Page images
PDF
EPUB

From The Spectator, 4 July.

NEWS.

A REPORT is in circulation that Louis Napoleon is encouraging Spain to recognize the South, and that Spain, tempted by a Southern guarantee for Cuba, is half inclined to accede. The step would show a decided appreciation of the fitness of things. The only State in Europe which repudiates debts, and holds slaves, and breaks the anti-slave trade treaties, ought to be the first to recognize the new power.

[When we see how the advocates of slavery have wrecked it in the United States, it would not be wonderful if Spain were to wreck it in Cuba and the world, by listening to such counsel.-Living Age.

66

those passages of weighty, nervous, and passionate power, in which no speaker of any age or country can surpass him.

THE Duke of Newcastle explained on ThursHudson's Bay Company, extending over a day the objects for which the rights of the territory 400,000 miles larger than Europe within the Vistula, have beep transferred like a private estate. The true purchasers, it appears, are persons interested in Canada, aided for the moment by the International Financial Society, and they will settle the Southern portion of the territory, grant mining leases, and erect a line of telegraph between the Atlantic and Pacific, for which service her majesty's Government are to grant them a million acres in crown lands. The duke seems perfectly satisfied with the The debate on Mr. Roebuck's motion for transaction, and so far there is no objection the recognition of the South brought out by to its legality, but he did not meet the true far the strongest show of anti-Southern feel- point. The Hudson's Bay Company exering, or at least of feeling hostile to the Eng- cised many sovereign powers, keeping settlers, lish advocates of the South, that has yet been for instance, out of their dominions. Have seen in the House of Commons. Mr. Roc- these been transferred? If so, then we deny buck's foolish and boastful declamation was the validity of the transaction unless comlistened to, indeed, but by a thoroughly dis- pleted under the sanction of an Act of Pargusted House, who did not care to conceal liament. Delegatus non potest delegare, and their dislike of the volunteer mission to Fon- the settler who disobeys the local laws of tainebleau, or their disgust at the odious the new company, and is punished for so dobunkum which Mr. Roebuck gravely talked. ing, may claim and obtail damages in EngWhy, in ten days, Sir," said the member land. The argument that as one share could for Sheffield, anticipating war with the North, be sold, so all could be sold, is a quibble "we should sweep from the sea every ship," merely. Suppose Louis Napoleon had bought -a sentence which, if it had proceeded from them all. The grant, too, of a million of a Yankee mouth, would have shaken the acres for a mere line of telegraph not nearly country with inextinguishable laughter. The so long as the Indian triangular line at least great speeches of the evening were Mr. Gladstone's, Mr. Forster's, and Mr. Bright's. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, with polished and most impartial eloquence, pointed out the impropriety both of the moment and the manner proposed for the recognition of the South, but was scarcely precise and em- A TELEGRAM from Alexandria announces phatic enough on the international-law ques- that a revolution occurred in Madagascar on tion. Mr. Forster's speech was an exceed- 12th May. Radama II. has been assassinated, ingly effective argument against such a step. his ministers hanged, mourning prohibited, The motion was one, he said, expressly for the European treaties suspended, and Radadrifting into war under the guidance of a for- ma's widow proclaimed sovereign, with a eign pilot, and instead of hastening even the constitution according to the view of the peace between North and South, would unite the North again as one man, as was the case with the last French proposition te mediate. Finally, he denounced a war in defence of those whose watchword is "Slavery, Subordination, Government,' as one of those crimes which the Ruler who guides the destinies of nations would not lightly forgive. Mr. Bright followed in the same tone, and concluded a speech, which, if somewhat merely Unionist in sentiment, was penetrated with a genuine hate of slavery, by one of

[ocr errors]

sounds extravagant, and the whole matter ought to be thoroughly explained by a speech in the interests of the empire, and not merely of this or that new society.

old Hova party." Decisive people these Malagache, and not quite so constitutional as bulletin writers fancy, but we suppose the meaning of it all is that the old dominant tribe, the Hovas, offended with the equality secured by European influence, have re-asserted their sway. It is unfortunate for them that Réunion is full of troops very hungry indeed for something to interrupt the monotony of their lives. Madagascar would give the French a broad possession, and the undisputed command of the Cape route to India.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

POETRY.-A Soldier's Wreath, 242. Imitated from the Troubadour Sordel, 242. July, 242. Faith, 242. Pin and Needle Money, 266. Past and Present, 287. For Shame, 288. Nile, 288.

SHORT ARTICLES.-New Materials for the History of Men, 257. The Romish Church on Beards, 265. Fog Signals, 265. Charles Kingsley's Sermons on the Pentateuch, 265. Literary Items, 286. Locusts in the East, 286.

PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY BY

&

LITTELL, SON &

CO.,

BOSTON.

For Six Dollars a year, in advance, remitted directly to the Publishers, the LIVING AGE will be punctually forwarded free of postage.

Complete sets of the First Series, in thirty-six volumes, and of the Second Series, in twenty volumes, handsomely bound, packed in neat boxes, and delivered in all the principal cities, free of expense of freight, are for sale at two dollars a volume.

ANY VOLUME may be had separately, at two dollars, bound, or a dollar and a half in numbers.

ANY NUMBER may be had for 13 cents; and it is well worth while for subscribers or purchasers to complete any broken volumes they may have, and thus greatly enhance their value.

A SOLDIER'S WREATH.

O PUREST lilies, leaning low,
Rouse from your languor pining!
O red, red roses, lend your glow
With summer sunlight shining!
O bluest harebells, listlessly,

No longer silent quiver,
Your fairy chimes ring full and free
Above the singing river!

Sweet blossoms, ye, of peace and love,
And types of beauty royal,
To-day all others prized above-
A triad brightly loyal.

The red, the blue, the white we trace,
A soldier's wreath to fashion,
And twine about a pictured face.
With sighs of deep compassion.
Fair river, in thy careless glee

Of joy and glory singing,
Thy current to the summer sea
Gces tidal treasures flinging;
Would that upon thy bosom cast
These nurslings of the arbor,
All ports and treacherous bayous past,
Might reach a distant harbor!

Might carry to a sufferer pale

A balm of surest healing,

A breeze from Northern homesteads hale
Through the miasma stealing.
So we to-day our garland twine,
The while petitions breathing,-
Like votaries at a saintly shrine,
The cherished semblance wreathing.
Though uttered not a single word,

The prayer Heaven's temple reaching, The red rose, health and love restored, The lily, peace beseeching;

The harebell blue, the leal and true,
From all estrangement keeping;

To bind the ties of home anew,
And give us song for weeping.
ANNE G. HALE.

-New England Farmer.

Kind eyes, unto your tale half-told,
Ye speak because ye must!
Too oft will heavy laws constrain
The lips, compelled to bear
A message false; too often fain
To speak but what they dare;
Full oft will words, will smiles betray,
But tears are always true;
Looks ever mean the things they say:
Kind eyes, I trust to you !

Her looks were kind-oh, gentle eyes,
Love trusts you! Still he sends
By you his questions, his replies,
He knows you for his friends.
Oh, gentle, gentle eyes, by Love
So trusted, and so true
To Love, ye could not if ye would
Deceive, I trust to you !
-Cornhill Magazine.

JULY.

DORA GREENWELL

TO-DAY, the meek-eyed cattle on the hills
Lie grouped together in some grateful shade;
Or slowly wander down the grassy glade,
To stand content, knee-deep, in glassy rills.
The wandering bee, in far-secluded bowers,

Hums its low cheerful anthem, free from care;
Great brilliant butterflies, fragile as fair,
Float gracefully above the gorgeous flowers.
The sun pours down a flood of golden heat

Upon the busy world; so hot and bright, That the tired traveller, longing for the night, Seeks some cool shelter from the dusty street.

The cricket chirrups forth its shrill refrain;

The grass and all green things are sear and

dry;

The parched earth thirsts for water, and men

sigh

For cooling showers. All nature waits for rain.

FAITH.

IMITATED FROM THE TROUBADOUR SORDEL.

HER words, methinks, were cold and few; 'We parted coldly; yet

Quick-turning after that adieu,

How kind a glance I met !

A look that was not meant for me,
Yet sweeter for surprise,

As if her soul took leave to be

One moment in her eyes;
Now tell me, tell me, gentle friends,
Oh, which shall I believe,
Her eyes, her eyes that bid me hope,
Her words that bid me grieve?

Her words, methinks, were few and cold:
What matter! Now I trust,

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

where piquant gossip is always to be had, and rose-colored chintzes make perpetual youth. Here the hunted heir finds the safe retreat for which he has vainly sighed. However nervous about marriage, he has no fear of being entrapped into bigamy. Once more he may bring into action his flirting powers, almost rusty from disuse. Once more he may enjoy the luxury of whispering soft nonsense without being misunderstood, and paying a few compliments without being asked his "intentions." Meanwhile, his baffled pursuer has to endure a double mortification. It is bad enough to see her victim slip through her fingers. It is still worse to know that he has reached a secure asylum, from which he cannot be dislodged except with his own consent. Henceforward the conditions of the contest are wholly altered. Instead of having a poor, simple, unsophisticated male to cope with, she finds herself face to face with an allied force, skilfully manoeuvred by an antagonist of her own sex, with every advantage of youth, beauty, and animal spirits on her side, and pledged by self-interest to the most determined resistance. This formidable coalition the dowager owes to her own mingled clumsiness and avidity.

From The Saturday Review. FRISKY MATRONS. IMPERIALISM and the dowager have conspired to bring about a very abnormal state of things in London society. Together with cheap silks and wines, we appear to be importing genuine French notions about the status of young married women. The old fashioned idea was that a young lady married was a young lady shelved. In her new character of a wife, she retired from the fray in which husbands are fought for, more or less content with her share of the spoil. "Called to other functions" was the motto she henceforward inscribed on her banner. With the cares of household and nursery in full view, she submitted cheerfully to a protracted eclipse, which lasted until, in the fulness of time, she emerged once more, with ampler proportions and a more majestic front, to attract young men-to her daughters. Now we have changed all that. A youthful matron is no longer a withdrawn competitor for the attentions of the male sex, but a dangerous, almost irresistible rival, released from all the disabilities under which young ladies lie, and armed with new powers to dazzle and enslave. This is just what the custom of our lively neighbors countenances, al- But all this does not fully account for the though, under the Second Empire, the theory new position which married women are asof post-nuptial license has received an alarm-suming in society. Their use as buffers being development. After years of semi-con- tween eidest sons and dowagers is intelligible ventual retirement, a French girl is pitch- enough. But how is it that they are willing forked into matrimony, and finds herself all to act in a capacity which, to say the least, of a sudden at full liberty to please as she does not fulfil the highest ideal of woman's lists her roving fancy. No wonder, under work? How is it that they desert the duties these circumstances, that Paris has become of their station, to lead the van of frivolity the natural home of Milly Nesdale. But it and excess? Bad example in a quarter to will be a surprise to many to learn that the which Englishwomen look with servile obsefascinating and circumspect young wife has quiousness for the decrees of fashion, has, we lately crossed the channel, and invaded with repeat, had much to do with this. But there triumphant success the soil of sober, respect- is a cause which lies deeper. It is to be found able, domestic England. in the decline of that remarkable outburst of religious enthusiasm, which thirty years ago inflamed the zeal of many, and influenced in a special manner the mind and daily life of women. The Oxford movement owed its success in no slight degree to the ardent sympathy of its female adherents, and these it attracted chiefly by supplying them with plenty of congenial work. The young lady of the period we speak of had hardly a thought or feeling in common with the young lady of the present day. She lived in one prolonged gush of sentiment and hero-worship. But it flowed

And now for the part which the dowager has played in bringing about a state of things so destructive of her schemes. Her tactics have been absolutely suicidal. She has hopelessly damaged her own market. By her incessant persecution of eldest sons, by her arrogance and importunity, she has created a demand for married sirens of the Milly Nesdale type. To escape the fangs of a bloodhound in moire antique, a man will do many more strange things than take refuge with a charming woman in a charming boudoir,

1

in a definite and practical channel. She vis- or stay at an English country-house. Let us ited the poor, she taught in schools, she dec- accompany him in fancy to the first of those orated churches, she embroidered altar-cloths, festive scenes. He will find the conditions she carved poppy heads, she scrubbed brasses, which are supposed to govern such an entershe dipped into the Fathers, and was tolera-tainment more or less reversed. Whoever bly conversant with the stock arguments had charge of the Japanese ambassadors last against Geneva and Rome. Her patristic re- year must have attempted to explain to their searches may have been shallow, and her puzzled excellencies the object and meaning æstheticism may have now and then moved a of a ball. It is intended, he probably said, smile, but, upon the whole, they refined and to enable the youth and beauty of each sex to idealized her nature, and added to her mental mingle in the dance. Hither fair maidens culture. The collapse of transcendentalism, flock, for the purpose of captivating their fuand the loss of a sphere of useful employ-ture husbands. Their mothers attend at the ment, have left an aching void in many a fe- cost of much physical suffering, not so much male bosom. The young lady of our time from the promptings of parental instinct, as lives more in and for the immediate present. from a high, perhaps an exaggerated, sense M. Victor Hugo would discern no touch of of decorum. The active element is the marthe Infinite about her. She has little to draw riageable element in the assemblage. The her out of herself and her own concerns. lovely and animated teetotums that spin Earnestness has given place to well-bred apa- round the room do so out of pure girlish glee. thy and cynicism. The nearest approach to The graceful beings that thread the maze of enthusiasm she can conjure up is on the sub- Lancers or quadrille are all fancy-free, and ject of dress. Her manners have undergone own as yet no lord and master. It is, in short, a remarkable alteration, which would simply the single young ladies in England who dance, make her grandmother's hair stand on end. while the married are content to guard the They have become exceedingly frank and public morals by lining the walls, and peepopen. To talk slang is as much a feminine ing at the performance through any chink in accomplishment as to play the piano, or war- the wedge of palpitating humanity in their ble a ballad. In short, young ladies are many front. If this be an item in the latest report degrees more like their brothers than they on English customs carried back to Jeddo, were twenty years ago. Of their own ac- nothing can be more fallacious. It has ceased cord they are divesting themselves of that air to be a correct description of a fashionable of mystery and romance with which, from the ball. Now-a-days, it is the married women days of chivalry down wards, the other sex who dance, while the young ladies too often has surrounded them, and revealing to their sit unasked. Twenty or thirty years ago, a admirers the grosser and least ethereal side dancing matron was a rarity. One saw, inof their nature, with all the pitiless exacti- deed, occasionally, a married couple complatude of a photograph. The service which cently gyrating round the room, locked in a they thus unconsciously render to the study sort of Darby and Joan embrace. But, as a of psychology is considerable, but it does not rule, married women abandoned the service add to their attractiveness. But these are the of Terpsichore to their younger and more shortcomings of young ladies, it may be said, supple sisters. Now, they are to be seen in not of young wives. Nevertheless, it is im- any ball-room capering about like so many possible to produce a satisfactory article out frolicsome lambkins. If it is the exercise of a raw material of inferior quality. Young merely which attracts them, it would be easy ladies are the raw material out of which to provide some better valve for letting off wives and mothers are to be formed; and if their exuberant activity. Let us have gymin the former capacity they are giddy, selfish, nasia, where married women, who find a and frivolous, there is too much reason to ex- life of domestic repose rather slow, may pripect that they will continue so in the latter. vately resort for the purpose of indulging in There are no miracles wrought at the shrine feats of agility. The same sort of apparatus of St. George in Hanover Square. which exists at the foot of Primrose Hill might be established in a more fashionable quarter. With a due supply of poles to climb, and circular swings to fly round upon,

If any one doubts whether the growing prominence of married women in society be a fact or not, he has only to attend a London ball,

« EelmineJätka »