and, notwithstanding his high reputation for accuracy in matters of fact, and his acknowledged ability and eloquence, they tend inevitably to diminish our general confidence in his

statements.

The numbers of the American reprint which we have placed at the head of this article, conduct the reader through the fall of the monarchy and the execution of Louis,―the government of the national assembly and the reign of terror, and far into the guilty career of the French republic. Wave upon wave of revolutionary frenzy have rolled over France, until most of the memorials of former ages, and all the institutions of Christianity are annihilated, and a generation is rising to manhood to whom social order and tranquillity are unknown; and who have been bred in utter ignorance of the religion of their ancestors. Faction after faction, each springing from still lower dregs of the populace than its predecessor, has risen to the summit of power, and been, in its turn, hurled headlong to the dust. Every stratum of the social system has been in succession, displaced by upheavings from beneath, until the bonds of justice and of right, and even the ties of consanguinity, are reft asunder, and all orders and conditions of men are crouching beneath the sway of the fiercest and most savage passions of human nature. Yet, even in the midst of this ruin of society, all France resounds with the praises of liberty. Its ensigns and emblems fill the land; while the people are unconsciously wearing upon their necks the yoke of the vilest of despotisms, the despotism of the Parisian mob, sterner and more cruel than the Bourbons, even in their worst days, had ever imposed. Such was the delicious dream of liberty which dazzled the minds and corrupted the hearts of the French nation. The fascinations which it once possessed, and the partizan passions to which it once gave rise in this country, have long since gone to oblivion, we trust never to be revived. As an event in the world's history, it may now be studied and calmly contemplated; and lessons may be deduced from it, of immeasurable importance to all nations, but especially to such as have ventured upon the perilous experiment of unlimited popular freedom. If it be possible for one generation to learn wisdom from the errors and crimes of their predecessors, it would seem that a single record like that of the French revolution were enough for the warning and guidance of all future times.

But we must bring to a close these hasty and imperfect notices of a work to which we are indebted for many hours of most valuable and interesting reading; and of which, as a whole, in common, we believe, with all who have dwelt upon its glowing pages, we have conceived no ordinary admiration. We may, in a future number, recur to this work; and from its subsequent chapters sketch some scenes in the astonishing career of the Conqueror of Europe,― whose singular fortunes had their origin amidst the tumults and crimes of the revolution in France.

ARTICLE VI.

ANGLO-SAXON HISTORY AND LITERATURE.

1. The History of the Anglo-Saxons, from the earliest period to the Norman Conquest. By SHARON TURNER. 2 vols. Philadelphia. Carey & Hart. 8vo. pp. 560, 619. 1841.

2. A Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon Language, containing the Accentuation, the Grammatical Inflections, the Irregular Words referred to their themes, the parallel terms from the other Gothic Languages, the meaning of the Anglo-Saxon in English and Latin, and copious English and Latin Indexes, serving as a Dictionary. of English and AngloSaxon, as well as of Latin and Anglo-Saxon. With a Preface, on the origin and connection of the Germanic Tongues, a map of Languages, and the essentials of Anglo-Saxon Grammar. By Rev. J. BosWORTH, LL. D., British Chaplain at Rotterdam. London. 1838. pp. 929. 8vo.

3. Quatuor D. N. Jesu Christi Euangeliorum Versiones Perantique due, Gothica, scil. et Anglo-Saxonica, etc. Dordrechti. 1665. 4to.

WE have trodden, with unfeigned pleasure, among these monuments of the history of our fathers. We love to trace back our relationship to the past. It is pleasant to linger in

the society of these men of early times; to observe in them the gradual development of mind, the influence of religious truth, the dawn of science and the arts, the power and success of self-culture, the progress of national elevation, the elements of our own character and history. If they were once rude barbarians, we cannot despise them. We have too close an affinity with them. The Anglo-Saxons were the parent-stock, and we acknowledge them as our fathers. They are neither strangers nor enemies, but they belong to ourselves. Moreover, as the connecting link between barbarism and the highest civilization, it is impossible not to contemplate them with interest. We have in them a remarkable specimen of civilization springing up, within a short period of time, out of the bosom of barbarism; of a literature, few though its remains may be, and tinged deeply with the marks of the source whence it emanated, coming from an almost self-moved effort of the human mind. In their tongue, we can trace the progress of the formation of a language, mainly free from classical influence, and with very few admixtures of terms, except from the dialects of neighboring and equally uncultivated tribes. We see what Christianity and a love of learning can do, in men who, but now, had neither learning nor Christianity. We see the influence of one man in making a people.

It is a true feast, to find such facilities for the study of a topic of so deep interest. The history of the Anglo-Saxons is a part of the history of England. As the Anglo-Saxon dialect is the incipient English tongue, so Anglo-Saxon chronicles are incipient British history. With the aid of Turner's History, and Bosworth's Dictionary, quoted at the head of this article, the Grammar of Rask or Grimm, the former translated by Thorpe, and published in Copenhagen, in 1830, Thorpe's Analectica Anglo-Saxonica (London, 1834), and one or two other works, not difficult to be obtained, such as Conybeare's Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon Poetry (London, 1826), and Alfred's Boethius, with an English translation and notes (London, 1835), the lover of this sort of lore may easily become familiar with the people and their language, and enter upon an acquaintance with their primitive literature. There are several remnants of this ancient tongue, besides helps to the study of it. Bosworth gives a catalogue of more than thirty works in Anglo-Saxon, or bearing

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own.

very nearly upon the study of it, among which are no less than thirteen grammars, and three large dictionaries besides his This subject is beginning to attract the attention of scholars in a measure proportioned to its interest. The Ælfric Society, recently formed in London, has for its object, to encourage investigations in the northern languages and literature. We are informed, that a firm in Boston has imported fifty copies of Bosworth's dictionary, which have all been sold. The articles on this topic, published in the North American Review, and elsewhere, also indicate, that there are students of Anglo-Saxon among us, who not only cherish the right spirit, but are inclined to diffuse that spirit among others.

The American publishers of Turner's history have done an invaluable service to the literary world by their edition of that, work. We are aware, that their remuneration must be slow; but we hope it will be sure. A finer donation could not be made to the cause of learning, to British history, and to the English language. The exterior beauty of the volumes tempts one to look into them. The table of contents produces a conviction of their intrinsic and lasting worth. We are often deceived by a title-page. The anticipations which we form are not fulfilled. But in this work, our anticipations are more than fulfilled. A vast amount of interesting and profitable matter, the fruit of laborious investigation, on every possible topic involved in the general theme, is spread before us; so that we scarcely can ask a question, which comes within the limits of our author's promise, that is not satisfactorily answered. The fact, that the work has maintained its rank in our circle of literature from the beginning of the present century, and that successive editions have been demanded up to the present time, bears honorable testimony to its excellence. It stands by itself among our historical documents. The information it contains could not be gathered from any other source, and it will always be a theme of interest, as long as a Briton or a descendant of Britons remains upon earth; as long as the English tongue is spoken or written, or a monument of its literature is preserved.

The title of Dr. Bosworth's dictionary is no more than a fair representation of the book. The very long preface, of one hundred and seventy-seven pages, presents a minute view of all the cognate languages; and is worthy of the attention of every student of English literature, whether he

contemplates proceeding to the Anglo-Saxon or not. The Grammar, including the extracts from Professors Rask and Grimm, does not cover more than eighteen pages. We could wish it were somewhat more complete; but, as a student who undertakes to pursue the study of Anglo-Saxon in good earnest will purchase some more extended manual, perhaps a work, so perfect, ought not, in this respect, to be deemed chargeable with any defect. It will, probably, take rank as the standard Lexicon of the language; for it exhibits a degree of minute and careful investigation, setting it above all the transient works of our period. While many of the latter resemble, more than any thing else, the prophet's gourd, "which came up in a night and perished in a night," this is fitted to be an enduring monument. It contains the results of more than seven years' of literary labor, even more wearing to the body, than improving to the mind.

When we undertake to institute inquiries concerning the relics of any dead language, several questions are likely to arise. Has it a critical value, on account of its affinity to our own, or for any other reason? Does it embalm truths which could not otherwise be possessed? Does it illustrate the history of nations, or the progress of the human mind? Does it throw light upon forms of speech, or upon philosophy? Has it a literature, and does it open avenues to new fields, into which it may profit the scholar to penetrate? Such queries indicate the reasons why the dead languages have an imperishable interest, and deserve the attention of living men of every age. Have they any response in reference to the language and literature of the Anglo-Saxons?

We answer, they have. And this point, without by any means exhausting the subject, we shall endeavor to show.

The people of Great Britain, our own ancestors, whose language and customs are also our own, dwell on the soil where the Anglo-Saxons preceded them. After the flood, the sons of Japheth multiplied in the region of the Caspian Sea, and around mount Caucasus. From their gradual increase began those emigrations by which the whole of Europe has been peopled. The first great wave of population, crossing the Cimmerian Bosphorus, between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azof, was the Celts.* This must have

The Gælic language, a dialect of the Celtic, it is said, bears traces of its oriental origin. It differs in its structure from the Greek and Latin. By means of affixes and prefixes, in the inflections of nouns and verbs, it is assimilated with