The tone of this Notice is very similar to that of the Article on the same subject in the Edinburgh for July—perhaps, upon the whole, not quite so complimentary. The Reviewer is of opinion, that 'Master Fanny's' Journal was from an early period, if not from the first line, intended for publication, and that the entire thing is arranged for stage-effect. Both these suppositions are highly probable. Indeed for our own part, we never had a doubt about the matter. The personifier of Julia, of Nell, and of Lady Macbeth, wished to make it apparent that she could mingle up in the same page, simplicity, frivolity and dignity. She has succeeded to a miracle, and we think nothing the worse of her performance for its premeditation. The critic finds fault, also, with Fanny's transparent affectation—a charge from which we have neither the wish, nor the ability to defend her. Affectation is the Promethean fire of a pretty and intelligent woman—and provided always the things, the qualities, or manners affected are not in se disagreeable or odious, it is very seldom worth any one's while to quarrel with it. As for the transparent part of the accusation, it betrays a want of philosophical acumen. Affectation, when we cannot see through it, is no longer affectation. The political fal lal of the fair lady is, of course, made a matter of high merit by the Quarterly Review. "Her observations," quoth the critic, "evince a depth of penetration, and a soundness of judgment, rare in any one, but wonderful in a person of her age and sex." A chuckle also is elicited, by Fanny's astounding conviction, that "America will be a monarchy before she (Mrs. Butler) is a skeleton."
Article III. "The Last Essays of Elia." London: 12mo. 1833.
This is an Essay on the Essays of Lamb by one who thoroughly understands the man. And there are not many men who do thoroughly comprehend him. Altho' not the greatest among his contemporaries he was the most original—and his writings are, we feel assured, a true copy of his individual mind. He was one of those men of infinite genius, so rarely to be met with, who unite the most exquisite daintiness and finish of style with a vigorous and dashing abandon of manner. This manner has been called affected—but it was not so. That his thoughts "were villainously pranked in an array of antique words and phrases" was a necessary thing. The language of the times of James and Charles I. was as natural to him as his native air—it was a portion of his intellect. As a critic, Lamb had no equal, and we are moreover half inclined to agree with the Quarterly, that there are, amongst his poetical pieces, some as near perfection in their kind as any thing in our literature—"specimens of exceeding artifice and felicity in rhythm, metre, and diction."
Article IV. "History of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, illustrated by original documents. By Frederick Von Raumer. Translated from the German by Lord Francis Egerton, in 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1835."
Frederick Von Raumer, the author of the work here reviewed, is the same who wrote the 'History of the House of Hohenstauffen,' noticed in a former number of the Quarterly. The present History is spoken of in high terms. It is the result of the author's residence in Paris in 1830, and consists of a series of extracts from MSS. in the Bibliothèque Royale—chiefly the despatches of Ambassadors. Lord Egerton's translation is favorably mentioned.
Article V. "The Life of Edmund Kean. In 2 vols. London: 1835."
This is a most severe and galling Philippic upon a very worthless book. Indeed Barry Cornwall was the last person in the world who should have attempted the Life of Kean. From the poet's peculiar cast of mind, (Procter is merely a dealer in delicate prettinesses,) he is particularly ill-qualified for discussing the merits of an actor whose province lay altogether amid the tempestuous regions of passion and energy. "A worse man"—says the critic—"might have made Kean's story entertaining—a wiser, if he had told it at all, would have at least tried to make it instructive." The Essays upon the chief characters of Shakspeare, which fill nearly half the second volume, are truly said to be devoid of originality, vigor, or grace. To the entire book is laughably applied a couplet from an old criticism upon Suckling's Aglaura.
| This great voluminous pamphlet may be said, To be like one that hath more hair than head. |
Article VI. 1. "Physiologie du Goût: ou Meditations de Gastronomie Transcendante; Ouvrage Théorique, Historique, et à l'ordre du Jour. Dédié aux Gastronomes Parisiens. Par un Professeur (M. Brillat Savarin) Membre de Plusiéurs Sociétés Savantes. 2 tomes, 5me edition, Paris: 1835."
2. "The French Cook. A System of Fashionable and Economical Cookery; adapted to the use of English Families, &c. by Louis Eustace Ude, ci-devant Cook to Louis XVI, and the Earl of Sefton, &c. &c. &c., 12th edition, with Appendix &c., London: 1833."