-
Articles/Ads
Article Literature. ← Page 4 of 5 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Literature.
do not know that the barking last night was a pursuit and capture , in whieh all the white men on the place took part ; and that , for tbe week past , the men of the plantation have been a committee of detective and protective police . Tbey do not know that the ill looking man who was there yesterday , and whom the ladies did not like , and all treated with ill disguised aversion , is a professed hunter of slaves . Thoy have never seen or heard of the Sierra cle ! Crista ! , the mountain range at the eastern end of Cuba
, inhabited by runaways , where white men hardly dare to go . Nor do they know that thoso young ladies , when little children , were taken to the city in tho timo of tho insurrection in the Afiotta do Arriba , 'j'hoy have not heard tbe story of tbe downcast looking girl , the now incorri gibly malignant negro , and the lying mayoral . In tho cities they are amused by the flashy dresses , indolence , and good humour ol : the slaves , aud pleased with tho respectfulness of their manners , and bear anecdotes of their attachment to their masters , and how they so dote that
upon slavery nothing but bad advice can entice them into freedom ; aud aretald , too , of tbe worse condition of the free blacks . I hoy have not visitor ! tlio slave gaols , or the whipping posts in tho house outside the walls , where low whites do the flogging of the city house servants , men and women , at so many reals a head . " But the reflecting mind soon tires of ihe anecdotes of injustice , cruelty , ancl licentiousness on the one hand , and of justice , kindness , and mutual attachment on the other . You know that all co-exist ; but in what proportion you can only conjecture . You know what slavery must be ni its effect on both the parties to it . "
NOTES ON LITERATURE , SCIENCE , AND ART . MB . DICKENS ' "Tale of Two Cities" was published complete in the United States in no less than twenty-nine different editions , one month before its completion in England . Dr . Cumming ' s "Great Tribulation " has not , however , been nearly as successful in tho States as in England . According to tho latest accounts , its total sale had not exceeded a thousand .
Iho following are a few of the more important works likely to como before tho reading world this spring , which have been announced . Lord Macaulay ' s fifth volume will most probably come out . A Life of Eobert Stephenson is in hand by Mr . AV . B . Adams , a gentleman well endowed for his task . The first part of a " History of England" may be expected from the pen of Mr . J . A . St . John . Mr . Buskin will complete his groat labours on the " Modern Painters , " and Mr . T . Dnffus Hardy his
" Materials of English History . " Mr . Murray has in preparation Leslie ' s "Life of Sir Joshua Reynolds ; " Mr . " Eofchen " . Iuiiglake ' s "Two Years in the Crimea ; " Mr . John Forstcr ' s "Arrest of the Five Members by Charles tho Eirst ; " aud Sir Robert Alison's "Journal at the Head Quarters of the Russian Army . " Messrs . Smith , Elder ancl Co . are preparing a work on China , by Sir John Bowring ; "The Life aud Anecdotes of Edmund Malone tho Commentator on Shakspeare" b
, , y Sir James Prior ; "The Letters of the late Rev . P . Robertson , of Brighton ; " and a new romance , by Nathaniel Hawthorne . For Mr . Bentley , Dr . Hook , Dean of Chichester , is preparing " The Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury . " Mr . Newton ( recently appointed British Consul at Rome ) , whose discoveries of works of art have recentl y been placed in the British Museum , is preparing a narrative of his "Researches ancl Discoveries in the Levant and in the Islands of
Mytelene and Rhodes , and on the Coast of Asia Minor , & c , made during a Residence of Seven Years . " Messrs . Hurst and Blackett will produce , during the season , " Travels in Eastern Africa , with a Narrative of a Residence in Mozambi que ; " by Lyons M'Leod , late British consul at Mozambique , "The Upper and Lower Amoor , " by Thomas AVilliam Atkinson ; "The Life and Times of George Villiers , Duke of Buckingham , " b y Mrs . Thomson ; and a "Journey on a Plank from Kiev to
. Manx Bonnes , " by Lady Charlotte Bepys , " Mr . J . Payne Collier , " says the Town and Table Talker of the Illustrated London News , "is about to give us a new edition , with elaborate but not overladen notes , of that book for men aud hoys , for women ami for girls—Spenser ' s ' Faerie Queene . ' A \' e have seen four of the five volumes , and matchless they look in typo , paper , pressing , aud better still—editing . AVhat does not English literature owe to Edmund . Spenser ? Mr . Collier is fco give us a life , sure to be curious . "
A serial in monthl y parts is being published in Calcutta , respecting ivhich the Miglishman . says : "A . trial is being made of the literary appetite of Calcutta readers b y the publication of a tale in numbers , after the fashion set iu England h y Dickens , Thackeray , and others . -Is is called Bogg-lesbuiy Hall : a Tale of the Nineteenth Century . " The hrst number was published b y Messrs . Thackcr , Spink , and Co ., on the first ot the present month . The author , Mr . Hamilton Hume , asks from his readers onl y a generous consideration of his endeavours ' to amuse hem . It is impossible to judge from the few pages before us what is
to be expected from the tale ; but we fear that , however woll written , and amusing it may bo , the author will not meet with that encouragement from the Calcutta public which is the best incentive to such , labour . " The Hon . Edward Everett , of Boston , is to contribute the biography of AVashiugton to the now edition of the " Encyclopedia Britannica , " published by Messrs . A . & C . Black .
AVashiugton Irving has left a largo fortune to bo divided among bis nephews and nieces . For tho last eight or ten years ho has probably received from his books alone an average annual income of 20 , 000 dollars . An elaborate biography oE Mr . Irving is understood to be iu preparation by his nephew , Mr . Pierre Irving , of New York , who has been collecting tho materials for it for several years . "It will doubtless be brought out by Mr . C . P . Putnam , the publisher of Mv . living ' s works . At a
recent special meeting of tho Massachusetts Historical Society , a series , of resolutions iu honour ofthe memory of AVashiugton Irving were " presented" by Professor Longfellow , the poet , and supported by the Honourable Edward Everett . On the history of Irving ' s " Life of AVash--ington" Mr . Everett made tho following interesting remarks : — "At this period ( after his return to tbe States in 1 S 32 ) of bis lifo be began seriously to contemplate the preparation of his last groat
productionthe'Life o £ AVashiugton . ' This subject had been pressed upon liini while yet in Em-ope , by Mr . . Archibald Constable , the celebrated publisher at Edinburgh ; and Mr . Irving determined to undertake it as soon as his return to America should bring him within reach of the necessarydocuments . Various circumstances concurred to prevent the execution of the project at this time , especially his appointment as Minister to Spain , ancl his residence in that country from 1 S 42 to 184 ( 3 . On his return to America at the close of his mission , he appears to have applied himself diligently to the long-meditated undertaking , though he proceeded but slowly at first iu its execution . The first volume appeared
in 1 S 55 , and the four following in rapid succession . The work was finally completed in tho present year—fit close of the life of its illustrious author , aud of a literary career of such rare brilliancy and success . " Professor Longfellow ' s first personal acquaintance with Mr . Irving began at Madrid . "I found the author , " said the poet of " Evangeline , " " whom I bad loved , repeated in the man . Tho same playful humour ; the same touches of sentiment ; the same poetic
atmosphere ; and what I admired still more , the entire absence of all literaryjealousy—of all that mean avarice of fame , which counts what is given to another as so much taken from one ' s self;—¦ " Ancl rustling hears in every breeze The laurels of Miltiades . " At this timo Mr . Irving was at Madrid , engaged upon his "Life of Columbus ; " and if tho work itself did not bear ample testimony to his
zealous and conscientious labour , I could do so from personal observation . He seemed to be always at work . ' Sit down , ' he would say ; ' I will talk with you iu a moment , but I must first finish this sentence . " Ono summer morning , passing his house at the early hour of six , I saw his study window already wide open . On my mentioning it to him afterwards , lie said , ' Yes , I am always at my work as early as six . ' Since then I have often remembered that sunny morning and that open window , so suggestive of his sunny temperament and his open heart ,
and equally so of his patient and persistent toil . " Among the otherspeakers on this interesting occasion was Oliver AVondle Holmes , the well-known poet and humourist . The Council of the Royal Institution have prepared their course of Friday lectures for the session before Easter . They stand as follows * . — January 20 th ( subject unnamed ) , by Professor Tyndal !; January 27 th ,, "On the Cerebral Classification of the Class Mammalia , " by Professor
Owen ; February 3 rd , " On the Mineral Treasures of the Andes , " by F . Field , Esq . ; February 10 th , " On Species and Knees , and their Origin , " by Professor T . H . Huxley ; February Iffch , "Ou the Influence of Science on the Art of Calico Printing , " by Professor F . Grace Calvert ; February 21 th , "On the Relation between the Vital and the Physical . Forces , " b y Dr . AV . B . Carpenter ; March 2 nd , "On the Measurement ofthe Chemical Action of the Solar Rays , " b y Professor If . K Roscoe ;
March 9 th , ( subject unnamed ) , by Professor Faraday ; March lGth , "On the Relation between the Abnormal and the Normal Formations in Plants , " by M . T . Masters , Esq .. ; March 23 rd , "On Diamonds , " by N . S . Maskolyuo , Esq . ; and March 30 th , " On Aeids and Salts , " by AV . Odling , Esq . The lecture arrangements for the new year , at the South . Kensington Museum , presents an instructive ancl useful variety . Lectures on the Art Collection will be given by Mr , R . 1 : 1 . Smith , Mr . Robinson , and
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Literature.
do not know that the barking last night was a pursuit and capture , in whieh all the white men on the place took part ; and that , for tbe week past , the men of the plantation have been a committee of detective and protective police . Tbey do not know that the ill looking man who was there yesterday , and whom the ladies did not like , and all treated with ill disguised aversion , is a professed hunter of slaves . Thoy have never seen or heard of the Sierra cle ! Crista ! , the mountain range at the eastern end of Cuba
, inhabited by runaways , where white men hardly dare to go . Nor do they know that thoso young ladies , when little children , were taken to the city in tho timo of tho insurrection in the Afiotta do Arriba , 'j'hoy have not heard tbe story of tbe downcast looking girl , the now incorri gibly malignant negro , and the lying mayoral . In tho cities they are amused by the flashy dresses , indolence , and good humour ol : the slaves , aud pleased with tho respectfulness of their manners , and bear anecdotes of their attachment to their masters , and how they so dote that
upon slavery nothing but bad advice can entice them into freedom ; aud aretald , too , of tbe worse condition of the free blacks . I hoy have not visitor ! tlio slave gaols , or the whipping posts in tho house outside the walls , where low whites do the flogging of the city house servants , men and women , at so many reals a head . " But the reflecting mind soon tires of ihe anecdotes of injustice , cruelty , ancl licentiousness on the one hand , and of justice , kindness , and mutual attachment on the other . You know that all co-exist ; but in what proportion you can only conjecture . You know what slavery must be ni its effect on both the parties to it . "
NOTES ON LITERATURE , SCIENCE , AND ART . MB . DICKENS ' "Tale of Two Cities" was published complete in the United States in no less than twenty-nine different editions , one month before its completion in England . Dr . Cumming ' s "Great Tribulation " has not , however , been nearly as successful in tho States as in England . According to tho latest accounts , its total sale had not exceeded a thousand .
Iho following are a few of the more important works likely to como before tho reading world this spring , which have been announced . Lord Macaulay ' s fifth volume will most probably come out . A Life of Eobert Stephenson is in hand by Mr . AV . B . Adams , a gentleman well endowed for his task . The first part of a " History of England" may be expected from the pen of Mr . J . A . St . John . Mr . Buskin will complete his groat labours on the " Modern Painters , " and Mr . T . Dnffus Hardy his
" Materials of English History . " Mr . Murray has in preparation Leslie ' s "Life of Sir Joshua Reynolds ; " Mr . " Eofchen " . Iuiiglake ' s "Two Years in the Crimea ; " Mr . John Forstcr ' s "Arrest of the Five Members by Charles tho Eirst ; " aud Sir Robert Alison's "Journal at the Head Quarters of the Russian Army . " Messrs . Smith , Elder ancl Co . are preparing a work on China , by Sir John Bowring ; "The Life aud Anecdotes of Edmund Malone tho Commentator on Shakspeare" b
, , y Sir James Prior ; "The Letters of the late Rev . P . Robertson , of Brighton ; " and a new romance , by Nathaniel Hawthorne . For Mr . Bentley , Dr . Hook , Dean of Chichester , is preparing " The Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury . " Mr . Newton ( recently appointed British Consul at Rome ) , whose discoveries of works of art have recentl y been placed in the British Museum , is preparing a narrative of his "Researches ancl Discoveries in the Levant and in the Islands of
Mytelene and Rhodes , and on the Coast of Asia Minor , & c , made during a Residence of Seven Years . " Messrs . Hurst and Blackett will produce , during the season , " Travels in Eastern Africa , with a Narrative of a Residence in Mozambi que ; " by Lyons M'Leod , late British consul at Mozambique , "The Upper and Lower Amoor , " by Thomas AVilliam Atkinson ; "The Life and Times of George Villiers , Duke of Buckingham , " b y Mrs . Thomson ; and a "Journey on a Plank from Kiev to
. Manx Bonnes , " by Lady Charlotte Bepys , " Mr . J . Payne Collier , " says the Town and Table Talker of the Illustrated London News , "is about to give us a new edition , with elaborate but not overladen notes , of that book for men aud hoys , for women ami for girls—Spenser ' s ' Faerie Queene . ' A \' e have seen four of the five volumes , and matchless they look in typo , paper , pressing , aud better still—editing . AVhat does not English literature owe to Edmund . Spenser ? Mr . Collier is fco give us a life , sure to be curious . "
A serial in monthl y parts is being published in Calcutta , respecting ivhich the Miglishman . says : "A . trial is being made of the literary appetite of Calcutta readers b y the publication of a tale in numbers , after the fashion set iu England h y Dickens , Thackeray , and others . -Is is called Bogg-lesbuiy Hall : a Tale of the Nineteenth Century . " The hrst number was published b y Messrs . Thackcr , Spink , and Co ., on the first ot the present month . The author , Mr . Hamilton Hume , asks from his readers onl y a generous consideration of his endeavours ' to amuse hem . It is impossible to judge from the few pages before us what is
to be expected from the tale ; but we fear that , however woll written , and amusing it may bo , the author will not meet with that encouragement from the Calcutta public which is the best incentive to such , labour . " The Hon . Edward Everett , of Boston , is to contribute the biography of AVashiugton to the now edition of the " Encyclopedia Britannica , " published by Messrs . A . & C . Black .
AVashiugton Irving has left a largo fortune to bo divided among bis nephews and nieces . For tho last eight or ten years ho has probably received from his books alone an average annual income of 20 , 000 dollars . An elaborate biography oE Mr . Irving is understood to be iu preparation by his nephew , Mr . Pierre Irving , of New York , who has been collecting tho materials for it for several years . "It will doubtless be brought out by Mr . C . P . Putnam , the publisher of Mv . living ' s works . At a
recent special meeting of tho Massachusetts Historical Society , a series , of resolutions iu honour ofthe memory of AVashiugton Irving were " presented" by Professor Longfellow , the poet , and supported by the Honourable Edward Everett . On the history of Irving ' s " Life of AVash--ington" Mr . Everett made tho following interesting remarks : — "At this period ( after his return to tbe States in 1 S 32 ) of bis lifo be began seriously to contemplate the preparation of his last groat
productionthe'Life o £ AVashiugton . ' This subject had been pressed upon liini while yet in Em-ope , by Mr . . Archibald Constable , the celebrated publisher at Edinburgh ; and Mr . Irving determined to undertake it as soon as his return to America should bring him within reach of the necessarydocuments . Various circumstances concurred to prevent the execution of the project at this time , especially his appointment as Minister to Spain , ancl his residence in that country from 1 S 42 to 184 ( 3 . On his return to America at the close of his mission , he appears to have applied himself diligently to the long-meditated undertaking , though he proceeded but slowly at first iu its execution . The first volume appeared
in 1 S 55 , and the four following in rapid succession . The work was finally completed in tho present year—fit close of the life of its illustrious author , aud of a literary career of such rare brilliancy and success . " Professor Longfellow ' s first personal acquaintance with Mr . Irving began at Madrid . "I found the author , " said the poet of " Evangeline , " " whom I bad loved , repeated in the man . Tho same playful humour ; the same touches of sentiment ; the same poetic
atmosphere ; and what I admired still more , the entire absence of all literaryjealousy—of all that mean avarice of fame , which counts what is given to another as so much taken from one ' s self;—¦ " Ancl rustling hears in every breeze The laurels of Miltiades . " At this timo Mr . Irving was at Madrid , engaged upon his "Life of Columbus ; " and if tho work itself did not bear ample testimony to his
zealous and conscientious labour , I could do so from personal observation . He seemed to be always at work . ' Sit down , ' he would say ; ' I will talk with you iu a moment , but I must first finish this sentence . " Ono summer morning , passing his house at the early hour of six , I saw his study window already wide open . On my mentioning it to him afterwards , lie said , ' Yes , I am always at my work as early as six . ' Since then I have often remembered that sunny morning and that open window , so suggestive of his sunny temperament and his open heart ,
and equally so of his patient and persistent toil . " Among the otherspeakers on this interesting occasion was Oliver AVondle Holmes , the well-known poet and humourist . The Council of the Royal Institution have prepared their course of Friday lectures for the session before Easter . They stand as follows * . — January 20 th ( subject unnamed ) , by Professor Tyndal !; January 27 th ,, "On the Cerebral Classification of the Class Mammalia , " by Professor
Owen ; February 3 rd , " On the Mineral Treasures of the Andes , " by F . Field , Esq . ; February 10 th , " On Species and Knees , and their Origin , " by Professor T . H . Huxley ; February Iffch , "Ou the Influence of Science on the Art of Calico Printing , " by Professor F . Grace Calvert ; February 21 th , "On the Relation between the Vital and the Physical . Forces , " b y Dr . AV . B . Carpenter ; March 2 nd , "On the Measurement ofthe Chemical Action of the Solar Rays , " b y Professor If . K Roscoe ;
March 9 th , ( subject unnamed ) , by Professor Faraday ; March lGth , "On the Relation between the Abnormal and the Normal Formations in Plants , " by M . T . Masters , Esq .. ; March 23 rd , "On Diamonds , " by N . S . Maskolyuo , Esq . ; and March 30 th , " On Aeids and Salts , " by AV . Odling , Esq . The lecture arrangements for the new year , at the South . Kensington Museum , presents an instructive ancl useful variety . Lectures on the Art Collection will be given by Mr , R . 1 : 1 . Smith , Mr . Robinson , and