tainly not to a greater extent than he deserves, as well from his first project of introducing so long a list of Greek and Latin authors to the notice of the unlearned part of the community in an uniform series, as from the manner in which the promises of using every exertion to render his English translations of the Classics universally acceptable, have been since redeemed. Arlington. 3 vols. moves Some persons there are who pass through life and gather flowers, and flowers only-they magnify the dog into the moss rose, and fancy-for we beg it to be understood that those persons have the organ of imagination (to use the Phrenological jargon) strongly developed-and fancy that the breath of violets scents every gale beyond the angle of Hyde Park corner. Others, and by far the greater number of mankind, are gatherers of thorns-amateur collectors of brambles, nettles, and thistles-not the down, but the stings. It is our lot as reviewers to meet many of both classes: Mr. Lister, however, belongs neither to the one nor the other-he has little to do with natural flowers, or natural thorns, he and among, and writes about the aristocracy; though both the sect and its feelings are just now at a discount, we have little fault to find with the manner in which the Honourable novelist has treated them. Mr. Lister's conception of character is not vivid, but it is better, because in nine cases out of ten it is correct-it wants buoyancy, pure animal buoyancy of spirit and of imagination-that indescribable something which is to the conception what health is to the body; but the body, be it remembered, is there perfect, well. proportioned, and intellectual, needing nothing but the vigour of health to make it most delightful to others and happy in itself. We prefer to describe Arlington as a book upon society, than as a novel. As a novel, it wants plot and incident; but as a sensible and true picture of the high and middling class of English people, it is amusing and excellent. Many of the observations are born of sound philosophy, and penned so as to communi. cate that philosophy to others. The character of Lady Alice, might have been made one of power and beauty as it is, it only tells, as we have just stated, of what it might have been. So many Lady Crawfords, Lady Eveshams, and Miss Savilles figure in every-day life, that there is little talent required to paint them upon paper. Such characters as those of Denbigh and Beauchamp are pourtrayed with greater difficulty. Mr. Lister has taken more pains with them, and the developement repays his exertion. We are sure it would be always thus if the author pleased that so it should be, for he possesses acute observation and sound sense, two absolute necessaries in the composition of a novelist; and if he be deficient in the more brilliant and more immediately attractive points, he has within himself wherewith to make ample amends. Arlington will perhaps be read with more profit than pleasure; still it is a book that few will lay down unfinished who have once begun it. We prefer extracting a lighter to a more serious passage, although, as we have intimated, the principal value of the work The following is derived from a better source. is an admirable sketch of fashionable travelling: "Mr. Theobald at that instant was speaking to Lord Bolsover. I will just tell you what I did. Brussels, Frankfort, Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Milan, Naples, and Paris; and all that in two months. No man has ever done it in less.' That's a fast thing; but I think I could have done it,' said Lord Bolsover, with a good courier. I had a fellow once, who could ride a hundred miles a day for a fortnight.' I came from Vienna to Calais,' said young Leighton, in less time than the Government courier. No other Englishman ever did that." Hem! I am not sure of that,' said Lord Bolsover; but I'll just tell you what I have donefrom Rome to Naples in nineteen hours; a fact, upon my honour-and from Naples to Paris in six days.' Partly by sea?' No! all by land;' replied Lord Bolsover, with a look of proud satisfaction. I'll just tell you what I did,' Mr. Leighton chimed in again, and I think it is a devilish good plan-it shows what one can do. I went straight an end, as fast as I could, to what was to be the end of my journey. This was Sicily; so straight away I went there at the devil's own rate, and never stopped any where by the way; changed horses at Rome and all those places, and landed in safety in I forget exactly how long from the time of starting, but I bave got it down to an odd minute. As for the places I left behind, I saw them all on my way back, except the Rhine, and I steamed down that in the night-time.' I have travelled a good deal by night,' said Theobald. With a dormeuse and travelling lamp I think it is pleasant, and a good plan of getting on.' And you can honestly say, I suppose,' said Denbigh, that you have slept successfully through as much fine country as any man living?' Oh, I did see the country-that is, all that was worth seeing. My courier knew all about that, and used to stop and wake me whenever we came to any thing remarkable. Gad! I have reason to remember it, too, for I caught an infernal bad cold one night when I turned out by lamplight to look at a water-fall. I never looked at another.'" Illustrations of Political Economy. By H. Martineau. Demerara. Miss Martineau improves by practice. She has already earned a wide and merited reputation by her treatises upon the agricultural and commercial interests: but her last powerful exposition of the misery and folly attached to the policy at present pursued in our West India Colonies, must secure for her a still higher rank in the general estimation. So home a thrust against the slavery system has not been delivered for many a day; and sincerely is it to be hoped that the effect of her reasoning upon the minds of all reflecting persons will be to give additional impulse to that popular feeling which is loudly calling for the abolition of a detestable tyranny, as palpably deficient in operation as it is atrociously unjust in principle. The tale, which is, as usual, a pleasing vehicle for the illustration of the axioms advanced, is replete with interest; and some occasional sketches of tropical scenery are in the first style of exe. Home Colonies. By Rowland Hill. Although the subject of home colonization has lately occupied the public attention to a very con. siderable extent, it must be admitted by all who are acquainted with the destitute condition of so large a portion of our peasantry, and the extreme difficulty of finding an effectual and permanent means of relief for the evil, that it cannot be made the subject of too deep and serious consideration. We are indebted to Mr. Hill for an account of the manner in which the home colonies, established within the last twelve months in Holland and the Netherlands, are conducted; and the beneficial practical result which appears to bave invariably followed this economical plan, is a better argument for its adoption than could have been all the pamphlets which have yet been written by speculative theorists upon the fertile subjects of population and pauperism. It is evident to every one that the enormous evils consequent upon the poor-laws cannot be suffered to exist much longer, and that the old crazy system by which the parochial funds are managed, or rather mismanaged in such a manner as to produce the least possible benefit with the most extensive means, will tumble about the ears of its interested advocates and upholders as soon as the lever of Reform shall have been applied to objects requiring, by their superior importance, and perhaps greater power of doing mischief, its previous application. In the mean time, Mr. Hill's pamphlet may be advantageously consulted by those who are desirous of strengthening their arguments for the cultivation of waste lands cheaply at home, rather than the expensive clearing and manage ment of districts beyond the Atlantic, by the authority of actual experiment. The plan has, at least, this advantage, that it may, at first, be attempted upon a scale which will render its expenses altogether insensible; and that if found likely to prove detrimental or insufficient, the expedient may be abandozed without any loss of capital, or the slightest injury, in other respects, to the community. St. John in Patmos. A Poem. As the Author of this solemn and beautiful poem seeks to disclose himself no farther than as "One of the old living Poets of Great Britain," it is not for us to break through his incognito, if indeed he consider it such. The subject of the poem is the revelation made to St. John when he was a banished man "in the isle which is called Patmos, for the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ." It is, in fact, a harmonious versification of the sublime book of the Apocalypse, relieved with poetical episodes of the lighter and more ordinary events supposed to have occurred to St. John during his five years' residence in the most barren and dreary islet of the Sporades. Among these events the most conspicuous are the conversion of criminals in the island to Christianity, by the exiled Evangelist. It is evident that the subject unites picturesque description and the most sublime and awful imagery, with the most elevated and sacred interest; nor could any theme more fitly engage the thoughts of a Christian poet, or the declining age of one who glories in writing himself " an old grey-headed scholar." Six Months in America. By Geoffrey T. Vigne, Esq. 2 vols. We like the work before us exceedingly; it is written in a just and temperate spirit, without any sort of affectation or assumption, and perhaps gives a more accurate picture of America than any work with which we are acquainted, as far as its limits and information extend. It is just the actual record of what was seen, heard, and understood by an intelligent young man who had not the presumption that a brief residence made him master of his subject, but who has justly supposed that much that could both amuse and instruct might be collected in a short stay, if collected in an impartial spirit. We think Mr. Vigne has employed his six months very profitably, and we cordially recommend these volumes to our readers. Essay on the most Efficacious Means of Preserving the Lives of Shipwrecked Sailors, and the Prevention of Shipwreck. Essay on the Extinction and Prevention of Destructive Fires. Description of Instruments, Apparatus, and Means for saving Persons from Drowning, &c. By Captain Manby. These works of Captain Manby (whose name must be sufficiently familiar to our readers) are the result of many years of laborious and anxious attention to the means of preserving life, and are highly creditable to him as a humane and generous-hearted British officer. His first Essay is divided into two heads; first, the construction of apparatus for effecting communication with vessels stranded on a lee shore, with directions for their uses in preserving the lives of people on board during the light of day, and also the extreme darkness of the night. Secondly, the ap-, paratus requisite, and method of its application, for affording assistance in the most violent storms to vessels in distress at a distance from land, as well for the preservation of life and property, as the prevention of shipwreck. To fulfil the first of these intentions, Captain Manby recommends a howitzer, or a mortar, which will project a twenty-four-pounder shot, with an inch and a half rope attached to it, to the stranded vessel; or such a rope may be expeditiously despatched by a man on foot, having a frame containing a log line, coiled for immediate use, slung as a knapsack, with a small mortar in a socket, across his shoulder, and a pouch belted round his waist containing ammunition, &c. The shot used are of two kinds, the one a round shot, used merely for the purposes of communication; the other, "a barbed shot, intended to give relief by hooking in some part of the wreck, and securely holding to whatever it affixes for hauling off a boat." The rope used should possess pliancy, durability, and strength; and that part of it which is connected with the shot should be made of stout strips of hide. For the means of laying out the rope; the bringing persons from the stranded vessel to the shore by means of the clove-hitch; the swing-cot and hammock; and the cork girdle, we must refer our readers to the book. In the darkness of night, "a shell affixed to the rope, having holes in it to receive fuzes, is filled with the fiercest and most glaring composition, which, when inflamed, at its discharge displays so splendid an illumination of the rope, that its flight cannot be mistaken, and the crew are able to secure it, and see on which part of the rigging it falls." For the prevention of shipwreck, Captain Manby says:- "At a distance from the shore, far beyond where the waves break into heavy surf, an anchor, connected to a chain, is laid out, and the chain suspended by a buoy; below the buoy, a large block, or collar, (confined by a shackle to prevent its twisting,) is fixed to a link in the upper part of the chain, and a warp reeved through the block, both ends of which being kept on shore, are made fast to some elevated station, as a jettyhead, lofty posts, or a dolphin. Both ends of the warp are to be spliced together, making what seamen term a round rope, or messenger, one part being made fast to the bow of the boat, (the weather one, should the wind be not right ahead,) and passed on to the boat's quarter, where it is also to be made fast, and great attention given, that both may, when required, be instantly cast off." The description of the life boat given by Captain Manby, is also very good: but for this we must refer our readers to the work also. In his Essay on the Extinction and Prevention of Fires, Captain Manby recommends for that pur. pose the employment of a solution of pearl-ash in water, in preference to water only, as the heat of the fire forms a solid coating of pearl-ash, which will cover the burnt parts, and prevent their inflaming again, and totally extinguish the fire. An experiment which was made at Woolwich is detailed, in which the superiority of this solu tion of pearl-ash over common water, was clearly manifest to every one who witnessed it. The anggestions thrown out for the organization of a body of fire-police, and the safe methods which the Author recommends of escaping from a burning building, are all well worthy of the most attentive examination and perusal. The apparatus and means which Captain Manby recommends for saving persons who, from any unforeseen cause, may have fallen into the water, or have been submerged by the breaking of the ice in winter, consist of a rope, having a floating noose of cork, distended by whalebone, with an egg-shaped piece of wood, or cork, at a convenient distance to be easily grasped by the hand. The purpose of this is to have it thrown to the aid of a person hanging by the edges of the ice, or liable to be drowned by its breaking. A portable gig boat, made of wicker, from its extreme lightness; this is unimmergible by air, and is made to stand upright on the ice, running upon rollers. It is to be used when, at the breaking of the ice, the distance is too great for throw ing the rope. The weight will not exceed 16lbs. Ladders are also used, which may be lengthened at pleasure, and rendered buoyant by having a copper box, covered with wicker, attached to that end which is in the water. This will also serve as a point d'appui, on which the drowning person may rest when he has reached the surface. Ladders are also made with hinges, allowing thus of their hanging down vertically in the water; and when such a ladder is dropped as close as possible to the person in jeopardy, he may, by a very small effort, get his feet on it, and then either ascend by his own effort, or greatly facili tate the efforts of those who may have come to extricate him. The utility of the above apparatus is amply verified by the strongest testimonials of persons who have had opportunities of witnessing it. Our space, however, will not permit of our noticing these more at length. Of the conduct of the Society of Arts Captain indignation, and if his version of the story be Manby speaks in terms of strong reproach and correct, we are bound to say that the Society have grossly committed themselves; we beg, however, to refer our readers to Captain Manby's statement. We have endeavoured to give as correct and complete an analysis of these works as our limits would allow, and in parting from Captain Manby we are bound to give our testimony in favour of the extreme practical utility of the means which be recommends for the preservation of life ander the circumstances of danger from shipwreck, fire, or drowning. An Account of the Life, Lectures, and Writings of William Cullen, M.D. By John Thomson, M.D. Vol. I. This is a work especially valuable to all mem. bers of the medical profession. They will read in it an account of the life and writings of a man who was the founder of a new system of medi cine-who broke through many of the trammels of ancient prejudice and ignorance, and who, by his varied acquirements and splendid stores of scientific knowledge, shed a new light upon the theory and practical treatment of disease. We rejoice to find that Dr. Thomson has written what A Treatise on the Injuries, Diseases, and Distortions of the Spine. By R. A. Stafford. This work is founded on an essay to which the Royal College of Surgeons adjudged the Jacksonian prize, and we are happy in being able to add our testimony of its value as a work indicating great practical and scientific research into the diseases of which it treats-for, much as our knowledge of the affections of the spine has increased of late years, we are yet in total ignorance of many of the physiological phenomena attending them. Mr. Stafford having formerly been house-surgeon to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, has enjoyed ample opportunities of observing the symptoms, progress, and treatment of all spinal diseases-and the cases occurring in that Institution which he has recorded in his work, form the most valuable vade-mecum of the kind to be met with in our libraries. He has given us also the results of cases which have occurred in his own practice and under his own observation, and his information has been obtained from the bedside of the patient, from the examination of diseased parts after death, or from the morbid preparation. In his arrangement of the work, the author has followed that proposed by the Jacksonian Committee of the College of Surgeons ; first treating on the congenital diseases of the spine; then the injuries, the diseases, and the distortions of the vertebræ; and lastly, those of the spinal marrow and its membranes. We regret much that our limits will not allow of our making any extracts, but we must do Mr. Stafford the justice to say, that his work will prove valuable, alike to the young practitioner, as his best companion at the patient's bedside, and to the more scientific surgeon, as pointing his attention to every indication of disease or injury to be met with in the spine or spinal cavity. The Jesuit. A Novel. 3 vols. This is one of the old-school romances, reminding us of the days when Mrs. Radcliffe frightened us to death with typography. There is nothing in these volumes to divert our minds from the interest and fascination of the story; there are no personalities or political allusions, except to by. gone politics, which are as innocent as poetry. There are no attempts at any minute delineations of character; there are comparatively few reflections of the author on life and manners; those few, however, are just, and do not savour of any spirit of paradox. The great interest is-as Madame de Stael, no mean authority, says it should be-in the story. The Jesuit himself is strongly drawn, and his vindictiveness kept up without abatement or remorse; he is quite as reckless a being as Erpingham, in the novel of the "Usurer's Daughter," and perhaps the feeling of revenge is as strong as the love of money. It is impossible, in the short compass to which our notices are necessarily restricted, to enter into an analysis of the plot, nor would it be fair either to the reader or the author to reveal that secret, the discovery of which is a great charm in the perusing of these volumes. Several of the scenes are powerfully and dramatically drawn, and the plot gradually and steadily rises in interest to the conclusion. THE DRAMA, THE past being the closing month of the season, the Great Theatres have presented but little novelty, none, indeed, that is worthy of detailed notice, except Mr. Serle's play of" The Merchant of London," at Drury Lane; and as that has been reviewed at length in another part of our journal, we shall here confine ourselves to a few words on Mr. Macready's performance of the principal character Scroope, the Merchant. The nature of the character having been gathered from the notice of the play above referred to, it will be recognised as one peculiarly fitted to the mingled passion and repose of Macready's style; and, in fact, we do not remember any character which he plays in a more artist-like manner. But we must also observe that the artist is rather too apparent throughout every part of the performance, except those bursts of passion in which Macready rises above all arteven that highest degree of it which consists in its concealment. The storm of indignant passion with which he overwhelms the Lord, his victim, when he visits him in his own house, is the very acmé of the noble art of which Macready is now the highest ornament in this country; but the drooping head, the humble gait, and the subdued tone, which precede it, are too palpable. Nevertheless, the whole performance is an exceedingly interesting and impressive one, and like every new one of recent date, has raised this admirable actor still higher in our estimation than his previous performances had placed him. The operatic piece, entitled "The Tyrolese Peasant," which has been produced at this theatre with Bishop's music, is really so contemptible in all particulars that we shall not waste words on it further than to express a hope that it was the last expiring effort of those arrangements which, we trust, have given the coup-de-grace to the present disgraceful system of theatrical management, MUSICAL PUBLICATIONS. Six Romances Françoises. by George Vincent Duval, Esq. and prepared the way for that new state of things which is evidently at hand, and which even the taking of Covent-Garden theatre by Laporte (which we hear has just been effected), and the continuance of Messrs. Polhill, Bunn, Wallack, and Company at DruryLane, cannot possibly retard for more than a season, if so long. In the mean time, the opening of the Haymarket with an excellent comic company, and the Olympic with Arnold's English Opera, promise much light amusement for the summer season. MATHEWS AT HOME. Mathews's entertainment of this year is among the very best that he has given us; but its rambling and desultory nature-a "mighty maze "of fun and pun, singularly blended with an observation of character that has never been surpassed, and a power of delineating the outward indications of it that has never been equalled-sets detail at defiance, and (what is more to the purpose) renders it superfluous. There are traits and touches in the palter of some of the songs (the hunting one, in particular) that would singly stamp the producer of them as a genius, if he had never done any thing else to claim the title. And one of the characters that are illustrated at length in the body of the entertainment-the old Fisherman-is truly wonderful for its truth, force, and spirit, freed from all vestige of exaggeration. The old Dutch woman-a pendant to the old Scotch woman— is almost equally true, and still more entertain. ing. The whole of this very clever and amusing production has been put into form by Peake and young Charles Mathews; but we must be allowed to attribute the chief merit of the characters introduced to Mathews himself, whose powers of observation are evidently not second to those by which he is enabled to embody and repeat what he observes. MUSIC. The Music There is a species of song in which the French excel above all other nations;-we mean the light, sparkling lays of the Troubadours. They are quite untranslatable, and only perfectly charm ing when sung by dark-eyed, animated French women, who have the peculiar art of making something out of almost nothing. Mr. Duval's songs were originally published at St. Petersburgh, and are in high favour there. They need but to be known to be appreciated in this country. The second in the number, "Henri IV. à Gabrielle" is the most attractive. There is much spirit and music in it. The "Refrain, l'honneur, l'amour, et Gabrielle," is effective and new; and the collection will be valued by all who love the simple easy style of the melody of France. The Dæmon Quadrilles.-The Paganini Quadrilles. Arranged by Mr. John Weippart. We give precedence in this notice to the more powerful. The Dæmon Quadrilles are fit only for the large and stately apartments where they have received just and merited applause. We |