subdued him. It was agreed that he should seek me that night and learn my choice; the next night was the one on which the deed was to be done. We parted; I returned an altered man to my home. Fate had woven her mesh around me; a new incident had occurred, which strengthened the web: there was a poor girl whom I had been accustomed to see in my walks; she supported her family by her dexterity in making lace; a quiet, patient-looking, gentle creature. Clarke had, a few days since, under pretence of purchasing lace, decoyed her to his house, (when all but himself were from home,) where he used the most brutal violence towards her. The extreme poverty of the parents had enabled him easily to persuade them to hush up the matter, but something of the story got abroad; the poor girl was marked out for that gossip and scandal which, among the very lowest classes, are as coarse in the expression as malignant in the sentiment; and in the paroxysm of shame and despair, the unfortunate girl had that day destroyed herself. This melancholy event wrung forth from the parents the real story: the event and the story reached my ears in the very hour in which my mind was wavering to and fro. Can you wonder that they fixed it at once, and to a dread end? What was this wretch? Aged with vice, forestalling time, tottering on to a dishonoured grave, soiling all that he touched on his way, with grey hairs and filthy lewdness, the rottenness of the heart, not its passion, a nuisance and a curse to the world. What was the deed, that I should rid the earth of a thing at once base and venomous? Was it a crime? Was it justice? Within myself I felt the will, the spirit that might bless mankind. I lacked the means to accomplish the will and wing the spirit. One deed supplied me with the means. Had the victim of that deed been a man moderately good, pursuing with even steps the narrow line between vice and virtue-blessing none but offending none-it might have been yet a question whether mankind would not gain more by the deed than lose. But here was one whose steps stumbled on no good act, whose heart beat to no generous emotion; there was a blot, a foulness on creation, nothing but death could wash it out, and leave the world fair. The soldier receives his pay, and murthers, and sleeps sound, and men applaud. But you say he smites not for pay, but glory. Granted, though a sophism. But was there no glory to be gained in fields more magnificent than those of war-no glory to be gained in the knowledge which saves and not destroys? Was I not about to strike for that glory, for the means of earning it? Nay, suppose the soldier struck for patriotism, a better feeling than glory, would not my motive be yet larger than patriotism? Did it not body forth a broader circle? Could the world stop the bound of its utilities? Was there a corner of the earth-was there a period in time, which an ardent soul, free from, not chained as now, by the cares of the body, and given wholly up to wisdom, might not pierce, vivify, illumine? Such were the questions which I asked :-time only answered them."Eugene Aram, vol. iii. pp. 245-253. We have been much disappointed, and so will every reader who takes up The Invasion,' on finding that it is a most unfortunate attempt to sketch society, such as it existed in England, Ireland, and the north of Europe, in the time of Charlemagne. The invasion here spoken of, is one of the numerous incursions made by the Normans upon the Irish coast; and it seems that the main object of the work is to give a synopsis of the early constitution, and of the moral history, of Ireland, as well as to trace to their remotest origin, some of the influences which have concurred in the formation of the national character. Now we do not mean to say that these are purposes which a novelist should carefully avoid, or that he might not, if he treated his topics with adequate skill, lift the curtain of the past, and render even the antiquities of Ireland interesting in these our novel-reading days. But it appears to us, with great deference, that he has rendered those antiquities a hundred fold more repulsive than ever, by the affectd style, the unpronouncable names, the peculiarity of spelling, and the incomprehensible terms which he uses throughout his four tedious volumes. We require a glossary at every line; for how, without such assistance, could we understand what is meant by 'the Rath,'' galloglachs,'' kerne,' the 'Ollamhs,' the canabhas,' the saorba,' the Griananna Minghean,' the armilla.' Where is the region of Noatun?' Where is Dalia?' What map or gazetteer will inform us where Rath-Aidan' lies? What biographical dictionary will disclose the birth and parentage of Fighnin,' of O'Haedha" of Tuathal,' of Meldia,' of Singing-Neck?' ' ' Who the deuce is Fion Mac Comhall,' all the way from Fiontragha?' What can we do with such names as Seadhna Jonna ruidh,' Eochaidh Uarcheas,' and of Fearaidhack?' It is as bad as Irving's unknown tongues. The chief merit of Quintus Servinton' will be found, we fear, in its being the first work of fiction that has been printed and published in Van Diemen's Land. The author, indeed, assures us that it is no fiction, but that its characters and incidents are taken from real life. We looked through it with some interest, under the expectation that the real life here mentioned, would be that of the Colony, which has made such rapid strides in the career of prosperity. But we soon found that the tale was written in and of England, on the way to Van Diemen's land, and that it is in every respect a very mediocre affair. NOTICES. ART. XII.-1. The Works of Lord kind of era in our literature, as well as in the progress of our fine arts. The style in which the first volume of Lord Byron's life is printed is so beautiful, the matter is so attractive, and the price of the book so moderate, that even without any illustrations it must have commanded a very extensive sale. But when to these attractions are added a print of the noble poet, and perhaps the most exquisite vignette that ever appeared in any publica tion, both from the burin of Finden, we cannot doubt that Mr. Murray's laudable enterprise will be crowned with unprecedented success. This, however, is not all. We have before us two copies of the first part of the Landscape Illustrations, which the same artist has engraved for this publication. One of the copies is plain and contains four landscapes-Lachin-y-gair in the highlands of Scotland, Lisbon, Yanina, and Corinth, and a portrait of the Maid of Athens, which five prints are sold for the sum total of 2s. 6d. The copy of India Proofs contains, in addition to these, the portrait of Lord Byron and the Vignette, and is sold for 7s. 6d. Now we should say, that any one of the plates in the plain copy is worth double the sum charged for the whole, and that the price affixed to the whole of the India proofs, ought not to be deemed too much for any one of them. The Maid of Athens, considering the beauty and true Greek style of the countenance, and the perfection of the engraving, is a matchless performance. The portrait of Lord Byron is the least pleasing of all the illustrations we have yet seen. It has a smirking air, which is inconsistent with the truly classic taste displayed in every other department of this splendid undertaking. It seems almost like giving away for nothing, volumes so elegantly printed, and illustrations so perfectly finished, at such very low prices. But Mr. Murray is well aware that he has adopted the only plan that can secure the work a large circulation; upon that his reward depends, and we sincerely hope, and indeed feel confident, that it will be as ample as his liberality deserves. ART. XIII.-The Standard Novels, Nos. X. and XI. London: Colburn and Co. 1832. ART. XIV.-Narrative of Discovery and Adventure in the Polar Seas and Regions, &c. (Edinburgh Cabinet Library). By Sir John Leslie, K. R. G., Robert Jamieson, Esq. F. R. S. E., &c. and Hugh Murray, Esq. Third edition revised. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1832. We are happy to find that a meritorious undertaking of which this neat volume is one of the emanations, is making that rapid progress to success that is so unequivocally demonstrated by the demand for a third edition. The contents of the work before us have already passed before our critical observation-and if we had reason on the former occasion when speaking of its merits, to confer upon it the tribute of our eulogy, we have still more powerful motives now for praising it, on account of the ample corrections and the addition of new and instructive matter which we find it to possess in its present form. Amongst the novelties which distinguish the third edition from its predecessor, may be mentioned several notes which further illustrate the text. A defence of the authors of the work is likewise given to the charges which have been made against them by the writer of a recent work, en titled Memoirs of Sebastian Cabot. That portion of the volume which is devoted to an account of the Northern Whale Fishery, is considerably extended by an incorporation into the text of a highly interesting narrative, which describes the preservation of a part of the crew belonging to the John, of Greenock, and their wintering in a Danish colony called Operniwick. The men were received in the most hospitable manner by the governor of the place, which is situated on a bleak and solitary shore of Baffin's Bay. They remained there for eight months, and were chiefly employed in assisting the inhabitants in the daily labour of catching seals. The only other novelty of consequence which is to be found in this edition, is the account of the whale expedition of the season of 1831. It appears that that season yielded a produce of oil more than double the amount of that of the disastrous year before it-but yet that it was not equal to half the produce of 1829, which latter was by no means equal to the average of the two preceding years. ART. XV. The Cabinet Cyclopædia. Lives of the most Eminent British Military Commanders. By the Rev. G. R. Gleig. Vol. I. London: Longman and Co. 1832. THIS is a portion of Dr. Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia, which only requires the same care and caution as to selection and execution which we observed in the preceding volumes, to render it not merely interesting but highly instructive. Whatever view we may take of the morality of national wars with respect to the future, no one will deny that the history of past battles is a subject of study which deserves the most serious attention. Great ingenuity is displayed, and great utility will be secured by the plan of this work, which proceeds upon the principle of rendering biography subservient to the great ends of historical description. Sir Walter Manny, for instance, is, in every respect, a faithful representative of the military commanders of this country, who flourished in the age of chivalry; whilst the military spirit of the age of Elizabeth is seen embodied in the person of Sir Francis de Vere. Oliver Cromwell, in his capacity of a general, is next depicted in all the glowing colours of which his military heroism and conduct are so well de serving; and the volume closes with an admirable account of the meteor career of the hero of Blenheim. but also a lecturer (!) on geometry, abstruse geology, and similar themes. He is, moreover, an optimist of the purest water, and positively believes that the way to eternal life is only to be attained by means of mechanic institutions, "enlightening the people," and cheap knowledge. He tells us that he has reaped an intellectual harvest in attending to the dictates of nature; and that he has carried, with unbounded success, the inductions of the lecture-room into practical effects in the fields. His studies have enabled him to explain some anomalies in agricultural pursuits; and to his discoveries in such matters, he invites the attention of those ambitious farmers who, in these evil times, wish to taste of the delights of the agricultural millenium ; during which, our author declares, that, through his exertions, the farmer and his landlord will be enriched, the condition of the labourer improved, poor land made for ever fertile, and labour always plentiful. Such are the promises which are held forth by the lecturer on Geometry and Geology, and the practical farmer to boot, who, in his social capacity, has the honour of discharging the responsible duties of surveyor and auctioneer, and keeps, besides, the Kent Fire Office in the renowned territory of Lewisham. ART. XVIII.- The Elements of Chemistry explained and illustrated.-Part the First. Attraction-Heat-Light-Electricity. London. John Murray. 1832. THIS small volume is a very fa vourable specimen of the progress which the art of simplification is now making in every department of knowledge that can possibly engage the minds of the public. The subjects of attraction, heat, light, and electricity, which it is scarcely to add, form the foundations of chemical science, are treated by the author in a manner so clear, so free from technicalities, so perfectly intelligible to persons the least acquainted with the subject, that we look to the work, in its complete form, as a certain means of diffusing, more extensively than ever, a taste for the truly interesting science of chemistry. AT. XIX.-Nights of the Round Table: or, Stories of Annt Jane and her Friends. First Series. Edinburgh. Oliver and Boyd. 1832. : IN the Nights of the Round Table we have the first of a Series of tales and conversations, partly founded on facts, and partly fictitious, which are very well calculated for the recreation of young of persons who have passed the age childhood. The narratives are very well executed stories of grave and gay succeed each other in pleasing alternation-and over the whole is thrown that charm of graceful simplicity in which we at once recognize the instinctive power of the female heart. The next series will contain, we are informed, authentic particulars of the lives of two eminent living persons, under the title of the Two Scottish Williams. |