1 758 SHAKESPEARE'S MAD FOLK. tle whether, granting that the monstrous | many others quite as childish. But the idea follies of Fonthill and of Cintra were the of annotating such a book as Vathek at all necessary conditions of the temper which is absurd enough. From The Spectator. SHAKESPEARE'S MAD FOLK.* inspired him with the boundless and unconditioned ideas of Vathek, the happiness conferred by the latter exceeds the happiness lost in the former. Reading Vathek now, we are perhaps a little at a loss to understand the root of that vitality which has kept MANY people experience a certain weariit living for something like eighty years, ness in taking up a fresh book of Shakespearand has made it seem worth while to a pub-ian criticism. And, indeed, there has lisher to give the world a new edition of it. been so very much of Shakespearian critiIt has the merit of being a genuine work of cism that the feeling of weariness may be imagination whether of Beckford's un- readily understood. Schlegel, Gervinus, aided imagination nobody knows and Coleridge, Hallam, Cowden-Clarke, Mrs. works of true inagination are not by any Jameson-these, amongst all sorts and means as plentiful as blackberries. And it conditions of people, have written wise is imagination of the Oriental kind not things, and dull things too, about the charmerely speculative, but presenting abun-acters of Shakespeare. Tired of the condance of external objects and combinations. flicting theories of the different critics, one Then, again, it deals in the supernatural, is sometimes half inclined to wish that there is full of fairies and devils and magic; and the more realistic or rationalistic the world gets, with the more avidity do people appear to seek what is neither real nor rational. If the human mind were to hand itself over fast bound to the positive school, the demand for fairy tales and magic would be quite unprecedented. As a tale of magic and deviltry Vathek is capital. The Hall of Eblis, if not quite as fine as Dante and Milton, as our preface-writer hints that it is, must still be held to be well conceived and well finished. But the action of the story is not clear nor rapid enough to be of the first rank in its kind. In the real Eastern tales every circumstance stands out as distinct as objects in an Eastern landscape stand out in the sunlight; and there is a certain swiftness of incident. The action never lingers, while in Vathek there is more than one cumbrous pause. We wonder it has been thought worth while to reprint the whole of Henley's notes. Here is an example of their huge profundity. Bababalouk, the text says, drew Gulchenrouz from beneath the sofa, and set him upon his shoulders. Then the annotator with incomparable solemnity: Set him upon his shoulders. The same mode of carrying boys is noted by Sandys; and Ludeke has a passage still more to the purpose: "Liberos dominorum suorum grandiusculos ita humeris portant servi, ut illi lacertis suis horum collum, pedibus vero latera amplectantur, sicque illorum facies super horum caput emineat." Expositio Brevis, p. 37. This is all the more funny a parody of annotation, because the writer evidently takes it so much au grand sérieux. There are were no written criticism at all, and that one's impressions of Hamlet, of Lady Macbeth, and of Iago were derived at first hand from Shakespeare, instead of being — as they often are- a jumble of Shakespeare and his commentators. Of course nobody would wish to dispense with such criticism as is to be found in the Wilhelm Meister of Goethe; only at times there does come an inclination to sweep away good and bad together. New views - some of them value are able, but most of them worthless - "He sees some point in Hamlet's soul Unseized by the Germans yet, which straight he'll print." Perhaps the best exposition of Shakesperian characters - certainly the most enjoyable is to be got by witnessing really fine acting. To see Edmund Kean is said to have been like reading Shakespeare by flashes of lightning. That privilege is de nied to this generation; but this generation has seen the Lear of Mr. Macready, the Hamlet of Mr. Fetcher, and the Ophelia of Miss Terry. But though really fine acting may fix in our minds the outline of a great character, and even impress us with the slighter and more delicate traits of temperament, it will not of itself convey to us the truth of Shakespearian observation. Nor can written criticism do this. Only the experience of life can do this. Criticism, as everybody knows, is valu *The Mad Folk of Shakespeare. Psychological Essays. By John Charles Bucknill, M.D., F.RS. Second Edition, revised. London: Macmillan and Co. able in proportion to the amount of special A child of nature in simplicity and innoknowledge possessed by the critic of the cence—without guile, without suspicion — subject he treats. The shoemaker, in pass- she is therefore without reserve, or, as Dr. ing his strictures on a picture of old time, Bucknill well remarks, "without that dewas listened to with respect so long as he ceit which often simulates a modesty more confined his remarks to the faulty painting dainty than the modesty of innocence." of a shoe. But it does not do to carry this Ophelia's modesty was just that kind of too far, or we should end by declaring modesty which is becoming rarer and rarer Messrs. Howell and James to be the best in our own day. She was pure: and she judges of "The Black Brunswicker." With- was little anxious to be thought pure. She in certain limits, however, the theory that needed not to be considered modest: she special knowledge-it may be even tech- was modest. But she was a woman, and nical knowledge is essential to criticism, not an angel; and accordingly her love, holds good; and an exposition of the mad though composed mainly of sentiment, was folk of Shakespeare may naturally be re- tinctured with passion. She may have ceived with additional consideration if it been unconscious of her own passion; but come from a "mad doctor." Dr. Bucknill, she was not unconscious of the existence of who has occasioned these remarks, has passion in others. She was innocent, but spent the greater part of his life in the not ignorant. To learn that she was the toy study and the treatment of mental disease; of her princely lover to learn that she was but in his essays he is not obtrusively a flower that might be plucked, and smelt, medical—not often even prominently so. and flung away cost her a bitter though Here and there we come upon a page that a quiet pain. "No more but so?"- there might almost have been contributed to the is real sorrow in those words. She could Lancet; but very rarely. And in his best not have believed ill of one who was so very essays notably in his best of all, on dear. But the same fault in her brother Ophelia he is a cultivated critic, speaking would have been more readily admitted: as one having authority, yet with no parade she was quite aware that he might tread of scientific attainments or of that terrible" the primrose path of dalliance." The experience which can be gained nowhere same charge brought home to her own lover but in madhouse cells. was more than a pain to her—it was a surprise. We have said that the essay on Ophelia is the best in his book. It is not the most elaborate, and it is one of the shortest; it is attractive, and even valuable, because of its simplicity. It has that crowning grace, which some of his papers want-it is simple. The essay on Hamlet is careful and minute; the essay on Lear is more than that, for it is original; it contains a theory that is somewhat new, or at all events unfamiliar. But neither of these papers felicitous as that upon Ophelia, in neither of them is that felicity even approached. "Hamlet" is good here, and vague there, now interesting, now almost tiresome, now clear and sensible, now involved and supersubtle as some German criticism on Hermann and Dorothea. But in his treatment is so We have not followed Dr. Bucknill in these remarks, nor is he pledged to agree with them, though we do not see that there is anything in them which is inconsistent with the picture of Ophelia which he has drawn. But Dr. Bucknill shall speak for himself. 'O, woe is me, of Ophelia, Dr. Bucknill seems instinctively To have seen what I have seen, see what I see! to have touched the right key; and the result is a harmony of thought which is not Ophelia appears once more as one of the audidisturbed from the beginning of the chap-ence before the players, before her own mind is ter to the end. This essay is worth reading carefully as is anything that is worth reading at all—and for a young actress about to act the part we could suggest no better study. But it is not so much for its explanation of the nature of Ophelia's madness that we are praising it, as for the insight into her normal character which it displays. 'as sweet bells jangled out of tune;' but it is to be remarked that she never makes a consecutive speech again. To Hamlet's indelicate banter she makes the curtest replies, scarcely sufficient to defend her outraged modesty. She is concealing and bearing up against the anguish gnawing at her heart. But fancy and intellect are benumbed by sorrow, only to display themselves at a later date, again active, though perverted under the stimulus of disease. It is left in some doubt to what extent grief at the death | intellectual training and exercise during the of Polonius concurred with pining sorrow at the whole of his life have fitted him for the blight of her love in giving rise to Ophelia's dis- weighing of evidence. It consists mainly traction. The King and Queen and Laertes evi- of a collection of passages from the Old dently refer it to the former cause; yet although and New Testaments, which show how perin her gentle ravings she constantly refers to fectly the Old is borne out by the New, inher father's death, and never directly to her troduced by a preface, in which Sir W. lover's unkindness, we are inclined to consider the latter as by far the most potent, though it Page Wood discusses briefly the question may, perhaps, not be the sole cause of her dis- of the unity of Scripture. The idea of the traction. This opinion founds itself upon the compilation was suggested to him, he tells form of insanity which is depicted, namely, ma- us, by the attempts lately made to invalinia with prevalent ideas of the sentiment of love, date the authority of the Old Testament by or erotomania, as it is learnedly called." some who assert that a faith in our Lord as It has been stated that Ophelia's snatches the authenticity, or even the truth, of the God does not necessarily involve a belief in of song were culled from the street ballads books of the Old Testament. But its obof the day. Of the two longer and more in-ject is not critical. The author only addelicate effusions this may be true, thinks dresses believers. Dr. Bucknill. The others, having reference to her own circumstances, seem impromptu, and our author observes that they well express the confusion in the poor head between Polonius's death and Hamlet's estrangement. It is the same in all Ophelia says, notably in the tender pathos of her words as she is distributing the flowers. But if confused in the thoughts of her lover, she is still more confused on all other subjects. Drowning, she has no knowledge of her danger: "Her clothes spread wide; And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up; Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes, As one incapable of her own distress.” 66 says, 66 may Such," he have been, especially of late, perplexed by the alleged discovery, on the part of men of learning, that much of the Old Testament has been erroneously accepted as the authentic writing of the several authors to whom the books are attributed or unduly credited with a prophetical character. He may have neither time, nor learning, nor judgment to sift, or to decide upon, such alleged discoveries; but if he have not been shaken in his faith in Christ, he will at once perceive that if Christ be very God, His word must be conclusive in either the authenticity or the value of the writings of the Old Testament; he must again, if he believe the books of the New Testament to be written by men who were themselves There is no connection betwen the vari-taught by Christ and assisted by the Holy ous essays grouped together in this volume, Spirit, who was to lead them into all truth, and no artificial connection has been forced. at once conclude that any opinion of such This, we think, was wise. It was better writers outweighs whole volumes of controto give us an opportunity of studying each versy." This argument contains its own character separately than to establish some proof. But for the case of those whose previously unthought-of link between them, and upon that link to develop a novel and startling theory. This is what would have been done by any of those critics who invariably see in Homer more than Homer saw. Dr. Bucknill does not belong to that class, and in all his criticism he adopts the natural in preference to the non-natural view. His is not transcendental criticism. It is the criticism of fact. faith has been shaken by recent controversy, not an inconsiderable number, additional testimony is requisite, and it is not far to seek. It may be found in the Scriptures themselves; in their agreement; in their mutual dependence on each other; in the marvellous way in which the New fulfils the Old; in their unity. Sir W. Page Wood divides this unity into Historical, Moral, and Spiritual. Of the first he observes that the Bible contains the history of man's creation, his fall, his miserable degradation, his restoration through the Redemption. "The external world," he says, “is never mentioned in Scripture without a direct reference to man's condition upon earth. The slight indications given of physical creation are merely such as to teach him that an Allwise, and All-powerful, and All-benevolent creating Spirit is the author of everything that exists, bringing all into being out of nothing by His simple word, and making all | ponder over the high-toned prophecies, not less very good; so that man should have no ex- striking in their poetic beauty than in their euse for the foolish worship of inanimate moral tone, and listen to their own repeated and objects, however glorious in beauty (as the confident announcement of a greater time to sun, and moon, and host of heaven), but come; and then believe that all this really meant should worship Him only by Whom both nothing? Observe that from age to age the they and he exist." Sentence of death is Prophets never falter. In the deepest depression pronounced at the Fall, but the means of den of lions is not more confident of his safety, their hope burns most brightly. Daniel in the restoration are promised at the same time, than as a captive of the furious Nebuchadnezzar and the whole history of the Old Testament he is confident of the overthrow of the kingdoms leads up to its fulfilment. By what means of this world by the stone cut out without man is to contribute to it is shown in the hands.' Isaiah is not more bold in his predicmoral unity of the Testament, as well as his tion of the destruction of Sennacherib and his powerlessness to achieve it for himself in host, than in that of the reign of Messiah over Noah's shameful drunkenness ; Lot's Jew and Gentile. And when the Romans deworldly choice of an abode; Abraham's stroyed the Temple of Jerusalem, did this martimid deceit with reference to Sarah; Isaac's vellous Book and all that it contains fade away partiality for his profane son Esau; Jacob's like the baseless fabric of a vision'? Was ever fraud," &c. Then comes the " Spiritual such a phenomenon witnessed as this persistent, unity" of the Bible, shown by "the uniforharmonious utterance, for a thousand years, of mity with which the restoration of fallen futile expectations? On the other hand, what man is set forth as wrought out by the free if, in the interval between the closing of the Old Testament and the destruction of Jerusalem, mercy of God the Father, through God the One appeared in whom centred every line of hisSon; Who, as man, should be free from tory and of prophecy; what if such an One led man's guilt, able and willing to offer up a life, as man, in which the most daring gainHimself as an Atoning Sacrifice for the sayer cannot suggest a flaw; what if He also guilt of all mankind, and should also renew claimed to come as fulfilling the Older Revelation man's heart to a love of God by the opera- and Himself foretold the downfall of the earthly tion of God the Holy Spirit." But this Jerusalem, since the purpose of its separation uniformity of subject and plan becomes the from the world had been accomplished; what if more wonderful when we consider how and He in fact commenced, by the foundation of the by whom the Scriptures were written: Christian Church, a new kingdom, in which the promised King should reign, To Whom it was a "The Old Testament was written [as regards light thing that the Jews should be saved,' since its human authors] at intervals, during a period to Him all the Gentiles also were to be given '; of more than a thousand years. Its various what if such an One rose from the grave after books were composed by the agency of men of having, to the letter, accomplished, both in life almost every character and position in life. The and death, all that prophecy had foretold of His great legislator, Moses, leaders of armies, judges, earthly carcer, and then sent down the longkings, are among its authors. Some of them promised gift of the Holy Spirit, the inward lived amid the struggles of conflict; some in the teacher of the heart, the builder of that Spiritenjoyment of peace and wealth and splendour. ual temple which was to supersede the material Prophets also were taken from various ranks of edifice on Mount Moriah; and what if such temlife, from among the priests, from the blood-ple [though, alas! too slowly and imperfectly] royal, from herdsmen or other humbler occupa- is gradually rising throughout the civilized tions. Some of them wrote in times of danger and distress, others in times of prosperity; some were in high favour at the courts of kings, and others in deep depression and temporal disgrace. Their style is as varied as their rank, but their subject always one; they thus unite in composing the one grand Epic of which I have spoken. Does not this unity in variety speak of Him who has harmonized by unity of the simplest laws the wonderful variety of our external world? Again, consider all this marked history relating to one small nation, inhabiting one small portion of the globe-whence arises its deep interest to us? to all the civilized nations of the earth? Can any one read the narrative of the various events by which one people was eliminated from the varied races of mankind, or observe how this people [few comparatively in number] alone retained the knowledge of one single supreme God, world, to the honour and glory of the Triune nite end." But the argument of the unity of Christianity does not end here, and in a postscript Sir W. Page Wood teaches eloquently, though briefly, on its still abiding influence on the history of the human race. Thus we have a continuity from the earliest period of the world of which we possess any written record up to the present time, and the end is not yet. We strongly recommend this little volume to our readers. It should be sufficient to satisfy any whose minds have been unsettled by recent controversy, and it is an important addition to the religious literature which represents the reaction of that controversy. From The Saturday Review. THE SUGGESTIVENESS OF LANDSCAPE. do not mean that this delight of the sense is a poor thing not worth having. On the contrary, it is one of the joys that are all but best worth having; so is any pure joy of sense. But there is a certain waste, unless a man gets further than this, and discovers the hidden and minuter things which lie below or behind the physical impression; unless more definite voices speak to him intelligible words penetrating beyond mere sense into the regions of thought and distinct feeling. In short, to obtain from landscape, as from harmonious sound, all that there is in it within the reach of the human mind, one must have taught oneself a certain skill in analysing the physical impressions, and distinguishing them among one another. In truth, this is no more than the ordinary process of knowledge in all cases, only most people have to learn that intellectual processes are of full application in æsthetic matters. THE people are not yet extinct, we believe, who really think that they have said something to their own credit when they have assured you that they have so little ear for music as to be quite unable to distinguish one tune from another. The old and characteristically English notion about fiddling which in Chesterfield's time seems to have been the usual name for all musical performance or predilection-being an un- One of the main reasons, if there were no manly business only fit for Italians, survives other, why people should take greater pains even now in the minds of many honest per- with themselves in the cultivation of the sons. Still it is infinitely less universal habit of a nice and appreciative sensibility than it was a hundred or fifty or even twen- in the presence of scenery, is that they ty years ago, and it is the fashion to feign, would thus have so many more opportunities if you cannot feel, a certain decent appro- of pleasure than they can have otherwise. val of the glories of musical sound. Some- Those who are only reached on the side of thing of the same process has obviously ta- sense with no impressions beyond those of ken place in the enjoyment of fine scenery. sense, or at least none but the very vaguest, It is, perhaps, unfair to assume that our are not much moved except by what is grandfathers or great-grandfathers were grand and violently striking, just as halfless accessible than their descendants to musical people love loud head-filling noises, the influence of external nature, simply be- colossal choruses, or solos with excessively cause they talked and wrote so much less slow or else excessively rapid melody, and about it. Turner's pictures form a sort of masses of vehement instrumentation. Unnew dispensation, but, after all, an age less they see the biggest mountains and the that produced and admired Gainsborough widest plains, tremendous height or tremencan hardly have been so absolutely wanting in dous distance, they are as the deaf or the sensibility of this kind as one often thinks. blind. All scenes but such as these are However that may have been, to admire dumb to them. One wonders if there are fine landscapes is now at any rate consid- many men to whom every woman less fair ered as indispensable a trait, in a person than the sculptor's Venus is but loveless, with any pretensions to taste and cultiva- or many women to whom every man less tion, as to admire fine music. People comely than Adonis is unattractive. Probcrowd to Switzerland in droves to see the ably not many of either, and those not the scenery, just as they crowd down to Syden-wisest. To one who has studied the human ham in droves to hear Handel. Most likely face divine it not seldom happens that what there is as little discrimination in their zeal directly and at first impresses him least in for Handel as there is in their enthusiasm feature or expression by and by suggests a about Mount Blanc. The majority of those whose enjoyment is quite sincere probably find it no more than an enjoyment of the physical sense. Harmonious sound delights the ear, but only faintly stirs the fountain of precise ideas. So with majestic landscape. The expanse and size of scene, and the exhilarating freshness of the air, go straight to the physical sense, but do they quicken any articulate intelligence? We thousand things. Landscapes, too, have their physiognomies. And very often, to a man who has given his thought to them, those which to the vulgar eye seem least worth looking at become the best loved of all. Persons with crude notions about scenery are only happy when they are at the foot or the crown of a mountain, with a great view up or a great view down and around. They rather remind one of ladies |