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A new Tale of the Beau Monde. By the Authoress of Eng.. lish Fashionables Abroad,' will speedily be published, under the title of 'English Fashionables at Home.' The former work of this Writer gave a brilliant and lively sketch of the Manners of the Aristocracy on the Continent; in her forthcoming Novel, she proposes to delineate them as they appear in their Drawing Rooms, and at their Country Seats in England.

The Marquis of Londonderry's Narrative of the Peninsular War, will be published in the first week of the present month. Shortly will be published, 'Narrative of an Ascent to the summit of Mont Blanc, on the 8th and 9th of August, 1827.' Mr. Cooper, the American novelist, is now in London, superintending his work on America.

In the press, a Comparative View of the Social Life of EngIand and France, from the Restoration of Charles the Second to the French Revolution. By the Editor of Madame du Def. fand's Letters. In 1 vol. 8vo.

Detraction Displayed. By Mrs. Opie. In 1 vol. 8vo.

A Treatise on the Valuation of Property for the Poors' Rate; showing the Method of Rating Lands, Buildings, Tithes, Mines, Woods, River and Canal Tolls, and Personal Property. With an Abstract of the Poor Laws relative to Rates and Appeals. By T. S. Bayldon, Author of 'Rents and Tillages.' 1 vol. 8vo. The second volume of Researches into the Causes, Nature, and Treatment of the more Prevalent Diseases of India, and of Warm Climates generally. Illustrated with Cases, Post Mortem Examinations, and numerous coloured engravings of Morbid Structures. By James Annesley, Esq., of the Madras Medical Establishment, late Surgeon to the Madras General Hospital, M.R.C.S. and M.R.A.S.

Transactions of the Medical and Chirurgical Society of London. Vol. XIV. Part 1. in 8vo. with five coloured plates. Tales and Romances of the Author of Waverley, containing St. Ronan's Well,' 'Redgauntlet,' 'Tales of the Crusaders,' and Woodstock." In 7 vols., 18mo., second edition, with frontispieces and vignette titles, uniform with, and in continuation of, the Novels, Tales, and Romances, in 25 vols., 18mo.

An Essay on Wheel Carriages, containing a concise View of their Origin, and a Description of the Variety now in Use. By J. Fuller, Coach-Builder, Bath, author of the Patent Shafts for Two-Wheel Carriages, and the Patent Locking for those with Four. In 1 vol., 8vo., with plates.

Personal Narrative of Travels in Colombia. By Baron De Humboldt. From the original French, by Helen Maria Williams. Vol. 7.

Constança, a Poem. By W. H. Merle, Esq., 1 vol., 8vo. Transactions of the Literary Society of Madras. 4to., with plates.

Bibliographica Cantabrigiensia; or, Remarks upon the most valuable and curious Book Rarities in the University of Cambridge. Illustrated by original letters, and notes biographical, literary, and antiquarian.

Researches into the Origin and Affinity of the Principal Languages of Asia and Europe. By Lieut.-Col. Vans Kennedy, of The Bombay Military Establishment. 4to. with plates.

Observations on Early Rising and on Early Prayer, as a Means of Happiness, and as an Incentive to Devotion. By Henry Erskine Head, A.M., Curate of Broomfield, Somerset. 1 vol. 12mo.

A Manual of Advice to Young Candidates for Holy Orders; designed to guide them to correct principles for their future life. In a series of letters from a father to his son, preparatory to his ordination. 1 vol. crown, 12mo.

An Introduction to Entomology; or, Elements of the Natural History of Insects. By William Kirby, M.A. F.R.S. and L.S., and William Spence, Esq., F.L.S. New edit. in 4 thick vols, Swo., with plates, and portraits of the authors.

On the 1st of May will be published, The Magazine of Natural History, and Journal of Zoology, Botany, Mineralogy, Geology, and Meteorology. By J. C. Loudon, F.L.S. H.S., &c. To be continued in Monthly Numbers, price 2s. 6d.

LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED DURING THE WEEK.

Southey's Peninsular War, vols. 1 to 4, 8vo., 21. 28.
Ireland, its Evils and their Remedies, by M. T. Sadler, 8vo., 128.
The Christian Year, third edition, 18mo., 68.

The Cypress Wreath, by Mrs. Cornwell Baron Wilson, fc.
Ayo., 78.

India by R, Rickards, Esq., demy 8vo., part 1, 48. Od.
Wood's Ruins of Balbeck and Palmyra, folio, 61. 68.

Hearne Ectypa Varia, 4to,, 31. 35.

Dr. Uwins on Indigestion, &c,, 8vo., 78. 6d.

Dwight's Sermons, 2 vols., 8vo., 24s.

Sketches, Scenes, and Narratives, 18mo., 58.
Account of the Poor Dutch Colonies, 12mo., 6s.
Contrast, by Mrs. Roche, 3 vols., 12mo., 218.

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This day is published, in post 8vo., price 88. 6d. HE AMERICANS AS THEY ARE. Exemplified in a Tour through the Valley of the Mississippi; embracing Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, &c. By the AuTHOR of 'Austria As It Is.'

'There is much information in a small compass, without verbosity;-the style is pleasant, and the work altogether of an agreeable and superior character, and deserves to be popular.'-Literary Gazette.

'We have been gratified with the same unaffected but lively style, the same terseness of description, and well-applied characteristic anecdotes, which called forth our commendation of 'Austria As It Is.'-Athenæum.

London: Hurst, Chance, and Co., 65, St. Paul's Churchyard.

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DR. HUTTON'S ARITHMETIC AND BOOK-KEEPING, IMPROVEED BY MR. INGRAM. Published this day, in one complete vol. 12mo., 3s., bound. COMPLETE TREATISE on PRACTICAL ARITHMETIC and BOOK-KEEPING, both by Single and Double Entry. By CHARLES HUTTON, LL.D., &c. A New Edition, adapted to the Imperial Standard of Weights and Measures, with a new Set of Books by Double Entry, exemplifying the modern Practice of Book-Keeping, and many other important Additions and Improvements. Edited by ALEXANDER INGRAM, Author of a Concise System of Mensuration, Principles of Arithmetic, &c.

Printed for Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh; and Geo. B. Whittaker, London.

The following Works are nearly ready for publication, by HENRY COLBURN, New Burlington-street.

ALATHIEL; a STORY of the PAST,

SALA

the

PRESENT, and the FUTURE. 3 vols., post 8vo. THE MARQUIS of LONDONDERRY'S NARRATIVE of the PENINSULAR WAR. 4to., with Maps and Plans. RELIGIOUS DISCOURSES, by a LAYMAN, 8vo., 48. 6d. MEMOIRS of the DUKE of ROVIGO, (M. Savary,) Minister of Police under Napoleon, written by himself. Editions in French and English, in two Parts, 8vo., 148.

THE CROPPY. A Tale of 1798. By the Author of 'Tales of the O'Hara Family.' 3 vols.

MEXICO in 1827. By H. G. WARD, Esq., late Chargé d'Affaires of his Britannic Majesty to that country. 2 vols. 8vo., with maps and plates.

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Mr. PHILP offers his best acknowledgments to the kind friends whose communications have contributed to raise the 'Cornish Magazine' to its present popularity. Its extensive circulation far exceeding his most sanguine hopes, has long induced him to wish that the literary management were in the hands of a gentleman, qualified by education and acquirements to maintain and improve its character; his wishes are about to be accomplished; and, as the Magazine will henceforth be conducted under more favourable auspices, he feels assured that it will merit the patronage and favour of its numerous readers.

Falmouth, April, 1828.

SIX

NEW WORKS

Just published by R. Ackermann, 96, Strand.

IX VIEWS of GIBRALTAR, from Drawings by Lieutenant H. A. WEST, 12th Infantry. Small folio, India paper, its.

ASIATIC COSTUMES; a Series of 44 coloured Engravings, from Designs taken from Life; with a Description to each. 12mo., in boards, 18s.

CHARACTERS and DESCRIPTION of the GRAND FANCY BALL given by the British Ambassador, Sir Henry Wellesley, at Vienna, at the conclusion of the Carnival, 1826. Thirteen coloured plates, demy 4to., 12s.

TOM RAW, THE GRIFFIN; a Burlesque Poem, descriptive of the Adventures of a Cadet in the East India Company's Service. Twenty-five coloured plates, royal svo., 218.

GOTHIC FURNITURE; consisting of twenty-seven coloured Engravings, from Designs by A. Pugin; with descriptive Letter-press, 4to., half-bound, 25s.

On the 1st of May will be published, in elephant 4to., No. I. of

ACKERMANN'S PICTURESQUE TOUR

of the RIVER THAMES from the Source to its Mouth: illustrated by 24 coloured Views, a Map, and Vignettes; from Original Drawings taken on the spot by Mr. WM. WESTALL. Forming a companion work to Ackermann's Picturesque Tours of the Rhine, the Seine, and the Ganges. To be completed in Six Numbers, with copious Letter-press, price 148. each. very few copies on large paper, 218. After the Sixth Number is published, the price will be raised to Non-Subscribers.

Just published, In demy 8vo., price 4s. 6d., Part I. of

A

NDIA; or, Facts submitted to illustrate the causes which have, for ages, obstructed its improvement, with suggestions for reforming the present system, and the measures to be adopted for the future Government of that Country, at the expiration of the present Charter of the East India Company. By ROBERT RICKARDS, Esq.

Smith, Elder, and Co., 65, Cornhill. Lately Published, in One Vol. post 8vo., Vignette Title, 88. ITERARY GEMS. In Two Parts.

L'

'From grave to gay, from lively to severe.'

In proceeding upon a different principle of Selection from that usually adopted, the Compiler of this Volume has endeavoured to supply what may, perhaps, be considered a desideratum among works of its kind; namely, a Selection of Pieces not generally known, yet characterised by traits of wit and humour, or distinguished by some display of the loftier energies of thought, or by splendid and powerful diction; and, for the most part, from sources not generally accessible. Among many articles of this description, the volume contains Colman's bitter and sarcastic Preface (afterwards suppressed) to the Play of The Iron Chest,'-Four humourous Letters, from the Hon. Andrew Erskine to James Boswell, Esq.,-and one of Sir Hugh Dalrymple to Lord Dundas, on Church Patronage,-that excellent jeu d'esprit The Diamond Beetle,' (a caricature of certain Lords of Session,)- Phantasmagoria,' by the Author of Waverley, &c.-A ludicrous description of Life in the Country,' from the pen of the late Sir John Dalrymple, &c. &c. With some Original Pieces, among which The Disdain,' a Grecian Narrative, will be found worthy of attention. Printed for Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, London; Cadell and Co., Edinburgh; and Alexander Brown and Co., Aberdeen.

We presume that the volume is principally intended for "a parlour-window book," to while away the gloom of a winter's evening; or to provide the coffee-room with a re. source for the traveller, &c. For such purposes this volume will be invaluable. Several of the selections are highly amus. ing; and whatever be the turn of the reader's taste, whether he be in a playful or a serious mood, or whether he desire a satire or a sermon, he cannot fail to find among the contents something to suit his temper.

If the Editor intended this compilation for the use of schools, we regret that he did not exercise a more austere judgment in forming his selections. We should be sorry to see that ill-natured Preface to The Iron Chest' in the hands of any youth. Still more should we regret to find him reading the account of the Atheistical Club, or of Cooke's drunken scenes in Dublin. We are ready to admit, that to these, and several other papers of equally questionable character, there is a sufficient number of antidotes in this volume. Indeed several of the moral and philosophic pieces are eminently instructive, while the poetical extracts evince considerable taste as well as propriety of feeling.'-Monthly Review, April. Third Edition, price 7s. 6d. Dedicated, by Permission, to the Lord Bishop of London. HE OMNIPRESENCE of the DEITY. A Poem. By ROBERT MONTGOMERY.

THE

The following remarks are copied from The Times.'
THE OMNIPRESENCE OF THE DEITY.

'Mr. Montgomery's excellent poem on this awful and im. pressive subject has, not more rapidly than deservedly, arrived at a second edition. The work is dedicated, by permission, to the Lord Bishop of London, and is, in every respect, worthy the countenance and protection of that elevated dignitary. The author is, we understand, a very young man; but, in this production, he has displayed a depth and maturity of thought, a strength and justness of reasoning, which would do honour to any writer of the present day. His versification combines, in no ordinary degree, energy and elegance; his figures are beautifully appropriate-they are never introduced merely at the suggestion of fancy, but are called in to illustrate some feeling of the mind, or some affection of the heart. A glowing spirit of fervid devotion distinguishes the whole work. In every page we find

"Thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.” 'The author appears to have felt, that he stood in the presence of HIM whose greatness he was celebrating; to HIM he has prayed for inspiration, and from HIM he has received it. He describes, with felicitous effect, the presence of the Deity in all times and places-in the glare of day, and in the darkness of night; in the storms of winter, in the mild breath of spring, in the gorgeous glory of summer, and in the fruition of Autumn. The all-seeing eye is never closed; it penetrates our most secret thoughts; it views our most covert designs; it is fixed on us when we are born,-it marks us during youth, manhood, and old age,-and, when the death-bed scene arrives, it is still fixed on us. The author has inculcated this principle with a force and vigour worthy of the theme; he calls on his fellowmen, eloquently and affectionetely, never to let the fact escape from their memory, that the Deity is ever present; and he argues, that, where such a feeling exists, it must check the growth of evil, counteract the tendency of human nature to vice, and extend the empire of virtue. A purer body of ethics we have never read; and he who could peruse it without emotion, clothed, as it is, in the graceful garb of poetry, must have a very

cold and insensible heart.

"There are several small poems attached to the volume, which possess great merit. That entitled "The Crucifixion," cannot be read without emotion.'-The Times, April 1, 1828.

London: Printed and Published every Tuesday and Friday morning, by William Lewer, at the Office, 147, Strand, near Somerset House,

No. 24.

London Literary and Critical Journal.

LONDON, TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 1828.

PERIODICAL LITERATURE.

UNPUBLISHED LECTURES ON PERIODICAL LITERATURE. By the Rev. Henry Stebbing, M.A.

No. IV.

Reviewing-Its Nature and Uses.

I endeavoured, in my last Lecture, to trace, by a few general remarks, the popular passion for information respecting public events to its original source, and to show how both newspapers and magazines derive their principal interest from the universal propensities and sympathies of human nature. I next made a few observations on the past and present state of the public press, and then proceeded to inquire, into the distinguishing qualities of our present magazine literature. My opinions on this point I endeavoured to exemplify, by an examination of the principal publications of the kind that are known in England, and I concluded by some remarks on the style of writing most popular in them. It is my present purpose to inquire into the origin of Reviews, and the principles on which their utility is founded; and I shall endeavour to make such observations on the subject as may seem most practically useful, and most easily applicable to the ordinary circumstances of the general reader.

The theories which have been formed respecting the principles of taste, of our admiration for certain forms and expressions, and our dislike of others, have been as numerous as those which have sprung from political or moral investigation. There is, however, a law written so plainly on the human heart, so strongly manifested in the development of all our faculties, and which leads men to such a universal assent on several great and, leading points in this inquiry, that a canon of general principles is allowed to exist wherever literature is known, and according to which every species of composition is to be judged. In the earlier ages of learning, men of philosophical minds were employed in closely examining these principles, in searching for their existence in the works which obtained greatest admiration, and tracing that life of truth and most perfect soul of beauty, whose visible effects they contemplated, to their secret places. Aristotle, however, and the other great critics of antiquity obtained but the lower purpose of their search. They learnt to separate, with a most skilful anatomy, the different parts of the work they took in hand, were able to demonstrate the splendid grace of its proportions, and give lessons on the art of modelling after the measurements they had made; but they were altogether in the dark respecting the deeper philosophy of criticism: they could only see the material forms which their science grasped; they could discern nothing of the spirit which brought and held them together; they imagined it was the building up of great and precious stones, which gave glory to the temple, and forgot the Shechinah, which made it holy. It is hence that we see and hear so much of unities, and plots, and tropes, and figures, in these ancient critics and their followers; that we find them speaking with dogmatical precision on points with which the rules of their art have no concern, and that we possess so many instances of their best and soundest principles producing, in practice, none of the effects which they supposed properly belonged to them. The science

of criticism was, therefore, in ancient times, of a much lower character than in ours. It had the same aim, but it had no distinct perception of the object it struggled for: it attempted to make men understand the causes of poetic beauty, but it had no faculty of detecting its essence: it imagined itself capable of reviving taste and invigorating genius, when its highest power could only attain to the detection of their violations; and it pretended to find an everlasting law of natural dictation upon the mind, when the mind, neither in its higher faculties nor its most sublime tendencies, was comprehended by their philosophy. While, however, we thus deny to the critics of antiquity the honour of having advanced beyond the mechanism of their art, we would give them the praise due to their labours from every lover of literature. Although not adapted to do much service in times characterised by deep feeling or the power of a lofty intellectuality, they were of considerable use in the periods when they flourished. They began their labours and were most in vogue, when the higher species of composition were on, the decline, and when, had it not been for the rules of just criticism, they would have degenerated at once into wild extravagance and bombast. Aristotle and his followers had the merit of confining authors within the limits of truth and propriety, and produced the farther good effect of preserving public taste from being entirely vitiated by the pretenders to novelty or unnatural brilliancy. The father of criticism, in ages of weak and undecided literary taste, is of more authority than the father of poetry. Men, in such times, can more easily comprehend what is true to the understanding, than what is most splendid in invention. Their reason is more clear than their taste is correct; and Homer will be venerated more because of Aristotle, than Aristotle because of Homer. The critics, however, of ancient times were principally employed in inventing rules and in establishing the principles of their science. Their examination of epics and tragedies was undertaken, not to decide upon their respective merits, but to evolve new rules or furnish additional illustrations of already-received theories. They engaged themselves in forming the laboratories and nomenclatures, of which future critics were to avail themselves, when their science should escape the thraldom of schools and academies. It was not, accordingly, till modern times that criticism began to be employed in the general and popular manner in which it has now been for one or two centuries past; and there is no reason for supposing that the notion was ever conceived of so employing it till a comparatively very late period.

An attempt has been once or twice made to trace the idea of reviewing, as it is now practised, to Photius; but, I believe, it is generally allowed, that the whole undivided honour of the invention belongs to M. Denis de Sallo, Conseiller au Parlement de Paris. This celebrated French literate lived in the reign of Louis the Great, and was distinguished both for his talents and his great acquirements in all departments of learning. It was his constant practice, it is said, in reading, to make very considerable extracts from the works which engaged his attention; and, from the utility and benefit which he found belonging to this practice, he conceived the notion that it would be productive of the greatest good, both to literature in general and

Price 7d.

to men of learning, unpossessed of large resources, if the plan he pursued in his private reading could be made available in the diffusion of knowledge, in increasing the circulation of works of merit, and affording some guide to the uninitiated in their choice of publications for study or amusement. Strongly impressed with the idea that such a project, carried into execution, would actually produce the effects he had supposed, M. de Sallo planned a Journal which should contain reviews of all the principal works of the day. These reviews were to consist of critical remarks and copious extracts from the publications noticed; and it hence appears that the first public Journal of the kind answered very closely in its plan to those of a similar description at present known among us. The publication of M. de Sallo was entitled the Journal des Sçavans,' and the first number appeared on Monday, the 5th of January, 1665. It is also well worthy of observation, and not a little interesting in the present state of periodical literature to know, that the first literary Journal which ever appeared, was neither a monthly nor a quarterly, but a weekly Review; thus enabling the popular class of Periodicals, which are after the same plan, to claim the honour of an antiquity not commonly supposed to be on their side. At first, M. de Sallo depended solely on his own exertions in the composition of his work; but subsequently associated with himself some of the most eminent men of his time. The publication appears to have been one of considerable merit. Indeed, it could hardly have failed to be so. It was started by one of the best scholars of the age, by a man connected with the highest ranks of society, having every opportunity of gaining information of whatever kind he desired, possessing resources of a literary nature open to few others, and undertaking the execution of his design out of pure love for literature, and a hearty desire to pro- » mote its interests, and those of its deserving votaries. With all its merit, however, and notwithstanding the rank and influence of its conductor, this excellent journal was unable to stand its ground against the intrigues of some party it had offended by an allusion in one of the articles; and M. de Sallo was obliged to discontinue it by a decree of the Court. It was revived, I believe, under several subsequent editors; but its appearance soon gave rise to an innumerable variety of other literary journals, and its history becomes lost in the multifarious traditions respecting their rise and fall. France was in a short time overrun with periodicals relating to every branch both of literature and science; England with the greatest eagerness followed her example; the learned men of Germany were roused by the novelty of the design, and composed journals in Latin, and relating to the higher departments of learning." Almost every country in Europe, in fact, had in a little time its Review and Journal of contemporary literature. It appears, however, that the most of those which were published at this commencement of the institution, embraced a much wider sphere of observation than the Reviews of our own times, both that of M. de Sallo and its successors undertaking to make their readers acquainted with the labours of the literary men of other countries, as well as of the one in which they appeared. There was a great advantage in this, as it formed a medium of correspondence for the whole republic of letters; but the original reason

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of it was, probably, that the reading people of that period were a more confined circle and more interested in the progress of literature in general than is at present the case. The number of books also published in each country was far less than in modern times; and, while it is now one of the greatest difficulties of an editor to make a proper selection of works for review, from the multitudinous heap constantly accumulating, it was at that time necessary to look over the Continent for such as might be worthy of attention or study. To France, however, the credit is due of having given birth to a species of publication, the influence of which on literature has been of the highest importance. But it is not a little surprising that no idea of the kind should have entered any one's mind till the middle of the seventeenth century. There is something so natural in the notion of a literary man writing down his opinions on the works he peruses, either for his future use, or the benefit of those whom he may wish to instruct,something so likely to engage the attention of any one embued with an ardent love of letters in the advantages offered by a judicious selection from great and useful works, that our wonder would be greater than it is, were it not to be remarked, that the only thing which was wanted to convert the old-established usage of learned men into the modern system of reviewing, was the periodical publication of their accumulating treasures, and the restriction of their labours to works of present interest. It is seldom that any useful invention is discovered till the circumstances of the times render it necessary; and it was the case with the establishment of a system of public criticism. There was no want of it before books were multiplied, and the love of literature made general. It was then that a guide through the labyrinths of learning and the ornamented paths of philosophy was first necessary, that the selections made by the hand of experience and good taste became of public use, that the necessity was felt of receiving with caution the varied intellectual food that was offered, and of submitting the hasty and untrained appetite for novelty to the careful and scrutinising skill of the well-read and sober critic.

be supposed, are under the superintendance of men not subject to the influence of vulgar prejudices, nor liable to be deceived by false pretensions, are calculated, by the very principles of their construction, to be useful in the preservation of a pure taste in literature and correct notions on the higher subjects of morality and philosophy. We know how easily an inexperienced reader may be deceived by a glaring title-page, a sounding preface, or reiterated advertisements; how difficult it is for any one in ordinary circumstances to discover the merits of the works which are daily appearing from common report, and how utterly impossible it is for one reader out of ten to determine whether a new work on science or history be worth purchasing, or likely to afford him correctly the information he is desirous to obtain. But a Review, if deserving of the title, is a safe and ready guide, both in matters of taste and science, affords information on points which would escape the attention of the mere general reader, and enables a person mistrustful of his own judg ment, and yet desirous of enjoying the literary novelties of the day, to satisfy his wish with ease and safety. It deserves, also, to be mentioned, that, when a Review is conducted by men of integrity and eminence, the opinions which they pass upon a work are an additional testimony to the truths it contains, or are themselves an exemplification of the principles which its pages have failed to illustrate. From these considerations it may be fairly concluded, that the system of reviewing is productive of many and important benefits to that large class of readers who are both desirous and able to possess themselves of the most interesting and useful works that the press sends forth, but who are either unwilling to take the chance of a promiscuous purchase, or who, by doing so, corrupt their taste and fill their minds with a mass of false notions and unsubstantiated facts.

works which appear, and put forth a claim to notice; this is the duty which results from the writer's relation to the authors of the country in which he labours. The second purpose is the furnishing a sufficient idea of the publications of most interest, to enable ordinary readers to understand their merits, to give them a guide in their search for excellencies, and a caution against the mis-statements, or false opinions of unestablished writers. The third purpose in their composition is the affording of such abstracts and selections as may supply the want of works, the expense or extent of which may keep them from the shelves of the studious but not affluent inquirer. Taking these to be the objects of reviewing, according to our modern notions of it, we shall have little difficulty in determining either the advantages which belong to it, when properly conducted, or the reasons on which they are founded. As far as the system regards authors, it is one to which the whole fraternity owes a debt of most lasting gratitude. It is true, many a heart-burning, many a bitter and unforgotten pang has been occasioned in the course of its rigid censorship, but it will be found, on a little consideration, that the unpleasant feelings which have been suffered from its attacks, or even the evils which have resulted from its occasional unmeasured severity or ill-founded condemnations, are too trivial to be mentioned, when brought into comparison with the advantages which authors in general have derived from its employment. It is, in the first place, of no little importance to writers to have their productions made known, let it be through what medium it may; and of the use which reviews especially are of in this respect, there is no better proof than the eagnerness with which booksellers as well as authors of every class seek to obtain the notice of any publication of the sort. But if Reviews are of this use to authors in making their works publicly known, they are of The last object of reviewing is the furnishing still more important service to them, in obtain- such abstracts of works, or such specimens of their ing for them the attention and patronage to contents, as may, in some measure, supply their which their respective merits entitle them. It is place to those readers who have either not suffithe same with men of letters as with every other cient wealth to purchase even a small proportion As the causes which had given birth to the first class of persons, whose reputation or support of those which are daily attracting public attenof these publications increased, they went on mul- depends upon public encouragement. It is tion, or who have not leisure to make themselves tiplying; and a bare enumeration of the principal always a benefit to them to have the pretensions acquainted with the contents of publications, ones that have appeared in this country, or are of each individual in their society properly esti- which, in their original form, are too extended now in circulation, will show how large a share mated. The effect may be perhaps to diminish and full of detail for the mere general reader. I we have had in the establishment of the system their number; but it will increase and establish need not say how frequently it happens that the on which they are founded. The earliest, I be- the influence and prosperity of the order itself; really valuable portions of a very voluminous lieve, of which we have any mention, are The and, when the rank of the different associates is work may be compressed into a compass incomHistory of the Works of the Learned,' which understood, the respect which the public enter-parably smaller than that of the original; or commenced at London in 1699; The Censura tains for each will be more definite and perma- that it often occurs, that what is really new Temporum,' in 1708, and, about the same time, nent. It being useful, therefore, in a general in a volume occupies so comparatively small The Memoirs of Literature,' and The Bib-point of view, it is easy to discover the beneficial a number of pages, that they may be exliotheca Curiosa.' To these succeeded The effects of public criticism to each individual tracted with ease into any Periodical of moderate Monthly Review,' begun in 1749; The Critical author who deserves a station among his contem- extent. It is according to this principle that Review,' in 1756; The Anti-Jacobin Review,' in poraries. His merits, whatever they may be, so many of the most celebrated scholars, both in 1798;The British Critic,' now united with are set forth long before they could otherwise our own and ancient times, have accustomed The Theological Review,' in the same year; The have obtained notice; he is told of his faults by themselves to extract largely from whatever Edinburgh Review,' in 1803; The Eclectic Re- critics, without the prejudice of friends or the works they read, and according to which the view,' in 1805; The Quarterly Review,' in 1809; ill-nature of enemies; he is himself permitted to ancient author whom we have already mentioned, The British Review,' in 1811. address the public by the best passages of his made that famous collection of extracts and notes work, is made master of a reputation of much which were said to afford the original notion of a wider extent than the mere circulation of Review. Had there therefore been no other use his production itself would have obtained him, in this species of periodical publications than that and stands a much better chance of having embraced by copious and well-selected extracts, his sentiments or style fairly understood and they would have been deserving of extensive estimated, than could possibly have been the public encouragement; for, besides the knowcase, had his book been left to the vague, doubt- ledge they are intended to afford of new works, ing, and unprepared judgment of the public. they are treasuries in which much of what is most With respect to the second purpose of Reviews, valuable in contemporary literature is deposited, that is, the characterising of the works which and in which the bullion is divided into coin fit come under their notice, so as to guide the for the common and immediate uses of society. choice of readers in the perusal or purchase of It is not often, for example, that the general them, it is an important consideration, that the reader would derive any serious advantage from more multifarious the literary productions of an the perusal of a long and laboured treatise on a age become, the more danger there is, not only subject not immediately under his inquiry; but, of literature becoming corrupted, but of that if there be that connection between every branch portion of it which is most corrupt being of human knowledge which is said to exist, it is made the foundation of national tastes and of no little consequence to him to possess an opinions. Publications, therefore, which, it is to opportunity of seeing, in a close and concise ab

Such are the dates of the principal reviews which have appeared, or are at present known among us. Of their characters and purpose I shall endeavour to give some account, before I leave this part of my undertaking; but my present intention is to make some observations on the nature and proper aim of reviewing itself, to clear up, if possible, a few of the obscurities which popular mistakes on the subject have occasioned, and to point out the advantages which may be produced by a judicious management of the system, or by a union of the qualities which should be found in the works it produces.

With respect, then, to the principles on which the utility of reviewing is founded, there are three purposes which every publication of the kind is supposed to have in view. The first is the performance of the duty which belongs to a public critic, to make known the merits of the

stract, the arguments, or new ideas, on which the inventor of a science, or the defender of a system, may seek to establish his proposition. In the same manner, it is comparatively but a few men who take interest enough in the discussion of an abstract political question to pursue it to any extent; but there is not, perhaps, one who is not glad to find the principal points of debate, and the arguments employed upon them, in such a form that he may, with the expense of a little time and trouble, be furnished with grounds for thinking reasonably and clearly on the subject for himself. We might make the same observation on a great many other topics of a similar kind, which are too far removed from the general literary pursuits of ordinary readers, but are yet of sufficient importance to make a knowledge of their main and most striking points desirable. But, independent of the information to be obtained by this system of reviewing, most readers will think its purpose well answered by the evervarying, ever-replenished source of amusement and novelty which it furnishes. Whether the extracts be of a lighter or more serious nature, whether they are made from a work on philosophy, or the last new novel, they are leaves taken from the great chronicle of the literary world; are impressed with the life and freshness of present feeling and sentiment; are specimens of the intellectual power to which the world is at the time bowing, and are fitted to teach a man in retirement with what success the work of mental improvement, or moral amelioration, is proceeding.

ROMAN EMPIRE.

The Roman Empire under Constantine the Great. By Matthew Bridges. 8vo. pp. 467. J. and C. Rivington. London, 1828.

THE circumstances in which the Roman Empire existed under the Emperor Constantine were of the most singular character. The overgrown dominions, which, till lately, were subject to a divided power, had been gradually falling under the sway of this victorious monarch. With the warlike talents of the most renowned of his predecessors, and with a more than ordinary share of public virtue, he lived in a time when they were tempted by every object that could corrupt them, and when they were rendered comparatively useless by the situation of every order in the state. The patriotism which was the true tutelary deity of Rome, the real palladium or ancilla of her freedom, was departed; the pride of citizenship had given way to the desire of wealth in the higher classes, and to rapine, sloth, and the grossest vices in the lower; and the Eternal City itself was the weakest point in the tottering empire, and that in which an observing eye might most clearly observe the elements of approaching ruin. Civil discord, corruption of manners, tyranny and luxury, had done their utmost; and, to increase the confusion, paganism, if we may so speak, had itself become tenfold more corrupt, by the depravation of public sentiment. amid all this, there appeared to be a chance of re-establishing the strength of the empire, or, at least, of retarding its dissolution; and the means were, in a great measure, presented to Constantine, by the circumstances which, in another point of view, were destroying his dominions. With the strong good sense, and the talents for governing, which distinguished that Monarch, he had delivered himself from some of the most embarrassing situations in which he could have been placed, and he at length saw himself near the summit of his highest ambition. It was evident, however, to him, that his throne, when unattacked by rival candidates for sovereignty, would be so shaken to its foundation, by other enemies to its security, that, till some change was effected, his Government could produce no good to the people or glory to

But,

himself. He accordingly examined the condition of the empire, both in the east and the west; he found it agitated by tumults which no political sagacity could quiet; he found its subjects connected together by no common tie, and that even the people of the same province, and those who had been united by the bonds of custom and relationship, were at daily war with each other. Not merely state against state, but house against house, and family against family, were waging contest, and the whole social fabric seemed broken up. He could not continue an observation of this kind without being driven to acknowledge the influence which the despised and obscure religion of Christianity had been gradually acquiring, and he was consequently induced, we may suppose, to subdue his heathen prejudices, either by his ambition, or by the honester means of inquiring into the causes of the changes that had taken place. The result was such as might be expected, and the reign of Constantine presented the curious spectacle of Paganism descending, and Christianity mounting, the throne of the world. The consequences which followed, and the state of society at the time, form a subject of deep and lively interest. The other changes also which took place, on the removal of the seat of Government from Rome to the newly-founded Constantinople, are equally worthy of observation in political respects. The author of the work before us has described the two cities with great ability. We extract his account :

'As the commencement of the project, a strong double rampart was to be carried from the western end of the haven, to the opposite shore of the Propontis, about fifteen furlongs from the former walls of Byzantium. The ground embraced within this circumference, was distinguished by five undulations, which were soon covered with buildings; and, before the middle of the fifth century, two adjacent hills were included; so that at least eleven or twelve miles may be computed for the circuit of Constantinople. The outer barrier on the

Thracian side had six entrances, of which the Golden Gate was the most celebrated; and sixteen others might be numbered by innumerable traders from the Mediterranean, as they conveyed the abundance of Egypt, or the wealth of Syria, into the new emporium of the East. The western walls were defended with impassable ditches, were crowned with five hundred towers, and were supplied with every military engine, which that day could produce. United by covered communications, they sheltered the capital for ages against the attacks, whether of barbarian or civilised invaders. Upon a less magnificent scale, the fortifications were continued along the harbour, about fifty paces from the shore; but, towards the Bosphorus, as well as the Propontis, they rose abruptly from the waves. The north-eastern angle of a promontory, called Chrysoceras or the Golden Horn, narrowed by its fortunate projection the entrance into the port, across which chains might be drawn to baffle the attempts of any hostile navy. The haven itself was six or seven miles long, and about half a league wide; the water was always sufficiently deep to bring up larger vessels to the very verge of the quays; and the river Lycus, falling into the upper end, not only cleansed the bottom, but afforded both sailors and citizens an abundance of the

first necessary of life. Sixty thousand pounds' weight of gold, or two millions four hundred thousand pounds sterling of our money, were expended by Constantine, on the walls, the porticoes, and the aqueducts of his metropolis. His own palace, seated on the most conspicuous elevation, was roofed externally with gilded plates of brass, which, when illuminated by the sun, by spacious gardens, comprising the wonders of art, had the appearance of a city on fire. It was surrounded and exhibiting the beauties of nature. The splendours of oriental luxury, interspersed with groves, fountains, and temples, on all sides opened to the gaze of the astonished spectator: while the busy scenes of Constan tinople, the prospects of Asia, and the ocean, the mingled associations of poetry, history, and antiquity, combined to adorn an imperial residence, which, for costliness, situation, and grandeur, could be exceeded by none in the world. Vast arsenals and edifices were added to what had been lately Byzantium: the houses, as well as the public baths, were more ostentatiously than substantially built and so great was the influx of inhabitants, allured thither from motives of business, pleasure, or curiosity, that the narrow lanes became

perilous to passengers, from the increasing density of the population. Piles were driven into the bed of the sea, on which new erections were reared, with too little

regard to health or convenience. Constantine had invited the higher ranks of society to the spot, by distributing among his favourites the choicest mansions, with lands throughout Thrace, Pontus, and Asia, which were held as hereditary estates, under the easy tenure of maintaining an establishment in the capital. The lower classes assembled, from various parts of the empire, to share in the bountiful largesses, and municipal regulations, so grateful to idleness or ambition. Within the lapse of three or four generations, Constantinople contained thirteen palaces, fourteen churches, eight public and one hundred and fifty-three private baths, two basilicas, four forums, two senate-houses,

five enormous granaries, an amphitheatre, a circus maximus, with four other places of entertainment, four quays, the same number of reservoirs for rain water, as many aqueducts, three hundred and twenty-two streets, four thousand three hundred and eighty-eight very large houses, fifty-two porticoes, twenty public mills, and one hundred and twenty private ones, one hundred and seventeen tribunals for the distribution of

donatives, five immense markets, three flights of costly stairs descending from the hills to the sea, a mint, a capitol, barracks for the imperial guards, and several literary institutions. The shrines of mythology surrendered their treasures to illustrate the triumphs of the first Christian potentate; and the immortal productions of ancient artists found their appropriate level, as objects for the admiration, rather than the idolatry, of mankind. To aim at an enumeration of all these, would be as tedious to the reader, as it is unbecoming the design of history. yet we may just mention the brazen bull of Perillus, the muses from the fountain of Helicon, the tripod from the oracle at Delphos, and the colossal statue of Apollo, by Phidias, upon its magnificent column of porphyry, in the centre of the principal forum.

The streets were divided into fourteen regions, ten of which were within the walls of Constantine, the other four being added at a subsequent period. The founder nominated three prætors, to whom he in trusted the supreme government of his city; but, under ensuing reigns, the administration of Constantinople was more entirely assimilated to that of the western metropolis, and one prætorian prefect became invested with almost sovereign power. This officer at Rome his jurisdiction, and, throughout a circuit of one huntook cognizance of all civil and criminal causes within The prætorian prefect, at Constantinople, received from dred miles in extent, there lay an appeal to his tribunal. Constantius very similar prerogatives; and both these municipal viceroys had under them their subordinate prætors, who, assisted by proper persons, presided over the halls of justice, arranged the various spectacles exhibited for public amusement, managed the markets, distributed the imperial largesses, and superintended the police of the capital. Bands of watch-. men, under the strictest discipline, had their stations, both daily and nocturnal, in different quarters; they were enlisted from the companies of incorporated ar tificers; and most praiseworthy attention was paid to the preserving every street of Constantinople from accidents through fire or violence. Nine hundred and fifty individuals had the care of burying the dead among the poorer classes: the public works were committed to the inspection of an honourable magistrate and at least three rhetoricians, ten grammarians, five sophists, one philosopher, and two professors of civil law, were knowledge. Constantinople, within five or ten years, maintained by the treasury, for the diffusion of useful having been prepared for the reception of the emperor, was solemnly consecrated to the virgin Mary, or to the Cod of martyrs. It was called after the name of its benefactor, and heralds proclaimed it the head of the eastern, as Rome was that of the western world. An edict, to the same effect, was engraven on a pillar of marble; a senate, with many suitable honours, was appointed; which, though less noble than the model after which it was formed, survived, as the phantom of liberty, till the age of Leo, in the middle of the ninth century.'-Pp. 232-329.

With equal felicity Mr. Bridges has described the condition of the mighty metropolis of the world, at the time when its glory was departing, and when it was on the point of being left gra should become the palace of another, and almost dually to sink into ruin and obscurity, till it more universal, sovereignty. The pictures of the two rival cities present a striking contrast, when thus viewed together:

circumstances relating to his country. Hence
the publication of the book which forms the sub-
ject of the present article.

However, the ancient seat of the Cæsars was not as yet surpassed by the growing magnificence of its rival. Allusion has already been made, in the first chapter, to the monuments of Roman glory produced The author prefaces his work with a hasty sketch under the earlier emperors. Many of these still exof the civil history of Sicily, from the commencecited the wonder of beholders; and, before the close of ment of the monarchy established by the Normans, the fourth century, Rome is described as comprising, within her walls, two large and twenty-nine smaller down to the epoch of 1812. We say civil history libraries, six large and forty-two smaller obelisks, because it is principally a compendium of the relaeight bridges, seventeen forums, eleven basilicas, twelve tion between the people and the Government, in public and nine hundred and thirty or a thousand pri- order to show, by means of authentic documents, vate baths, twenty beautiful fountains, two capitols, that this island acquired its political liberty at four amphitheatres, eight or nine edifices for dramatic an epoch almost contemporary with that of the entertainments, five naumachia, eleven aqueducts, thirty-establishment of British independence; that it six marble or triumphal arches, two colossal and from one to two hundred equestrian statues, the columns of Trajan and Aurelius, two vast markets, with upwards of two hundred and fifty mills set apart for the gratuitous use of the people. The fourteen regions were subdivided into three hundred streets, containing from seventeen to eighteen hundred respectable residences, and from forty-four to forty-seven thousand insulæ, or lodging-houses, each of which might be occupied by several families. Eight open squares, from eleven to fourteen hundred handsome cisterns of fresh water, and an appropriate number of sewers, contributed to the health of the inhabitants. Immense granaries supplied a lazy mobility with the means of subsistence, and even with some luxuries of life: three hundred shrines or altars, besides many most superb temples, kept alive and employed the superstition of the multitude while ten prætorian cohorts, four companies of city militia, and some other slight military forces preserved the peace of Rome. A prætorian prefect, with two prætors under his immediate control, twentyeight inferior magistrates, and six hundred and seventytwo subordinate officers, answering perhaps to the head-constables of our modern corporations, had the charge of the police, and superintended the various departments connected with their municipal jurisdiction.'-Pp. 240-241.

Mr. Bridges has composed a work of great usefulness and merit. He has presented us with an excellent view of the period he undertook to describe; and we hope to see him prosecuting his design of inquiring into the state of the literature of the same age with equal skill and industry. His style is clear and correct, his original observations full of good sense, and his knowledge of his subject full and extensive. We have seldom seen a single volume of history containing more information, or information given in a better

manner.

RELATIONS OF SICILY WITH ENGLAND.

De la Sicile et de ses Rapports avec l'Angleterre à l'epoque de la Constitution de 1812; ou, Mémoires Historiques sur les principaux Evénemens de ce tems; avec la Refutation de l'Histoire d'Italie par Botta, pour les parties qui ont rapport à ces mêmes événemens. Par un Membre des differens Parlemens de Sicile. 8vo. Paris, 1828.

THE political changes which, in 1812, led the people of Sicily to indulge in the hope of an improved condition, and, in 1816, again involved them in the greatest misery, were well known to all Europe; although the silence which the weaker party is always compelled by the stronger to maintain, has caused them to be now almost totally buried in oblivion. But the historian Botta, in his late work on the events with which Italy has, for the space of nearly forty years, been overwhelmed, is, in many instances, extremely incorrect, both in the relation of facts, and the expression of opinions, as far, at least, as regards Sicily. This is not a matter of surprise, it being the system of this subtle writer artfully to withhold, and falsely to represent, historical facts, in order to make them subservient to the strange opinions entertained by him of the distinguishing character of that century. And, although it is impossible to repress the clamour of those who, destitute of every flattering hope for the future, indulge only in miserable forebodings, a Sicilian citizen, full of intelligence and personal experience, has dared to raise his voice in the defence of truth, and thereby to enable well-informed men to judge more accurately of the

had always a national representative respected
and guaranteed with solemn oaths, by the dif-
ferent monarchs who reigned there; that the
despotic tendency of Charles the Fifth, and
Philip the Second, might have diminished its
prerogative, but did not entirely destroy it; that
the actually reigning dynasty has always acknow-
ledged its legitimacy, especially as it regards the
valuable right of concurring in the establishment
of taxes; and, lastly, that the new Constitution
of 1812 was in reality nothing more than a pure
and simple re-organisation of the former Consti-
tution, with the addition only of those reforms
which the improvement of the age and a variety
of other circumstances loudly demanded. From
which we may infer that, sooner or later, this pre-
tended new Constitution would naturally have
come of itself, since all laws require with the
accession of time re-organisation and reform.

It may be observed, that, although the Consti-
tution of England is the least imperfect of all
those which exist in Europe, still not a single
session passes, in which the friends of the public
good do not urge the absolute necessity of a Par-
liamentary reform. But the force of imperious
vicissitudes accelerated this political crisis in Sicily.
Buonaparte, menacing every throne with ruin, ex-
tended his iron arm over the whole of Europe. The
adverse coalition, after fruitless attempts to deprive
ful and generous: it no longer sought to oppose
it of its power, conceived a design equally use-
it with armies, but with people; and, in order to
excite these latter to second its efforts, it pro-
mised political liberty to all mankind. Where is
the mind, possessing any noble feelings, that
would not be roused by this cheering prospect?
A European revolution was speedily organised:
with the certainty of adding to this desirable asso-
ciation, the people of Prussia and of Germany
arose in one mass, and arrested the victorious
progress of the French eagles. At the same
moment, an exterminating war was raging in
Spain, and the Emperor of Russia, sending back
to their country the Spanish regiments which
were in his service, presented himself before them
with the Constitution of Cadiz in his hand, and
made all swear either to support it or die in its
defence. Battalions of English landed in different
parts of Italy, bearing on their banners the fol-
lowing inscription Italian Liberty and Indepen-
dence:' promises and incitements issued, as from
the depths of the Faro of Messina, to inflame Ca-
labria on one side, and Sicily on the other.

Particular circumstances, however, relating to this island, rendered the English solicitous to preserve it. It was an important point, for the secure maintenance of the dominion of the Mediterranean. The inhabitants, oppressed by taxes, and rendered desperate by the persecutions of the Government, threatened to depart with the French; and it is no longer a mystery, that Buonaparte secretly endeavoured to form a negociation with Caroline of Austria, for the purpose of detaching her from this alliance. In order to avoid irreparable evils, the English Cabinet sent out Lord William Bentinck, like another Messiah, to be the bearer of a political gospel to the Sicilians.

At this unexpected event, the impulse of the public mind burst forth from all parties. The former Sicilian Parliament was convoked, but the new Constitution was nothing more than an idea without any reality. No written design was

presented to this assembly that might serve as the basis of its decisions; and this not from neglect or supineness, but from the insidious machinations of that Court, which, knowing that numbers are most able to discuss, but ineffective to concert, sought to render every thing vague and undetermined, to gain time. Lord Bentinck did not penetrate this criminal design, and confusion introduced itself where it had been sought to establish order. The birth of party dissensions, and of contrary tendencies of opinions, was the natural consequence of this equivocal state of things; and these very disorders, far from being signs of a slight attachment of the people to liberty, were undoubted proofs of new life, certain indications of a passage from one state of society to another. All agreed in the principles, but no mode could be found to make them unanimous in the means; because the Court used every intrigue to keep their minds abstracted. It is on this particular subject, that the historian Botta advances untrue statements, falsely interprets truths, and calumniates intentions: we will limit ourselves to the citation of two examples only. The Parliament, at the demand of Government, augmented the taxes. Botta appears to think, that this mea sure was adopted from the necessity of maintaining the English troops in that island. This is false; since not only were the English troops there supported at the expense of England, but England paid a subsidy of four hundred thousand pounds a year to remove the embarrassment of the Sicilian Government. The Parliament increased the taxes, in order to show the Government that the nation was ready to make every possible sacrifice, in order to obtain its liberty.

;

It is, undoubtedly, unfortunate for any people to find itself under the dominion of a foreign power, but it ought not, therefore, to be loaded with imaginary evils. Who does not know, besides, that liberty costs dearer than slavery? The first elections were tumultuous and bad. Botta attributes this misfortune to foreign influence since Lord Bentinck, as he believes, entertaining little solicitude for the public good, proposed only his own spies and his own creatures. But why without reason attempt to blacken the character of this Minister? Certainly, no upright man would like to have performed his part in this disastrous play; since he permitted himself to be deceived and made the dupe of Castlereagh, whose deceitfulness he was not able to penetrate. But the first elections were turbulent and bad, because there as yet existed no laws by which to regulate their form and nature; because the national opinion on the merit of individuals was not yet clear and determined; because benefits must follow a Constitutional system, and cannot possibly precede it. Neither were these elections entirely bad, since many honourable names were comprised in them, of the truth of which we need only peruse the list to be assured. Besides, had Lord William Bentinck been careless with regard to the public good, he would certainly have possessed the favour of the Court, and not that of the people, whilst it is notorious to all Europe, that that Court entertained the deepest hatred towards him.

The new Constitution of 1812 was, to the shame of the Sicilian Government, abolished at the end of four years, by the influence, and at the instance, of Austria, and with the express approbation of the English Government, which had been the first promoter of it. Was even the old Constitution permitted to stand? No, both were destroyed with one blow, so that posterity cannot but reflect, that the epoch of the English dominion in Sicily dates the era of the complete servitude and degradation of its inhabitants. The mask thus fallen, Lord Bentinck discovered too late, that he had been made the dupe of a most atrocious plot, and, in the House of Commons, warmly called on Lord Castlereagh, to account for such dishonourable conduct. The Minister endeavoured to defend himself with a thousand

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