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very accurate likeness of a fine lady at Washington; and though, to such of our readers as are among the privileged at Almack's, the colouring may appear somewhat coarse, it must be remembered, that the stars in our hemisphere of fashion would be suns or comets to the eyes of Americans.

Beatrice; or, the Wycherly Family. A Novel.-In 4 vols. 12mo. 26s. A. K. Newman and Co.

THE heroine of this novel, contrary to the general rule, is neither handsome nor accomplished. Her person, indeed, is so extremely plain, and her manners so rustic, that she is totally neglected, and almost despised, by her parents and sisters. Her childhood and youth are passed principally under the roof of an aged and infirm grandmother, whose conduct towards Beatrice, the result of the same prejudice, is scarcely less unfeeling and contemptuous than that of the rest of her family. From this attempt at novelty of character, and, from the general effect of the opening of the story, we were led to expect something above the ordinary standard of a mere circulating-library novel; but we are constrained to say, that, in our progress through these four volumes, though we met with nothing, in a moral view, that calls for censure, we were sadly annoyed by the more than usual quantity of improbabilities and absurdities, which, in a very disjointed manner, constitute the history of "Beatrice," and the rest of the Wycherly Family. The adventures of Henry, especially, are really much too marvellous for the credulity even of nurses; and his escape from Newgate, and exploits in Russia, are downright encroachments upon the province of the Wonderful Magazine!

The Old Arm-Chair; or, Recollections of a Bachelor. A Tale. BySexagenarius. 12mo. 4s. 6d. pp. 280. Fisher, Newgate Street, THESE Recollections of Sexagenarius prove him to be a very amiable man, whose arm-chair is to him, we doubt not, an easy chair also. He is a very decided advocate for the principles of "vital Christianity, and would discountenance the slightest conformity with the maxims and amusements of the world. There is, however, none of the harshness of bigotry, nor of the wildness of enthusiasm, to be met with in this little volume; which will be very acceptable to such readers as would consider their time sinfully wasted in the perusal of a novel or a play.

Zoë: an Athenian Tale.-12mo. 3s. 6d. Constable and Co. Edinburgh: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. London.

A SIMPLE story of hapless love is in this little volume most delightfully unfolded. It is pathetic without art, and classical without pedantry. It is not in our power to do justice to the author by any outline of this truly elegant production; since it is one of those rare gems of literature whose beauties will be the more perceived and admired, the more it is studied by competent judges; but which it were vain to attempt to point out to those who see not the work itself.

The History of Matthew Wald.-1 vol. 8vo. pp. 382. 10s. 6d. Blackwood, and Cadel.

In this volume, the hero tells his own tale; a tale of a very sombre cast. "Matthew Wald" is, certainly, a masterly and elaborate portrait; but, at the same time, it is a portrait of a certain species already too numerously supplied, and with which we are by no means desirous our public galleries should be crowded. The effects too often produced by the selfish and cruel conduct of guardians upon unfortunate children, "who knew no mother's love, no father's care," are, in the experience of the ill-fated Wald, depicted with extraordinary force, and considerable ingenuity: but the prostration and final overthrow of a naturally noble and energetic mind is a painful subject for contemplation; especially when, as in the present work, it occupies the entire canvass of the artist, without the contrast of a single touch of light to relieve the mass of shade. The usurper, through whose tyranny the juvenile Wald is driven from his paternal home, deprived of the object of his ardent love, and doomed to misery, to despair, and ultimately to madness, is drawn with such finished accuracy, that it is scarcely possible not to consider the Reverend Mr. Mather, as something more than an imaginary character. The bitter hatred with which the hero, throughout, speaks of this man, who is his uncle by marriage, is almost horrible.

The author has afforded us sufficient specimens of his powers in the present work; and we entreat him, for the sake of his own reputation, and for the advantage of the public, to study, for the future, in a more humane school; and to cultivate a taste more accordant with the natural benevolence of the unsophisticated majority of the human species.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent. By the Author of the
Sketch Book.-2s. 6d.

We have seldom witnessed a more decisive proof of "the magic of a name," than the fact, that these letters have reached a second edition. Had they not been put forward with the attractive name of Washington Irving, their intrinsic merit would never have enabled them to attract the notice with which they have been honoured; but the author of the Sketch Book is in fashion; and, strange as it may seem, fashion no where holds a more despotic sway than in the realms of literature.

Oldstyle's letters have evidently made their appearance in consequence of the success which attended the publication of the author's Salmagundi. We do not think Mr. Irving's reputation was benefited by this latter volume; but, though it contained very. little of real novelty, to any one well read in the British Essayists, which had been adopted as a model by Lancelot Wagstaff; yet there was amusement and variety in his whim-whams; the drawings of that humour, so conspicuous in the writer's later productions, were frequently visible, and the wit and fidelity which characterised many of his

sketches of American peculiarities, rendered them extremely interesting to the English reader. But the letters before us are distinguished by no such sources of entertainment, no such early promise of excellence. They appeared in the New York Morning Chronicle, two and twenty years since. They are eight in number, and six of them are devoted exclusively to strictures on the audience and the performers at the New York theatre. How interesting these subjects must be to an English reader of the present day, we need not remark. The mention of "the crackling of nuts, and the craunching of apples," as a common practice among the tenants of the boxes, and of "the delightful perfume of French brandy, Holland gin, and Spanish segars," impregnating the atmosphere of the saloon, the resort of the elegant New York loungers, may, indeed, somewhat flatter the self-love of John Bull, in reflecting on the comparative degrees of social refinement in the two countries; but, with the exception of this solitary piece of information, these letters do not throw the smallest light upon American manners or character, as distinguished from those of any other nation. They are not without merit as to the style; but, in other respects, they present, for the most part, only a mass of common-places, dressed out in all the pomp with which unimportant subjects are usually loaded by a very young writer, who imagines that he displays his intelligence by "holding his farthing rushlight to the sun," and endeavours to be very witty upon topics on which humour has long since been exhausted.

It is plain that the tempting prospect of an advantageous sale, without incurring the expense of a copy-right, has alone induced the republication of these letters. But we must protest, however uselessly, against the ungenerous proceeding of bringing an author's. early and faulty productions into view, without his concurrence, at a period when he has established a deservedly high reputation, and thus, in the language of Herbert Croft, completely "shutting the door of repentance to literary sinners." It really appears to us too bad, that so elegant and pleasing a writer as Mr. Irving now is, should be doomed to see the fugitive contributions of his boyish years raked together, to the injury of his reputation, and without any advantage to his pecuniary interests; and this, for no better purpose than to serve the mercenary views of a publisher.

To these letters is prefixed a biographical notice of Mr. Irving, which though extremely brief, is not without interest, as supplying some details respecting a gentleman whose genius and diligence have enabled him successfully to surmount the prejudices which, in this country, would inevitably oppose themselves to his popularity; and who has so greatly contributed to the growing reputation of transatlantic literature.

95

FOREIGN LITERATURE.

Histoire de la Vie et des Ouvrages de Voltaire, suivis des jugemens qu'ont portées de cet homme célèbre divers auteurs éstimés. Par L. Paillet de Warcy.-2 vols. 8vo. Two volumes of abuse against the manes of a great man; two volumes composed from the paltry pamphlets of the last century, and from the interested declamations of the hypocrites of the present! M. de Warcy, however allows, page 904, "that the writings of Voltaire abound with delightful and interesting passages, whenever he abstains from treating of religious matters." Thus Voltaire, if a good Christian, would have been perfect; but he is an atheist, a pagan, an idolater, a deist; he has attacked superstition, he has unmasked fanaticism, he has torn from her her victims; he has quenched her wood-piles; he has proclaimed the existence of a good and merciful God, who loves alike the Indian, the African, the European, the Jew, the Mahometan, the Quaker, the Christian of Rome, of London, and Petersburgh, who seeks him in the simplicity of his heart, who adores him in spirit and in truth. Voltaire, therefore, has no genius, no talent. Behold then, in two words, the analysis of the 941 pages of the work of M. Paillet de Warcy. It is a production, of which the style is frequently above the matter, as may be observed in this phrase, page 899, and in many others, which we have not time to transcribe. Jealousy, hatred, and envy, stare us in the face, in every line of this piece of Voltaire, by means of which all interest is removed; but it might, perhaps, have been useful, if the author had always kept himself within the bounds of an impartial and just criticism." In short, the reader will find nothing in this work, which has not been said by Latterpe converted, and by Madame de Genlis disappointed, and by that crowd of false devotees, whom Voltaire has lashed into immortality.

Catalogo de las Languas de las Naciones conocidas. Catalogue of the languages of the known nations, with their divisions and classes. By Don Lorenzo Hervas.6 vol. gr. 8vo.

LORENZO de Hervas deserves a piace among the first writers, who have treated of languages in general, and endeavoured to arrange them successively; and, although he has not risen so high as to

ledge their unity; he is one of those who have furnished the most materials and the most proper facts, to establish the validity of such an opinion. He has published many works, chiefly in Italian; this, which we at present treat of, is in Spanish, and contains much more, and much less than the title promises. (The first edition which the author published at Césèna, in 1784, forms a part of his Idea del universo.) We find therein itinerary and statistical information, which we do not seek, and, on the contrary, nothing of that clear and neat classification, which the title leads us to expect, and which is impossible, without the assistance of tables and numerous examples. The introduction, which is of ninety pages, treats of the means of classifying the nations of the globe, and shews that languages are the most certain guides. The author then passes to the ancient and new establishments of people; he endeavours to explain the names which are given to the four quarters of the world, and gives, page 72, the route which he has pursued, in his researches; he begins by Southern America, continues towards the North; traverses the Pacific Ocean, and arrives in Japan and in China. He travels into Asia, and goes from thence into Europe, Hervas reckoning to finish by Africa. believes that South America was peopled across the Atlantic, and he cites a chart of Buace, presented to the royal Academy of Paris, in 1737, which points out the visible remains of this vast submerged country. After having treated of America islands of the Pacific Ocean, and of Asia in the first volume, he speaks of the in the second, of Europe in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth; and distinguishes in this last the nations, which he calls udvement, from those he denominates primitive.

look at them as a whole, and to acknow

Hölty's Gedichte; Nene und Verbesserte Ausbjabe: Hölty's Poems; New and Improved Edition. Gottingen.

GENIUS cannot be for ever kept in obscurity; sooner or later, its flame will burst embers have been smouldering, and its through the rubbish, beneath which its lustre will only become more striking and durable. We hope that his countrymen are about to pay to the deceased Hölty that tribute of admiration which, when living, he was denied. The works of Hagedorn, Göthe, and Bürger, have long been in every hand, and their praises sounded

by every mouth; while Hölty is only read by his friends and acquaintances; though, in beauty of language, freshness of thought, and moral tendency, his productions leave all three at an immeasurable distance. Poetry may be divided into three sections, -the lofty, the pathetic, and the comic or familiar. The first awakens enthusiasm; the second, a pleasing melancholy; and the third, which is much the most difficult to excel in, laughter and good humour. Hölty was great in all, but chiefly in the second class. His "Lamentation of the Maiden over the Grave of her Companion," we pronounce to be one of the finest lyric pieces of the kind, now extant, and aver, that it will remain so when translated into any language. Translation is the great ordeal, through which all poetry must pass, before its real merit can be ascertained. If it be stimulant in a foreign dress, it is sterlingly good.

We call the attention of the admirers of literature to this almost unknown field, into which the genius of Germany seems to have rolled streams of fertility. The human mind, for so many centuries, reposed in nearly a torpid state, but is now thoroughly awake; and its craving appetite for information must be attended to. The diversity of languages is at present the only great obstacle to a universal exchange of ideas; but the purveyors of public taste are busily at work. In vain did the Celtic and the Sclavonic muses conceal their literary treasures in the lone caverns of the highland hills, or in the snow-covered wildernesses of Russia: both have been penetrated and explored; and the songs, whose accompanying music was intended to be the wild murmur of the rushing stream, or the rude crash of the tumbling ice-berg, are now repeated in the smoky streets of London, and the crack of whips, the creak of wheels, and the outcries of an over-teeming populace.

Danske Folke Eventyr: samlede af M. Winther. Danish Popular Tales: collected by M. Winther. Copenhagen.

THE editor of this work appears, by his preface, to be a wild romantic character, who has chiefly spent his time in wandering through the fields and villages of his native land, chattering with every swineherd and blear-eyed crony, who was will ing to indulge him with his petty rustic

gossip. We have him now in our mind's eye, crouching, some cold winter-nights, in the chimney-corner of an ale-house, surrounded by Carles, whom he is treating, and who, in recompence, are recounting some desperate adventure, belonging to the olden time. But, to be serious-He has presented us with several entertaining histories, which, upon the whole, are infinitely superior to the German collection of Grimm, lately rendered into English. We were agreeably surprised at finding, in the present volume, an account of a man, who sold his shadow to the devil for a handful of dollars; but who received so much contempt and inconvenience from the loss of so respectable an appendage, that he was obliged to make away with himself.-Really now, most illustrious La Motte Fouqué, it is not a little strange, that the misfortune which befel your friend Peter Schlemil, should have happened to a Danish boor, two hundred years ago; but imagine not, that we shall accuse thee of a piracy, thou unfortunate, thou distorted genius. What would become of most of us, had we merely to depend on our own thread-bare imaginations?

There are one and twenty tales in the present collection; several of which are narrated with beautiful simplicity. Some, we must admit, are of a horrible character; but they are thereby only so much the better adapted to the rude minds of the peasantry, for whom they were originally intented. It is, however, not improbable, that the elegant sentimentalist may derive amusement from some parts of the present volume. Mr. Winther has promised to give us a second. We' sincerely hope that he will. Plenty of materials may be found; for Denmark is the land of romantic fiction; and we really believe, that not a creek, not a promontory, not a wood, not a hill, exists, that has not its appropriate legend and tradi

tion.

Voyage d'un jeune Grec a Paris.

Par M. Hippolite Mazer de

Heaume.-2 vols. 8vo. Paris. HERE is a new picture of Paris in its actual state. It may appear at first sight a little hardy to undertake a similar work, when so many excellent ones have preceded it. We, however, meet in it new views of things; and the perusal, on the whole, is interesting.

ERRATA.

Page 46, lines 10 and 12; for " Navy Board," read "Public Boards." The first article under POLITICS (p. 37) has, by mistake, been inserted before Jewitt's Adventures.

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