army of Schleswig-Holstein has made several attempts to take the city of
Friedrichstadt by storm, none of which have been successful, and the
losses sustained by General Willisen have been considerable,
particularly in officers. After bombarding part of the town during the
whole of the 4th of October, the town was in the evening attacked by two
battalions of infantry and a detachment of riflemen. After a desperate
struggle, in which both sides must have suffered very heavy losses, the
Danes gave way a little, but only to seek the cover of new entrenchments
and barricades thrown up in the middle of the town. The resistance which
they met with here was so violent and determined, that notwithstanding
the most brilliant bravery, the Schleswig-Holsteiners were compelled to
retire at midnight. They took up a new position somewhat in advance of
the old, and the conflict was renewed on the following morning, but with
no better success. The fighting continued till near midnight. Sixteen
officers out of twenty belonging to the 5th battalion were slain.
General Christiansen covered the retreat with his battery, while the
flames of the burning city cast a ghastly light upon the retiring
troops. After the failure of this desperate assault, General Willisen
withdrew his troops from before Friedrichstadt. The heavy guns were
taken back to Rendsburg, and the two armies were again in the same
position they occupied before the 29th of September; the only result
having been the almost total destruction of the unfortunate town, and
the loss of many brave men on both sides.
The Danish journals of the 16th state that orders have been issued for
the return to Copenhagen of all the Danish ships of war, except the
smaller craft, in consequence of the advanced season of the year, and
its accompanying storms, which render it nearly impossible for vessels
to hold to the coast.
A rumor has obtained currency through the _Times_ that the aid extended
to the Schleswig-Holsteiners by Prussia, has led to the interference of
Russia and of France, and that these two powers have jointly proposed to
England that the three powers shall peremptorily require Prussia to
fulfill her recent engagement with Denmark, and withdraw the support she
still continues to give to the Schleswig-Holstein army. In the event of
Prussia hesitating to comply with this reasonable demand, Russia and
France are prepared to back it, by an invasion of the Silesian provinces
of Prussia on the one side, and the Rhenish on the other. The British
Government, in reply, it is said, declines to join with Russia and
France in such a note as that described, but proposes that all three
powers shall separately remonstrate with Prussia on her present breach
of faith with the Danish Government. These rumors have created a good
deal of interest and anxiety, as threatening the peace of Europe.
INDIA AND CHINA.
The accounts from India are from Bombay to October 3, and from Calcutta
to September 21st. Great preparations were on foot for the great
Industrial Exhibition at London. The Maharajah has ordered specimens of
every kind of Cashmerian product to be got ready without delay. The
shawls intended for the purpose are described as remarkably splendid.
The heir to the throne, Rajah Runheer Singh, having heard of the
distinguished "success" at London of the Nepaul Envoy, is anxious to
visit England himself; but the prospect of a disputed succession, in the
event of his father's death, will probably keep him at home.
The whole of _British India_ was tranquil, but the petty civil war on
the Nizam's borders still continued.
The native state of _Oude_ seems inclined to rival the Nizam's
territories in anarchy and misgovernment. Some months since an English
officer was killed and two guns lost in an attack on the fort of a
refractory vassal of the King of Oude. A second event of the same nature
has occurred. The Rajah of Esanuggur had shown himself for some time
unwilling to pay the portion of revenue due from him to the Oude
government, and in endeavoring to obtain these dues from him, Lieut. P.
Orr, with a small party, had a brisk fight, each side losing a
considerable number. Lieut. Orr was forced to retreat, and took refuge
in the districts of a rival Rajah.
The present aspect of the _Punjaub_ is most encouraging; the population,
now disarmed, have settled down into their former habits of industry.
The breadth of land under cultivation this season is said to be
unprecedented, and the crops are every where most promising.
The most important piece of intelligence from _Hong-Kong_ is the
continuation of the fearful mortality among the British troops. This
mortality was chiefly in the 59th regiment, which had lost ninety men in
about two months. This sickness, therefore, is ascribed to the
unhealthiness of the barracks and the want of sufficient sanitary
precautions. The mortality, however, had begun to abate.
A formidable _insurrection_ against the Chinese government had broken
out in the province of Kwang-si. The leader, who is named Li-ting-pang,
is said to be at the head of 50,000 men. He has assumed the title borne
by the highest Tartar generals, and threatens to exterminate the
present, and restore the old Chinese dynasty.
In Bombay, the culture of cotton is rapidly extending. Two years ago,
the whole of the land under cultivation with American cotton in that
Presidency, was under twenty thousand acres. At the present moment the
quantity exceeds one hundred thousand acres, and there is every
certainty of a rapid increase taking place.
At a court martial held in Bombay, Lieut. Rose was found guilty of a
want of spirit, in applying to the civil power for an escort of police
to protect him from Mr. Lang, editor of the Mofussilite, with whom he
had a quarrel. He was sentenced to be reprimanded by Sir Charles Napier,
and to lose his staff appointment.
TURKEY.
The question as to the Hungarian refugees is not yet arranged. Numerous
communications have taken place on this subject between the Porte and
the Austrian internuncio, and a recent conference has been held between
the British embassador and General Aupick. The Divan, considering itself
pledged to Austria by its anterior declaration, is unwilling to break,
inconsiderately, an engagement of this nature, by which its relations
with the Court of Vienna might be gravely compromised. In order,
therefore, to conciliate all parties, the Porte has written on this
subject to its embassador at Vienna, directing him to confer with the
Austrian Cabinet on the modifications that it may be possible and
desirable to make in the situation of the refugees. The Russian Minister
affects not to interfere in this affair, but, notwithstanding this, it
is obvious to every one that he is in private communication with the
Austrian internuncio. The Turkish fleet, which had been for some time
cruising in the Archipelago, has returned to Constantinople.
TUSCANY.
The Representative Constitution and the Liberty of the Press have been
destroyed in _Tuscany_. On the 23d Sept. two Decrees were promulgated;
the first announced the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies and
declared that till a fresh convocation of the legislature, all power
would be exercised by the Grand Duke in the Council of State. The second
declared that no journal or periodical should be published without first
obtaining the written authorization of the Minister of the Interior, to
whom the names and other circumstances of the director and of the
proprietor of the printing establishment are to be communicated.
EASTERN AND SOUTHERN EUROPE.
A frightful calamity has occurred at the place of pilgrimage called
Herrgott, in _Austria_. At one of the public-houses the pilgrims (of
whom there were 3000 assembled at Herrgott) were spending the night in
eating and drinking. While baking the fish the oven took fire. Behind
the inn were a number of stables and barns, in which hundreds of the
pilgrims were reposing, and almost all perished in the flames. Scarcely
half of the pilgrims were saved, and those who survived have for the
most part been much injured.
From _Poland_ there is a singular account of a forest on fire. Near
Cracow, adjoining the line of railway, there is a large peat ground,
part of which runs below an immense forest. Some sparks from a
locomotive engine were blown in that direction, and fell on the peat. A
few days after, the ground in the forest was found to be very warm, and
some rumbling and crackling noises were heard. Several large trees fell
as if cut down by an ax, and the leaves of others withered. As it was
naturally considered that a subterranean fire must be burning under the
forest, the officers charged with the inspection of it caused large
trenches to be cut. This conjecture turned out to be well-founded, for
the fire soon afterward burst forth, and still continued its ravages.
The forest presented the appearance of a vast sea of flame, which was
every day extending. The country round to the extent of six leagues was
perfectly illuminated, and it has been found impossible to stop the
progress of the fire.
The long expected Constitution for Galicia has at length appeared. That
Crown land will have three districts, Cracow, Lemberg, and
Stanislawow--each with a separate administration. In Cracow the specific
Polish, and in Stanislawow the Ruthennian element is prevalent. Lemberg,
the capital of Galicia, is the seat of the Provincial Government. In the
Lemberg district the two branches of the same race (the Sclavonic) are
mixed.
The Constitution for the Bukowina has also been published. This remote
Crown land is divided into six districts or captaincies, which are under
the immediate control of the Stadtholder of the province, who has still
to be appointed. Count Goluchowski had been sworn in as Stadtholder of
Galicia.
Letters from Ravenna, in the _Genoa Gazette_, give appalling accounts of
the progress of brigandage in the Roman states. Two persons, considered
as spies by the bandits, had been decapitated by them in the vicinity of
the above-mentioned town, and their heads placed on poles at a
cross-road. The diligence of Imola has lately been stopped and robbed of
1000 scudi (5500f.) belonging to the Pope. At Lugo, three individuals
carried off 11,000f. from a bank, and passed triumphantly through the
town with their booty, without any one daring to stop them.
An extensive conspiracy has recently been discovered at Teheran. The
most influential members of the clergy were at the head of it, and its
object was to overthrow the present Shah, to replace him by a descendant
of Ali, and to drive all the Turks out of Persia. Numerous arrests have
been made at Teheran, and in the principal towns. The greater number of
those arrested belong to the body of Ulemas.
LETTERS, SCIENCE, ART, PUBLIC MEN, ETC.
UNITED STATES.
The past month has not been marked by any movements of importance in any
of these departments. Our publishers have generally confined their
issues to works especially intended for the holiday season. Most of our
public men have been recruiting themselves from the fatigues of the late
protracted session of Congress, or preparing, by taking part in the
political canvass, for the session that is at hand. Mr. CLAY was
received at Lexington with abundant demonstrations of enthusiastic
personal and political affection. He has remained at home during the
vacation.
Mr. WEBSTER has been spending some weeks at his farm in Marshfield, and
at his native town, Franklin, N.H. During his stay at the latter place a
number of his old friends and neighbors paid him a visit, and sat down
to an old-fashioned dinner, at which friendly greetings were exchanged
with their distinguished host. The occasion was one of rare enjoyment.
Mr. WEBSTER's health has been very sensibly benefited by this greatly
needed interval of relaxation from public duties. In some remarks made
at an informal meeting with some friends in Boston, Mr. W. said that for
six months during the last session of Congress, he had not slept two
hours any one night.
A public dinner was recently given at Boston to AMIN BEY, the Turkish
Envoy to the United States, by some of the merchants of Boston. THOMAS
B. CURTIS presided, and a large number of distinguished guests were
present. AMIN BEY replied to a toast complimentary to the Sultan, by
expressing his warm sense of the friendliness with which he had been
received in this country, and his earnest desire for an extension of
commerce and of mutual kind offices between his own government and that
of the United States. Mr. WEBSTER made a brief and eloquent response to
a toast thanking him for his efforts in behalf of the Union. In the
course of his remarks he said that "the slavery question New England
could only interfere with as a meddler: she had no more to do with it
than she had with the municipal government of a city in the Island of
Cuba." Very eloquent speeches, breathing similar sentiments, were made
by EDWARD EVERETT, Mr. WINTHROP, and others and J.P. BROWN Esq., the
interpreter of AMIN BEY, responded happily to a toast complimenting Hon.
GEORGE P. MARSH the American Minister at Constantinople. Mr. BROWN said
that as a diplomatist and a scholar Mr. Marsh enjoyed, in an eminent
degree, the respect and esteem of the enlightened young Sultan of
Turkey, and all his Ministers.
M. ALEXANDRE VATTEMARE, who is known as the founder of the system of
International Exchanges, has taken leave of the United States in a very
warm and eloquent address, expressing his gratitude for the kindness of
his reception, his brilliant anticipations of the great results which
time will develop from the system to which he has devoted his life, and
commending it to the favor and aid of the American people. The world has
seen few instances of rarer or more disinterested devotion to high
public objects than this amiable and enthusiastic gentleman has
exhibited.
The statue of JOHN C. CALHOUN, made by POWERS for the City of
Charleston, and which was lost by shipwreck off Fire Island, has been
recovered, and sent forward to its destination. The left arm was broken
off at the elbow: with this exception it was uninjured.
At a recent meeting of the Academy of Design in New York, it was stated
by the president, Mr. DURAND, that the institution had incurred a
considerable debt beyond its resources, and mentioned a proposition that
the artists connected with it should paint pictures to be disposed of
for the benefit of the Academy. In regard to the mode of disposing of
them a raffle was suggested: but Mr. COZZENS, the President of the
Art-Union, being present as an honorary member, at once offered to
purchase them at such a price as might be fixed upon them by the
Academy. The proposition was at once accepted, and has given great and
general satisfaction as an indication of good feeling between two
institutions which have been sometimes represented as hostile to each
other.
Mr. WM. D. GALLAGHER, who is very favorably known as a literary
gentleman of ability, has received the appointment of confidential clerk
in the Treasury Department at Washington.
Mr. WILLIAM W. STORY, son of the late Judge STORY, has recently returned
from Italy, where he has been perfecting himself in the art of
sculpture, for which he abandoned the profession of law a few years
since. He brought with him a number of very beautiful models made while
at Rome. He has executed a bust of the distinguished jurist, his father,
for the Inner Temple, London. He will return to Rome in the spring.
We understand that the painting and gilding of white china, imported
from England and France, is engaging considerable attention in this
country, and that there is one establishment in Boston where above a
hundred persons are constantly employed.
Prof. FILOPANTI, an Italian scholar of some distinction, has been
delivering a series of lectures in New York, on the Influence of Secret
Societies on the Revolutions of Ancient and Modern Rome.
Hon. DANIEL D. BARNARD has sailed for Europe to enter upon his duties as
American Minister at Berlin. Previous to his departure his fellow
citizens of Albany addressed him a very complimentary letter, expressing
their regret at the loss of his society, and their admiration of his
character. Mr. B. is one of the most cultivated and scholarly of
American statesmen.
It is stated, though we know not upon what authority, that Col. BLISS is
preparing a History of the Campaigns of General TAYLOR. Such a work
would be of great value and interest, historically and in a literary
point of view.
G.P.R. JAMES, Esq., is delivering his lectures on the History of
Civilization in different northern cities. He intends to spend the
winter at the South. He has placed one of his sons at Yale College, and
the other in the Law School at New Haven.
Mr. CRAWFORD, the American sculptor, is soon to commence modeling the
statue of Washington, which our government has commissioned him to
execute. From a granite basement, in the form of a star of six rays,
rises a pedestal, upon which stands the equestrian statue, in bronze,
sixteen feet in height. The six points of the star are to be surmounted
with six colossal figures. The casting will be executed either at Paris
or Munich.
Steps have been taken to erect a suitable monument to the memory of
General WARREN. A committee of which Mr. Everett was chairman have
reported in favor of a statue to be placed in Faneuil Hall, Boston.
A bust of ETHAN ALLEN has just been completed by a Vermont artist, Mr.
KINNEY. He had a great deal of difficulty in procuring an accurate
likeness; the grandson of Allen, Colonel HITCHCOCK of the army, is said
to bear a striking personal resemblance to the old hero.
The Bulletin of the American Art-Union contains information concerning
American Artists which has personal interest:--
DURAND has not yet removed from his residence on the Hudson. KENSETT and
CHAMPNEY have been sketching among the White Hills of New Hampshire.
CROPSEY is at his country studio, at Greenwood Lake. CHURCH and GIGNOUX
have returned from the coast of Maine with their portfolios well stocked
with sketches. RANNEY continues to work upon his picture of _Marion,
with his Army, crossing the Pedee_, which will soon be completed.
MATTESON, now residing at Sherburne, has nearly finished a picture
representing _A Trial Scene in the Backwoods_, which, it is said, will
advance his reputation. JONES, a sculptor who has a high reputation at
the West, has removed to New York; he has already modeled busts of
General Taylor, Lewis Cass, Henry Clay, Thomas Corwin, and other
notabilities, and is now employed on a spirited head of General Scott,
at the order of some friends in Detroit.
EDWIN WHITE is diligently pursuing his studies in Paris. HALL, we
believe, has also gone to Paris from Düsseldorf. PAGE has arrived in
Florence, which place he intends to make his residence for several
months. He has formed a warm intimacy with POWERS, whose portrait he is
painting. WHITRIDGE and MCCONKEY have lately sent home several pictures
which indicate improvement, although they are somewhat tinged with the
mannerism of the Düsseldorf school, where these artists have been
studying so long. They propose to leave Germany very soon, and after
visiting Italy and France, to return home in the spring. LEUTZE is at
work on his great picture of _Washington Crossing the Delaware_. The
size of this painting is the same with that of those in the Rotunda of
the Capitol, twelve feet by eighteen feet. It will probably be completed
in the spring, when the artist intends to accompany it to this country,
from which he has been absent now about ten years. UPJOHN, the architect
was, by the last accounts, in Venice. GLASS has returned to his
residence at Kensington, near London, from the neighborhood of Haddon
Hall, where he has been assiduously engaged in sketching. He is at work
upon a group of paintings, illustrative of scenes in the wars of the
Stuarts. He is an artist of decided merit and increasing reputation.
GREAT BRITAIN.
In ENGLAND very few books of special value or interest have been
published or announced. The most important book of the month is the
first part of a very able and laborious compilation on _Commercial Law_
by Mr. LEONE LEVI. The object of the entire undertaking, is to survey
the principles and administration of all the various commercial laws of
foreign countries, with a view to a direct comparison with the
mercantile law of Great Britain. Mr. Levi appears to have been engaged
for years, with this object, in correspondence with the merchants of
upward of fifty countries remarkable more or less for distinct and
separate commercial usages; and to have obtained in every instance the
information he sought. His ultimate object, is the establishment of a
national and international code of commerce among all civilized
countries, rejecting what is inconvenient or unjust in all, and
retaining and codifying what is best in each.
A life of WORDSWORTH, by the Rev. Christopher Wordsworth, is announced
as in press. Its appearance will be awaited with interest.
M. MAZZINI has just republished his letters, orations, and other tracts
on Italy, with an eloquent and earnest appeal to the English people, in
a small volume entitled _Royalty and Republicanism in Italy_. M. Mazzini
repels in this book the charge so often brought against him of having
distracted and divided the forces of his native country, at the time
when they ought to have been concentrated on the paramount duty of
driving out the Austrians.
A curious incident connected with American History is mentioned in the
closing volume of SOUTHEY's Life, which has just been published in
London. While JARED SPARKS was examining the state papers in the public
offices of the British Government, so much matter was ferreted out that
the government "wished to tell its own story," and SOUTHEY adds, that
his "pulse was felt," but he declined writing it on the ground that
others could perform the task as well, and he had other engagements on
hand.
SOUTHEY, in 1829, declined a proposal from Fraser to write a popular
history of English literature in four volumes. It is to be regretted
that he did not write such a work.
In a letter to a friend, speaking of the Foreign Review, SOUTHEY says
that of its contributors, he "only knows that _an Edinburgh person_, by
name Carlyle, has written the most striking papers on German
literature." This style of reference to one who is now one of the most
eminent English writers, strikes a reader as curious. In the same letter
he speaks of Heraud, as "a man of extraordinary powers, and not less
extraordinary industry and ardor."
In 1835, Sir ROBERT PEEL wrote to SOUTHEY, informing him that he had
advised the king to "adorn the distinction of the baronetage with a name
the most eminent in literature, and which had claims to respect and
honor which literature alone could never confer"--that of SOUTHEY
himself. He accompanied this with a private letter, begging to know if
there was any way in which the possession of power would enable him to
be of service to Mr. SOUTHEY. The latter replied, in a letter marked by
the utmost propriety, declining the baronetcy, as he had not the means
of supporting it, and asking for an increase of his pension, which was
then £200. Sir Robert soon after added to this a new pension of £300, on
a public principle, "the recognition of literary and scientific eminence
as a public claim." He conferred, at the same time, a similar pension
on Professor Airey, of Cambridge, Mrs. Somerville, Sharon Turner, and
James Montgomery.
The _Athenæum_ says that an experiment, set on foot by the liberality of
a few humane persons in the vicinity of London, has proved conclusively
that the number of idiots exceeds that of lunatics, and that very much
may be done, not only to promote their physical comfort, but to bring
the small germs of intellect which exist even in the most imbecile
minds, into intelligent and useful activity. Encouraged by this success,
they have appealed to the public for aid in establishing an institution
for the relief of that unfortunate class. They propose to erect a
building suitable for three hundred patients.
The proprietors of the Marine Telegraph between England and France
propose, instead of laying a wire like the one which the storm broke
recently, to have new wires inclosed in ropes of four or five inches in
diameter--the first layer being made of gutta percha, and the outer one
of iron wire, all chemically prepared to resist the action of water and
the attacks of marine animalculæ. In each cable there will be four lines
of communication, and two cables will be laid down at a distance of
three miles apart, to provide for any accident that may happen to one of
them. The whole, it is said, will be ready in May next, and a grand
inauguration is proposed, Prince Albert being at one end of the wire and
Louis Napoleon at the other.
A project is on foot to reclaim from the sea, at Norfolk, 32,000 acres
of land, said to be of great agricultural value. The estimated expense
of doing it is £640,000.
Mr. Halliwell has addressed a letter to the _Times_, complaining of an
unauthorized republication in London of an edition of Shakspeare, with
introductions and notes by himself, published with considerable success
in New York.
Miss Martineau has been exciting a good deal of mirth in England by a
published account of having succeeded in mesmerizing a sick cow.
Dr. Maitland is urging the formation of a society to bring out new
editions of the most celebrated and least accessible works on Church
History. His plan is received with favor by the literary and religious
journals.
The foundations of several old walls, supposed to have formed a Roman
burial mound, have recently been discovered in Hertfordshire, and means
have been adopted to give the locality a thorough exploration. Several
human skeletons were found in the vicinity.
New statues of Newton, Shakspeare, Milton, and Bacon, are to be set up
on the four new pedestals in the British Museum; models of them have
been made by Sir Richard Westmacott. An elaborate piece of sculpture has
also been prepared for the tympanum of the pediment, representing the
progress of man from a savage condition up to the highest state of
intellectual advancement.
Mr. GODWIN has addressed a letter to the Lord Mayor elect of London, on
the subject of improving the character of the annual city "show" on the
9th of November, and urging that some little invention and taste might
be exercised upon it, in lieu of repeating year after year the same dull
and effete routine. He thinks that so ancient a custom ought not to be
abandoned, and proposes to raise it out of the monotonous and prosaic
routine into which it has fallen, by the introduction, among other
changes, of emblems and works of art, accordant with its ancient
character, and worthy of the present time.
The effect of the great Industrial Exhibition upon the health of London
is engaging considerable attention. It is estimated that not less than a
million of people will pour into the city at that time, and it is
contended by medical men of eminence that, unless wise and vigorous
measures be adopted, so vast and sudden an influx will create a
pestilence. The remedy proposed is to secure in some way the daily
distribution of the arrivals over a large area in London, and a series
of cheap trains which would carry off a portion of the pressure daily,
spreading the gathered millions over thirty or forty miles of movable
encampment.
Sundry relics, ropes, canvas, bones, &c., were recently brought to
England by the Prince Albert, which were found at Cape Riley, in the
Arctic Seas, and were supposed to afford traces of Sir John Franklin.
They were submitted by the Admiralty to Captain Parry, Sir John
Richardson, and others for examination, and the conclusion arrived at
is, that they were left at Cape Riley by Sir John Franklin's expedition
about the year 1845. It is supposed that being stopped by ice, Sir John
remained there for a short time making observations, &c. The reports are
elaborate, and evince careful and minute investigation. The conclusion
at which they arrive is very generally credited, so that the first part
of Sir John's adventures in the Arctic Seas is supposed to be at length
known.
The building for the Great Exhibition in London has been commenced, and
the work upon it goes forward with great rapidity. It is said that the
exhibition will probably have the effect to create several local museums
of great interest and importance. The advantages of such institutions,
especially to inventors, would be very great.
DELAROCHE's great picture of "Napoleon crossing the Alps," has reached
London, where it is on exhibition. It is described as being wonderfully
exact in copying nature, but as lacking elevation of purpose and the
expression of sentiment. An officer in a French costume, mounted on a
mule, is conducted by a rough peasant through a dangerous pass, whose
traces are scarcely discernible through the deep-lying snow--and his
aid-de-camp is just visible in a ravine of the towering Alps. These
facts, the _Athenæum_ says, are rendered with a fidelity that has not
omitted the plait of a drapery, the shaggy texture of the four-footed
animal, nor a detail of the harness on his back. The drifting and the
imbedded snow, the pendent icicle which a solitary sun-ray in a
transient moment has made--all are given with the utmost truth. But the
lofty and daring genius that led the humble Lieutenant of Ajaccio to be
the ruler and arbiter of the destinies of the largest part of Europe,
will be sought in vain in the countenance painted by M. Delaroche.
A curious discovery has been made in a collection of ancient marbles at
Marbury Hall, in Cheshire, formed at Rome in the middle of the last
century. A fragment of the frieze of the Parthenon has been found, and
is unmistakably identified by its exactly fitting the parent stone in
the British Museum.
The people of Sheffield are subscribing and soliciting subscriptions in
other cities for a monument to the memory of the poet EBENEZER ELLIOTT.
It is not intended that the monument should be vast or expensive, but
that a neat cenotaph or column, at a cost of twelve or fifteen hundred
pounds, should be erected and placed in a position suitable to do honor
to the genius whose memory it is to perpetuate.
The statue in honor of Chief Justice TINDAL is nearly completed. The
inscription for the pedestal, contributed by Justice TALFOURD, speaks of
the illustrious man in whose honor it is erected, as "a Judge, whose
administration of English law, directed by serene wisdom, animated by
purest love of justice, endeared by unwearied kindness, and graced by
the most lucid style, will be held by his country in undying
remembrance."
The Roman Government has ordered the students of art, before admission
to the academies of the city, to be examined as to the state of their
morals and their opinions on politics. Mr. HELY, an English sculptor,
has been commanded to quit the Roman territories; the marriage of his
sister to the celebrated Dr. ACHILLI is supposed to have been the reason
for this command. The London papers complain that the Americans are the
only people in Rome who are permitted to "exhibit their political,
artistic, and religious heresies with impunity;" and they cite in proof
POWERS's emblematic statue of the Republic of America trampling under
its feet the kingly diadem; CRAWFORD's design for the monument to
WASHINGTON, which the _Athenæum_ says is original and striking; and the
fact, that the American residents have just obtained permission to erect
a Protestant Church, the first ever built in the Eternal City.
A good deal of difficulty has been experienced in deciding on the
erection of a bridge at Westminster. The _Athenæum_, is reminded, by the
investigations, of a story told of a board of magistrates in the west of
Ireland who met to consider the propriety of erecting a new jail, when,
after a protracted and bewildering discussion, they formally passed
three resolutions; namely, that a new jail should be built--that the
materials of the old jail should be used in constructing the new
one--and that the prisoners should be kept as securely as possible in
the old jail until the new one was ready for their reception!
A new college--with peculiar features which give it general interest--is
about to be established in Glasgow. It is to consist of two distinct
parts; the school proper and the college. In the first, as is deemed
suitable in a great commercial city, youths will be grounded in the
elements of a sound commercial education; in the second the senior
students will go through the usual course of preparation for the
Universities. The college is to be self-supporting, unsectarian, and
non-political. The fees are settled on a scale so low as to make the
trial interesting as an experiment--and the lectures are to be open to
ladies: a library and reading-room are to form parts of the
establishment.
The _sanctum_ of the DUKE OF WELLINGTON at Walmer Castle is described as
a room of but ordinary size, destitute of ornament, and with but scanty
furniture, bearing very much the appearance of the apartment of a petty
officer in a garrison. On the right is an ordinary camp bedstead, with a
single horse-hair mattress, and destitute of curtains. Over this is a
small collection of books, comprising the best English classical
authors, French memoirs, military reports, official publications, and
Parliamentary papers. In the centre of the room is an ink-stained
mahogany table, at which the Duke is occupied in writing some two or
three hours each day; and near this is a smaller portable desk, used for
reading or writing while in bed; besides these, the furniture of the
room consists of some two or three chairs. The window looks out upon the
sea, and a door opens upon the ramparts where, until recently, the Duke
was always to be found as early as six o'clock, taking his morning
walk.
GUTZLAFF, the missionary to China, presents one of the most striking
examples of activity upon record. He was born in 1803, in Pyritz, a
Pomeranian village, and commenced his missionary labors at about thirty
years of age. He is now on a journey through Europe, the object of which
is to establish a Christian Union for the evangelization of China. In
person he hardly realizes the usual romantic idea of a missionary hero.
He is short and stout, with a ruddy face, broad mouth, and eyelids
sleepily closed. His voice is strong and not pleasant; and he
gesticulates violently. It has been often remarked that persons who have
long resided among the American Indians, become assimilated to them in
personal appearance. A similar assimilation would seem to have taken
place in the person of Gutzlaff. His features have assumed an aspect so
thoroughly Chinese, that he is usually taken by them for a fellow
countryman.
A correspondent of an English journal furnishes some personal sketches
of the men concerned in the government of the Sandwich Islands, which
have considerable interest. The king, TAMEHAMEHA III., according to this
writer, is a man of some education, for a native, and appears to take
some interest in matters of state. He was formerly addicted to
intemperance, but some years since, through the influence of the
missionaries, abandoned the habit; but is said lately to have returned
to it. He receives an income of $12,000, besides rents from his estates
to the amount of probably $25,000 more. All the principal departments of
government, with but a single exception, are filled by foreigners. The
Minister of Finance occupies the most important post, and exercises the
most powerful influence. This is Mr. G.P. JUDD, an American, a man of
good education and sound judgment, and undoubtedly the fittest man in
the kingdom for the post. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is Mr. R.C.
WYLLIE, a Scotchman. He was formerly a wealthy merchant, whom a roving
disposition brought into the Pacific in 1844. He is a clever, social
gentleman of nearly fifty years of age, who fills the office he holds
with decided ability, and resolutely declines all compensation for his
services. The Minister of the Interior is Mr. JOHN YOUNG, a half-breed,
whose father was an Englishman. He is about thirty-five years of age,
and is said to be the handsomest man in the Islands. He does no
discredit to his post, although like other half-breeds, he can hardly be
considered as of equal capacity to his European colleagues. The Minister
of Public Instruction is Rev. B. ARMSTRONG, until some two years ago a
missionary, who is said to be the best scholar in the Hawaiian language
in the islands. He and Mr. JUDD, exercise the real government of the
islands, which could hardly be in better hands. The salary of the
ministers is $3000 per annum.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL has intrusted the execution of the national Peel
Monument to Mr. GIBSON at Rome.
Great complaints are made of injury done to books, and other valuable
works, in the British Museum.
Among the distinguished men who have died within the last month, we
notice Mr. WATKINS, the son-in-law and biographer of Ebenezer Elliott;
NIKOLAUS LENAU, a German poet, who died in a madhouse; C.F. BECKER, "the
genial," whose philological works have gained him a lasting reputation
in the world of letters; CARL ROTTMAN, painter to the King of Bavaria,
one of the first artists of the day; WENZEL JOHANN TOMASCHEK, one of
the first musical composers of modern times--"the ancient master of
Bohemian music," as he was fondly called at Prague.
FRANCE.
M. Taboureau has discovered a method of converting the mud of the newly
macadamized Boulevards at Paris into bricks; and so confident is the
expectation of thus using it, that the government has invited bids for
the privilege of using it for a series of years. "Cheap as dirt" has
lost its meaning.
A new shell has just been invented by a chemist named Lagrange, which is
said to be capable of sinking a ship of 120 guns in a few minutes. Some
experiments made with it in the presence of skillful officers were
entirely successful.
An artist named Garnier died lately in Paris, whose only claim to
distinction lay in the incredibly long time which he spent on incredibly
poor pictures. One of them representing the entrance of Napoleon and
Marie Louise into the Tuileries, took him _thirty-seven_ years, and when
finished was a wretched daub. A notice of his life was read in the
Academy.
The French papers state, that a number of workmen are employed in fixing
a wire from the Bastile to the Madeleine, as an experiment for a new
company that has proposed to establish an electric telegraph throughout
Paris for the transmission of messages.
A Belgian engineer, M. Laveleye, proposes to connect the Seine and the
Rhine by means of a canal, by constructing which, navigation would be
open from London to the Black Sea and Constantinople, through the heart
of the Continent, and by means of the great watercourses on or near
whose banks lie the materials of nearly all the internal and external
trade of Europe. The estimated cost is £1,600,000.
Preparations are in active progress for the grand exhibition of French
pictures and sculpture at the Palais National, which is to commence on
the 15th of December. The official notification which has been issued
directs artists to send in their works from the 2d to the 15th of
November. The exhibitors themselves are to choose the jury of selection,
each exhibitor naming any one he may think fit. The first exhibition of
the kind which ever took place in France was in 1673; and the first time
a selecting jury was formed was in 1745. After the Revolution of 1848
the jury was abolished, and every body was allowed to exhibit; but this
was found to be impracticable for the future, and the present system of
the artists electing the jury themselves came into operation the
following year. For upward of a century, the members of the Academy of
Painting and Sculpture enjoyed the exclusive privilege of exhibiting.
Although the censorship on theatrical pieces in Paris has been
re-established in even more than its wonted strictness, the prefect of
police does not think it sufficient. He has recently directed the
commissaries of police (there is one in every theatre every night) to
pay particular attention to every performance, and to notify him if
there be any thing "in the words, style, play, or costume of the actor,
or in the applause or disapprobation of the public," which may appear
politically objectionable. This proceeding of the prefect has caused
profound dissatisfaction in the theatrical circles.
The Paris "_Débats_" announces two new works from the pen of M. GUIZOT,
to be published at the end of this month. The first is entitled "Monk;
Fall of the Republic, and Re-establishment of the Monarchy in England in
1660." The second is "Washington; Foundation of the Republic of the
United States of America."
An experiment has been made at the arsenal of Metz, of mortars, hand
grenades, and bombs made of zinc, which has completely succeeded.
A vessel arrived at Bordeaux on the 18th inst. from Canton, having on
board a curious collection of Chinese arms and costumes for the Museum
of Paris.
Several works concerning Joan of Arc have recently been published in
France. The one which attracts most attention is devoted to her martial
exploits, and shows that she did not hesitate in combat to put her foe
to death with her own hand. It is also cited as completely exonerating
the English from the odium of having had any part in her horrid
execution, since it shows that she was tried, condemned, and executed by
the Inquisition--that the charges against her were purely and wholly
ecclesiastical; that her trial was conducted in the pure ecclesiastical
form, just as those of any other suspected sorcerer, witch, or heretic;
and that in virtue of ecclesiastical laws she was sentenced and burned.
An article on Madame de Genlis and the system of education which she
adopted with the late King Louis Philippe, written by the eminent critic
and academician M. de Saint-Beuve, has excited some attention. The
writer dwells upon the prodigious memory of Louis Philippe, and says
that he knew a good deal of almost every possible subject, and had a
great faculty of displaying this multifarious knowledge in conversation.
The members of the Académie des Sciences, at Paris, have lately been
racking their brains and wearying their tongues, in an attempt to decide
_what_ forms the centre of the earth--whether it be a globe of fire or a
huge furnace, as some say--a perfect void, as others maintain--a solid
substance, harder than granite, according to some--or a mass of water
according to others: but, as might readily be anticipated, these
discussions have had no practical or useful result.
The subject which has excited most attention at the meetings of the
Academy has been the inquiry made in Algiers, by Bernard and Pelouze,
upon the fearful poison called the Woorari. The composition of this
deadly matter has long been kept a mysterious secret among the priests
and sorcerers of the Rio Negro and the Amazon. It was analyzed by
Humboldt, and the experiments that have now been made confirm his views.
It is a watery extract from a plant of the genus Strychnos. A weapon
with the smallest point covered with the matter kills as instantaneously
as prussic acid. Various experiments have been tried upon animals that
show how immediate is its action, and the singular changes that result
in the blood, which in a moment becomes of a death-black color, and does
not, after death, on exposure to air, recover its usual redness.
The trials at Algiers have ceased to excite any attention. There are 66
persons accused of a conspiracy to seize the Government; the reports
come down to the 13th of September.
We learn from the Paris _Siècle_ that the Academy of Sciences has at
present under consideration a project of a most extraordinary character,
being neither more nor less than a suspension bridge between France and
England. M. Ferdinand Lemaitre proposes to establish an aerostatic
bridge between Calais and Dover. For this purpose he would construct
strong abutments, to which the platform would be attached. At a distance
of every 100 yards across the channel he would sink four barges, heavily
laden, to which would be fixed a double iron chain, of peculiar
construction. A formidable apparatus of balloons, of an elliptical form,
and firmly secured, would support in the air the extremity of these
chains, which would be strongly fastened to the abutments on the shore
by other chains. Each section of 100 yards would cost about 300,000f.,
which would make 84,000,000f. for the whole distance across. These
chains, supported in the air at certain distances, would become the
point of support to this fairy bridge, on which the inventor proposes to
establish an atmospheric railway. This project has been developed at
great length by the inventor, and seems to be discussed with great
gravity by the Academy.
MM. BARRAL and BIXIO, whose two former ascents in crazy and ill-fitted
balloons we noticed some time since, are now superintending the
construction of an aerial machine better adapted for enabling them to
pursue a course of studies in the atmosphere. Its dimensions are to be
fifty-four feet by forty-five, and will be capable of carrying up twenty
persons, if inflated with pure hydrogen; if with carbonated hydrogen,
twelve. We may now hope that the balloon will be redeemed from the
service of charlatanism, and will contribute to the advancement of
science.
GERMANY, ITALY, ETC.
As a natural result of the disturbances in Germany, its current
literature has to a great extent assumed the form of political pamphlets
and romances. Among the works of more general interest, which have
recently made their appearance, we note the following: The Book of
Predictions and Prophecies: a complete collection of all the writings of
all the prominent prophets and seers of the present and past; to wit, of
Ailly, Bishop Müller, Peter Tarrel, &c., with predictions concerning
Jerusalem, Orval, the End of the World, &c. Popular History of the
Catholic Church, brought down to the present time, by J. SPORCHIL. The
Present: an Encyclopædic Representation of Contemporary History. This,
though in some respects, an independent work, may yet be considered as a
supplement to the celebrated Conversations-Lexicon. It is published in
parts, of which two or three appear each month, twelve parts forming a
volume. The Parts which have just been published, contain the history of
the German National Congress; the Hungarian Revolution; the Local and
Political state of Nassau; the Insurrection in Schleswig-Holstein in
1848; State and town of Frankfort. It is published by Brockhaus, of
Leipzig, who also announces New Dramatic Poems, by OEHLENSCHLAGER.
History of the Heretics of the Middle Ages, especially of the eleventh,
twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, by C.U. HAHN. Henrietta Herz, her
Life and Reminiscences, edited by J. FURST. The authoress passed a long
life on terms of intimate friendship with men of science and literature.
Her reminiscences, though written late in life, present a lively and
good-humored picture of the society of Berlin for a long course of
years, embracing sketches of Mirabeau, Jean Paul, Müller, the historian,
Schleiermacher, Humboldt, Ludwig Börne, and others.
A bronze statue of the celebrated agriculturist, ALBERT THAER, has just
been erected at Leipzig. The costume is that of a German farmer,
slightly idealized, and wearing a broad mantle. The right hand is
raised as if in the act of teaching; the left holds a roll, with the
inscription, "National Husbandry;" and upon the marble pedestal is
inscribed, "The German Cultivators to the honored teacher, ALBERT
THAER."
At the royal foundry in Munich preparations are making for casting in
bronze three colossal statues: that of Gustavus Adolphus, for
Göttenburg; that of the Swedish poet Tegner, for Stockholm; and that of
Walter of Plettenberg, a celebrated Livonian general, surnamed "The
Conqueror of the Russians." The last statue was modeled by Schwanthaler;
the others are the works of two young Swedish sculptors, MM. Fogelberg
and Quarnstroem, both residing in Rome.
An extract of a private letter from Rome states that the Coliseum is in
process of restoration.
LESSING'S great picture--"The Martyrdom of Huss," is described at length
by a Düsseldorf correspondent of the Leipzig _Grenzboten_. It is
eighteen feet by fifteen, and contains some twenty-seven figures of the
size of life; which, contrary to the practice of the French painters in
pictures of this size, are so carefully finished, that they can be
looked at close at hand. There is not a superfluous figure in the
picture--none introduced to fill a space, as is too frequently the case
in large paintings. The clearness of the general idea is not marred by
the effect of the separate parts: the artistic separation of the group
suffers the main figure first to attract the eye. In this picture
Lessing has given proof of his ability in landscape as well as in
figures. The next work upon which he is to be engaged is a large
picture, commissioned by the King of Prussia, representing the
imprisonment of Pope Paschal by Henry V.
An association has been formed in Jerusalem for the investigation of
subjects connected with the Holy Land, including history, language,
numismatics, statistics, manufactures, commerce, agriculture, natural
history, and every other subject of literary and scientific research,
with the exception of religious controversy. From the names of those
engaged in the project, it is hoped that the association will make large
additions to our present stores of information respecting Palestine.
The Leipzig journals contain notices of the recent productions of Polish
literature, which are not without interest even in this country. A
romance, by the Countess Ludwica Offolinska, recently published at
Cracow, has excited considerable attention. It is entitled "The Fate of
Sophia," and is written with great simplicity, and the deepest religious
feeling. The heroine receives at home a religious training, and then is
thrown out into the world. She appears in succession as the
waiting-maid, and then the friend of her mistress; then as maid to a
worn-out woman of fashion, and at last as governess to the children of
her first beloved mistress and friend. The sound principles she had
learned at her father's house, serve her as a defense amid all the
perils which surround her in her career. The same authoress has put
forth two comedies: "The Holy Christ," and "Vespers in the Country."
VINCENT POL, a poet, and for a short time Professor of Geography in the
University of Cracow, is one of the most distinguished geographers of
the day. His "Glance at the Northern Waters of the Carpathians and their
Districts," is an earnest of important contributions to geographical
science from the Slavic countries.
F. ANTONIEWICZ, an ecclesiastic, has published "A Festival-day Lecture
to our People," written with great eloquence. RYCHCICKI, otherwise known
as a historian, has put forth a "History of the celebrated Chancellor
Skarga, and a Description of the Century in which he lived."
From the Warsaw press have appeared, among other works, "A Lexicon of
Polish Painters," comprising all artists who were born, or lived in
Poland, or whose works refer to that country. It is by RASTAWIECKI,
contains two volumes, and is ornamented with portraits. DORBRSKI'S "A
Few Words more about the Caucasus," is a continuation of a former work.
From Wilna appears the "Athenæum," by the prolific KRASZWSKI. It
contains from the pen of the editor a work of great value, "Lithuania
under Witold," and a romance. "The Wilna Album" contains seventy sheets
of views of interesting and remarkable places in that city.
There are now published in Russia 154 periodicals, of which 108 are in
Russian, 29 in German, 8 in French, 5 Polish, 3 Lettish, and 1 Italian.
Of these 64 are published in St. Petersburgh, 20 in the East-sea German
provinces, 13 in Moscow, 5 in Odessa, and 52 in the remaining parts of
the empire.
BROCKHAUS, the great Leipzig publisher, announces a translation into
German of TICKNOR'S History of Spanish Literature, by Dr. R.H. JULIUS,
of Hamburg; with the assistance of FERDINAND WOLF, of Vienna, and other
scholars. The German editor has labored for several years in this
department of literature, and will also avail himself of Dozy's learned
work on Arabian-Spanish literature, which appeared in Holland in 1849.
A paragraph in the London Builder states that a very curious discovery
has been made in the Mosque of St. Sophia, at Constantinople. In the
course of cleansing and repairing the interior, the original decorations
in mosaic have been brought to light, including, as it is said, a
portrait of Constantine. Drawings have been made, and are on their way
to England. The Sultan, to prevent the necessity of removing them, as
portraits are prohibited by the Koran, has considerately ordered them to
be covered up again.
A newly invented locomotive steam engine has been tried at Charleroi,
with full success. The inventor, M. Hector de Callias, a Sardinian
engineer, proposes to increase the speed of locomotives, to give them an
adherence four times greater than they now have, and to decrease the
expense of fuel. By the pressure of only one atmosphere the wheels made,
in the trial referred to, 300 revolutions a minute, which would give a
speed of 24 leagues an hour. The Belgian Minister of Public Works has
appointed a committee of engineers to report to him on the experiments
which are to take place on the government lines, and has ordered every
assistance to be given to the inventor to facilitate his object.
MEYERBEER is engaged in composing the music for the choruses of the
Eumenides of Æschylus, which is about to be represented at Berlin, at
the special request of the King of Prussia, who is passionately fond of
the old Greek drama.
Interesting descriptions are given of the _Volks-Fest_, or great
festival of the Bavarian people, celebrated at Munich on the first of
October, in which the peasants from all the royal possessions receive
from the king, in presence of the assembled multitude, prizes for the
good results of their labor in rearing cattle, &c. The week this year
opened with wet weather, which did not, however, prevent the attendance
of an immense number of the people of all classes and conditions. The
King Maximilian, with his brother Otho, King of Greece, was present,
occupying a splendid pavilion in the centre, around which were ranged
boxes for the gentry and seats for the people. Three days were devoted
to the exhibition of cattle, grain, and agricultural products of all
kinds, intermingled with various sports and gymnastic exercises, and the
fourth was set apart for the unvailing of the gigantic statue of
_Bavaria_, the colossal gift of the Ex-King Ludwig to his people. This
great statue was commenced in 1844, and is now only so far finished as
to warrant the removal of the wooden screens by which it has been
concealed. It is fifty-four feet high, and stands upon a granite
pedestal of thirty feet. It is cast in bronze, of which not less than
125 tons were consumed, and is described as a work of imposing sublimity
and profound beauty. It has for the back-ground a white marble temple,
called the "Hall of Heroes," of Doric architecture, composed of a centre
and two wings, and forming a semi-circle behind the figure. To convey
some idea of the size of the statue it is stated that the face is equal
to the height of a man, the body twelve feet in diameter, the arm five,
the index finger six inches, and two hands can not cover the nail of the
great toe. The grandeur of the features is sanctified by the gracious
sweetness of the expression; the clustering hair falls on either side
from the noble brow, and is entwined with a circle of oak-leaves, one
uplifted arm holding the fame-wreath of laurel, the other grasping a
sword, beneath which sits the lion. Skins clothe the vast body to the
hips; solemn folds of massive drapery, passing off the large symmetry of
the limbs to the feet. The material difficulties attendant upon the
casting were very great. The unvailing of this great work was made the
occasion for a carnival of _fun_. Men of every trade brought for display
gigantic specimens of their respective callings, made upon the same
scale as the statue, which were exhibited with great parade and amidst
magnificent music, and processions, &c. After the multitude had been
collected in front, the screen was suddenly removed, and the colossal
statue stood revealed, and was greeted with shoutings, and the voice of
an immense band of singers. An oration in honor of the king was then
pronounced by Teichlein the painter, from the steps of the pedestal,
after which the throng dispersed.
The director of the observatory at St. Petersburg, M. Kuppffer has
applied to the French government to establish a number of stations in
different parts of the country for taking meteorological observations,
with the view of aiding him in the vast studies he has been for some
time past making, respecting the climates of different countries. In
England and Germany it appears such stations have been formed, and have
proved of great utility. Before complying with M. Kuppffer's request,
the government has requested the opinion of the academy on the subject.
It can not but be favorable. It is pleasant to see the several nations
of Europe, in the midst of their fierce political dissensions and
struggles for supremacy, thus uniting for the promotion of science.
In this number of the New Monthly will be found an interesting account
of the character and life of the distinguished German scholar, Kinkel,
who is imprisoned by the Prussian government for his liberal opinions.
Late European papers state that his friends requested permission for him
to continue a work he had commenced on the Fine Arts among the Christian
nations, but it was peremptorily refused. He is not allowed pens and
ink, or books of any kind, and it is said that he is treated with
unusual and cruel rigor.
Artin Bey, late Prime Minister of Egypt, has not, as was expected, gone
on to Constantinople, but has retired to the mountains of Lebanon, in
Syria, where he awaits the final result of the step he took in flying
from Egypt.
On the 17th Oct. Prince Paskiewitch completed the fiftieth year of his
service in the Russian army. The emperor held a grand review on that
day, and presented him personally with a Field Marshal's baton, in
acknowledgment of his fidelity.
M. Freiberg, the director of the opera at Berlin, has brought an action
against Madame Fiorentina, for a breach of engagement, and against
Lumley, of London, for engaging her; he has laid his damages at eighty
thousand francs.
The Pope has performed a popular act of clemency, by pardoning, only an
hour before the execution was to have taken place, the three individuals
convicted of complicity in the attempt to assassinate Col. Nardonic,
Chief of the Roman Police, on the 19th of June last. The attempt having
failed, Pius IX. commuted the pain of death to that of the hulks for
life, without hope of further remission. It was a political crime, the
death of the odious re-actionist having been decreed in a secret
democratic society.
The commission appointed in Rome to ascertain and estimate the damage
done to the monuments of Rome, buildings, and ruins, during the siege of
the last year, have concluded their report, and fixed upon the sums of
508,800 francs, as the total, estimated in money, of the damage done by
the besieging French forces, and 1,565,275 francs, of that inflicted by
the Romans themselves.
The rise of the Nile this year has been unsatisfactory. The river has
already begun to fall, and it is feared that a vast extent of land will
not have been sufficiently watered, and that next year's crops will be
short.
A project has been started to erect a monument to Columbus, at Palos de
Maguer, opposite the Convent of St. Ann, whence the great discoverer set
sail on his first voyage. The design proposed is a colossal statue,
twenty feet high, surrounded by groups of figures, forming a base of
forty feet in circumference. The lowest estimate of the expense is
$100,000.
ITEMS OF GENERAL NEWS.
A rather extraordinary contest has arisen between the manufacturers of
embroidered articles at Nancy and the wholesale merchants in Paris. The
former demand a complete prohibition of the imports of the articles
which they manufacture. The merchants, on the other hand, defend the
principle of the freedom of commerce, and demand that the embroidered
muslins of Switzerland be admitted into France. M. Dumas, the Minister
of Commerce, has pronounced in favor of the manufacturers of Nancy.
During the last two years and a half, the houses of 1951 families have
been leveled in Kilrush, Ireland, and 408 other families have been
unhoused.
The tide of emigration is continued as vigorously as ever. From Kerry
considerable numbers were proceeding to Cork and Limerick, to embark for
the United States.
Preparations, it is said, are in active progress for the reorganization
of the Dublin Trades Union--a body which, some years since, possessed
considerable influence in the conduct of political affairs in the
metropolis.
A society has been formed in London for the reform of abuses in the
Court of Chancery.
It is proposed to erect a monument in Edinburgh to Wallace, the Scottish
hero.
More than 2000 members of the Methodist Society have been expelled at
Bristol, because they are in favor of a reform in the polity of their
Society.
A sailors' home on a large scale is about to be established at Plymouth.
A great chess match, to be played by amateurs of all nations during the
Exhibition of 1851, is being arranged for.
Five new whalers are to be added to the whaling fleet of Peterhead next
season.
Large purchases of wine continue to be made in the Douro, at high
prices.
Upwards of five hundred members have already joined the Liverpool
Freehold Land Society.
A mummy brought from Thebes by Sir J.E. Tennent was unrolled in the
Museum at Belfast.
Numerous bales of moss have lately been imported into London from Cork.
Meyerbeer is at present at Paris, and has attended several public as
well as private concerts.
The library left by Dr. Neander is to be sold by auction. There are
about 4000 volumes; among them some of the best editions of the old
church Fathers, presented by the theological students to Neander on his
birth-day. An attempt is making to purchase the library for the use of
the theological students at the University. The total sum demanded is
not more than $4000.
An immense layer of sulphur has been discovered near Alexandria. It can
be obtained in large quantities so cheaply, that it is expected the
price of the article will be reduced in Europe.
The English population of Madrid increases in a remarkable degree. The
Aranjuez railroad, the gas works, the mines of Guadalajara, and various
other industrial enterprises, afford employment to many of them.
A verdict of manslaughter has been returned by the coroner's jury
against Captain Rowles, of the bark New Liverpool, lately arrived at
Southampton, in which some Lascar seamen had died from neglect.
The Madrid aeronaut, when preparing last week for his aerial voyage over
Europe, to convince the world that a balloon can be guided in any
direction, found a large rent in the silk. The voyage has, therefore,
been delayed for some weeks.
A steam company is on the eve of being formed at Constantinople for
towing vessels through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. The capital is
to be £150,000, in fifteen hundred shares of £100 each. The Sultan and
most of the ministers are on the list.
A Transylvanian nobleman, writing to a friend in England, speaks of the
pleasure with which he read of the reception of Haynau in England. He
states that General Count Leiningen, an hour before his execution, said,
"You will see our infamous murder will excite the greatest sensation in
England, and I recommend Haynau not to venture on a visit to England,
for the people will stone him."
The landed interest of the late Sir Robert Peel was not much under
£35,000 a year.
A private in the 56th regiment of the line was sentenced to death by
court-martial in Paris for having struck a corporal.
The circulation of all the Paris newspapers has greatly diminished,
under the operation of recent laws.
About one hundred Mormons passed through Liverpool lately, on their way
to the Salt Lake Valley, North America.
It is stated that about £70,000 was paid by the Government of Spain for
the steamships Hibernia and Caledonia.
Louis Napoleon has purchased fifty head of fallow deer, of Mr. Fuller,
of England, with which to stock the park of St. Cloud.
Leipsig fair, which has just terminated, proved very satisfactory.
Worsted and cotton goods of English manufacture were in good demand.
A revolt has broken out in Morocco, in consequence of a decree by the
emperor, ordering the skins of all slaughtered animals to be considered
as his exclusive property.
An iron lighthouse of vast dimensions is about to be erected on the
Fastnett, a solitary rock several miles out in the Atlantic, off the
coast of Cork and Kerry.
In London, under the patronage of the Lady Mayoress, a large carpet is
in progress of preparation for the Exhibition. It is to be thirty feet
in length, twenty in width, and to consist of one hundred and fifty
squares.
It is stated upon good authority, that in the articles of rice and
tobacco alone, a mercantile firm in Liverpool will this year realize
£300,000, supposed to be the largest sum ever made by any mercantile
house in Europe in one year.
The foreign merchants and shippers of London have agreed to establish a
"club for all nations," to meet the requirements of the strangers,
merchants and others, who will be in town during the Exhibition of 1851.
The club will be provided, in addition to the usual accommodations, with
interpreters acquainted with all the languages of the East and of
Europe, guides and commissioners, and departments for information. A
committee of gentlemen, merchants of London, has been elected to carry
out the undertaking.
About two years ago, the scientific world was surprised by the
announcement that Drs. Krapf and Rebman, who had been zealously employed
in connection with the Missionary Society in Eastern and Central Africa,
had discovered a mountain or mountains within one degree of the Equator,
and about two hundred miles distant from the sea, which were covered
with perpetual snow, and which there was every reason to suppose were no
other than Ptolemy's "Mountains of the Moon." It now appears that there
is no doubt of the fact.
A curious exhibition is in course of preparation for the World's Fair,
by Mr. Wyld, M.P., the eminent map-engraver. He is constructing a huge
globe, of fifty-six feet in diameter, which will be provided with a
convenient mode of ingress and egress; the different countries of the
world will be represented upon the inner, and not upon the outer
surface, and the interior will be fitted up with galleries and
staircases, so as to enable the visitor to make a tour of the world, and
visit each of the countries whose industry or productions will be
displayed in the Great Exhibition.
The wife of Mr. Maclean, late M.P. for Oxford, has been killed, by being
thrown from her carriage at Castellamare, near Naples.
In many of the provincial towns a strong feeling prevails in favor of
making the Peel monument assume the shape of useful institutions, such
as libraries.
A new monthly magazine, adapted to meet the wants of the advanced
section of the Nonconformists, has been announced.
The inmates of St. Luke's Hospital were treated to the entertainments of
music and dancing at a lunatics' ball. The success of the experiment
will lead to its repetition.
A new dock, called the Victoria Tidal Harbor, has been opened at
Greenock.
Highway robbery is becoming very prevalent in the neighborhood of
Liverpool.
A movement is in progress for the erection of a monument at Newcastle to
the late George Stephenson, "the father of railways."
The great water-works for the supply of Manchester are rapidly
approaching completion.
The _Manchester Guardian_ notices the arrival at Manchester of a
consignment of 250 bales of saw-ginned cotton from India.
The trade of Paisley continues in a satisfactory state, and weavers are
in great demand.
The tonnage of the port of Liverpool has increased from 1,223,318 tons,
in 1836, to 3,309,746 in 1849.
The subscriptions of the City of London Committee toward the Great
Exhibition amount to £26,189 18s. 9d.
The South Devon Railway Company lost £364,000 by the atmospheric bubble.
The money sent by the Irish emigrants in America to their starving
relatives at home equals, it is said, the whole of the Irish poor-rates.
The Prussian Commissioners, on the subject of the Exhibition of 1851,
have issued an address recommending a hearty co-operation in the design.
The Koh-i-noor diamond, or Mountain of Light, will, it is said, be
placed among the collection of minerals at the Exhibition in Hyde Park
next year.
The county expenditure for the West Riding of Yorkshire, was in 1824
£38,860; in 1832 it had risen to £53,477; and went on increasing until
1847, when it had risen to £103,561.
A French paper, the _Courrier du Nord_, says that the Minister of
Agriculture, while recently visiting the coal mines of the Anzin
Company, at Denain, discovered a rough diamond, fixed in a stone which
had been extracted from the coal.
An Englishman, Col. Daniels, has left his estate of nearly two millions
of dollars to a bookseller in New Haven, Connecticut, who was kind to
him while sick and without friends in the United States. Two claimants
have appeared for the bequest. Mr. Levi H. Young and Mr. Charles S.
Uhlhorn, who were in partnership at the time referred to.
The Hungarian exiles at Constantinople, it is said, are about to issue a
journal. The Italians there have published flying sheets for some time
past.
A correspondent of a Philadelphia paper writes that caricatures on
American subjects abound in Paris.
Capt. Stansbury, of the Topographical Engineers, and party, arrived at
St. Louis, Nov. 12, on their return from an exploring expedition to the
Great Salt Lake.
A Paris paper asserts that Guizot refused a nomination as a candidate
for the National Assembly from the department of the Cher.
LITERARY NOTICES.
John S. Taylor has published the third edition of _The Salamander_, the
exquisite prose poem by Mrs. E. OAKES SMITH, which found such a cordial
appreciation from the most genial critical tastes on its first
publication. The present edition has received the title of _Hugo_, from
one of the principal characters in the story, though we think that a
more appropriate and suggestive name might have been _The Lost Angel_.
Under whatever title, however, the work belongs to a unique and most
difficult branch of literary composition. Essentially poetical in its
conception, it is clothed in the forms of prose, which the most
consummate artistic skill can hardly mould into an adequate expression
for such bold and lofty speculations as pervade the whole structure of
this work. The language, which is singularly beautiful and impressive,
is made the vehicle for an allegory of a very refined and subtle
character, appealing but indirectly to the mass of human sympathies, and
illuminated only by the dim and fitful light of the supernatural. It is
no wonder that the allegorical mode should present such potent
seductions to genius of the highest order. It leaves such ample scope to
the imagination, allows such indulgence to the largest liberty of
invention, and is so fruitful in materials for vivid and effective
illustration, that it offers the most enticing charm to writers whose
consciousness of power is embarrassed in the usual forms of expression.
At the same time, unless like the allegories of sacred history, the
import is too obvious to be mistaken, or like those of John Bunyan, it
lays open the secrets of universal experience, this mode of writing is
too far removed from the popular mind to contain the most powerful
elements of success. Even in the creative hands of Dante and Spenser,
the allegory is regarded rather as a hindrance than an aid, by the
warmest admirers of their poetry. Hence we consider it no discredit to
the author of "Hugo," that she has not entirely conquered the
difficulties of this style of literary art. Her production is studded
with beauties of thought and phrase that betray a genius of rare vigor
and versatility. She has nobly dared to deviate from the beaten track,
and has thus constructed a work, which must be regarded as a gem of
precious quality, for its exquisite brilliancy of coloring, its
transparent beauty of texture, and the vivid and natural truthfulness
with which it gives back the lights of a radiant imagination.
_A Pastor's Sketches_, by Rev. ICHABOD S. SPENCER (published by M.W.
Dodd), is a unique volume, presenting a highly instructive record of the
experience of the author, during an active and varied pastoral
intercourse. The sketches, which are all drawn from real life, describe
the mental operations under the influence of strong religious emotion,
in a manner equally interesting to the psychologist and the theologian.
Most of the instances related occurred at a period of unusual
excitement, but they are free from any tincture of fanaticism, and may
be studied to advantage by all who are interested in the moral and
religious advancement of their fellow men. The author displays a
remarkable insight into human nature, a strong attachment to the
doctrines of the church in which he is a minister, a rare power of
close, consecutive reasoning, which is used with great effect in
disposing of skeptical objections, a fluency of language and a variety
and aptness of illustration, that must always make him a master in the
work of dealing with troubled, or erring, or diseased consciences. His
volume can not fail to become a favorite on the table of the pastor,
and, indeed, of all who are curious in the narratives of religious
experience.
Harper and Brothers have published _The History of Madame Roland_, by
J.S.C. ABBOTT, an agreeable compilation of the principal events in the
life of that extraordinary woman, forming one of the most readable
volumes of the day.
Baker and Scribner have published a second and revised edition of
_Sketches of Reforms and Reformers_, by HENRY B. STANTON, a work which
has attained a great and deserved popularity. It is written with vigor,
animation, and impartiality, presenting a lucid, systematic view of the
progress of political reform in Great Britain, with lively portraitures
of the most eminent men who have been distinguished in the movement.
Lewis Colby has published _The Churches and Sects of the United States_,
by Rev. P. DOUGLASS GORREE, giving a brief account of the origin,
history, doctrines, church-government, mode of worship, usages, and
statistics of the various denominations in this country. The copious
information which it presents, although reduced within a narrow compass,
will be found to comprise most of the essential facts concerning the
different topics treated, and from the diligence and candor evinced by
the author, we have no doubt of its entire reliability.
The same publisher has issued _A Cenotaph to a Woman of the Burman
Mission_, being a memoir of Mrs. HELEN M. MASON, whose devoted piety and
modest worth eminently entitled her to this feeling commemoration by her
husband.
Tallis, Willoughby, and Co. continue the serial publication of _The Life
of Christ_, by JOHN FLEETWOOD, beautifully illustrated with steel
engravings; and _Scripture History for the Young_, by FREDERICK
BANBRIDGE, profusely embellished with appropriate plates, representing
the most remarkable incidents in the Old and New Testaments.
Ticknor, Reed, and Fields have published a new volume of _Poems_ by
GRACE GREENWOOD, consisting of a selection from her contributions to the
Magazines, with several pieces which we have not before seen in print.
Like all the productions of that popular authoress, they are marked with
strong traces of individuality, varying with the mood of the moment, now
expressing a deep and melancholy pathos, and now gay with exuberant hope
and native elasticity of spirit. A transparent atmosphere of
intellectuality is the medium for the loftiest flights of her fancy,
inspiring confidence even in her most erratic excursions, and giving a
healthy tone to her glowing effusions of sentiment.
We have also from Ticknor, Reed, and Fields a new edition of _The
Grandfather's Chair_, by NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, with _Biographical
Stories_ from the lives of Benjamin West, Sir Isaac Newton, Dr. Johnson,
Oliver Cromwell, Benjamin Franklin, and Queen Christina. Mr. Hawthorne's
narratives for juvenile reading are no less original and attractive in
their kind, than the admirable tales and descriptions by which he is
known to the majority of readers.
A cheap edition of the powerful sea-story, _The Green Hand_, has been
published in one volume complete, by Harper and Brothers, enabling the
admirers of that racy production to enjoy its flavor without making "two
bites of the cherry."
_The New-Englander_, for November (published at New Haven by J.B.
Carrington), is an able number of this bold and masculine periodical,
discussing various topics of interest with a healthy grasp of intellect,
and a fresh energy of expression, which show that it has escaped the
incubus of a lifeless religionism, and breathes a free, independent, and
aspiring spirit, equally removed from presumption and timidity. Among
the articles, is an elaborate and able reply to Professor Agassiz, on
"The Original Unity of the Human Race," an admirable Review of
"Tennyson's In Memoriam," a paper on California, with others of no less
interest.
The _Bibliotheca Sacra_, conducted by B.B. EDWARDS, and E.A. PARK, for
November (Andover, W.I. Draper), abounds in choice and recondite
learning, with a sufficient sprinkling of popular articles to attract
the attention of general readers. "The Life and Character of De Wette"
gives an instructive account of the position and influence of that
eminent German theologian. The whole number is highly creditable to the
condition of sacred literature in this country.
Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston, have published _Lyrics of Spain and
Erin_, by EDWARD MATURIN, a neat volume of spirited and graceful poetry,
consisting of Spanish Ballads, Legends and Superstitions of Ireland, and
Miscellaneous Pieces.
We have also from their press ASTRÆA, _A Phi Beta Kappa Poem_, by O.W.
HOLMES, gleaming with brilliant flashes of wit, and playfully scoring
some of the prevalent follies of the day; a volume of _Biographical
Essays_, by THOMAS DE QUINCEY, a work of extraordinary interest, as
presenting the judgment of that bold and vigorous thinker on such names
as Shakspeare, Pope, Lamb, Goethe, and Schiller; and _Numa Pompilius_,
translated from the French of FLORIAN, by J.A. FERRIS.
_Jamaica in 1850_, by JOHN BIGELOW (published by Geo. P. Putnam), is
less a book of travels than a treatise on practical economy, suggested
by a short residence on that island during a part of last winter. The
largest portion of the volume is devoted to a discussion of the causes
to which the commercial and industrial decline of Jamaica may be
ascribed, and of the measures which, in the opinion of the author, would
restore that delightful and fertile island to more than its ancient
prosperity. The root of the evil, according to Mr. Bigelow, is to be
found in the degradation of labor, the non-residence of the landholders,
the encumbered condition of real estate, and the monopoly of the soil by
a small number of proprietors. He warmly maintains the importance of
developing the vast industrial resources of the island, and establishing
the laboring classes in a state of personal independence. His views are
set forth at considerable length, and with a variety of illustrations.
The discussion is often enlivened by descriptions of local customs and
manners, narratives of personal experience, and lively sketches of
incident and character. Mr. Bigelow's style has the fluency, ease, and
vivacity, with the occasional inaccuracies, which naturally proceed from
the habit of perpetual and rapid composition, inseparable from the
profession of a newspaper editor. Some portions of this volume have
already appeared in the _New York Evening Post_, of which Mr. Bigelow is
one of the conductors, where they produced a very favorable impression.
They lose none of their interest in the present form, and will be found
to present a mass of important information in an unusually agreeable
manner.
Messrs. Tappan, Whittemore, and Mason have recently published _Cantica
Laudis; or, The American Book of Church Music_, being chiefly a
selection of chaste and elegant melodies from the most classic authors,
ancient and modern, with harmony parts; together with Chants, Anthems,
and other set pieces, for choirs and schools; to which are added, Tunes
for Congregational singing, by LOWELL MASON and GEORGE JAMES WEBB. Also,
by the same authors, _The Melodist_, a collection of popular and social
songs, original and selected, harmonized and arranged for soprano, alto,
tenor, and base voices.
_Beranger; Two Hundred of his Lyrical Poems, done into English verse_,
by WILLIAM YOUNG (published by George P. Putnam), is a selection from
Beranger's Songs, of which one hundred have already appeared in a London
edition, and are here reproduced, after careful revision, the remainder
being now printed for the first time. On many accounts, Beranger is less
suited for representation in a foreign language than most poets who have
gained such wide popularity among their own countrymen. Many of his most
brilliant effusions have a strong tincture of licentiousness; they are
marked by a freedom of delineation and of language which every decent
English translator would wish to avoid; and their publication in any
other land than that of their origin, would be an ungracious enterprise.
Besides, his productions are singularly idiomatic in their style;
growing out of the current events of the day; abounding in local and
political allusions; and strongly impressed with the national
characteristics of France. The external form of these popular lyrics
seems to be the necessary costume of their spirit. You can not separate
one from the other without violating the integrity of the piece. Its
vitality resides in the light, airy, evanescent structure of the rhythm.
This delicate vase can not be broken without wasting the precious aromas
which it incloses. With these formidable difficulties in the way of the
translator, we must give Mr. Young the highest credit for the felicitous
manner in which he has accomplished his task. His selections are made
with an admirable balance of taste. He has excluded all pieces, that
could justly be condemned on the score of grossness or a frivolous
treatment of sacred things, while he has not yielded to the suggestions
of an over-fastidious and morbid prudery. The translation bears the
marks of pains-taking diligence and a scrupulous desire for accuracy. It
is the result of a profound study and a familiar knowledge of the
author. It renders the general outlines of the original with almost the
fidelity of a daguerreotype. The reader who has no acquaintance with
French poetry may obtain from it a sufficiently distinct idea of the
costume, the movement, and the verbal harmonies of Beranger. Nor is this
all. Many of the songs are alive and tremulous with gayety and feeling.
They are written as the author would have written in English. If the
racy and delicious flavor of the original is not always preserved, it is
no fault of the translator. Literary art has not yet discovered the
secret of retaining the freshness of inspiration through the process of
transplanting into a foreign tongue. A neat biographical sketch of
Beranger is a welcome appendage to the volume.
C.S. Francis and Co. have issued a neat edition of HANS CHRISTIAN
ANDERSEN'S popular juveniles _The Story Teller_, _The Ugly Duck_,
_Little Ellie_, and other tales, illustrated with wood-engravings.
_The Gem of the Western World_, published by Cornish, Lamport, and Co.,
is the title of a new Annual for 1851, edited by Mrs. MARY E. HEWITT,
containing several original articles from her own pen, with
contributions from a variety of well-known popular writers. The
admirable taste of the editress is a guarantee for the excellence of the
literary matter which she has admitted into the volume.
D. Appleton and Co. announce a magnificent collection of Gift-Books for
the approaching holidays, which in the chaste and elevated character of
their contents, and the exquisite beauty of their embellishments have
not been surpassed by any similar publications in this country. _Our
Saviour with Apostles and Prophets_, edited by Rev. Dr. WAINWRIGHT,
contains a series of portraits of the sacred personages described in the
text, from designs by Finden and other artists of acknowledged eminence
in England. They are beautifully engraved on steel, presenting with
great fidelity to character, the ideal traits of the prophets and
martyrs, whose features they are supposed to represent. Each plate is
accompanied with an original essay, prepared expressly for this volume,
and written with uniform propriety and good taste. The writers are among
the most distinguished American divines in their respective
denominations. They have performed the task assigned to them in the
preparation of this elegant work, with good judgment, fidelity, and
eminent success. Instead of attempting to "gild the refined gold" of the
sacred writers with the thin tinsel of modern rhetoric, they have
preserved the decorum appropriate to the subject, and expressed the
reflections which it suggests, in grave, modest, and forcible language.
Hence, this volume possesses an intrinsic value, as a work on Scripture
Biography, which recommends it to the notice of the religious public,
independently of the beauty and impressive character of its pictorial
illustrations. We are greatly indebted both to the Editor and the
Publishers for such a valuable addition to the tempting literature of
the holidays.
Another of their illustrated publications, of a less expensive
character, is entitled _Sacred Scenes_, describing various passages in
the life of our Saviour by artistic representations, accompanied with
suitable selections from the works of distinguished English writers.
_Evenings at Donaldson Manor_ is a charming collection of tales and
narratives from the pen of MARIA J. MCINTOSH, which with _Midsummer
Fays_, by SUSAN PINDAR, is adapted to the younger classes of readers,
forming beautiful and appropriate gifts for the season of social
congratulations and the exchanges of friendship and domestic affection.
_The National Cook-Book_, by A LADY of Philadelphia, published by Robert
E. Peterson, is a treatise adapted to American tastes and habits, and
will, of course, be satisfactory to those who prefer a bill of fare in
their own language. Great attention has been paid to that department of
cookery exclusively adapted to the sick or convalescent, most of the
dishes having been prepared according to the directions of eminent
physicians of Philadelphia.
_The Relation between the Holy Scriptures and some Parts of Geological
Science_, is reprinted by Robert E. Peterson, of Philadelphia, from the
fourth London edition, greatly enlarged by its veteran author, JOHN PYE
SMITH, the distinguished Professor of Divinity in the College at
Homerton. The work, which consists of a series of Lectures, illustrated
by copious notes, displays extensive and diligent research, uncommon
strength and fairness of argument, and an animated and impressive style.
It has met with brilliant success in England, and has gained a highly
favorable reputation in this country.
Little and Brown, Boston, have issued the Second Volume of _The Works of
John Adams, with a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustrations_, by his
Grandson, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, the first volume, which has not yet
made its appearance, being reserved for the Life of President Adams,
announced on the title-page. The present volume is composed of a Diary,
some portions of an Autobiography, and Notes of the earlier debates in
the Provincial Congress at Philadelphia. The Diary was commenced in
1755, the year of the author's graduation at Harvard College, and
continues to 1778, the period of his first departure for Europe as Envoy
to the Court of Versailles. It presents a curious picture of the youth
and early manhood of the celebrated statesman, and of the gradual
development of political events till their consummation in the war of
the Revolution. The sketches which are also given of several of the
Massachusetts politicians, whose names have since become identified with
the history of their country, derive a peculiar interest from the
freedom and unconsciousness with which they are drawn, the writer having
no idea of publicity, and intending his record of current events as
merely the pastime of a leisure hour. His frank and copious details,
which are published without alteration by the Editor, often give an
amusing illustration of the domestic life of New England, and with a few
homely touches, reveal the spirit of the people which led to resistance
against British aggression. The manner in which the work has been
prepared for publication is in a high degree creditable to the fidelity,
impartiality, and excellent judgment of the Editor. He gives all
necessary explanations in cases of doubt or obscurity, but never
distracts the attention of the reader by a superfluity of comment. With
an evident tenderness for the reputation of his venerable relative, he
allows him to depict himself in genuine colors, making no attempt to
gloss over his infirmities, or to place his virtues in an exaggerated
light. The volume is issued in a style of great typographical elegance,
with a portrait of President Adams in his youth, and a very natural
sketch of the primitive old Yankee homestead in Quincy.
_The Broken Bracelet and Other Poems_ (Phil., Lindsay and Blakiston), by
Mrs. C.H.W. ESLING, is the title of a volume of poems, which, in another
form, have been favorably received by the public, and are now collected
by the suggestion of the literary friends of the author, formerly Miss
Waterman. They are justly entitled to the compliment of a reprint, on
account of their true poetic sentiment, their graceful versification,
their delicate appreciation of beauty, and their pure and healthy
sympathies with the varied aspects of humanity. The poem, from which the
volume takes its name, is a romantic Italian story, abounding in natural
touches of pathos, and many of the smaller pieces show a depth of
feeling and versatility of expression that can not fail to make them
general favorites.
_The Immortal; A Dramatic Romance, and Other Poems_, by JAMES NACK
(published by Stringer and Townsend), is introduced with a memoir of the
author, by GEORGE P. MORRIS, who gives an interesting description of the
circumstances which, at an early period of life, decided his future
position. Mr. Nack was the son of a merchant in the city of New York. He
soon displayed a love of study, which gave promise of future
intellectual distinction. His genius for poetry received a remarkably
precocious development. But he had scarcely attained his ninth year when
he met with a severe accident, which resulted in the total destruction
of his hearing. He was thus deprived of the power of articulation to so
great a degree, that he has since confined himself to writing as the
medium of intercourse with others. His natural energy and perseverance,
however, have enabled him to overcome the obstacles to literary culture,
which, to most persons, would have been insurmountable. The poetry in
the present volume, in addition to the interest excited by the situation
of the author, possesses the decided merits of a vivid imagination,
great tenderness and purity of feeling, and usually a chaste and
vigorous diction.
Baker and Scribner have issued an edition of MILTON'S _Paradise Lost_,
in one handsome duodecimo volume, edited by Professor JAMES R. BOYD,
containing original, explanatory, and critical notes, with a copious
selection from the commentaries of Newton, Todd, Sir Egerton Brydges,
Stebbing, and others. The edition is illustrated by engravings from the
celebrated designs of Martin.
_A General View of the Fine Arts_ (published by G.P. Putnam), is the
production of a lady, who, while devoting her leisure hours to its
composition, was practically engaged with the pallet and colors. It is
intended to diffuse a taste for the study of the fine arts, by gathering
into a small compass, the information which was before diffused through
many expensive and often inaccessible volumes. Under the different heads
of Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, and Music, the author has
presented a variety of historical sketches, discussions of theoretical
principles, anecdotes of celebrated artists, and descriptions of their
most important productions. Without making any pretensions to entire
originality, the work displays a lucid arrangement, an extent of
information, and a pleasing vivacity of style, which give a very
favorable idea of the diligence, conscientiousness, critical judgment,
and artistic enthusiasm of the anonymous author. An appropriate
introduction by Huntington, the distinguished American painter,
accompanies the volume.
G.P. Putnam has published the _Artist's Chromatic Hand-Book_, by JOHN P.
RIDNER, a convenient practical treatise on the properties and uses of
the different colors employed in painting.
FOOTNOTE:
[11] Six vacancies.
Fashions for December.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--VISITING AND BALL COSTUMES FOR DECEMBER]
The extremely mild weather which has prevailed during the autumn, has
somewhat retarded the preparations for winter; yet the _modists_ have
not been unmindful of the passage of the months, and the fact that
December always promises frosts and snows. From Paris, the great
fountain of taste in dress, elegant bonnets have been received. Some are
of white, lilac, pink, and green satin, covered with black lace of rich
pattern; others are of black and colored velvets, trimmed with a small
feather on each side; the inside trimming composed of velvet flowers and
foliage, in tints harmonizing with the color of the bonnet. _Pardessus_,
wadded, and of the same material as the dress, are now generally worn,
the patterns varying but little from those depicted in our last Number.
Dresses, mantelets, and other articles of costume, are ornamented with
braid and embroidery. Embroidered silks are worn, of which the gray,
shot with white, and ornamented with embroidered flowers and foliage of
gray silk, the stems and tendrils being white, are most in vogue. The
corsage is low, open in front, sleeves demi-long. Another seasonable
material for a plain walking and in-door dress, is a French fabric
called _amure_, which consists of a mixture of silk and wool. It is
woven in dress lengths.
The figure on the left in Figure 1, represents an elegant ball costume.
The dress is composed of white crape, the skirt, which is full, being
handsomely trimmed with white lace and fullings of crape put on at equal
distances; the upper row of lace, reaching to a little below the waist.
Plain low corsage, the top part encircled with a double fall of lace,
forming a kind of _berthe_, and headed with a narrow fulling of crape,
similar to that on the skirt. This _berthe_ entirely conceals the plain,
short sleeve; the whole is worn over a skirt of white satin. The hair is
simply arranged in a cable twist, being confined at the back with a gold
or silver comb. The figure on the right represents a visiting costume.
The dress is a rich plaided silk, composed of a mixture of purple, red,
green, and white. The skirt is made quite plain; low corsage, trimmed
with a double row of white lace across the front, one row standing up,
and the other drooping over the front. _Pardessus_ of the same material,
trimmed all round with a quilling of plain purple ribbon. This is
repeated upon the lower part of the pagoda sleeves, and also serves to
attach the _pardessus_ across the front of the bosom. Under pagoda
sleeves are of white lace. The bonnet is of _paille d'Italie_, lined
with white silk, and decorated with pink roses, the exterior having a
doubled plaited frill of white silk, and a beautiful white ostrich
feather.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--EVENING COSTUME]
FIG. 2 represents an evening costume. The dress is of satin, of a rich
deep American primrose hue, the skirt made quite plain and very full,
_en petit train_; low pointed corsage, trimmed with a fulling of satin
ribbon, the same color as the dress, which is put on to form a kind of
shallow cape round the back part, and descends upon each side of the
front, finishing on either side of the point, and gradually narrowing
from the shoulders. It is trimmed with a fall of white lace upon the
lower edge, a narrower one forming a beading to the plaiting round the
neck. The centre of the corsage is adorned with _noeuds_ of the same
colored ribbon, placed at regular distances; the short sleeves finished
with a row of fulled ribbon, similar to that on the corsage, edged with
a very narrow lace. The _coiffure_ represents the front of the figure on
the left.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--COIFFURE FOR BALL]
FIG. 3 is given chiefly to show an elegant style of _coiffure_ for a
ball or evening party. A portion of the hair is brought forward in
plaits, and fastened at the parting, at the top of the forehead, with a
rich pearl ornament, forming a kind of festoon on each side of the head.
The remainder of the front hair is disposed in a thick curl, which
descends to the curve of the neck. The dress is of lilac satin; the
skirt plain and full. The corsage is low, headed with white lace, and
trimmed on one shoulder, with fullings of satin ribbon, of the same
color as the dress, and upon the other with puffs and _noeuds_ of the
same. Open short sleeves composed of two deep falls of white lace. On
one side a fall of lace extends from the centre of the corsage, and
connects with the sleeves.
FASHIONABLE COLORS depend entirely upon the complexion; for example, for
ladies who are brunettes, with a fresh color, light blue, straw color,
pink, and pale green, are most in favor; while those of a blonde
complexion universally adopt black, red, and very dark hues.
Transcriber's Notes:
Words surrounded by _ are italicized.
Obvious punctuation errors have been repaired, other punctuations have
been left as printed in the paper book.
Erroneous page numbers in Table of Content corrected.
Captions added or corrected to match List of Illustrations.
Obvious printer's errors have been repaired, other inconsistent
spellings have been kept, including:
- use of hyphen (e.g. "bag-pipe" and "bagpipe");
- accents (e.g. "dépôts" and "depôts");
- proper names (e.g. "Leipzig" and "Leipsig");
- capitalisation (e.g. "Post-Office" and "Post-office");
- any other inconsistent spellings (e.g. "ambassador" and "embassador").
Following corrections are by removal or addition of a word:
- Pg 23, word "of" added (the course of Mary Stuart's career);
- Pg 60, word "a" added (in a low, guarded voice);
- Pg 73, word "get" removed (could get [get] in);
- Pg 135, word "the" removed (surnamed [the] "The Conqueror).