We might easily point out faults in the Cave of Machpelah-more than in other books of far less merit; yet fewer than it contains itself of beauties. If we might venture to make a suggestion to the author, we would say, that although a clergyman, he is far more successful-more truly poetical in singing of earth than of heaven. But we do not wish our readers to depend on our judgment; we would have them judge for themselves; and, in this instance, those who try will have no reason to be sorry for their time. The Correspondence of Leigh Hunt. Edited by his eldest Son, with a Portrait, in two volumes. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1862. It is almost needless to say that there is much in these volumes that is brilliant and interesting. At the same time, many will be disappointed with them. They scarcely sustain the fame of Leigh Hunt. The sparkling wit and humor that characterized his conversations are seldom to be met with in his letters. The latter bear the traces everywhere of having been written too carelessly-almost without thought. The author was too indolent; he had abilities enough; but he rarely exercised them to their full extent. In other words, he was a man of undoubted genius; but he lacked energy and perseverance. It is, however, only as the correspondence of a poet and essayist, from whom much was expected, that we speak of the volumes before us in any other language than that of admiration; had they been presented to us as the correspondence of an ordinary author, the surprise would have been on the other side. In short, it is only when we compare Hunt's letters to those of other poets and great thinkers, that we find them wanting in wit or humor, wisdom or philosophy. But had the volumes contained not a line of his own, either in poetry or prose, they would have been well worth reading. In proof of this, it would be almost sufficient to say that they contain speci mens of the best epistolary efforts of Shelley, Moore, Campbell, Keats, Talfourd, the Brownings, Landor, Proctor, Lord Brougham, Hume, &c. Besides, they reveal many facts hitherto unknown to the public. For example, although few in the literary world were ignorant of the generous intention of Shelley towards Leigh Hunt, none but private friends knew, until now, that his intention has been respected and acted upon by his wife and brother. The poet was to have left his brother poet a legacy of £2,000; accordingly, Mrs. Shelley and Sir Percy insisted on settling on him an annuity of £120. This is noble and exemplary; it should redound for ever to the honor of those who gave it, as well as to that of the generous author of Queen Mab. A joint letter, written by the Brownings, possesses an interest far above its literary merits, though the letters are of a high order, because it reveals the religious creed of the author of Aurora Leigh. "I believe," she says, "in the divinity of Jesus Christ, in the intensest sense-that he was God absolutely. But for the rest, I am very unorthodox about the spirit, the flesh, and the devil." This is characteristic of Mrs. Browning, who was always enthusiastic in the expression of her opinions, whatever they happened to be at the time. This was the great difficulty Her sentiments were constantly changing. It is to be feared that, could she have written another letter to Shelley, the same evening, she would have had a creed equally acceptable to him. The letters of Walter Savage Landor, in the same volume, are highly characteristic of the author of "Imaginary Conversations;" but it would lead us too far to show how; and a similar remark will apply to the letters of several others. Lyrics for Freedom and other Poems, under the auspices of the Continental Club. 12mo, pp. 243. New York: Carleton. 1862. What the Continental Club is, or who are its members, we do not pretend to know. The present volume came into our hands with no prestige of author or publisher to prepossess us in its favor; on the contrary, to use a technical phrase, all the accessories were against it. First, the title attracted us; then the patriotic spirit, which pervades the book, led us along from "Lyric" to "Lyric," until scarcely a stanza had escaped us. We have not, indeed, been charmed all the time. This, it is true, we had 8 right to expect; for we are told by the Secretary of the Continental Club, in the Introduction, that the contents are “good, bad, and indifferent." The scriptural part has evidently devolved on the worst poet, and the one least familiar with Lindley Murray. We quote the folllowing lines as a specimen : "Biblical Authority for Rebellion. "Tis true that foul rebellion's sword Works the vengeance of the Lord. As Egypt was in Bible doomed, When clouds of locusts o'er them loomed That ruined all their ripening grain, And made their land a desert plain; So, where goes Rebellion's host, But let us admit, that, for one extract of this kind, we could give ten which the most fastidious may read with sympathetic pleasure, if he can boast the least tinge of honest patriotism. Of this character is The effusions under the head of "Home and Camp" are in perfect keeping with the spirit that actuates all classes of loyalists at the present moment. We should not be surprised to learn that the war song entitled "A Soldier's Life for me" had become popular in all our camps. quote a stanza or two: We Be bowed by a traitor's shame! Some of the "Pasquinades" are highly amusing, and occasionally marked by trenchant satire. But in general they are rather course. The poet forgets that never does the lancet cut so well as when dipped in oil. "A Word to Jeff," and "John Bull sends," &c., are not precisely in the style of either Juvenal or Butler; at the same time each contains some good hits. We quote two stanzas from the former, but more for their quaint style of logic than for any other merit: "A Word to Jeff. "We know it's very hard for rogues To live with honest people, Who keep a Bible in the house, "But as we kept you all in place, In the lyrics devoted to the Negro we find little to commend; not but they are as good as the generality of their kind. We like to see the Negro free; nay, we yield to none in our detestation of slavery. At the same time we would consult the interests and welfare of the Republic before that of the African race. We must remember that there are those who cannot appreciate freedom-who, in fact, do not care to have it. Are white men to cut each other's throats to force freedom on such? Or can we be sure that, if they had their freedom to-morrow, they would be anything better, morally or physically, than they are; or less a source of uneasiness and peril to the nation? We regard slavery as a great misfortune; but that is no reason why we should regard the African as equal to the Caucasian. But whether slavery is to end with the present rebellion or not-that is, whether the rebels inflict on themselves the very injury of which they have been complaining for years, was the secret design and wish of the North-the Lyrics for Freedom deserve to be read. Many of the poems are far above mediocrity-such as would do no discredit to the favored few who are used to general recognition as poets at home, if not abroad. The volume is got up in very respectable style. We do not dislike Mr. Carleton so much, but we can heartily congratulate him on the decided improvement in taste on his part, of which the typography of the present volume affords such agreeable evidence. HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY AND TRAVELS. L'Histoire Romaine à Rome. Par J. J. AMPERE. Vols. I. and II. London: Williams & Norgate. 1862. There is a good deal of romance in M. Ampère's new work, but also a good deal of history. It is such as Mr. Macaulay might have written in similar circumstances, though the style of the Frenchman is not so fascinating as that of the Englishman. This, however, is no reflection on the former, who is indeed a very agreeable and attractive writer. His account of the early history of Rome is replete with interest. He has evidently spared neither time nor labor in his researches, but it is those who have investigated most that are most modest in their statements. One, who had merely glanced over what others had said on the same subject, would have spoken of the laying of the foundation of the Eternal City with as much confidence as of the sacking of it by the Goths. But Mr. Ampère admits that he has nothing but conjectures to offer as to the early history of Rome. With regard to Romulus, he thinks it enough to believe that he existed. "Je croix," he says, "à Romulus." He believes that there was such a man, and that he must have exercised considerable influence in the early days of Rome, but the wolf story, or any of the miracles of which Romulus is the subject, he has no faith in; he does not think them worthy of serious notice. This is right, it is time that those fables should be discarded from history; if they are spoken of at all, it ought to be in a manner to show the credulity of the times in which they were first invented. Yet, how gravely they are related, even in our school histories. In the present work we have some curious theories. For example, we are told that while it is true that Romulus and Remus must have lived at the same time, they were not brothers, but rival chieftains-shepherd kings-the former of the Palatine, the latter cf the Aventine. It may seem difficult, if not impossible, to give conjectures of this kind an air of reality; but M. Ampère succeeds in doing so. If asked how, the best way to answer the question is, that the author has devoted himself to every study that seemed likely to shed any light on the early history of Rome. Nor is it in Paris, London, or Vienna he has done so, but in Rome. He has studied her story, not only as found in books; he has studied her sculpture, architecture, coins, topography-even her climate, soil, and agriculture. He examines each for himself, so far as it can be examined in his time, and he draws his own conclusions. It is almost needless to remark, that the results of such labors could not be otherwise than interesting and instructive, altogether independently of their historical value. This will be the more readily admitted, when it is borne in mind that M. Ampère is a man of poetic temperament. He is as brilliant and graphic as he is learned, thoughtful, and suggestive. His chapters on the climate, soil, agriculture, legends, and original founders of Rome occupy the greater part of the volumes now before us; but no one, who has paid so much attention to the subject as to be capable of appreciating his views and suggestions, would desire to have a page omitted in either volume. The Life and Letters of Washington Irving. By his Nephew, PIERRE M. IRVING. Vol. 1. New York: G. P. Putnam. 1862. It seems almost a work of supererogation to write about an author like Washington Irving, in addressing those who know him best; and who, that are acquainted with English literature, do not know him? There are none in America that read good books, or have any taste, who need to be told anything about him; and yet it may be doubted whether he is more popular among his own fellow-countrymen than he is in England, Ireland, and Scotland. Our only excuse, therefore, for writing of him is, that it is natural to all to speak of those who have afforded them pleasure; this remark we apply to ourselves-to all who notice or review his books. His biography is of course a different thing; it is proper that this should be written in time; the sooner after his death the better; and what more suitable hands could it be committed to than those of a near relative? So thought the author himself, as we learn from the preface. "Somebody will be writing my life," said he, "when I am gone, and I wish you to do it. You must promise me that you will." But to mean what is right and good, and to succeed in doing it, are different things. There can be no doubt of the friendly and conscientious intentions of the author of the present biography, but a more sprightly and graphic pen might have been found without much difficulty-one more worthy of dealing with works so elegantly written as those of Washington Irving. But it is not so clear that one possessing all other necessary qualifications could have been found so easily. It has been well said, that all can be more or less eloquent on a subject which they perfectly understand; but, were it otherwise, truth is better, though not always more attractive, than eloquence. Mr. Pierre Irving has evidently spared no pains to collect all that could serve to illustrate the life of his uncle; he has, besides, the advantage of having |