Rawdon House; or, Hints on the Formation of Character at School. By Mrs. Ellis. London: Jackson.

THIS little pamphlet,—an account of the methods adopted in the school conducted by its authoress,-scarcely comes within the range of a review. It contains, however, many useful hints on the formation of character at school.

Helps to Hereford History. Civil and Legendary, etc. By J. Dacres Devlin. London: John R. Smith. 1848.

THERE are few better ways of gaining a knowledge of the condition of the people in past centuries, than the republication of such old records as we have in this little volume, when the editor has in him any power of making dry bones live. The present author has executed his task very creditably, and, when it is remembered that he is a working man, a labourer at the trade whose old records he has here printed, he commands all honour, and we trust will meet with ample success in any future literary labours.

Music and Education. By Dr. Mainzer. London: Longman and Co. IN a German's eyes a book is nothing if it is not learned, so Dr. Mainzer has given us first an elaborate history of music, where Greeks and Celts, Egyptian Platonists and Caldee Monks, are showered down on the reader. This is more Germanico. The remainder, the larger and more interesting part of the volume is, a very eloquent and effective plea for the general introduction of music as a branch of education, in which its moral and aesthetical influences are admirably discussed by an enthusiastic musician, and man of taste and talent. We should be glad to know that this volume was extensively read and its suggestions acted on, by all under whose care children are placed.

Popery Delineated, in a Brief Examination and Confutation of the Unscriptural and Anti-Scriptural Doctrines and Practices maintained and inculcated by the Modern Church of Rome, in the Unrescinded Decrees of her Councils and Canon Law, and in her Authorized and Acknowledged Formularies of Faith and Worship. Second Edition. London: Painter. 1848.

If any of our readers would like to venture on a volume heralded by such a title-page, we can assure them that they will find in this one a really valuable collection of documentary evidence on the points of which it treats, and that the business of research and compilation has been done with the same conscientious scrupulosity to give a full, true, and particular account, which is evinced in the portentous length of the title-page.

The Gospel of Christ, the Power of God unto Salvation; exemplified in the Preaching and Writings of the Apostle Paul. By the Rev. W. A. Newman, Sen. Wolverhampton: Simpson. 1848. THIS series of Sermons contains much pointed appeal to men of all classes, but is neither better nor worse than the average o such publications. Valuable no doubt to the author's congregation, as a memorial of one who has evidently been a faithful minister, it has no peculiar claims on the attention of a wider circle of readers. It is a respectable volume of sermons, and nothing more.

The Odes of Horace, literally translated into English Verse. By Henry George Robinson. Book II. London: Longman & Co. 1846. THIS volume shows its author to be possessed of considerable power of versifying. The translation, though usually very literal, is also very elegant and lively, and in some cases exceedingly happy. Considering the difficulties, the author has done well, admirably, but, although not disposed to find fault with any one for doing what he is fit for, we cannot help asking, as we would a man making tiny tea-spoons to put in a cherry stone-considering the difficulties, is it worth doing at all?

A Progress of Piety, whose Jesses lead into the Harbour of Heavenly Heart's Ease. By John Norden. Parker Society. 1847. 'It is a satisfaction to the Council of the Parker Society, to introduce this volume to an extended circulation as a sample of the practical and devotional theology of the Elizabethan age.' Making allowance for the quaintness, which was the disease of the age, these meditations and prayers are just such as are valued in the present day, as manuals of devotion. They are divided into eight portions, or, in the author's language, Jesses ('pauses-properly, the strap fastening a hawk's leg,') each consisting of meditation, prayer, and a hymn, and are marked throughout by a rich vein of devotional feeling.

Literary Intelligence.

Just Published.

A Descriptive Atlas of Astronomy and of Physical and Political Geography.

Part II.

Views in the Eastern Archipelago, Borneo, Sarawak, etc., from Drawings made on the spot, by Captain Drinkwater Bethune, R.N.C.B., Commander S. C. Heath, R.N., and others. The descriptive letter-press by James Augustus St. John, Esq., author of 'Manners and Customs of the Ancient Greeks.'

Life in Russia; or, the Discipline of Despotism. By Edward P. Thompson, Esq.

The National Cyclopædia of Useful Knowledge. Part XVIII.

The Pictorial Bible.

Part XIV.

The Journal of Sacred Literature. No. III.

The Wisdom of the Rambler, Adventurer, and Idler. By Samuel Johnston, LL.D.

The People's Dictionary. Part XXXV.

Madame de Malguet; a Tale of 1820. 3 vols.

The Christian Citizen; his Duty to the Government and his FellowSubjects. A Lecture by Spencer Murch.

The Prodigal Son.

Memoirs of the Rev. Wm. Bramwell. By Members of his Family.

The Prophecies of. Isaiah, Earlier and Later. By Joseph Addison Alexander. Reprinted under the Editorial Superintendence of John Eadie, LL.D. Peter Jones, an Autobiography. Stage the First.

Lectures Illustrating the Contrast between True Christianity and various other Systems. By Wm. B. Sprague, D.D., New York.

The Authorship of the Letters of Junius elucidated, including a Biographical Memoir of Lieut.-Col. Isaac Barré, M.P. By John Britton, F.S.A. The Seventh Vial, being an Exposition of the Apocalypse, and in particular of the Pouring Out of the Seventh Vial, with Special Reference to the present Revolutions in Europe.

Essays on Human Happiness. By Dr. Henry Duhring.

The Unveiling of the Everlasting Gospel, with the Scripture Philosophy of Happiness, Holiness, and Spiritual Power, specially Addressed to the Ministers and Church of God at the Present Crisis.

The History of Rome, from the Earliest Times, to the Fall of the Empire, for Schools and Families

Schools of Ancient Philosophy. Religious Tract Society. Monthly Series.

The Atmosphere and Atmospherical Phenomena. Monthly Series. Bibliotheca Londinensis, a Classified Index of the Literature of Great Britain during Thirty Years, arranged from and serving as a Key to the London Catalogue of Books, 1814-46, which contains the size, price, and publisher's name of each work.

Spiritual Worth; its Departure Lamented. A Discourse occasioned by the Death of Wm. Smith, Esq., Preached in Stockwell New Chapel, 30th January, 1848. By David Thomas.

Testimony to the Truth, or the Autobiography of an Atheist.

The Spirit of Holiness and Sanctification through the Truth. By James Harrington Evans, Minister of John Street Chapel. 4th Edition, revised. Royal Correspondence. The Private Letters of Queen Victoria and Louis Philippe. By Jas. F. Judge, junior.

The Child's First English Grammar, divided into Easy and Progressive Lessons, to each of which are attached Copious Questions and Exercises. By Richard Hiley.

Four Lectures on the Apocalypse. Delivered in Bristol, in the Spring of 1848. By Edward Ash, M.D.

The Child's Poetical Naturalist. With Notes. By Mary Dring.

Pharaoh a Dramatic Poem.

By the Rev. Samuel Spink.

THE

ECLECTIC REVIEW

FOR SEPTEMBER, 1848.

ART. I.-Mirabeau. A Life History. In Two Books. London: Smith and Elder. 1848.

AROUND every great man there is formed, by industrious hands, a web of great intricacy, and often of much beauty. Every action of his life is endowed with exaggerated merit, and the performance by him of any duty, to other men a mere matter of course, is regarded as something far removed from the common order of things. He may not even smile, without being supposed to perform the operation in some way out of the received order of nature. The halo that surrounds the man distinguished in ages long removed from our observation, grows, it is true, more dim, the farther we recede from it. The ardent worshippers of an idol do not transmit to the next generation all their enthusiasm, which thus weakens, by slow degrees, until we obtain at length some accurate idea of the character intended to be conveyed to our imaginations. The false dressings which have surrounded the image must be torn away. The mist must be cleared from about it, the gaudy colours gently removed, and the being, almost exalted to a God, must be contentedly viewed as a man, a man with his imperfections, however transcendent the powers of his genius.

It is the task of the impartial critic of a succeeding age, to examine the actual claims of illustrious men to our regards; to strip them of their false attractions, and present them in their true light to the world, enveloped in the clouds of their genius, but gifted alike with failings as with virtues.

It must not be supposed from the above remarks, that we desire to depreciate Mirabeau, or to bring him down to a common level. On the contrary, our intention is to present him to our readers as he really was,-an extraordinary combination of contradictory qualities, under the rule of no great governing principle; impetuous, fiery, reckless, and unmindful, when it suited him, of the vice or virtue attendant upon an action. A defence of his code of morality is sought to be established, by advancing the fact that his father was a bad man; that he treated him with unnatural severity; that he entertained no affection for him. All this is true, aud though out of it no defence of the private life of Mirabeau can be drawn, some excuse may be formed for the errors of a man deprived of all the advantages which respect for a father, and the affectionate reverence of a mother, can bestow. To unravel the thread of a life like that of Mirabeau's, is one of the most interesting occupations in which we can indulge. From the cradle to the grave, his was a time of storm with but little sunshine, and that little obscured as by a mist. In his pilgrimage through this world, he jostled almost always against uncongenial spirits, who would not understand him, and who could not appreciate him. Besides, conscious of his own high genius, he seemed to stand upon an elevation from which he could scorn the world, and thus frequently set at defiance its opinions in matters over which most men throw a veil. He thus created for himself a crowd of enemies, who never forgave him either his talents or his sarcasms.

In estimating Mirabeau, it is a difficult task to avoid being either too lenient or too severe. His undoubted genius, and some amiable traits in his character, incline us to one side; while his no less certain vice and profligacy force from us a severity of expression, which his misfortunes tend to abate. His actions speak for themselves. Too often, however, it is the inclination of humanity to lose sight of the acts of a man of genius, and to confine itself to expressions of admiration for the gifts which the Almighty has bestowed upon him. Here the power of intellect is worshipped, not the man, individually. Delightful as it may be, however, thus for a time to abstract the individual from the mind, while perusing the works of some great master-hand, or while listening to the burning eloquence of an orator, it would be folly to attempt to dupe ourselves so pleasantly, when we come to investigate the man as he must have appeared to the actors of his own time, with all his faults, his vices, his virtues, and his powers.

The age in which Mirabeau moved, was one rife with all the elements of revolution. The first mutter of the thunder