gross an attribute as mere humour. We feel in them the point of the epigram; but it is a point that titillates, but does not sting. But all our notice must not be panegyric. We think Mr. Landor great and incomparable only in his prose. When we come to his versification, to his rhymes, we seem to be listening to a faint echo of his music, and that a faithless one; and echoes, like every thing else feminine, can be faithless. Even some of his verses have surprised us. We cannot think them genuine; but must suppose that they have been interpolated by some officious and too ambitious friend, who wishes to see his nonsense swim down the stream of reputation, buoyed up by matter so beautiful. Many of these we can compare to nothing so well as dried leaves floating on the coronal of flowers that Mr. Landor has cast upon the waters, that will not prove oblivion to him. But the reader is not to suppose that these strictures apply to all the lyrical parts of this intellectual work, or even to the greater part of them; and, to prove that we rejoice much more in finding cause for commendation than of censure, we will, though contrary to the rule of these our short notices to quote, extract the following delicious little epigram. It is put in the mouth of the little Agläe, and addressed to her father, on her statue being called like her.

Father! the little girl we see

Is not, I fancy, so like me . . . .
You never hold her on your knee.
When she came home the other day
You kist her, but I cannot say

She kist you first, and ran away.

We have before said that we will obstinately shut our eyes to the political bias of the work; but we wish to make one animadversion, not because we think the offence that calls it forth a violation of sound political principles, but an error in good taste; we allude to the covert attack upon the monuments in Christian churches, and the implied sarcasm upon the Duke of York's statue. Placing such allusions as these in a work of this high description, allusions that the astute author knows will shock one half of his readers, and perhaps displease two-thirds of them, is a Quixotic display of his private principles, that we humbly think mars his production, and appears more unseemly than a mere stain upon the classic and marble trophy that he has chiselled so elegantly, and erected with a magnificence so bold.

Random Recollections of the House of Lords, from the year 1830 to 1836, including Personal Sketches of the leading Members. By the Author of "Random Recollections of the House of Commons." We were not sparing of the approbation that we bestowed upon the vivacious and veracious work from the same author, that preceded the one before us. This, in all good qualities, is fully equal to its predecessor. By his vivid manner of portraying their lordships, he has furnished every reader with a mental picture gallery, in which he has hung them, portraits to the very life. But this is not all-it is not the eye alone that is delighted-we hear them snuffle, and cough, and try to, and sometimes actually, speak. Nor is this all; we observe how this noble lord crosses his noble left leg over his more noble right one, and in what manner the other noble lord, when listening to a debate, beats a tattoo upon the floor of the house with his walking-stick. Now, we really like all these minutiæ, nor would the portraits be complete without them. The author gives us a very graphic delineation of his present majesty, and we feel assured that it is a delineation that will much tend to create loyal feelings in the

bosoms of his subjects towards his august person. There are in these descriptions, many specimens of excellent writing, and much critical disquisition upon the various styles of declamation of the noblemen whom they portray. The entire article upon Lord Brougham is a fine example of this. Upon a review of the whole tenor of the work, we are inclined to say, that the author has done but scant justice to the oratorical powers of their lordships, and this probably arises from his measuring them by some high standard, that exists only in his own over nice imagination. There are as many styles of eloquence as there are of composition, and each has its own perfection; but it is requiring too much, to require contradictory perfections in the style natural to any individual, and we are inclined to think, that could the too fastidious author get this, he would, like Cobbett's farmers, when they prayed for rain, grumble when he got it. The reader will fully comprehend our meaning, when he sees how much the censure predominates over the commendation in almost every article. We have not the pleasure of knowing who is the author of this work, but we suspect that he must, from the richness of his imagination, and the off-hand vivacity of his style, belong to our sister kingdom, that abounds with so much talent, beauty, and misery. There is something that has frequently puzzled us in these sketches-it is, to know when the author really does consider a person old. Thus, speaking of Lord Cottenham, he says, that" His lordship is considerably advanced in life, being in his fifty-fifth year." We are sorry for his lordship, for it is unpleasant to grow old, and still more unpleasant to be told of it; but then, a few pages farther on, we find that the Earl of Ripon "is still in the prime of life, not having exceeded his fifty-fourth year." Of course, we are glad of this, for his lordship's sake, for it is very pleasant to be in the prime of one's life, when we are only one year distant from attaining advanced age; we hope that that one year will last a very long while indeed. We are also informed, that Lord Denman's "language flows from him like a gentle noiseless stream." Many a henpecked husband, who has a lady like Socrates' wife, without having that sage's philosophy, would rejoice much were their uxorious harangues administered to them after this fashion. However, this book must and will be read by every one, and we feel assured that there is scarcely a member of either house of parliament who will not immediately possess himself with a copy. Independently of its present great interest, this work will furnish the future historian with some of his most seductive materials. We conclude by saying, that its impartiality is unquestionable, the talent evinced in producing it great, and that, considering the delicate nature of the subject, it is not only nearly correct, but honest, manly, and almost complete.

The Future Prospects of the British People. By the Author of the "State of the Nation."

We are not prone to notice pamphlets, generally, though we invariably read them, but the one before us treats of matters so important to all classes of Englishmen, that we look upon it, in some measure, as a public duty, to call to it, as far as we can, the general attention. If we are to rest our faith upon the assertions of this undoubtedly clever pamphleteer, and exceedingly patient investigator, we are on the brink of a crisis, that must involve in it the ruin of all classes, and bring on the horrors of anarchy, if we do not speedily have recourse to something, not very unlike Cobbett's equitable adjustment scheme. He maintains that the fundholder is favoured at the expense of all other persons in the state, and that, not only the prosperity, but the actual safety of seventeen millions

of persons is sacrificed, in order to protect, and unduly cherish, the interests of about two hundred and seventy-five thousand persons, who receive the annual dividends of between twenty-seven and twenty-eight millions of money. We have fully stated the author's impressions, but we shall refrain, in this place, from stating our own, any farther than saying, that just, a generous, and a high-spirited nation, whose very existence is sustained by its hitherto unimpeachable public credit, should suffer its privations to be very dreadful indeed, before it sacrificed its principles. If the danger to the state be so very imminent, the author must do his best to make the fundholder think so also; and induce him to sacrifice voluntarily a part, for the preservation of the whole. We know as well as he does, that such an attempt would be visionary, while men, and particularly monied men, are the selfish beings that they are. The fact is, no interest will ever be induced to give up the slightest, the most trivial of its advantages, and if the foretold crisis must come, we must abide it as we may; and the talented author will have the consolation of having foretold it.

The History and Antiquities of the Round Church, at Little Maplestead, Essex, formerly belonging to the Knights Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem; preceded by an Historical Sketch of the Crusades. By WILLIAM WALLER, F.S.A. Architect.

Every thing necessary to be said upon this relic of antiquity, has been well said by the author. His previous abstract of the wars of the Crusades, from the lucid condensation which it displays, is a fine piece of historical writing, and assists the mind, without encumbering it with too much detail, to classify and retain the various and most important features of those mad and memorable warfares. The part of this work strictly applicable to the church, is of no great length, but is very curious. There are but few churches in England built upon the plan of this ancient edifice. It certainly has not an imposing external appearance, and is not such as would excite in us any wish to see it imitated in other sacred structures. But still it should be carefully preserved as a remnant and a memento of long-past times. Mr. Waller, throughout this work, has not only completed his task creditably, but cleverly; and the reader will find much amusement that he might not expect, in a work so purely topographical, as is this history of "the Round Church, at Little Maplestead."

Coins of the Romans relating to Britain, described and illustrated. By JOHN YONGE AKERMAN, F.S.A., Corresponding Member of the Society of Antiquaries in Scotland.

This book ought to gain a great value in the estimation of every Englishman. Without dwelling upon the rich antiquarian lore with which it abounds, it is not a little solacing to our pride to find that Britain was, as a colony, of so much importance to the mistress of the world. Each of these numerous coins that Mr. Akerman has rescued from oblivion, is a larger or lesser light, as well as a corroboration, of history. We wish this little work to be generally diffused throughout the country, for coins are being repeatedly turned up, and this work would most probably immediately designate their age and value, and thus defeat the speculations of the impostor.

Sketches of Germany and the Germans. With a Glance at Poland, Hungary, and Switzerland, in 1834, 1835, and 1836. By an ENGLISHMAN resident in Germany. 2 vols.

Here are two volumes of very interesting matter, told with many agrémens of style, and imbued with the best spirit. They carry upon them the self-evident marks of impartiality, and show that the author has not only powers of describing accurately, but also of discriminating nicely. The adventures strictly personal to himself are not a little amusing, and the various society in which it was his good fortune to mix, has enabled him to give us many faithful portraits of individual character, and not a few interesting anecdotes. The names only of all the principal places that he visited, would swell out this notice to an undue length. We can hardly mention any work which, if properly read, can convey more useful information than do these sketches. They convey to the reader a clear insight of the internal policy of the different German states; and, what is of still more consequence, delineations of the effect their institutions have upon the order, happiness, and prosperity of the different communities. The English merchants and manufacturers will see some cause of alarm in the commercial projects, and the trading domination that Prussia is extending over all the smaller states around her, thus sapping the sources of our strength silently, on the one hand, whilst Russia is more openly extending her military influence, and aiming at territorial aggrandisement, on the other. The description of the general misery of the Poles is heart-rending, and the desolation that stalks through their once magnificent city of Warsaw, is given in a manner that must rouse in every English bosom, the feelings of a generous indignation against the vindictive oppressor, who is, in fact, also becoming the destroyer. Many good and intelligent persons, who are remote from the scenes of Russian devastation, seem callous to the sufferings of the Poles; nay, some few even stigmatize them as rebels, and attempt to justify the severity of the Autocrat; but all who have ever visited Poland, whatever may have been their previous opinions, hold the same language of the deepest commiseration for the betrayed and the oppressed, and of the utmost abhorrence of the ravager and the depopulator. We heartily recommend this work, not only for the spirit of chaste liberty that breathes through its pages, but for its varied and extensive information, for the beauty of its style, and, above all, for the genuine English feeling that pervades it from first to last.

Impressions of America, during the Years 1833, 1834, and 1835. By TYRONE POWER, Esq. 2 Vols.

We should have given our meed of approbation to these well-written volumes before, had we not been so encumbered by more pressing affairs; but we believe that the public has so well received them, that any recommendation of ours would have been then, and is perhaps now, superfluous. Every one who is acquainted with Mr. Power, must know that he cannot write otherwise than sensibly, and like a gentleman. Urbanity and good sense are necessarily the chief characteristics of these two very agreeable volumes. We have no doubt but that this publication will be another link in the chain of good fellowship that should ever unite John Bull to Brother Jonathan, and no small credit is due to the power that forged it. In dismissing this work to the kind attention of its friends on both sides of the Atlantic, we may be permitted to express a wish of again seeing Mr. Power in boards, as well as on them.

An Historical and Descriptive Account of China, its Ancient and Modern History, Language, Literature, &c. &c. &c. By HUGH MURRAY, F.R.S.E.; JOHN CRAWFORD, Esq.; PETER GORDON, Esq.; Captain THOMAS LYNN; WILLIAM WALLACE, F.R.S.E., Professor of Mathematics in the University of Edinburgh; and GILBERT BURNET, late Professor of Botany in King's College, London. 3 Vols.

In the multitude of councillors there is wisdom, in the multitude of authors-what? Surely no work before had so many parents. We have, however, received but the second volume, and we suppose that the third is still undergoing mental gestation in the brains of its multiform authors. This volume is excessively interesting, and treats of the language of this very curious nation, in a manner so well, that we wish that that portion of it had been more extended. The incidents related of their social manners will be found, also, to be very amusing, though the ladies of England will not think highly of the spirit of gallantry of their laws, when they find that the husband can legally divorce his wife for the accomplishment of talkativeness. As Chinese affairs have lately demanded much of our attention, we shall refrain from further remarks upon this work, until we see the third and concluding volume, when, in all probability, we shall be induced to enter more fully into its merits.

Select Prose Works of Milton. With Introductory Remarks, by J. A.

ST. JOHN.

The second volume of this classical work has been published, containing "The Eikonoklastes," "Divisions of the Commonwealth," "Delineation of a Commonwealth,' "Mode of Establishing a Commonwealth," and a few familiar letters. As nearly the whole of this was written on the spur of the moment, and to meet the exigencies of passing events, they are applicable to the present times in some of their general truths only. Yet they must be always read with pleasure and intense interest, from the vigorous soul that shines through them, and the ardent though somewhat excessive love of liberty with which they burn. The most assiduous study of those works will never increase the spirit of democracy; though we cannot deny that they betray an unamiable hatred to royalty, that must have been engendered by much persecution, or fostered into acerbity by much party spirit. But who will disdain to listen to the mighty Milton, even when he may be in the wrong? This volume is beautifully got up, and does credit to its enterprising publishers.

This may be looked upon as a standing literary dish. Cut it no one will, but those who have once come to it, will come again. Some of these anecdotes are familiar to the reading world, and some we believe to be entirely new. For a selection of this nature, we have found but a wonderfully few that are positive failures. Those who pride themselves upon being expert conversationists, should read this work attentively; for if a person could only carry one-third of them in his memory, he may have something to say apropos of almost any subject that may chance to be started. Professed diners-out should make it, with their good appetites, their vade mecum.