From The Athenæum. The History of Napoleon Bonaparte. By John S. C. Abbott. 2 Vols. New York, Harper & Brothers; London, Low & Co. partists, before and after the peace of 1815, re- THE art of illustration belongs to all periods of man's history; and the "pictures" in this life of Napoleon Bonaparte are evidently relics of a primitive epoch. In a rough crooked line on a Sinatic rock a certain zealous theorist saw a "patella, or knee-pan, designed with anatomical fidelity," and in three irregular scratches an entire horse. On a similar principle, the engravings in Mr. Abbott's volumes may be supposed to represent scenes in the career of the First Consul. Some Cosmas Indicopleustes of our own day might remark that "they bear all the traces of age and barbarity"; but Mr. Abbott, who ought to be a good judge, considers them "beautiful." At all events, we know where abundance of a similar kind may be found. In a printed sheet of the last century, describing the Dutch cruelties at Amboyna, -in Capt. John Smith's relation of his adventures among Cal-threw. mucks and "salvages," in song collections to Of course, it must be possible for writers such the memory of the "Jolly Young Waterman," as Mr. Abbott to defend every action, however -and in the "Six feet for a penny," which rep-vile. resent to rural eyes the scarlet and gold of a Lord Mayor's Show, the counterparts of these beauties may be seen. -ex Otherwise, some historical characters, now concealed under a motley of eulogium, would have had no advocates to apologize for blots and stains. Thus, Mr. Abbott, with a pleasant scorn Never was an "illustrated work" so replete of logic, dwells on the execrable details of the with feeble and ludicrous caricature. Napoleon Egyptian massacre, and justifies the indiscrimiBonaparte had some personal dignity; but in nate carnage perpetrated under the direct orders this ponderous book he comes before us, in coarse of Napoleon. "Bombshells cannot be thrown patches of black and white, like a fraudulent affectionately, charges of cavalry cannot be made butler or a superannuated beadle. With the ex-in a meek and lowly spirit, red-hot shot will not ception of two or three portraits and sketches, turn from the cradle of the infant or the couch badly copied from well-known originals, there of the dying maiden." The murder of "about are few among the woodcuts that are not ridicu- a thousand or twelve hundred manacled Turkish lous. Those at the end, representing the tomb prisoners" is next excused on the same plea: of Napoleon, have appeared in other works. We Bombshells are thrown into cities to explode suspect, indeed, that the narrative has been writ-in the chambers of maidens and in the cradles of ten to accompany a mass of poor second-hand infants, and the incidental -destruction of innoimpressions, from "blocks" that have been cence and helplessness is disregarded." But transported from Paris to London, and, after il-what analogy on earth exists between "incidenlustrating different publications in each of those cities, have been shipped to America, where this "History was written and printed. Some have certainly undergone this process. tal destruction" in a town under the fire of batteries, and the slaughter of a helpless multitude "firmly fettered," divided into small squares, and mown down by successive discharges of musketry? After this, we are not astonished to be told that Napoleon's desire to poison seven of his sick warriors, to be rid of them, arose from "mistaken views of Christian duty." In the same spirit, the Emperor's treatment of Josephine is not only palliated, but extolled, as well as the execution of the Duc d'Enghien. The little episode of Cantillon, with its dénoument in our own time, is conveniently forgotten. The narrative itself is an amusing example of weakness and perversity. It resembles some of those florid little books full of Napoleonienne fables, which are written by authority for the French peasantry to spell. How far it may be worth while to engage Mr. Abbott for such a purpose is questionable. He "reveres and loves the first Emperor," "because he abhorred war," because "he was regardless of luxury," "had a high sense of honor," "revered religion," As the substance, so is the style. Whirl "respected the rights of conscience," and "nobly winds, thunderbolts, torrents, tides, and hurri advocated equality of privileges and the univer- canes rush from page to page, scattering the sal brotherhood of man." A scribe of the English language in unimaginable confusion Lower Empire, worshipping in the stye of Ca- round and through the wild mazes of the aupræ, could say no more. Being "peculiarly lia-thor's invention. It is scarcely to be supposed ble to the charge of plagiarism," he has tran- that in America, where the common school scribed from the most servile memoirs the most should teach the difference between good and preposterous anecdotes, and, adopting the bad writing, productions of this character can puerile malignities of the most inveterate Bona-attain to popularity. In England, trashy tales and obsolete compilations have hitherto had a realm of their own. Education, if it have any social influence, must weed the fallow ground, for while there are only thistles to be had, we have no right to complain if but one class of animals consume them. From the Baltimore Patriot. A BALTIMORE AUTHOR.-T. S. ARTHUR. A POPULAR AUTHOR. It is said that T. S. Arthur has written one hundred volumes, and never wrote an unsuccessful work. His last work, "Ten Nights in a Bar-Room," on which he received a higher copyright than on any of his previous productions, has been the most popular book he ever wrote. But it is said by those who have read portions of his "Good Time Coming," announced to be published December 1st, that nothing which he has previously written will compare with it. We understand that a leading publishing house would have given him one thousand dollars bonus on the work, over and above the usually high copyright which he receives. Exchange. Though for many years past a resident of Philadelphia, T. S. Arthur is a native of Baltimore; and it was in this city that his earliest literary efforts first atracted public attention. Since that period we believe we are correct in saying that no American novelist has equalled him, either in the number of volumes he has written, in the extent of their circulation, or in the moral influence his writings have wielded. For twenty-five years Arthur has led a life purely literary, and has been subjected, as a consequence, to those fluctuations of fortune which asually attend the career of an author depending wholly upon his pen for support; but by dint of a quiet, persistent energy, a perfect knowledge of his own mental resources, and a thorough appreciation of the metes and bounds of his literary province, he has succeeded in overcoming all intervening obstacles, and now stands at the head of that class of novelistic moralists whose works the world will not wil lingly let die. Leading a studious and retired life, mixing neither with cliques nor coteries, seeking no support from any source but what was voluntarily extended, he has devoted his best years to the inculcation of a pure morality, and, to his honor be it spoken, he has lived up to his precepts. By no one has the impressive injunction, "Look into thine own heart and write," been more emphatically carried out than by T. S. Arthur. He speaks from the heart to the heart, and by the naturalness of his narrative, and by the homely truthfulness of his incidents, he has given that air of probability to his sketches of every-day life and character which constitute their greatest charm. His style is almost colorless, and his stories generally so entirely divested of all exaggeration, his dialogues so exactly adapted to the mental scale of his characters, that they bear upon them the constant impress of being transcripts from nature, so reliable as to appear like reports of conversations entered upon a note-book, or like evidence given under oath before a judicial tribunal. He deals in no affected ecstacies, no romantic improbabilities; but, working always to a purpose and an end, applies himself to his work, and neither deviates to the right nor to the left until it is completed. With no turn for the humorous, Arthur has exhibited on some occasions an intense power over the pathetic; but he more especially, and far more frequently, delights in producing that finer state of emotional feeling which just touches the brink of tears. Perhaps the pervading characteristic of Arthur's novels is pensiveness-the impression of the presence of an impending cloud, which may break away into sunshine and peace, or may gather up into blackness and storm. But whatever may be the cause of the popuular," in the best sense of that much-abused larity of his writings- and that they are "popword, every one will admit-it is very certain that the sterling lessons they teach in domestic economy, in the high social and moral virtues, and in behalf of those holier observances which exalt and purify humanity, must ever render them acceptable to all who desire to foster the germs of good in others, or to encourage and sustain their growth in themselves. A CITY WEED. WE may not trample on thee, simple weed, The sturdy growth of some far-wafted seed, In hues reflected from the distant fields. Thou findest food upon the subtle air; Within the ragged crevice of a stone; So surely perishable, and alone. So shouldst thou stand, thou brave and simple As firmly planted on thy foot of ground; Though stony dangers hem thee closely round. An old friend sends us the following translations, which he thinks he saw first about thirty years ago, and which he says have been running in his head from time to time ever since; and asks whether, from Notes and Queries, or from any other work, we can learn who is the author. If he were not such an old gentleman, we should feel it our duty to suggest to him that he had better now fill his head with something else. But "Just as the twig is bent," &c. We have an indistinct memory that the Latin version, at least, is by (alas!) Archdeacon Wrangham: and it has been said that it would be difficult from internal evidence alone to say which of the three versions was the original, so finished are both the French and Latin. Here follows the Polyglot: MISS BAILEY. A CAPTAIN bold of Halifax, Who lived in country quarters, O! Miss Bailey, unfortunate Miss Bailey, One night as he lay on his bed 'Cause he had got a fever- And cried," Behold Miss Bailey!" "Avaunt, Miss Bailey," then he cried, The Crowner's 'quest goes hard with me "Dear ghost," said he, "since you and I 'T will bribe the sexton for your grave." O! Miss Bailey, &c. SEDUXIT Miles virginem, receptus in hybernis, "Va t'en," dit il, "ou, Diable m'emporte, Je tirerai la sonnette." "Cher Capitaine," repond la dame, Et le Prêtre ne veut pas dire la messe "Chère Revenante," dit il tout bas, Ah la Baillée, &c. From The Spectator. Nor ANOTHER OF THE SERMONS. To the Editor of The N. Y. Tribune. experiments for themselves. The essential part PIESSE'S ART OF PERFUMERY. * of the book, as is the case of the subjects he GRATIFY a sense, and you secure a reward. treats of, bears a small relation to the substanFull 150,000 gallons of perfumed spirits are tial or formal portions. The Art of Perfumery yearly consumed by British India and Europe in tice of the subject. It then proceeds to give dicommences with the principles and general prac titillating the nose. One French house alone an-rections for the manufacture of simple extracts, nually uses 80,000 pounds of orange-flowers, 60,000 pounds of cassia-flowers, 54,000 pounds vegetable and animal. "Bouquets and noseof rose-leaves, 32,000 pounds of jasmine-blos- gays"-that is, an avowed combination of persoms, 32,000 pounds of violets, 20,000 pounds fumes to produce a tertium quid-are fully of tuberose, 16,000 pounds of lilac, besides other entered into. These sections exhaust the quasiodorous plants in still larger proportion. Flow-scientific part of the art; the remainder takes er-farms exist in the South of France, Turkey or perfume-bags, pastiles, perfumed soap, emulmore the character of manufacture, -as sachets in Europe, Turkey in Asia, and India. Nor is sions, cold cream, hair-dyes, pomades, &c. In England without the cultivation. At Mitcham lavender is extensively grown, and produces a reality, chemistry is as necessary in one branch plant unrivalled in the world-four times the as the other, though not appearing in so direct or delicate a way. price even of French lavender; and the same spot is noted for its cultivation of roses. is this extensive use and culture surprising, when we consider the quantity of flowers necessary to produce an essence: a drachm of attar of roses requires at least 2000 rose-blooms. SIR: Let me tell you an incident. I know it This, however, is nothing to jasmine; the price to be true, for it occurred here in Zanesville. of its essential oil is £9 the fluid ounce. Of Judge A- the individual mentioned, is our course there is a good deal of "manufacture" present member of Congress, and Parson Jones, going on with the more expensive perfumes. the old negro preacher (Heaven rest his bones!), The rose-leaf geranium does duty for the rose: with his old gray mare and rickety cart, have "the perfume of the magnolia is superb," says long since returned to dust. The judge was our author; but "practically it is of little use to present at the delivery of one of his sermons, the manufacturer," from the scarcity of the plant and was brought in by the speaker by way of and other causes: the purchaser, however, gets a illustrating a certain position then and there combination of half-a-dozen articles instead, and taken by him : if he is satisfied with his "essence of magnolia," who has any business to complain? The perfume of the lily and the eglantine evaporate to such an extent under any known treatment, that they are never used. No one, however, need go without either perfume. Proper proportions of esprit de rose, oil of neroli, oil of lemongrass, and three spirituous extracts of French pomatums, give you essence of sweet-briar better than nature. Esop's peasant and player over again. "My dear friends and brethren," said he, "de soul ob de brack man is as dear in de sight ob de Lord as de soul ob de white man. Now, you all see Judge - a sittin' dah, leanin' on his golden-headed cane; you all know de judge, niggas, and a bery fine man he is, too. Well, now, I'se gwine to make a little comparishment. Suppose de judge, some fine mornin', puts his basket on his arm and goes to market to buy a piece of meat. He soon finds a nice, fat piece of mutton, an' goes off with it. Do you s'pose de The first object of Mr. Piesse's book is not ex-judge would stop to 'quire wedder dat mutton positive, but patriotic. The systematic and ex- was ob a white sheep or ob a brack sheep? No, tensive cultivation of flowers is neglected in nuffin ob de kind; if de mutton was nice an England; much that we do cultivate is not fat, it would be all de same to de judge; he turned to profitable account. This might be re- would not stop to ax wedder de sheep had white formed. The author also calls the attention of wool or brack wool. Well, jis so it is, my frens, perfumers to new scents, and gives easy direc-wid our Hebenly Master. He does not stop to tions to private persons who may wish to pursue *The Art of Perfumery, and the Methods of obtaining the Odors of Plants; with Instructions for the Manufacture of Perfumes for the handkerchief, scented powders, odorous vinegars, dentifrices, pomatums, cosmetiques, perfumed soap, &c. By G. W. Septimus Piesse, Analytical Chemist; Author of "The Odors of Flowers" in the Gardeners' Chronicle, &c. To which is added an Appendix on the Colors of Flowers, Artificial Fruit Essences, &c. Published by Longman and Co. ax wedder a soul 'longs to a white man or a brack A. R. From the North British Review. 1. The Balance of Power. A Letter to the "Times" Newspaper, by a Traveller in Italy. Aug. 18, 1855. 2. Two Letters to the People of England on the War. By JOSEPH MAZZINI. London, 1855. THE struggle in which we are engaged may be, and is, regarded in two lights, -as a war of Statesmen, or as a war of Patriots, - as a war against the local aggressions of one Despot, or as a war in defence of freedom and civilization in the aggregate,—as a war for the maintenance, or as a war for the amendment, of the status quo. Viewed in the one light, it is full of immoralities: viewed in the 'other, it is full of difficulties and dangers; considered from any point of view, it is replete with anomalies and perplexities innumerable; considered in a confusion of lights, and from ever-shifting points of view, its conduct cannot be otherwise than chaotic, and its resulting consequences, if not its ultimate success, must be greatly jeopardized. Our ideas upon the subject need much clearing and collating. So long as the People and the Government have different notions on the matter and different objects in their eye, so long will the vigor which results from perfect harmony of purpose be unattainable; golden opportunities will be lost; valuable allies will be forfeited or foregone; and imperfect understanding or discrepant aims will first imperil victory, and then impair and mutilate its fruits. There are indications that the views of the two parties are insensibly approaching; as the war proceeds, and new facts and new necessities are elicited, the enthusiastic nation becomes more definite and practical in its designs, and the formal Government wider in its conceptions, and sterner in its resolution; -but much ground has yet to be traversed by one party or the other, and many knotty questions have to be discussed between them, before their mutual principles and wishes are in complete unison. Her people, whether nobles or peasants, are alike serfs. Her administration is notoriously at once the most corrupt and the most oppressive in the world-worse than that of Turkey, inasmuch as it is more systematic, more powerful, more universally penetrating, and better organized. Liberty of thought and liberty of action are alike proscribed. No citizen may leave the country even for a time without paying for the permission to do so. No citizen may resent or resist official tyranny or extortion without the prospect of dying by the knout, or being exiled to the snows and mines of Siberia. What civilization is suffered to exist is only that of manner and of luxury: it can only be superficial, because if it went deeper if it included cultivation of the intellect or the conscience- it would be dangerous to the established barbarism. A supreme authority-iron in its rigid severity, leaden in its benumbing weight-presses upon all the springs of a better life. Such at least is the notion of Russia which is rooted in the minds of our people and indeed of all the liberals of Europe. They see, too, or think they see, that this colossal power has been, and still is, the mainstay of tyranny and arbitrary power throughout the Continent. They know that her influence has always been exerted to repress and discourage the efforts of European liberty. They are well aware that the vast weight which she possesses in the council of the German Princes is invariably exercised to dissuade them from any concessions to their subjects. They saw, with unmeasured anger and disgust, her interference to replace emancipated Hungary under the yoke of her perfidious and oppressive Sovereign. They know that Austria is what she is, and dares to do what she has done, chiefly in reliance on the ready sympathy and promised aid of her brother despot. They know, in fine, that were Russia crippled and overthrown, the difference would be felt in every village in Germany, in every dungeon in Italy, at every hearth-stone and in every heart from the Baltic to the Mediterranean. Russia is the incarnation of encroaching and conquering absolutism. She is the chief branch and the acknowledged head of the They have watched, moreover, the steady great Sclavonian race. The fundamental and stealthy pace of the great aggressor principle of her government is that of arbi- towards wide dominion. They have seen her trary power and autocratic will. Her self-ap- incorporating neighbor after neighbor in defipointed mission is that of territorial aggrand-ance of resistance and of right, — like a vast izement and despotic propagandism. She has boa-constrictor, first lubricating them with no elements of civil liberty in her institutions. diplomatic slime, then crushing them in the DCV. LIVING AGE. VOL. XI. 50 |