, 1870-04-11
NEW BOOKS,

NEW BOOKS,
a DAT BIT TIE FIRE; And Other pape,z U,tner,
p unoolfsetsd. BJ LE1eu uuxf. Boston;
hooena BsptnerA Chicago: Western News
Company. 1870.
The appearance of this little work, in which
the compilez has gathered lhe hitherto floating
eesays Of the always genial and delightful
Leigh Hunt, will be peculixrly grateful ia
American readers. The old maxim. "A
Prophet Il not without homo. save In his OWE
county Was mover more applicable in \ liter
ary sense than to Leigh Hunt Who're he has
one reader IN Eug2and, he has teu in Amarica
and Wills his popularity increases In America,
It dlnaintshea in Englznd. Precisely why this
should be tho case it Is extremely difficult to
Aee, for Charles Lamb, who wrote vc1y much
in tho sarno vein, still retains his popularity.
Leigh Hunt wrote for cvery-day reniing; fos
the sunny dayn and the rainy days; for the
pleasant days md the sober days; for
summer and winter. The reader may take up
his essa!s in any mood and always dnd aorae-
thing pleasant in them. His bocka are
books for tho aitting-ro r1ther than the u
htasy; books which you want always ut your
side. and which are out Of place in the dust!
gloom OF tho Eh1ay n1lnlvcs; books which
you want to read 1t home and on the wing.
They are not booka to be criticised By the rigid
rules Of the critic, and afford no opportunities
for the splitting Of literary hairs. You cannot
read them without loving the writer. His
cheerful. genial spirit; bis sunny disposition /;
his 35S3tn ina .fn ~ + lawn nF h.
auenities Of life; bis bright nit and scholarly
fanc1cs; his subtle perception of what Is beau
tiful in nature, att. and humanity; his sympa-
thy with everything that ia noble md hue ;
and his clear Christian faith illuminate Ill his
writing with the sunshine OF his warm, loving
heart He may write Of tho most common
things, but he will invest them with 90 much
of romance and beauty, TINT Jon read them
with Hondot and delight. In his I" Day by the
Fire" be does httlo else but to descant upon
the delights Of using the poker, but what
bright fancles he rakes out Of the embtrs
iou nrceistibly 80 along with him from the
hrst poke Of the fire in tho morning until din
ner, and 1e&1n how to sit at the table. He
dEsws al manner Of pleasant pictures Of the
ancients At their tables; singh in his musical
prose what the poots hAve sung Of the delights
Of the drreide; then dzawn the cu.tairs, and
sits With you In tho twilight, charming you
With his sancies, "At such monents,r he
says, "the philosopher plans his Utopi1n
schemes and dreams OF happy certainaes
which he cannot prove; the lover, happier and
moro certain, fancies his mistress with him,
unohseved and eonAdinS, his arm around her
WANT, her head upon hia shoulder. and earth
and heaven contained in that sweet possession
tho poet, thoughtful ~ the one and ar1ent II
tho other, Springs on 1t ouce above the
world, trcads every turn of the ha1nonioul
spheres, da1ts up with cleaning wings through
tho sunshine OF 3 thousand systems, and etopi
not until he has found perfect paradise
whose fields arc Of young roses, and whose al
is music, whose watera are the liquid diamond
whose light is ~ radiance through cTstAl
whose dwellingn arc laurel bowers, whost
language is poetry, whose Inhabitants are COD
genial souls, and to enter the very verge ol
whose atmosphere strikes beauty on the face
felicity In the heart" But the twilight deep.
ems into tla1keas~ Tho lamps arc lit, You
gather with him about the table and the cur
az tea sets him Oh into Ill sorts OF odd faneics,
although he prefers coffee. He tells you how
the poets and prose w1ite1s have acknowledged
ita inspiration from Waller paying his cour1
at Catbaziae OF Braganza, to DR., johnson re
-ceiying homage 1t TIT parties Of Mrs. Tlrale
And tho tea over, you pass the evening at chesl
and music, and eocial talk until the time come,
to say good night, md then yot
may Eit by your FIRE alone ami
in the nlence Of the world COMMUNE with Ii
airy yisitAnts and recall tho stories Of tn
Secret World and the pranks Of Fairyism
Presently the whola land Of fairies, ancien
and modern, tho demons, sy}phs, gnomes
spsites, elves, peHa, genu, and, abov
al. the fairies OF the frcsidt
tho salamander, lob-lie-by-the-lros, III,
lsmures, iaryn como fitting between th
fancy's eyes, and the dying Goals, some wit
their weapons and lights, others with S1a,
ateadfastness on book and dish; others OF Il
softer Kind with their arch looks and the
conscious pretence OF attitude, while minui
1nnaic tinklea in the ear, and Obcron givoa b
gentle order:
"1nrpuzh this house no Rilnr,ering Light
By the dead and sIrowGy trr,
Every elf and fairy sp5ite
Hop II Light u bird from brlar:
And this dlrty after me
Sang and dance 1t t1ippinttr,"
and, As the last fame goes out, and he wind
up his watch for the night, how exquisitsly b
pictures his fancies. "They msy eTen load u
to higher and more solemn medtaions, till II
work up our every feeling beyond the clingin
and heavy atmosphere Of this earthly sojou11
and look abroad upon the light that know
neither blernish nor bound, while our essa ar
ssaluted at that eeress BY the harmony OF th
skies, and our eyes behold tho Loaf and COZ
genial spirits that We have loved, fastening I
welcome us with tleir sparkling eyes, m
their curls that R.c ripo with sunshine" Tho.
IL hardly an esssr in the EnS1iah language G
full Of rich thought, beautiful fancy, and cop
GUS illustration, or written with moro class
grace, than this "Dar by the Fire, " and II
he has woven the whole fabric ont Of the pr
Faic poker br tho frreide- It is 60 full Of hr
uanity, and sunshine, and chccrfulnets tn:
one cannot rc2d it without loSing Leigh Hun
In all his essayH, N in trjs, quidquid tet.yi
ornarI-
The papers in this volume arc twenty six
number, and were originally published In tt
Reflector, tho Examiner, The indicator, Il
Mcnhly Chronicle, and the Hc.r AonA'y Mo
dzins, and are now gathered for tho first tin
and placed in ono volume. Following i
az Day }1y the Fire" ne have an eeeay on Coz
n,onp1ace People," which is full OF hurna1lii
and In which t1lis largo Claus OF people arc 81
orously defended. Tue next ten papers,
though printed separately, aro closely come.
ed. Commencing with the gods Of Grcccc,
rssses 10 their genH and guardian demons, {
voting considerable Nracc to The deuon Of s.
rates. The gcnii Of antiquity and the pos
como next, xnd these lead him to tho fairit
and here he introduces us to the whole Of /
little eompany-the good fairies, "
ffva xf,rxo 1SoJcr
tho poets; tho underground fairies, t
dwarfs, trolls and hli-folk; tho no.
fairies, lie EnsErh Tuck, Robin Gooafclle
HobGobliu, &c, the Norwegian Ms, tho G
man Ko,ol1, the Scotch Brownie, and
Swedish To'nieplbhe, or "Old Nan Of
House :" and, lastly, tho water fairies.
dwclls upon them al lovingly, anil w.as,.s
ao1ta Of cunning fancics with odd iaii ,-.n.s
he has picked mp from the fnlk-.u.e Of
countries Then he passes to tho genii !.
f1iries Of tic East, and the Arabian Sish.s :
fairly revela among them with fancy p
nigh gorgeous and Oriental Is that which c
ated them The ehtyrs, fauns, and nym]
OF antiquity, and tho sirens and ,uc1;u4iis
the poets arc next celebrated, and the Sc,
closcs with The Tfitons anil 1aen Of the &c
and the supernatural monstrosities,
GlHntR, cRes, and cyclops. 7
whole world Of fablc Is inclnt
in theso paro1s, and nothing could be m
genial or more beautiful than the manner
which tho Fairy Chrouicler has introduced
little folks, and great eiAnts, and nonstr
-teformities who people Garth. air, and Wa
In tie avail Of Dhou1kazncin :" he nar7=
tho vcrscious history OF Cog aad MAgog, +,
10 mystifed the Prophet Ezekiel and teri