing the public. Nevertheless, there are some to
whom the grandeur of the theme will ever render it
attractive, and these—the select few, by-the-bye—
will peruse the present essay with interest. "De Re
Vetriculari" is the continuation of a paper, the first
portion of which appeared a month or two back in this
periodical. It abounds in quaint scraps of learning,
ingenious hypotheses, and agreeable translations from
certain old and obscure Latin writers in prose as well as
verse; and is just the sort ofdesultor3r, rambling,omni um- •
gatherum affair to please magazine readers. " Some
Notices of the Shakspearian Drama and its Commen-
tators" takes Pope severely to task for his occasional,
ill-concealed, contemptious references to the great
dramatist. The author of the " Rape of the Lock"
—the unrivalled master of the convential and. artifi-
cial in literature—should certainly never have at-
tempted to edit the works of one who was in every
respect his antipodes ; and late in life he felt
this, and was exceedingly annoyed if any one
ever made mention of his still-born edition of Shak-
speare. We are pleased with these passing remarks
on comedy :—" There is very little natural comedy
among the dignified of the earth. It requires an ad-
mixture of the acid of vigorous plebianism with the
soda of aristocracy, to render forth the effervescence
of comedy." Moliere would have made but dull
work of it, if he had confined his wit and humour
solely to aristocratic subjects. " Fitz-Boodle's
Professions " is a lively and ingenious article,
wherein the author proposes that unoccupied noblemen
should take up the trade of auctioneer, as being a
vocation every way suited to their capacity. Possibly
they might make something of it, but they could never
hope to rival the illustrious George Robins—the very
Demosthenes of auction orators, who can be "as fine
on a riband as on a Raphael," and, nobly disdainful
of the ignoble trammels of syntax, can pour forth a
flood of unmanacled eloquence, such as—to quote his
own refreshing phraseology—it is "easier to imaginethan describe.' " Homeric Ballads" are cleverly ren-
dered, as usual, by Dr. Maginn. "Precious Minutes,
or Past Half-Hours," is an amusing paper, and gives
a tolerably graphic sketch of the, state of Charles the
Tenth's Court, at the break:rig out of the Revolution in
1830. The writer, however, is wrong in saying that this
royal blockhead and bigot was never "intimidated." His
dastardly conduct in 1790, when he headed the flight
of the French Noblesse to Coblentz, . and left his So-
vereign and brother to shift for himself, clearly proves
that fear was no stranger to his breast. " Damned
Tragedies" explains the causes of the failures on the
stage of " .Martinuzzi"j and - " Plighted Troth."
The writer. hunts about him for their. causes,*
when he might find then without the slightest
troub'e, for they, lie under his nose. The truth is,
the plays in question failed, because they were essen-
tially undramatic. They wanted action, and, what
was still more against them, they wanted probability.
From a Memoir of "Richard Brinsley Sheridan," we
quote the following extract :
There is a public-house in Tavistock-row, Covent-gar-
den, called the Queen's Head, which at that time was
kept by a widow lady familiarly called " Mother But-
ler," from the kindness of her manner and attention to
her guests. The title of hostess in England sug-
gests the idea of good cheer, and good cheer is natur-
ally favourable to. the growth of flesh. . In the person
of the hostess of Tavistock-row, a stranger might
therefore expect to find a stout, jolly woman,
with red gills, and a loud, shrill, cracked voice.
On the sight of " Mother Butler," he would be disap-
pointed. She was a little, thin, quiet-locking, old
woman. A fallen leaf, whirled about by the wind
during a fortnight, or a strip of brown paper that had
for the- same space of time opposed its entrance
through a broken
_pane of glass in a window, may afford
an idea of the colour of her complexion. In the long
course of Sheridan's connection with Drury-lane theatre,
commencing from the death of Garrick, his business
there as a manager and a proprietor often detained him-
until a late hour, and it was not necessary that he should
be a very thirsty soul to require some refreshment on
such occasions. Chance brought him to " Mother But-
ler's," and he liked the accommodation so well that he
became a visitor. In process of time the house became,
under the auspices of Sheridan,' a revival of the Boar's
Head in Eastcheap, in the youthful and frolic-
some days of Henry V., when Prince of Wales. Its
fame excited the curiosity of the last possesSor of that
Royal rank and title, afterwards George IV., whom
Sheridan, then a constant and favourite companion in
his revels, introduced to " Mother Butler's." The visit
of his Royal Highness could not fail to induce several
others of the same coterie to follow the example. Here
were to be seen the Earl of Barrymore, a big, burly,
good-humoured-looking man; Major George Hanger,
looking quite the reverse, with his dark visage
in perfect sympathy with the article in which he sub-
sequently became a dealer. There was also Sir John
Ladd, " the observed of all observers," the Jebu of his
'day, unrivalled in handling the ribands with four-in-hand
in Hyde-park, and there cutting a figure of eight with
all the precision with which his visitor surprised Archi
medes in the cypher7cut with a piece of chalk on a slate,
in the absence of that celebrated mathematician and ma-
chinist. Colonel M'Mahon, too, the Secretary of the
Prince, could not refrain from following the example;.
but his visits were few and far between, and he seemed to
cautiously avoid observation. Other " Corinthians and
lads of metal" now flocked to " Mother Butler's." In-
crease of custom brought with it increase of profit, and
for this the hostess felt indebted to Sheridan. The latter
was no braggart;but he had the rich, racy humour of
Falstaff ; all his love and talent for his joke and jest, and
the same devotion to a glass of good wine which the-fat
knight paid to his " cup of sack." He had also his Nym,
his Bardolph, and other followers in his train; to whom
might be added, during his contest for Westminster, his
Mouldy, his B alien ff, his Feeble, and his Shadow. These
latter, not indeed as recruits on their march into York-
shire to meet the rebels, but dry and hungry electors on
their way to the hustings to vote for Mr. Sheridan.

AINSIVORTH'S MAGAZINE.

A writer who signs himself " Uncle Sam," and
who seems thoroughly to understand the habits and
peculiarities of Brother Jonathan, contributes an
amusing paper in this Number, under the title of
" An Aristocratic Dinner-party in New York." The
dialogue of the different guests is highly comic, being
a strange medley of self-conceit, national prejudice,
and the most prolix, matter-of-fact assertions, ex-
pressed in a style half-English, half-Yankee slang.
Though somewhat overcharged, perhaps, yet there is
an air of reality about this dialogue, that at once
conveys the idea that it is no mere effort of a humor-
ous fancy, but based on truth. Cooper, in his " Eve
Effingham," has described a somewhat similar party,
and set his aristocratic New Yorkers slang-whanging
—to use an appropriate Jonathanism—in a very
similar spirit. The " Miser's Daughter"—which, if
not the best, is one of the author's best fictions—has
a lively description of a supper-party at a popular
actress's, where a battered old beau, Sir Singleton
Spinke acquits hiniself just in the manner that might
be expected from his years and occupation. The illus-
trations, by George Cruikshank, are in his most care-
ful and dexterous style, with less mannerism than
usual. The " Siege of Radicofani" is a whimsical
poem, penned in that light, tripping, irregular metre,
chiefly anapantic, which Toth Ingoldsby has rendered
so popular of late. It will not, however, bear an
instant's comparison with the legends of this sterling
humourist, for it is deficient in breadth and vigour,
and seldom rises above smartness. " That's Near
Enough" is an arch little prose essay, in which a
useful lesson is read to random talkers who repudiate
strict accuracy ofstatement, as though it were unworthy
of their conversational powers. The "Old Family
Place" is the commencement of a poem by Mrs. Norton .
It is tinged with melancholy, but there is no affectation
in its pensiveness, which seems to rise naturally and
spontaneously from the heart. In general, we are
great admirers of the poetic genius of this accom-
plished'
lady, who combines the feeling of Mrs. Mac-
lean with the rich and figurative diction of Mrs.
llemans. The "Jewish Marriage" is a story whose
greatest recommendation is, that it is short. " A
Paper on Puffing" is an excellent theme marred in the
treatment. The " Sbngs of Italy" contain one or
two able translations from Petrarch. The introduc-
tory observations on sonnet-writing are perfectly
just ; but how is it that, in speaking of our English
sonneteers,mr. Kenealy makes no mention of Words-

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