The Nevada journal., 1860-02-24
HALLAM, MAcAuLAY, CARLyLR.

HALLAM, MAcAuLAy. CARLyLE.
"A late writer in Fraser's Mag
azine says be three British historians
Hallan, Macauley, and tCarIyle,
seem to have been given to us for
the purpose of showing in how differ
emf ways history may be written
The critic thus discusses the question.
Mr.. Hallam, with a style chaste
even to prudery, and a judgment i'm
partial almost to fault; thoughtful,
indeed, but thoughtful only about facts
treating ali actions and events as
matters of course, neither strange, not
startling, nor affecting, and important
onl 7 as generating certain other facts
which we call social and political re-
suits; so dry and cold that you shrink
from contact with him, and yet so
useful and so sound that you avoid it
at yoer peril
lord Macauiay, the stately yet im-
petuous march of whose clear and
riiliant narrative, corruscating with
well polished epigram and nicely
poised antithesis, "all clinqnant, all
in gold" carries you on with 1t with
an irresistible impulse, yet wearies
You at last-by the very monotony of
its elaborate excellence and the stud
led modulation of its vigorous and
ringing tread; Macaulay. with keen
eye for the picturesque, and largo
share of that sort of poetic feeling
whici, attained its perfection in Scott,
recognizing (like Hallam) the import
ance OF events in their social and po-
liticai aspect,and also unlike Hallam)
strongly affected by incidents in them
selves, provided they are out of the
common way, but seeing little to won-
der at or to weep ovcrin the ordinary
course of that sorrowful mystery, the
life of man, looking scarcely beyond
the surface of things-hatinG all phi
losophies except those which minister
to tie material welfare, despising eth
les, sneeting at metaphysics. barely
tolerating crecds. and distributing
praise or blame without hesitation and
with ors stint, under strong party
bias and from q standard of morality
of the sinplest and most conventional
kind.
And Mr.. Carlyle-what shall we
say Of Carlyle writing on English
exclusively of his own. part German,
part classical, part colloquial, part po-
eiical-in itself wonderful creation
of genius, startling indeed to Edin-
burg reviewers of the liable article"
order, and TO old ladies who have no
patience with sueh nonsense" but
digging mp as it were, and bringing
to light frcm the depths Of our glo-
RIOTS language a power and beauty
unknown hefore-valuing events not
for the political or social, but for the
human interest that is in them, and
looking upon every action or event,
however ordinary with intense inter-
est, curiosity, and almost 1--WE, as mat
ter for wonder, laughter, or tears as
E" a stronge fact, not an unexampled
one, for the strangest of all animals is
man," with humorexuberam enough
to rob history Of her dignity, and
pathos and earnestness deep enough
10 restore it to her tenfold, with a
Jealous and passionate love and
quick and steady discernment of all
that in human action is lovely, and
true. and great. 'a"d a graphic power
which causes scenes and persons 10
live and move before MS as they never
lived in history till now; with a turn
Of mind singular'y unjudicial, yet a
Judgment of character cminently i'm
partial because Of the marvellous in
sight which he possesses into the Sc
Get chambers Of the human heart.
No question but of the three Carlyle
comes nearest to the ideal of perfect
history, and tlgst is because Carlyle
is poet. Poetry, indeed is not his
tory, nor is history poetry, and yet it
is eternally true that, except by
poet, no perfect history can be writ
ten.