Page images
PDF
EPUB

LITERARY REPORT.

My Life, by the Author of "Stories of Waterloo," &c. 3 vols. 8vo. London : Bentley.

WE do not often notice novels, but are induced for once to break a custom, by the consideration that these volumes are likely to make their way more generally than the great majority of their class, and that the mischief they are calculated to do is proportionably more extended in its effects. In the narrative, or rather narratives, which they contain, the author has unquestionably exhibited great liveliness, considerable humour, and a graphic power of description, which we could well have wished to see more worthily employed, than in gilding the exploits of a couple of scoundrels, one of whom, at least, it is evidently his intention to hold up as the portrait of a finished Irish gentleman. The first volume, (by far the best of the three,) is merely introductory to the "life" of the hero, inasmuch as it is devoted to the history of that hero's father, and ends with his own introduction into the world. The two last contain his career from his first start in life as an ensign in the Irish militia, to his marriage and succession to a splendid fortune, while the adventures of a mad-brained cousin, who equally with himself rejoices in the name of John Blake, form a sort of running accompaniment to his own. This cousin it is, manifestly a great favourite with his author, to whom we principally object. He is held up as a fine, gay, volatile, unthinking rattle, whose faults are those of the head only, and as possessing what is called an excellent heart. In reality a more disgusting compound of selfishness, profligacy, heartlessness, ingratitude, meanness, hypocrisy, low debauchery, and total want of principle, has seldom been portrayed than in this same character of "Jack the Devil," a sobriquet, which is of course only to be considered as an additional feather in his cap. While most sentimentally in love with one lady, (an heiress of course,) whom he eventually persuades to elope with him, he is perpetually indulging in all sorts of low

amours, the credit of some of which, favoured by the similarity of name, he contrives to transfer to the cousin, who trusts and assists him; a ruined gamester, involving still more deeply the father whom he is professedly endeavouring to extricate from his difficulties, ever ready to murder his friend in an honourable way, or a bailiff in any way, he is yet, of course, "no one's enemy but his own." His friend and relation, if not so deeply stained with the odious vices of his cousin, is almost as selfish, and with respect to his liaisons, quite as unprincipled; yet these are the personages to be introduced to our youth of both sexes, as models for the admiration of the one, and the imitation of the other! It is idle to say that the author is merely painting life as it is, and not recommending the adoption of the vices he delineates; if he does not applaud, he no where reprobates, or discountenances them, while he takes care in conclusion to confer on their perpetrators the usual rewards of wealth and connubial felicity, which constantly await the gracioso of a modern novel. That the book is cleverly written we do not deny: had it not been so we had not noticed it; but we do most strongly protest against its pernicious tendency. The latter part of the story appears to have been compounded of a fictitious adventure in Pelham, and the real one of Mr. Gill, in the neighbourhood of the Commercial-road, which caused such a sensation in the metropolis some months since; it is not badly told, though there are occasional marks of carelessness, and even of ignorance, which we should not have expected in so practised a writer. It needs not, for instance, that a man be a lapidary, to know that a "rose-diamond" is rarely purchased for its superiority over the brilliant, or a herald to discover that courtesy does not extend the title of lord' to an earl's younger sons, while every attorney's clerk in the kingdom could have told the author that the possession of "a rotten borough" is not, nor ever has been,

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

necessary to protect a peer" from arrest. The calling a man "Sir Edward" in one page, and "Sir Henry" in another, with a transformation of the "Harriette Kirvan" of the first volume into the "Henrietta Kinvan" of the third, are mere lapses of memory scarcely worth noticing among so many graver objections; we shall therefore close this brief notice with the expression of our hope, that when the author next exercises his talents, for the amusement of idlers, he will at least bestow on those characters, for whom he would excite an interest, some better recommendation than mere animal spirits, and that recklessness of consequences, and even of life itself, which the better feelings of the civilized portion of mankind have long since repudiated as the test of real courage.

Christian Freedom, chiefly taken from Bolton's "True Bounds." By the Author of "Three Years in Italy,"

[ocr errors]

Georgiana and her Father,"

"A Sister's Stories." London: Seeleys, 1835. Pp. xvi. 175.

We do not see the exact utility of this resuscitation of the dead. If poor old Bolton could really see himself in the new fashioned dress of the nineteenth century, he would not thank our “author," perhaps, for this clipping and changing, and docking and patching of his quaint and eloquent "redundancies." But as this edition is to undeceive the elect," and to "hinder the malignant purpose of the enemy," (p.vii.) we wish the book success, though we cannot say much for the taste of the editor, if we are to judge by the preface, which is as rambling and odd as any thing in the theology of 1645.

The books of which the editor is guilty, must, we suppose, be equally edifying, but we never heard of them, except in the title page of this.

Six Plain Sermons on the Sabbath. By the Rev. JOSEPH B. OWEN, B.A. of St. John's College, Cambridge, and Minister of Walsall Wood, Stafford. London: Westley & Davis. 1835. Pp. viii 171.

WE cordially recommend this volume to our friends: the difficulties of the

subject are satisfactorily solved, and the practical exhortations ably enforced. These sermons read or preached cannot but do good. The volume itself is modest, neat, and unpretending: we hope it will find its way to many a library.

Rhymes for my Children. By a

MOTHER. London: Smith & Elder. 1835.

WE are glad to notice this pleasing and useful book, in which both amusement and desirable impressions for the youthful mind are happily blended.

It contains several judiciously written moral stories in verse, which, from the simplicity of their language and easy style, deserve to be commended. These are illustrated by very neatly executed wood-cuts, and we doubt not the little work will be

approved by parents, and afford much gratification to children.

The Communicant's Companion; or Instructions for the right receiving of the Lord's Supper. By the Rev. MATTHEW HENRY. A New Edition, carefully revised. London: Henry Washbourne. 1835. Pp. vi. 265. ALL that read and admire the writings of Matthew Henry, will be pleased to know that this treatise is republished in a cheap and convenient form, in a clear type and on good paper; but it will scarcely suit aged eyes.

Nine Sermons on the Lord's Prayer, intended for Young Children of all Classes. By a MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. London: Hatchards. 1835. Pp. 72. GOOD;-but for distribution as rewards in Sunday schools, we could have wished the charge had been under eighteen-pence.

History of the Reformed Religion in France. By the Rev. EDWARD SMEDLEY, M.A. late Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. London: Rivingtons.. 1834. 8vo. Pp. viii. 350. [Theological Library, Vol. VIII.] We have already reviewed the two previous volumes of this excellent

work at considerable length; and, although we pass over the conclusion of it in a more cursory manner, it is not because we think less highly either of its execution or its contents. The scenes it exhibits are less stirring, perhaps, but not less marked by the accurate and energetic descriptions of the historian; and the narrative is occupied with details, brought together with the most diligent research and judicious investigation, from a variety of sources, not readily accessible to the ordinary inquirer. Mr. Smedley has indeed performed his task throughout with peculiar ability; and we have to thank him for a work which has long been a desideratum, not only in our own, but in any other language. The concluding chapter, which comprises a rapid survey of the state of the Huguenots, from the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, involves some considerations which apply with considerable force to the prospect of England at the present crisis. It is to be hoped that the lesson it conveys may not be thrown

away.

History of the Church in Scotland. By the Rev. MICHAEL RUSSELL, LL.D. Author of the Connexion of Sacred and Profane History, &c. In Two Volumes. London: Rivingtons. 1834-5. Pp. xii. 379. [Theological Library, Vols. IX. & X.]

HERE we have another valuable accession to our church history; and Episcopacy has not only found a warm supporter in Dr. Russell, but one who grounds his support upon the solid and irrefragable basis of historical truth: it is this subject, indeed, which forms the characteristic feature of the work. Some of the discussions may seem, perhaps, somewhat out of place in a professed narrative of events; but the very existence of the Church in Scotland is so connected with these questions, that they could scarcely be spared without detracting from the utility of the undertaking. While volumes of standard merit, such as these, and Mr. Smedley's, are added to the series, the Theological Library cannot fail to be received with increasing favour both by the general reader and the divine.

The History of Greece. By THOMAS KEIGHTLEY, Author of the "Mythology of Greece and Italy," &c. &c. London: Longman & Co. 1835. 8vo. Pp. xiv. 471.

IN the compilation of this work, Mr. Keightley has drawn chiefly from the original sources, at the same time that he has not disregarded the labours of the principal modern authors; among whom may be specially mentioned, Muller, Heeren, and Böckh. His history is adapted to the higher classes of students, and is a very different thing from the abridgments which are commonly used in schools. We are glad to hear that the author is occupied with a History of Rome, upon a similar plan; for, though merely an epitome, the work before us exhibits a depth of research, and an impartial view of motives and events, which cannot fail to render the study of ancient history equally interesting and important.

Works on Episcopacy. Vol. I. containing the First Series of Bowden's Letters to Dr. Miller; with a Preface by the Rt. Rev. Benjamin T. Onderdonk, D.D. Vol. II. containing the Second Series of Dr. Bowden's Letters to Dr. Miller; Dr. Cooke's Essay on the Invalidity of Presbyterian Ordination; and Episcopacy tested by Scripture, by the Rt. Rev. Henry U. Onderdonk, D.D. New York: Protestant Episcopal Press, 1831. 2 vols.

12mo.

WE are informed in the Preface, that the republication of the works of Drs. Bowden and Cooke was suggested by the appearance of a new edition of the Rev. Dr. Miller's "Letters concerning the Constitution and Order of the Christian Ministry," which had occasioned the strictures of the above-named authors. As these "Letters" of Dr. Miller are on the point of being published in London, we think it our duty, as "christian remembrancers," to inform our readers, that the false quotations, misrepresentations, and wilful omissions of evidence, which made against the Presbyterian divine, are most thoroughly exposed by the Rev.

[blocks in formation]

"Bread of the First-fruits," (2 Kings iv. 22;) or Short Meditations on Select Passages of Scripture, for every day in the Year." With a Preface, by the Author of "The Week. London: Seeleys, &c. 1835. Pp. iv. 366.

THE quotation whence this title comes is from 2 Kings. iv. 42; not iv. 22.

The contents of the volume are such as a husband might daily lay upon his wife's dressing table, to their mutual edification, (see Preface, p. iii); but we regret, that when these morning Meditations were committed to the press, the editor did not consider that it would be advisable to remove all ambiguity of language, and employ expressions not liable to misinterpretation. the meditation under the date of July 19, we find the following quaint expression:-"Having our heart established with grace, and not with meats, (or the doctrine of frames.") None but a carver and gilder can understand this. The word " legality"

In

is also introduced in a way which it ought not,-" All fear arises from legality," (May 16.) If this were put, all fear arises from laufulness, we should see the bad use of the expression.

Again,-"The difference betwixt a believer and an infidel, consists not so much in the things done, as in the spirit in which they are done." (Aug. 4.) Is this a christian use of the term infidel?

These, however, are surface spots, and not inward corruptions. The book is a good book, and may do

good. If revised carefully, we would earnestly recommend it. The meditation on Is. lix. 1, (under March 28,) is admirable; it is, to use its first words, "true, both politically and personally." "We have still a few who know that the Lord reigneth, and who appeal unto him to decide the controversy, between those that are opposed to all change, and those who like nothing but change." (P. 88.) It is evident from this, and other allusions, that the meditations arose from the public events of the day, or the private circumstances of the author's family.

The Claims of Dissenters considered: an Address to the inhabitants of Redenhall, with Harleston and Wortwell, Norfolk. By the Rev. T. SEWELL, M.A. Curate of that Parish. Norwich: Stacy. London: Longman. 1835. Pp. 36.

WE have had much pleasure in reading this able pamphlet. The Dissenter's claims are closely examined, and many of them well refuted. But our author seems disposed to concede more, than with our knowledge of dissent and Dissenters, we should ever be disposed to grant. Be sure that dissent will never be won by concession. If, therefore, that is to be the condition, the farther off they are kept the better. Witness the union of Churchmen and Dissenters in the Bible Society; and the use the latter have made of it. Dissent is still dissent, whether in William Howitt, or Dr. Pye Smith.

The pamphlet is well written, and in a good spirit.

An Essay on the Credibility of Swedenborg; in which his Claims as the Announcer of the Dispensation, mentioned in Prophecy, under the Figure of the New Jerusalem, are briefly considered and defended. Second Edition. London: Hodson. 1835. Pp. vi. 106.

WE are always willing to make allowance for errors of judgment, and the mistakes of conscientious men, however they may differ in their views from ourselves; but if the arguments adduced by this writer, in favour of

Swedenborg's credibility, be held valid, we do not see why the ghost-seer mentioned in Glanvil's Saducismus Triumphatus might not justly have disputed Swedenborg's claim to the founder of a new church. As to the doctrines held by that person, it is certain that he denied the personality of the Trinity, and that he ridiculed the idea of God forgiving the sins of man in consideration of the sufferings and atonement of Christ. (P. 93.) If, then, these be scriptural doctrines, we think we have only to state as much, in order to refute the argument of the Essayist. In one part he observes, that "it is somewhat unaccountable, that Christians have a reliance on the affirmations of St. John, St. Paul, and many others, mentioned in the Scriptures, to their communication with the spiritual world, while they reject those of Swedenborg; though there is at least as much evidence in the one case as there is in the others." (P. 76.) If we coincided in this opinion, we should begin to think that we were as deranged as poor Swedenborg, and we fear some of his followers.

Pulpit Recollections, being Notes of Lectures on the Book of Jonah, delivered at St. James's Episcopal Chapel, Ryde, with a new translation, by the Rev. R. WALDO SIBTHORP, B.D. Minister of the Chapel, and Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. Second Edition. London: Seeley and Co. 1835. Pp. 99. THIS is a pleasant little work enough, adapted by its exterior to be a companion to sacramental and devotional treatises. It is a practical and sound exposition of the portion of Scripture of which it treats. The "new translation" is a pompous announcement of a rifaccimenot of the old, and in our judgment, no improvement on our venerable version. In some cases the marginal interpretation is taken; in others, the alteration is merely wanton; in others, decidedly bad: thus in

[ocr errors]

dered, "cry the denunciation; " where the exact sense is given in our version. The original word Jehovah is retained

[ocr errors]

throughout; but, for the most part, the "new translation presents an exact verbal agreement with the old. We do not like the little "Pulpit Recollections;" it always gives us the idea of the looseness and incoherence incident to extemporaneous preaching.

Plain Sermons, preached in the Parish Church of Hampton, Middlesex. By the Rev. H. F. Sidebottom, M.A. London Rivingtons.

1835.

Seven plain and sensible discourses on important texts.

A Guide to the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. By the Rev. G. R. GLEIG, M.A., Chaplain to the Royal Hospital at Chelsea. London: Rivingtons. 1835. Pp. viii. 164. AN admirable little manual. The points discussed are not novel, (for what novelty can there be in them?) but the manner in which they are discussed, is neither quaint nor antiquated in language or allusion. The arguments are simply and forcibly maintained; the deductions are rational; and the prayers interspersed, are from such writers as Tillotson, Hall, Jeremy Taylor, Johnson, &c. We agree with Mr. Gleig, that, "on such a subject as the Lord's Supper," [rational and scriptural, "guides and helps calculated to lead men to the altar, can scarcely be too much accumulated.” We think this one of them.

IN THE PRESS.

Chronological Charts, illustrative of Ancient History and Geography. By JOHN DREW.

Lectures on Moral Philosophy. By R. D. HAMPDEN, D.D. Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Oxford.

Letters on the Philosophy of Unbelief. By the Rev. JAMES WILLS.

A Volume of Sermons, adapted to the Mechanical and Agricultural Population. By E. W. CLARKE, Rector of Great Yeldham, Essex.

Statement of the Provision for the Poor, and the Condition of the Labouring Classes, in a considerable portion of America and Europe. By NASSAU W. SENIOR, Esq. Being the Preface to the Foreign Communications contained in the Appendix to the Poor Law Report.

« PreviousContinue »