hands of a stranger, who allows the pride of an old and noble race to fall into decay, and "the grass has now long waved where the meadcup was poured." The author writes with a warm and zealous regard to our ancestral practices in regard to the mead-cup, the almost incessant appeal to which could only have been adapted to a more out-ofdoor life than is led by the present generation; yet we heartily agree with the mountain fair one, that he is a degenerate Briton "who can step forward and harangue on the vices of ale, and the virtues of tea, coffee, and the pure element-with a flag waving over his head, gaily adorned with a gigantic male figure, holding a Brobdignag tea-cup in his hand, and with Temperance' written in letters of gold around his head." SCENERY AND POETRY OF THE LAKES.* Is there no nook of English ground secure From rash assault?— exclaimed Wordsworth, on the projection of a Kendal and Windermere railway, and it would certainly appear not-not we rejoice to say to either pen or pencil-and albeit there may still remain many a glade and nook of solitude, where the poet may elude the poor intruders, without losing, in the words of Monckton Milnes, "one golden dream of all their homely gain ;" still every year the lakes are visited by greater numbers of tourists. Already the shrill whistle resounds through the hills, and steamboats puff and blow upon the bosom of the no longer respected waters, and as the railway system is more and more developed their numbers will still further increase. Nor is this to be wondered at. The very name of the lake districts, as Dr. Mackay justly proclaims, is suggestive of poetry and romance, and calls up visions of natural beauty and recollections of the gifted men whose genius has left a lasting impression upon the literature of England. There could scarcely be a more appropriate field for the united labours of the poet and the artist, who have, indeed, combined to produce a guide-book of rare excellence and most inviting beauty, and that, too, at a season when temptation is strongest and most difficult to resist. We felt grateful to the Messrs. Gilks for having last year awakened many a dormant pleasure associated with picturesque Snowdonia, and we feel equally grateful this season for being able to enjoy an imaginary summer ramble amid the more placid beauties of the English lakes. Dr. Mackay favours us with reminiscences and personal conversations with the geniuses of the locality, and we avail ourselves of the opportunity of making an abstract which appears to us to be justly and feelingly conceived. The conversation was with Wordsworth, and the subject was the fate of Southey. Doctor Mackay noticed the prevalent opinion that he had tasked his brain too severely by study. Mr. Wordsworth denied that such was the case. "Though Southey's labours were almost superhuman, and were varied in a wonderful manner, they seemed, he said, rather to refresh and strengthen than to weary and weaken his mind. He fell a victim, not to literary toil, but to his strong affection *The Scenery and Poetry of the English Lakes. A Summer Ramble. By Charles Mackay, LL.D., &c., with illustrations from original sketches drawn on wood by W. Harvey, J. Gilbert, D. H. M'Kewan; D. Cox, Jun., W. C. Smith, G. Fennal, W. Dickes, W. P. Smith, and G. Gilks; engraved by Thomas Gilks. London: Longman and Co. for his first wife, which led him night after night, when his labours of the day were ended, to watch with sleepless anxiety over her sick bed. The strongest mind, as he observed, will ultimately give way under the long-continued deprivation of the natural refreshment of the body. No brain can remain in permanent health that has been over-tasked by nightly vigils, still more than by daily labour. When such vigils are accompanied by the perpetually-recurring pain of beholding the sufferings of a beloved object, and the as perpetually-recurring fear of losing it, they become doubly and trebly injurious; and the labour that must be done becomes no longer the joy and solace that it used to be. It is transformed from a pleasure into a pain-from a friend into an enemy-from a companion into a fearful monster; crying, like the daughter of the horse-leech, "Give! Give!' It is then that the fine and delicate machinery of the mind is deranged. It is then that it snaps; then that the 'sweet bells are jangled and out of tune'-that the light is extinguished, and the glory hidden under a cloud, that Eternity may lift and not Time. Such, it appears, was the case with Robert Southey; the grand if not the great poet; the accomplished scholar and the estimable man in every relation of life. So was it, also, in the more recent fate of the equally amiable and estimable Laman Blanchard, whose sad story I recalled to Mr. Wordsworth's recollection, as a parallel case. the free mind, untouched by grief, literary toil, however great, is scarcely a burden; but when one engrossing sorrow comes, and the brain must work in spite of it, the conflict begins, in which sorrow not only gains the mastery, but destroys the battle-field, and blasts its fruit in this life, for ever. MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. To Ir grieves us exceedingly that pressure of matter should prevent our giving such notices this month of several books as can be at all commensurate with their merits and importance. Foremost among these stands a work upon "Costume in England: being a History of Dress from the Earliest Period till the close of the Eighteenth Century, to which is appended an illustrated Glossary of Terms for all Articles of Use or Ornament worn about the Person," written by F. W. Fairholt, and published by Messrs. Chapman and Hall. Luckily the book speaks for itself. Six hundred engravings appeal to the eye as illustrative of a subject of very general interest, and with the glossary render it the future indispensable manual and efficient authority upon an equally curious and amusing branch of knowledge. II.-Mr. Sharpe's "History of Egypt, from the Earliest Times till the Conquest by the Arabs, A.D. 640," published by Mr. Moxon, is an important work, that will confer an enduring reputation upon its author. But a few years ago no materials existed for such a book. The history of the Jews is dear to us as that of our religion, of Greece and Rome as that of the great poets, historians, and artists; and that of Egypt claims equal regard as the birth-place of art and science. Modern ingenuity, toil, and skill has extracted the mysterious dates for such a history from the strangest places, from sculptured symbols and monstrosities, from the tombs of the dead, and from the heart of the pyramids, and the results are striking in the extreme. The impenetrable veil of obscurity that lies over the old valley of the Nile may now truly be said to be rent asunder; and no one can pretend to keep pace with the progress of knowledge who is not possessed of that history which has resulted from the united labours of many inquirers, but which has been co-ordinated by the industry, ability, and research of one individual. III. The time is passed by when Bertha spun, or Bertha lace-tippets were fashionable articles of dress; but the time is not gone by when we can sympathise with the fortunes of the good queen of trans-Jurane Burgundy, nor when we can peruse without interest tales of sufferings, and achievements of nobles and their serfs, and of warlike nuns and abbots, when narrated in connexion with existing monasteries, villages, and castles, and derived from veridical chronicles contained therein. And truly such are to be found in the "Historical Pictures of the Middle Ages," published by Messrs. Longman and Co.; a work in which the most picturesque legends are related in connexion with the most picturesque sites in Europe. IV. We would wish to draw the attention of our readers to "A Year and a Day in the East," by Mrs. Eliot Montauban, as containing light and amusing sketches of society in the East, and the narrative of a journey by the little frequented route from Bombay through Guzzerat and Rajpootana to Delhi, and thence through the protected Sikh states to Loodianah and down the Indus through Scinde. V.-Reference in gardening matters is wanted directly, and not through the circuitous channel of elementary treatises. Hence in such eminently practical branches of knowledge, dictionaries are the most useful books. We have still greater pleasure in recommending the "Dictionary of Modern Gardening," by George W. Johnson, published by Mr. Robert Baldwin, as the most scientific and rational as well as the most modern epitome of the science--the Gardening Dictionary, in fact, of the day. VI.-" Views and Reviews in American Literature, History, and Fiction," published by Wiley and Putnam, are well worthy of perusal by all who take the slightest interest in American literature. The consideration of the epochs and events of American history as suited to the purposes of art in fiction is a most elaborate and well digested critical essay. "Americanism in Literature" is also written in a patriotic and yet very sensible spirit. VII. The translation of Auerbach's "Dorf Geschichte" under the title of "Village Tales from the Black Forest," published by Mr. Joseph Cundall, has been admirably performed by Mr. Taylor. As annals of village transactions and scenes of old fashioned Germanic customs, they have attained and deserve popularity. VIII." Abel Massinger; or, the Aeronaut," by Thomas Tod Stoddart, published by Mr. J. Menzies, Edinburgh, is a tale of great power, energy, and interest, and is in every respect worthy of the reputation of its author. IX.-To Captain Roll Burslem's "Peep into Turkistan," published by Mr. Richardson of Cornhill, we will turn next month. X. We must still be behindhand with our poetry, merely noticing the reception of "Lays and Legends of Germany," translated from the German by Ella Louisa Harvey, and published by Mr. How, and "Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell," published by Aylott and Jones, which wants a preface. Mr. Newby has issued the third volume of his remarkable publication on "Eastern Europe," and Mr. Bohn, in addition to a work of high and standard qualifications," Schlegel's Dramatic Literature," has issued a volume of a more amusing description, combining the celebrated "Memoirs of Count Grammont" with the "Personal History of the Merry Monarch.” THE NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE, AND HUMORIST. CONTENTS FOR AUGUST. VALERIE. BY Captain Marryat, C.B., AUTHOR OF "PETER A POET'S CAREER. BY THE HON. J. MAYNARD THE PORTFOLIO. No. III. LIFE AND REMINISCENCES OF THOMAS CAMPBELL, BY CYRUS HORACE SMITH'S POETICAL WORKS A SUMMER IN RUSSIA BAN TUVAI. BY CHARLES HOOTON BEAUCHAMP; OR, THE ERROR. By G. P. R. JAMEs, Esq. . ON REVISITING TRINITY COLLEGE, AFTER LONG ABSENCE. THE TRAVELS OF MR. JOLLY GREEN РАСВ 379 394 395 399 457 475 A GLIMPSE OF THE FRONTIER, AND A GALLOP THROUGH THE - LITERATURE:-The Modern Orlando.-The "Three Stu- . 482 489 491 to 500 NOW READY, THE AUGUST NUMBER OF AINSWORTH'S MAGAZINE. EDITED BY W. HARRISON AINSWORTH, ESQ. Contents. I. THE WIDOW GUIREK AND HER LITTLE DAUGHTER. II. THE LANGUAGE OF SONG. BY J. E. CARPENTER. III. THE GOLDEN DONKEY. IV. MEMOIRS OF A PHYSICIAN. BY ALEXANDER DUMAS. BOOK THE FIRST.-Chap. IV. Gilbert.-V. The Baron of Taverney.VI. The Baron's Daughter.-VII. Eureka.-VIII. Attraction.-IX. Clairvoyance.-X. Nicole Legay.-XI. The Arrival. V. A DRAMATIC INCIDENT IN HIGH LIFE. BY THOMAS ROSCOE, ESQ. VI. SUMMER SPORTS IN THE SOUTH OF IRELAND. VII. COUNTRY LIFE IN ITALY. BY L. MARIOTTI. VIII. CELEBRATED RUINS. BY NICHOLAS MICHELL. IX. SATURDAY NIGHT IN LONDON. BY MRS. WHITE. X. PIQUILLO ALLIAGA; OR, THE MOORS IN THE TIME OF PHILIP III. BY EUGENE SCRIBE. BOOK THE FOURTH.-Chap. XI. Explanations.-XII. A Privy CouncilXIII. The Minister and his Son.-XIV. The Ball.-XV. A Change of Front.-XVI. A contemplated Marriage.-XVII. The Duke of Santarem. XI. O L D SAINT PAUL'S. BY W. HARRISON AINSWORTH, ESQ. WITH AN ILLUSTRATION ON STEEL BY JOHN FRANKLIN. CHAPMAN AND HALL, 186, STRAND. |