, 1870-07-31


whisper It TO. whispered it to lte newspapers.
which answered ~ well, aud let the secret cut
kefore its time.
BLACKWO0D ON "LOTHAIR."
T&srac1s from tho - %|otc 10 inc %cr-
ond EdtEtou.7'
It will be remembered that the cab1e report
cd that in the SECOND edition Of the number
containing the savage review Of "Lothair,"
Blacknood had added note. Thst this note
was not m apology, tho following e1tsacta
will show:
"a new Ind comfortable e.a appears to.
have dawned for eminent men who writo
lad novels. The work Of Which We have
given our reaaers an account, WAS re-
ceived By the London press with extra
ordinary accla.nations, Of the ;1sticc and
sincerity Of which they cau now Judge for
themselves. De1uded, like so naaov otl,e1s,
pectat1on. We khased with those unfortuuates
the dismal re1ction which ensuet on tinIiug
what kind OF workmanship it Was tt,st WI
we're called on to admire; and, estimating it
as We did and do, and considering that Just
literary Judgment was of more Importance
tlsn even Mr Dissaeli's 1ar1s ss an author, i;
was inevitable, il we noticed it at all (anl not
to notice It was impossible, that We should
cudeavor not merel, to juGSe the work, l,ut
to judge it go is to redress the b11ance OF
opinion.
ITO treat 80 grotesqna production scsi-
one1y would have been OF 1tse.f misleading
procees 1t would haze been like discussing
Eravely the merits OF = breakdown at the
strcl=. Moreover, solemn article on such q
book would have been Tar from likely to 1eni
attraction to our own pages We, therefore,
adopted stylo Of treatment in unison with
the subject. and endeayored to extract what
entertainment we could from such material
We did not, OF course. expect the apprubation
Of the critics wf1o hsd already committed
themselves to policy Of adnlation but. un
the other hand. not being AWARE OF the new
phase into which criticism appears to have
passed, We were equally far from anticipating
the singular reception which our article has
encountered.
THE world las new learnt that Mr.. Dis
raesis Library fame il Of such peculiar sanc.ity
that. under sescreat penal1es OF dennuciatjon.
it must be discns-el ouy in such terms ~
would befit 1t once the character Of some holy
pse!ate And the reputation Of Cesafss vile
For the crit'cs, rising all at once from their
| which they had placed that extraordinary idol
Lhthadr,' are ready, like the two-sWorded
| corttie1s Of japan, to make nincemcat Of tho
intruder who has laid lis sacri1egious hand On
the III. sser1ous wrAppsngs which ve!l their Ts-
| cocn.
no offender who has Of lase appeared be-
| fore our criminal tribunals hiss been greeted
With such Frofl,-ion ot untaste1ipg erithcts
az our;etres. The examples We xhal1 quote
VIZ Eayc reen called ) = literary assassin
hired to deal these blows DAILY Teie-
grnIl.,: we are described a. attacking Mr,
DisIaeli with brutal violence (!Sf0ndaTd); a.
'sprinkling visiror (Sihttator}, andou reviaw
is eaid 10 be eas yi1uleht, AZ arrogant. a. bt71-
| tai. and NJ rhamefully false ~ any paper that
ever WAS printed illustrated Iinses,. Tia
Sunday itmss, differing from the Daily Ter.
graph. thinks no have neither tho courage nor
the power to lie an assassin AID that wo axe
'siEnrly ctesstnE-awecpeE who. without hopo
| Of advancement, h1s turncl Ills bcsom against
the greatest nau that ever passed lis way, aud
insstad Of making the psth clean, has iona
his worst to sHeep al the mud into Ills face.
Unfortunately fur aimseif Ut goes on to say),
he forget the current Of the wind, mea ing tho
opposition Of its own aud other reviewers,
/ whose wint1iucss VT will not take upon
us to deny. Not content will these
compliments to us, they have been lavish
OF tseir cndesrments to the victim Of our bar-
laity- 10 use, metaphorieally. lia own ini-
soosllcd his agitutcd frame, and sealed witl, sn
embrace his xpccchless form This rrocact1-
ing would have, in any case. worn q comic al
pcct: but there are two circumstances which
render it especially amusing.
1.-The one ia. that many OF these ar1en& vota-
rieH AaFo been III tho habit, for the last twenty
or thirty years or 70. OF treating with great dis
fespect-inaesd, with such de11son aud satire
J ~ they could communicable object Of their
Present eccentric devotion. The other is, that
2cco1ling to general Lelief. tie career OF the
, sufferer by our ptofane assault las not been
, entirely unageIeselve: The spectacle OF a
Feves for wae e ass,pst hostile cIitic !. IL T.
self unusual IN these times +; but whef the
particular Object OF their soticitudc happens to
be the autt,o. of 'ConinSshs,' tho foe ct Peel
/ and the skttcher OF social Parasites tho
I emotion excited il not altogether one OF s;1r-
| fIfjHH.
, "One grand count Of the Indictment aSainet
lis il, that. in allufiing to things Jewish, We
i1ase rendered our article pasaonaf aud o1en-
; rive to atf. Eisrzcii. 1t IL an attack Of An
! Offensive personal character tBeirs N'eektY
t -Me**e7aJer); worse than all are tho passages
i wherein Mr. Disracli is taunted with his Jew.
e irh descent (~1andaTst). and on this subject
tho Telegraph grows quite eloquent and dis+
g we bave raid II 31r. Disrae1i traced lis pedigree
i to Harold or William the CnntlueTor; for it is
d not the man Of Jewish descent, bnt the cham
ts pion OF Hebrew pre-eminence, perfection, AMI
ID other uonscns!csl preteneions. WHO las beef
se The Object Of our alluhons. Tho most con-
q ercrous feature III como Of hi4 later novels
ut has been tie ASSERTED superiority Of the Jews
Iu to all other people To talk Ut this in din
ts cutsiIg his merits as an author is no NOR
r reraoual than to mention hcro-Hor,4hip iii con
ir necti0n With Carlyle, Or certain fantastic
n. theories Of art il resisEing Mr. R1skin.
VI I'VE have spoken of Mr Disraeli IN the char
1tttl hA3AlA II 10 Als l9GAAAiS u
sell. and in which be- ii universally recogniz,
l. ble by I'll Who ever heard of him. For aua4
Ter OF century his satitists have depicted hit
nj with pen and pencil under Jewish ntck-name
y and With JeNish pceu@larities of costume. I'll
% Nlsce meaning Of the mock novel Of sG;ol
le linGsby ranishes il the jewish Gle meut il is
notel. In that parody, q senler Of old c1othes
y. catesp ren-k1ises and similar wares, inhabit
t. time IN 'the little harp peculiar to his n
Il, ton.' This is tue Jew that I1tmarsh d1eu
Il, ! And now the critic. Who have been 20 lon
n ct.uckl,uE over and repeating ridicule Of thi
cL -utt, suddenly discover that We, from who's
=. article nobody ca., derive the renlotest hint
el anything concerning Mr. Dls1aelis prls,te lift
}y are gplltS OF gross personality. D1 they tirin
l'e thai, because they are thus tasdiiy sirsuou,
As there tlall be no more cakes and ales Ye,
d. by St. Anue, aud ginger shall still bo hot i
Il, tile mouth. though they may prefer to offe
lii their readers saR1uAt.
fe- - Then comes 4 Terrific charge Of pctson;
lie auimoe,tr. 'We sre,' tie Standard think
p1ats seHe + tsss foul tIosR
In PROVINCIAL psrer talks OF "persoual rnAlignity
'ar The Telegraph, falling medical view OF OF
n. case. thinks We are suffering from an exn]
[1y sior OF lilious rancor-' or coursc all thus
ind 'Lothair' as cleyer and entertaining
zee 'vtnetia' or Henrietta Temple 1Ir Di
ua- rae1i il not man Who inspires strong enm
in tier, and has assufally never Inspired such
ew novel. His real foes tee,u to be those dor
'th ftr<,,tfs who would persuade him thst its no
ID, sense il delightful, and that, in seriouB wti
ast ing: 'fu6sian ia sour only wear Petha
se. nothing would please them better than to u
nd him produce the sequel to 'Loshair which !
ing have eketched.
'ed "Ami1Ht ali the sbueive generalities viii
A.. have been eho"ered on ue, nobody has essaf
me me 10 show in what pa1tlcnla1s our zeTiew
ofs otherwise than just $"
Wv .iTS "a forr to =,