The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-04-17
SOME NEW BOOKS.


| good fortune to become at an early age the pei
| OF Holland House. and Of that whic aristocrac,
| whose approval had caused Brougham mud the
| poet Rogers to lie rrodiglouslv overrated
| and whose admiration encouraged Nacauld'
| in Iretensicns which he was not nlw v.
| ahlc TO make good. Those who are comretcnt
| TO gauge the substantial value or technical per
lection Of his work would probably smile at the
| notion 81 ranking him with such thinkers os
MIL or CARLYLE. or with such artists rhackcray
| and Dickens. They are CONTAINED to remember
that he was totally devoid Of scientific acqisl-
tions. and that with the execution OF his Penal
Code Tor India lie failed to doeeloue any fruit
axe 81 profound thought. 1t is not easy to over
look the hippancy with witch he presumed to
school Bentham aud James Mi, nor is
Il worth willie to dlscuss seriously tho
eclectic and superficial philosophy viii.
IN his elaborate essay upon Bacon
he propounded with entire complacency. lie
possessed unquostionnbly IN a conspicuous de-
gree the faculties which qualify fnc cssayist-
the eft 81 assimilation, condensation, and pre-
sentation. Add to this an Imagination which, II
unequal TO the higher flights 81 poetry. was yet
strong enough to construct the most vivid and
ornamentcd style which had been exhibited since
Millions prose. Macaulay's positive achieve
ments may be summed up tn few sentences.
"a
Whig leaders in Parliament at time when such
service was Invaluable. His contribution to
Jurisurudonco has borne the test Of practical
application, and is preferred by competent opin-
ION to the Louisiana Code or even the Code Nj
poleon. And finally. In an honorable, but not
the highest. field OF literature he Is the success
sor, possibly the superior. OF Addison and John
son. As to his History Of England. 1t is a con
Rerits Of essays, each emlnently picturesque and
Impressive, but not. like the work Of his contem-
porary, Grote, always Trustworthy nor romarixa.
bic for novel aud striking views. If his peer
age could In any sense he regarded as the recog-
milton Of his literary merits, we should be az no
loss to name English authors OF this century
with better claims to the distinction, who died
untitled. II. on the other hand. It was confer
red by way Of tecomrcnse for public services as
Statesman and administrator. we are bound to
say that some who deserved less have obtaincd
more.
The compiler Of the present biorraphv-The
LIE and Letters u Lord Mdcl,lah IN his
Ncphcr G.. OTTO TREvELYAH, V oil. l. darper
& iirothersl-is the son OF Macaulay's favorite
sister. During his undergraduate career at
Trinity, Cambridge. he was looked upon as a
young m n or uncommon promise, and he has
since made q crodltable ngure In literature and
IN public NE. lie possesses compact. trans
parent style. and has given evidence IN this vol
umc Of degree Of Judgment and tact which
would abundaniy qualify Him TO write the life
OF almost any man except his uncle. But pas
sionate election for his distinguished relative,
aud a natural tendency to exacgcrate the laiter's
ahiitics and claims upon posterty, have sur
rounded lis book with an atmos. mere OF VEN
era on. through which the reader may Ind II
difficult 90 determine the absolute worm OF
hacaulay- writings. or the precise importance
Of the role lie filed on the Parliamentary
s'a-e. An exclusive perusal OF this
biography would pfooebly leave tae impression
that between the years lSJ and 1875 Mucaulay
was Que q the most prominent men IN England.
that be stood IN the same plane with nloug lam,
then az the acme 81 his prestige. with Francis
JeGtey. sydney Smith, Wiherfor-e, Bentham,
and James stuart Mil. We have occasio nal
hint 81 jealousy. o. unfriendly criticism. hut
gross personal ictrac'ion ouy f. cited and never
an thing that might lay nare the essential short
comiaes OF the man. In word, there Is no
shadow In thu picture, and therefore. In spite OF
the authors good intentions. II must be &c
counted a Boswellian performance. II IL not
the less entertaining on that account, and there
Is a great deal In the domestic relations and pri-
vste character Of Lord Mucaulay, now minutcy
portr aged for the 1rst time which iwiil com
mand esteem and sympathy.
II was apparent from an early age that the dis
tlnGuishing Characteristic Of Macaulays mind
was sn extraordinary memory, coupled with
that hyeliness Of Imagination which is probably
the concomitant Of special activity ~ the former
flcuty. without accepting the familiar postu-
late that exceptional mnemonlc powers are fatal
TO original investiga,io u. we may concede that
they dispose 20 desultory reading, invest reverio
vi'h well high Irresistible CHARM and render
severe and rr0tTactcd concentration upon $50
lated problems more than usually irksomc and
impracti,ahic. IL would seem that facility in
discerning and REPRODUCING plen menu ulyer.s
the mind Il ~ penetrating their substance AID
Interior significance. Among eminent writer's
II this century Lord Naclulay and Sir William
Hamilton have been mos d. tineuishcd for the
development ~ memory, and both avowed
tarir ignorance and their dlsdlin Of
matloma, les and tie exact sciences. Yet few
o. is admirers probably would deny that the
embryonic science q psychic ogy would nave
owed much moro 10 the Scotch professor had
the history Of philosophy owed less. In like
III nuor tho reader ~ Macaulhy's Is ay on Bos.
wells Life Of johnson, impressed as he must
needs Toe by the astonishing accumulation and
picturesque arrangement Of facts. can hardly
fail TO miss the insight with which Carlyle's
critque 1.-THE same work appears to pierce the
soul Il his theme. Zachary Macauny, who was
n man Of solid and ylrle parts, seems 70 have
detected the weaknesses Of MS brilliant son, aud
repe tedly urged upon him the consecutive
study II some particular science. IL might
have been iudic.ous to supplement- such
IrcccIts by the rigorous discipline Of
public school. As It was an innate ten.
dency To exclusive and disconnected reading
wac sohdined into habit under private instruc-
tion and when the young man matriculnted at
Canbridge, he was 50 handicapped for success
In mathematics that he was once actually
" Euifed,' and secured a fellowship only with
great Ciniculty, and by dint Of unusual attain
ments In the classics. We incline to think, from
4 somewhat careful survey Of this biography,
that with the exception Of TWO years devoted to
the Indian Penal Code, Lord Macnuay never did
any hard work In his iife; We mean, of course,
work hard Tor him, since any student endowed
with atoiorahle memory must acknowledge that
the acquisition Of languages need no, involve
prolonged or arduous labor.
Lord Macaulay was fond Of tracing parallel
between his own care er and thar Of Addison.
II j. certain that both obtained tut moderate
succcss In original works ~ extended scope,
while both exceied in that species OF parasitic
literature which we call criticism. In certain
sense both may be said to have climbed TO emf