, 1866-01-12

Mr.. Ruskin, the art critic, following tho IN
stincts which led him to espouse the side OF
the rebellion, in our late war, has published q
letter defending Gov, Eyre in the matter of
the Janalca m massaeze. The London Morning
Star thus notices his latest epistolary achieve
mept:
Is It \ zebnke to pride Of intellect that Mr..
Ruskin 80 often Insists, unsolicited, upon
talent can make himself. Positively, when
Don Quixote, IN his cut.y sark, turned head
over heels among the Brown Mountains, he
was not, 3 more ruetu1ly conical spectacle
than the author Of The Stones Of Venice u
voluntarily and deliberately maIe Of himself
Yesterday by the superdous process OF publish
Ing his opinions on The subject Of the Jamaica
massacre. Can Mr. Ruskin really have writ
ten the letter? 1t appeared yesterday, signed
with his pame, In a contemporary's columns !;
and We reproduce 1t, partly as a caution to
conceited and clever people, that they may
see how pititul IN exhibition even SO gifted q
man IS Mr.. Ruskin can make of himself, " hen,
led away by m erroneous idea OF his own i'm
portance, he obtrudes his opinion on subjects
quite out Of his line. Who wanted to her Mr..
kuskin's notions about jamaica and the
wickedness of Radicals and the merits Of
Mr.. Eyres :. On subjocts connected with
art be has right to speak such AZ few men
have, md England pays, and ought to pay,
willing attention even to his most dogDatfc
and paradoxical assertions, But who eares
about his views, one way OF tho other, on
Conservatives and Radicals, black s1ave sys-
tens and English serfeeonomy Wo do
not expect Mr. Tcnnyson to write to the pa-
pers to impart his views On the RlndeFpest; OF
Mr.. Dickens to publish his notion Of the best
way to supply the want Of cotton or a1r.
Carlyle to tell rs how to deal with the street
traflic Of London. The only shadow Of an ex-
cuse which Mr.. Ruskin has for hnmblipg
himself and literature by tho ,publi-
cation Of as 9nmeaning and sRly .
letter as mortal creature ever penned
il TINT be supported the return Of Nj. Mill
and Mr. Hug hes at the late election and
he therefore thinks 1t right to announce to
the world that he does not Join these gent1e-
men In countenaucing this atuous outcry
against Governor Eyre and, indeed, that he
dlspruyes md dtp1ores their political opinIous
generally Who on earth ever supposed that
Mr. Euskin was likely to entertain the same
opinions with Mr.. MIL on any conceivable
question outside the regions OF arte Nobody
Believes Mr. Ruskin capable of looking at q
political question with Mr. Mills intellect !;
and his not agreeing with Mr. Mill
matter not having the reuotest interest for
any practical human being. "TheY ase,"
says Mr. Rnskin, - for liberty, and am for
loTCship; "they are mobsmcn, &nd I nm 3
kingsman-" It never apparently occurred
to Mr.. Ruskin when he penned tnis Inflated
md impairment nonscnse, that he must give
lin In the world II he could only prove that
Mr.. John Stuart Mil was Of their number
There must surely be esomething highly rational
in Workmanship, ,w hatever 1t Is, II Mr. Mill and
Mr.. Hughes arc tor it and 3Ir. Ruaktn Ia against
1t. Mr.. Ruskin tells us that he is 's a Conscr-
vatiye In the deepest seuse-a Re-1ormer, not
a De-former." But inasmuch as re presume
no mortal being ever existed who would have
described himself as q De-former or would not
have claimed for himself the name Of Re-
former, we do not obtain By this description =
very clenr insight into Mr.. Ruakin's political
character. It Is indeed as devoid OF any In
tclligible meaning as the comparison between
Humpty-Dumpty and Abracadabra with
which Mr. Mill in his book on Sir William
HnInilton illustrates ind satiEizes certain log
lcal propositlons.