THEOLOGY.

A Critical History of the Projects formed within the last three hundred years for the Union of the Christian Communions.

Seven Letters to Elias Hicks, on the tendency of his Doctrines and Opinions; with an Introductory Address to the Society of Friends. By a Demi-Quaker. Philadelphia.

Four Sermons on the Doctrine of the Atonement. By Nathan S. S. Beman, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Troy. 12mo. Troy, N. Y. W. S. Parker.

TRAVELS.

Schoolcraft's Travels in the Central Portions of the Mississippi Valley. With Maps and Plates. 8vo. pp. 460. Price $350. New York. Collins & Hannay.

AMERICAN EDITIONS OF FOREIGN WORKS.

The Young Artist's Companion, containing Plain and Easy Directions for the acquirement of the art of Drawing, &c. To which are added, General Rules of Perspective. By T. Barnes. From the Fourth London Edition, considerably enlarged and improved. 8vo. Baltimore. J. Roach.

A Treatise on Derangements of the Liver, Internal Organs, and Nervous System. Pathological and Therapeutical. By James Johnson, M. D.

Joyce's Scientific Dialogues. A New Edition. 3 Vols. 18mo. With numerous Plates. Philadelphia. A. Finley.

A Narrative of the Voyages Round the World, performed by Captain Cook. With an account of his Life, during the previous and intervening periods. By A. Kippis, D. D. F. R. S. In 2 Vols. 18mo. New York.

D. Mallory.

Immediate, not Gradual Abolition; or, an Inquiry into the shortest, safest, and most effectual means of getting rid of West India Slavery. 8vo. New York. J. V. Seaman.

A Translation of Horace. By Sir Philip Francis. 2 Vols. 18mo. New York. S. King.

Falconer's Shipwreck; with Plates. New York. S. King.

An Inquiry into the Human Mind, on the principles of Common Sense. By Thomas Reid, D. D. Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Glasgow. 18mo. New York. S. King.

English Life; or, Manners at Home. In Four Pictures. 2 Vols. 12mo. New York. E. Bliss & E. White.

Living Plays. Vol XIII. New York. D. Mallory.

Decision; a Tale. By Mrs Hoffland, Author of Integrity, a Tale, &c. Sergeant & Lowber's Common Law Reports, condensed. Vol. III. Carey & Lea.

Sayings and Doings; a Series of Sketches from Real Life. Second Series. Philadelphia. Carey & Lea.

A Review of the Efforts and Progress of Nations, during the last twenty-five years. By J. C. L. De Sismondi. Translated from the French. By Peter S. Duponceau. 8vo. pp. 36. Philadelphia. H. Hall. Reminiscences of Charles Butler, Esq. of Lincoln's Inn, with a Letter to a Lady, on Ancient and Modern Music. Second American from the Fourth London Edition. 12mo. pp. 350. Price $1 50. New York. E. Bliss & E. White.

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A New Edition of Blackstone's Commentaries. 4 Vols. 8vo. With the Notes of Archbold and Christian united. Philadelphia. R. H. Small. Boaden's Life of Kemble. 8vo. A Small. Philadelphia.

The fifth volume of the Memoirs of the Philadelphia Agricultural Society. Philadelphia. A. Small.

The Travellers; or, some Extracts from Juvenile Journals. Designed for young people, 1 Vol. 18mo. New York. E. Bliss & E. White.

A New Edition of Thomas' Practice, from the Eighth London Edition. With Notes by David Hosack, M. D. F. R. S. 1. Vol. 8vo. New York, Collins & Co.

A New Novel, by the Author of "The Spy," "Lionel Lincoln." &c. &c. New York. Charles Wiley.

Richerand's Physiology. From the last London Edition. 8vo. New York. Collins & Co.

The History of the United States, for the Use of Schools. By the Rev. Charles A. Goodrich. Fourth Edition. 1 Vol. 18mo. New York. Collins & Co.

Redfield; A Long-Island Tale. 12mo. New York. Wilder & Campbell.

"Biographia Americana;" or, a Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and Writings of the Most Distinguished Persons in North America; from its first settlement to the present time, with numerous Portraits. By a Gentleman of Philadelphia. New York. D. Mallory.

Tales of the Genii. 2 Vols. With Engravings. New York. D. Mallory.

Telemachus. 2 Vols.

Life of Benjamin Franklin. Written by Himself. With Engravings. Goldsmith's Poems and Essays.

Living Plays. 14th and 15th Vols. New York. D. Mallory.

A Synopsis of the Diseases of the Eye, and their treatment, &c. By Benjamin Travers, F. R. S. Surgeon to St Thomas' Hospital. From the Third London Edition. With Notes and Illustrations, by Edward Delafield, M. D. 8vo. New York. E. Bliss & E. White.

The Lady of the Manor; a Novel. By Mrs Sherwood. New York. E. Bliss & E. White.

The Works of William Cowper. New Edition. 3 Vols. 18mo. New York. S. King.

Moore's Melodies. A New Selection. New York. W. B. Gilley. An Epitome of Paley's Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy. By a Member of the University of Cambridge, Author of the "Epitome of the Evidences of Christianity." New York. E. Bliss & E. White. C. Cornelii Taciti Historiarum Libri Quinque: cum libro de Germania, et vita Agricolæ. Ad Fidem optimarum editionum expressi, cum notis Barbon. New York. Solomon King.

Bayley on Bills, with Notes of American Decisions. Boston. Harrison Gray.

Published on the first and fifteenth day of every month, by CUMMINGS, HILLIARD, & Co., No. 134 Washington-Street, Boston, for the Proprietors. Terms, $5 per annum. Cambridge: Printed at the University Press, by Hilliard & Metcalf.

High-Ways and By-Ways; or, Tales of the Road-side, Picked up in the French Provinces. By A Walking Gentleman. Second Series. Philadelphia. 1825. 2 vols. 12mo.

IT has been announced in the London papers, that a Mr Grattan is the author of these tales. When we closed the two small volumes, which were re-published here about a year since, embracing the first series, we felt confident from the popularity of the work, that at no very distant period there would be a renewal of intercourse between this author and the public. But we hardly wished-we certainly did not expect to meet him again after so short an interval. It was well and truly said by a favourite author of the last century, "Little writers compose books apace: for naturalists observe, that the less the insect is, the oftener it lays, and the faster it propagates; but then their brood is very short-lived." We would not be understood to apply these remarks critically to Mr Grattan, though we confess, that we felt a little regret on seeing a second series of his Tales of the Road-side, announced so soon after the publication of the first. We did not then know what these volumes were-we knew what the former had been ;they promised well of those which were to follow them; and we are glad, that our author has done even so well, what he has done so hastily.

We have not room here to give a full description of the style of these writings; but by our extracts, we shall exhibit it, as far as we are able, in its various lights and shades. There is a freshness and vigour in his thoughts, which always please

the reader. We can see them, as it were, springing up within his mind, and coming forth naturally and beautifully; but the great fault is, that he does not use care enough in selecting them. We should not, however, call Mr Grattan an original writer. There is in his works not a little imitation of those of Washington Irving. In this we wish to be clearly understood. We do not mean, that the author of High-Ways and By-Ways is a servile imitator of the style and sentiments of Irving; but that there is something in the general character of his writings, and the peculiar vein of thought which he seems fond of pursuing, that frequently reminds us of our countryman. Indeed, were we to judge of the feelings of writers from what they have written, we should say, that those of Irving and Mr Grattan, and we may add, their minds too, were of the same complexion; though, with regard to style, the freedom and familiarity of the latter bear no resemblance to the highlyfinished manner of the former. This elegance of the one, and careless freedom of the other mark one great distinction between them.

The author of these tales has exhibited great power in his descriptions of natural scenery; and particularly in those of his first series. His scenes are marked out with a vivid colouring and a distinct outline, and it is left to the reader's own imagination to finish the picture. After all, then, it depends upon the temperament of our own minds, whether we are pleased or offended; since the pleasure which we derive from mere descriptions of nature, belongs, and, in its degree, bears an intimate relation to the energy and beauty, with which our own fancy fills up the outline. We observed, that Mr Grattan had succeeded well in his descriptions of natural scenery; he has succeeded well, too, in his characters-in unveiling the deep workings of human feelings-in laying open the secret springs of human action. If we would paint nature well, we must frequent her still and solitary places; if characters, we must go out into the high-ways of the world, and make the living history of mankind our study. The author of the tales before us possesses the power of description, both of character and natural scenery; and though he has not reached the highest excellence in either, he has done well in both. And here we are led to notice one evident difference between the first and second series of his tales. In the first, he has indulged to the full his natural predilections for rural life, and that "in-door quiet, and out-of-door stillness," which

hang over secluded places ;-in the second, those predilections themselves seem to be stealing away from him, and he keeps us longer in the crowds and tumults of the town, than before, though we can still detect a fondness in him for breaking away from the precincts of populous cities.

From these desultory remarks upon Mr Grattan's merits and peculiarities as a writer, we now come to speak with more particular reference to his Tales, and the sources from which he has drawn his materials. These volumes were written from the personal observations of a wayfaring man, who, on foot, to use a phrase from his former series, has "traversed France from frontier to frontier; cut across the highways, and struck into the open country; passed by where curiosity is generally arrested; loitered in spots unknown to fame or fashion; always yielding to the impulse of feeling or the whim of fancy." France is a fine field for a genius such as our author's. It has been at times the scene of oppression and bloody deeds;―at times, the home of a happy people. A pleasant or a painful association is connected with the very names of its cities, its public places, and royal dwellings. They were splendid in the Augustan age of France, and have since felt the convulsions of that disastrous revolution, which shook Europe to its centre. With the events of this revolution, the greater part of Mr Grattan's tales have been in some way connected. Two of them "La Vilaine Tête," of the first series, and "The Priest, and the Garde-du-corps," of the second, are particular descriptions of some of its desperate struggles. Upon the political tendency of these, we have no comments to make; we are to deal with the author as a writer, not as a politician. And as we turn over the pages of his volumes, we find there sketches of French manners, that are highly characteristic of national feeling,sketches of French scenery, that exhibit the touches of an artist's pencil, and a beautiful light thrown out upon the romantic vales of the French provinces, which have hitherto slept in the shadows of their own mountains. Our author has evidently the mind and feelings of a poet; but unfortunately the specimens of his versification, interspersed here and there through his writings, do little credit to either. He has an eye that sees nature, and a heart that feels nature; but there is something wanting when he would give utterance to those feelings in their proper language. He seems to be at a loss. to express in poetry, what he feels in reality, and can express so well in prose.