images, that never lose their beauty whilst they are actively torturing it. We are sure that these tales will expand the mind, and bend the will, of the little folks for whom they are principally intended. They will distress them also, but the pain will be a healthy one. As we predicate that this book will become a general favourite, the author can well spare us the trouble of making a more extended notice. History of British Fishes. By WILLIAM YARREL, F.L.S. Illustrated by upwards of Four Hundred Wood-cuts, including numerous Vignettes. We always read these numbers with much interest, as they display a complete knowledge of the subject, and a great deal of research. They have now advanced to the seventeenth, which is entirely occupied by a description of the various species of sharks. We had no idea that they were so numerous or so general upon the British coasts. We have also received the first number of a "History of British Quadrupeds," by Thomas Bell, F.R.S., F.L.S., Lecturer of Comparative Anatomy at Guy's Hospital. This publication begins with the English bats, and promises well: the wood-cuts are excellent. Summary of Works that we have received, of which we have no space to make a lengthened notice. Edward, the Crusader's Son; illustrating the History, Manners, and Customs of England in the Eleventh Century. By Mrs. BARWELL.-TWO charming little volumes, in excellent keeping with the time to which they relate, and will be found peculiarly attractive as well as instructive to the youth of both sexes. Poetic Wreath; consisting of Select Passages from the Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer to Wordsworth, alphabetically arranged.— Much taste is evinced in this selection; the work is elegantly got up, and is a fitting appendage to the drawing-room table, and well adapted for a present. Ascension; a Poem. By RICHARD JONES.-A very fair attempt at the poetical; indeed, there is some poetry in it, which is saying much for a modern poem. The Principles of Perspective, and their Application to Drawing from Nature, familiarly explained and illustrated. By WILLIAM RIDER.-A very sensible volume upon a worn-out subject. We suppose, upon a science so very simple we may as well have new books, as new editions of old ones. Wilson's Historical, Traditionary, and Imaginative Tales of the Borders. We have received the twenty-second monthly part of this interesting publication, and find it full of novelty and amusement. The Garland; or, Chichester, West Sussex, and East Hampshire Repository. Edited by P. L. SIMMONS.-We have received the second, and even improved number of this talent-directed little periodical. It must succeed. The Usurper; a Tragedy: and other Poems. By ALFRED WHITEHEAD. -Too dramatic for the closet, and not sufficiently so for the stage; abounding with energetic passages, and some fine touches of poetry. The poems that conclude the volume are good. Guide to the Pronunciation of the Italian Language, containing full Instructions for Reading and Speaking Italian, with Purity and Elegance, &c. &c. &c. Forming altogether an Easy and Interesting Italian Reader. By M. DE LA CLAVIERE.-This is well got up, and will do all that a book without oral instructions can, to achieve the object for which it was written. More we cannot say in its favour, were we to write a long article on the subject. We have received the first number of a Mathematical Miscellany, conducted by Mr. GILL, Professor of Mathematics in the Institution at Flushing, Long Island, United States.-Though this periodical originates in America, it belongs to civilization and the world. It is undoubtedly abstruse; but the more abstract and purely mental sciences should certainly have such a vehicle as this is to communicate with the public. Meetings for Amusing Knowledge, in the Happy Valley. By Miss J. H. WOOD. With Engravings.-A happy idea well worked out. The right sort of book for young folks who wish to distinguish themselves. The Beauty of the Rhine; a Metrical Romance. In Four Cantos. By Captain RICHARD HORT, 81st Regiment.-A very respectable poem. The Scottish Tourist's Steam Boat Guide; being an Account of all that is worthy the Stranger's Notice in the Western Islands, and the Highlands of Scotland.-A very nice little useful affair that ought not only to be carried in the pocket, but the mind also. The Pocket Guide to the Picturesque Scenery of Scotland, is a fitting and beautiful companion to this. Practical Piety; or the Rule of Life, deduced from the Sacred Scriptures. An excellent selection of texts, all bearing on a most important subject. The Broomsgrove Latin Grammar, for the Use of Schools and Colleges. By the Rev. J. A. JACOB, M. A.-We think this grammar must one day obtain the general suffrage-it deserves it. LIST OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. National Lyrics and Songs for Music, by Felicia Hemans. Second edition, with Introductory Notice of her Life and Writings. 24mo. 4s. 6d. The Harp of the Wilderness. 24mo. 4s. Butler's Spelling Book. Nineteenth edition. 12mo. 1s. 6d. Napier's (Admiral) Account of the War in Portugal. 2 vols. post 8vo. 21s. Chevy Chase. Illustrated with plates. roy. 4to. 21s. Six Months of a Newfoundland Missionary's Journal, by Archdeacon Wix. Second edition. fc. 4s. 6d. Tales of a Rambler. Post 8vo. plates. 10s. 6d. Public and Private Life of the Antient Greeks, by H. Hase, translated from the German. fc. 5s. 6d. My Confessions to Silvio Pellico. 8vo. 15s. Burn's Justice of the Peace, by D'Oyly and Williams. New edition. 5 vols. 8vo. 61. 6s. Lardner on the Steam Engine. Sixth edition. 7s. 6d. Taylor's Catechism of the Currency and Exchanges. fc. 4s. Berkeley Castle, an Historical Romance, by the Hon. G. F. Berkeley. 3 vols. post 8vo. 31s. 6d. Chateaubriand's Sketches of English Literature. 2 vols. 8vo. 24s. D'Athanasi's Researches and Discoveries in Under Egypt. 8vo. 12s. August 1836.-VOL. XVI.—NO. LXIV. Carême's French Cookery; translated by W. Hall. 8vo. 21s. The Training System. By David Stow. 12mo. 3s. Pocket Guide to the Picturesque Scenery of Scotland. 32mo. 2s. 6d. The Rambler in Mexico. Post 8vo. 9s. Rattlin, the Reefer. Edited by Captain Marryat. 3 vols. post 8vo. 31s. 6d. Anthon's Sallust. 12mo. seventh edit. 5s. Grotius de Veritate, with English Notes, by Valpy. 12mo. 6s. Hall's Tables of Land Measure. 8vo. 4s. A Manual of the Political Antiquities of Greece. From the German of T. Hermann. 8vo. 15s. Encyclopædia Metropolitana; second division, Mixed Sciences, Vol. VI. '(Manufactures and Machinery.) 87 plates, 4to. 3l. 6s. The Meadow Queen; or the Young Botanists. 18mo. 2s. 6d. Gregory's Legacy, and Economy of Human Life. 32mo. new edit. 1s. 6d. Mr. Owen's New Work. The first part of the Book of the New Moral World, containing the Moral Science of Man. By Robert Owen. LITERARY NEWS.-WORKS IN PROGRESS. The admirers of "Peter Simple" and "Jacob Faithful" will be gratified to learn that Captain Marryat has just completed a new novel, to be entitled, "MR. MIDSHIPMAN EASY" some idea of its drollery and humour may be formed from the specimen in the pages of our present number. MR. CHORLEY'S MEMORIALS OF MRS. HEMANS may be expected in the course of the present month; he has had access to a large collection of her delightful letters, and, consequently, a most interesting biography may be looked for. Among the entertaining books of travels published during the last month may be mentioned "MADRID IN 1835," and Sir Grenville Temple's TRAVELS IN GREECE AND TURKEY. Prince Lucien Bonaparte is carefully superintending the printing of his own "MEMOIRS," editions of which will appear simultaneously in England, France, and America. The "TALES OF THE WOODS AND FIELDS" appears to be the favourite work of fiction published during the present season. The Language of Flowers, and the Book of Flowers. Perhaps a greater proof could not be given of the increasing taste for everything connected with botanical pursuits than the extraordinary sale of these two elegant little works. We observe that one of them has reached a fifth edition, and a large impression of the other is nearly exhausted, within a very short period from its publication. Such works must tend materially to promote a love for flowers and the flower-garden. Mr. Osler, author of "The Life of Admiral Lord Exmouth," has in the press a work, entitled, The Church and Dissent considered in their Practical Influence. It describes the system of each, and traces their operation upon individuals, society, the nation, and religion. The Oakleigh Shooting Code. By Thomas Oakleigh, Esq., will, it is announced, appear simultaneously with the sporting season. Divine Inspiration, by the Rev. Dr. Henderson, being the Congregational Lecture for 1836. Twenty Select Discourses on the Grand Subjects of the Gospel, chiefly designed for Villages and Families. By W. Oram, Wallingford. Mr. John Weale, Architectural Library, will publish a Supplementary Part to the original Edition of Stuart's Athens, containing the very curious Plate wanting in the Second Volume of all the copies extant, together with several other plates, from Drawings by Sir J. L. Chantrey, &c. NEW MUSIC. Once more, Good Night. Serenade for one or two Voices. Words and Music by Miss L. H. SHERIDAN. My very Particular Friend. Words and Music by Miss L. H. SHE RIDAN. O give me New Partners. The Almack's Comic Song. By Miss L. H. SHERIDAN. In criticising a lady's performances, it is always a very difficult task with us to dismiss all feelings of gallantry from the question. We believe we have done so, however, in the case of the songs before us: and our good friends, the public, may depend upon us when we state our high approval of Miss Sheridan's musical bouquet. The first of the group is in that quiet, plaintive style, which will recommend it to the singer of feeling: and wherever such singer takes it up, we predict an audience approving and delighted. The other two are, as their words indicate, of a blithesome nature. They are just the songs to dissipate the sadness, (for sadness, however pleasing, must be dis sipated from the human heart,) that the serenade may have occasioned. The whole have this high recommendation, that they are neither abstruse nor difficult. The Handsome Man. By JOHN FRANCIS, Author of "They Don't Propose," &c. The song before us is humorously penned, and possesses considerable playfulness. The music is also lively and spirited, and worthy the lithographic portrait of the "Handsome Man par excellence, which is on the title-page. FINE ARTS. Outlines to Shakspeare's Tempest. A Series of Twelve Plates, with the text in English, German, French and Italian. For things so purely imaginative as are the creations of Goëthe and Shakspeare, we have always thought that they are best graphically illustrated by mere outlines, and we believe this opinion of ours to be very general. Undoubtedly there is both a metaphysical and a philosophical reason for this preference over the filled in, shadowed, and colour-finished drawing; and undoubtedly, also, such reason we could give, but this is not the place: suffice it to say, that so it is. Let us now say a few words upon the plates before us. We are sure that they will prove dear to all true lovers of the fine arts. In their designs they leave us nothing to wish for. Some of the lines, certainly, are not sufficiently clearly cut, the stronger ones the more especially, and the countenance of Miranda does not fill up our idea of the innocent beauty which Shakspeare drew. All the supernatural beings are exquisite, and the grotesque figures and faces of the subordinates are exactly what they ought to be. We have no room in these our brief notices to go into the detail of each plate. The whole publication is a treasure, and as such should be equally sought for and preserved. Switzerland, by WILLIAM BEATTIE, M.D., Graduate of the University of Edinburgh, Member of the Royal College of Physicians of London, &c. &c. Illustrated in a series of Views, tuken expressly for this Work, by W. H. BARTLEtt, Esq. We have received the three concluding numbers of this work, so honourable to all parties who have been engaged upon it. We know, from actual experience, that it binds up beautifully; and a better or more beautiful commentary on Switzerland does not, and, we think, never will exist. The letter-press should be stereotyped, to supply the never-ceasing demand that we confidently expect for this work. Talent so various as that which produced this Switzerland must not remain unemployed. We, therefore, confidently expect that the world will again speedily be delighted with an undertaking similar to the one that we have noticed as having been so successfully completed. THE DRAMA. It appears to be the general opinion that the drama is at a low ebb. The theatre, doubtless, is not what it once was; but neither is it in so distressed and so deplorable a condition as is almost universally imagined. The belief in the decay of the stage is by no means new; it has been propagated at intervals for the last two hundred years; and belief oftentimes obtains additional force from a disposition in the human mind to receive greater pleasure from the recollection of past gratifications than from present enjoyments. Betterton thought the stage at the height of perfection in the reign of Charles the Second and James the Second, when under the management of Sir W. D'Avenant; sometime after the revolution, when in retirement, the aged veteran complains of its decline, and attributes the cause to the long continuance of the war, and the defects of the stage itself: but the representative of a hundred characters, all worthy of his genius, when he made this remark, was upwards of seventy years of age, and in despite of the criticisms in the " Spectator," we imagine the opinion of Betterton originated from the retrospection of his youthful honours more than the actual state of the drama. When Dr. Chauncey complained that Garrick in his latter days got to play harlequin tricks, and was quite different from what he was when he came out at Goodman's Fields, when he surprised the town as Richard, as if he had dropped from the clouds; probably, there was a greater change in the feelings and perceptive powers of the doctor than in the acting of his friend. Mrs. Siddons used to receive the admiration and enthusiasm of those who had only seen her latter performance coldly, often remarking, “You have seen me only in Lady Macbeth, and Queen Katharine, and Belvidera, and Jane Shore; you should have seen me when I played these characters alternately with Juliet, and Desdemora, and Calista, and the Mourning Bride, night after night, when I first came from Bath :" and this from the woman of whom Lord Byron, and he only saw her in her declining days, said that Lady Macbeth died when she left the stage. There is, however, much to grieve at in the present condition of the national theatre. To seek the causes of that condition for the purposes of vituperation, or to avenge personal injuries, real or supposed, is idle, nay, even has a tendency to depress still more the drama; indeed, the inquiry is worthless, unless it be with the view, at the same time, of discovering the means of resuscitation. Some of the most energetic supporters of the theatre despair of ever seeing it occupy the place it ought in public estimation unless aided by pecuniary resources from Government. We readily admit the drama to be a proper object for a parliamentary grant, considering it as a medium of instruction and morality; yet past history shows us that such an aid is not indispensable-the theatre saw its best and proudest days unassisted by such means, and there is no reason why it should not again. A great fault in the management of the two large houses has been, that a spirit of opposition to each other has always, more or less, actuated the managers→→ the ruin of an opponent is not necessary to success. There is no assignable reason why the different departments of theatrical amusements should not be divided: the one house performing tragedy, the ballet, and pantomime; the other taking comedy, opera, and vaudeville; by this means the necessity of keeping the present enormous establishments would be avoided: the expenses now are ruinous. There is a complaint that the lessees of these houses are men of little or no property: why who with fortune and sanity would take either, when even with "overflowing" audiences, the expenses are barely satisfied ?-the natural consequences of the present system of management is, that they must fall into the hands of speculators. Again, the prices of admission have during the last twenty years been too high; the alteration which has taken place in the value of money, and the diminished means of the people, demand that they should be reduced, while the lower rates of the minor theatres make |