PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

BOOKS.

A Poet's Bazaar. From the Danish of Hans Christian Andersen, Author of "The Improvisatore." By Charles Beckwith, Esq. In three volumes. An Antiquarian Ramble in the Streets of London, with Anecdotes of their more celebrated residents. By John Thomas Smith, late Keeper of the Prints and Drawings in the British Museum; Author of " Nollekens and his Times," &c. Edited by Charles Mackay, LL.D. In two volumes. Authentic Account of the Occupation of Carlisle in 1745 by Prince Charles Edward Stuart. Edited by George Gill Mounsey.

Switzerland and the Swiss Churches: being Notes of a short Tour and Notices of the principal Religions Bodies in that country. By William Lindsay Alexander, D.D., F.S.A.S.

Chemistry and Physics in relation to Physiology and Pathology. By Baron , Justus Liebig, M.D., F.R.S., &s.

The history of science exhibits one uniform mode of progress common to all its 'branches. Each branch begins with the observation of isolated facts; the next step is the establishment of special laws embracing two or more mutually connected phienomena; finally, general laws are attained, and the inquiry becomes elevated to the rank of an abstract science. All the pluenomena of inanimate nature stand in certain relations to each other, and depend upon certain causes; and it is by tracing out these causes and noting these relations that we have raised our know- ledge of many branches of physics above the condition of empiricism (eg. me- chanics, hydrostatics, optics, acoustics, the theory of heat, &c.,) so empiricism, we can reason on them from what is known to what is yet unknown. In physiology, we stand on a mach lower footing; we are very imperfectly acquainted with its spe- cial laws, while its general laws lie so remote from the sphere of our knowledge, that many still regard the probability or even possibility of attaining to them as purely chimerical. Liebig yields to no such despondent views. The knowledge of the mutual relations of ihnnomena is, he asserts, " attainable in every branch of natural investigation by the extension of experience and by correctness of ob- servation; and there can be no question that at some future time, as chemistry loses the character of an experimental art, so will physiology be capable of rank- ing as a deductive science." The present work may be considered as a sketch of a Norum Organum of physiology, pointing the way and suggesting the means to the desired end, and exposing the chief forms of error that have hitherto impeded the progress of the inquiry. The subject of the work is not so much science it- self, as the conduct of the understanding with respect to science.]

Letters to My Unhaown Friends. By a Lady.

[These letters are didactic: their subjects are contentment, temper, falsehood and truthfulness, envy, selfishness and unselfishness, self-control, economy, cultivation of the mind:amusements. The author is no commonplace retailer of cut and dried maxims, but a woman of strong understanding and cultivated taste, who has read much and thought more. Without discussing the positive value of her opinions, we may express our approval of the sober, earnest spirit of inquiry and reflection by which she has arrived at them, and of her candour in setting them forth. In- sisting on the most scrupulous obedience to principle, she is not narrow-minded; she knows that in real life good and evil are not absolute but relative qualities. She would have religion to be the beginning and the end of all human actions ,• but she is not Puritanical in her pious zeal, for she acknowledges the worth of poetry and the arts, although their distinctive characteristic is, as she says, that they are addressed to our human nature and excite its emotions; and she express- ly condemns the frigid notion that they can be apprehended by the intellect alone, without any excitement of the affections or passions. Her ideal standard of wo- manly conduct is lofty and severe, but the canting phrase or the rigid feature finds no favour with her; unstudied ease is in her eyes the evidence and the consummate fruit of refined taste; and no one can praise more warmly than she does the grace- ful nonsense of the gifted and the wise. The title of this work, which is borrowed from Lavater, is meant to signify that she addresses herself not to the general, but to a select public. The efficacy of a moral lecture, like the taking of a jest, depends on its falling upon apt ears. Wisdom crieth in the streets and no man regardeth her. Knowing this, the author designs her letters for a particular class of persons, whom "a peculiarity of intellectual nature and habits constitute friends, though unknown ones, of the writer." This declaration puts them as we conceive, beyond the pale of our critical jurisdiction; our remarks have therefore been only explanatory, for the benefit of those whom they may concern, and in order to help the arrival of the letters at their proper destination.]

Park Rouse Catechisms. No. I. Mechanics. By Anthony Peck, B.A., of Catherine Hall, Cambridge. [This is only No. 1, and that is so far a consolation. But No. 1 implies a threat

of Nos. 2, 3, 4, x; against which we feel bound to enter our strenuous pro- test, A worse piece of work than this Catechism of Mechanics it has seldom been our lot to see. Within its slender dimensions are comprised faults enough to swamp a mighty quarto. It abounds with gross blunders, flat perversions of fact: for instance, at page13, in answer to the question, "How may the centre of gravity be found in bodies of an irregular shape ?' a rule is given which applies only to bo- dies that have no thickness; but the pupil is left to suppose that the rule applies to all bodies, solid as well as plane. But this is a trifle compared with the monstrous absurdities set down in type and wood-cuts at pages 14 and 15. There we read— Q. If the line of direction fall without the base of a body, what is the result r A. "The body will fall." No explanation is given of what is meant by " the line of direction,"—which of course ought to imply a plumb-line supposed to be let fall from the centre of gravity of the body; whereas the author draws it ad libitum SO as to make an angle of about 50° with the horizon. Then, he lets us understand that the centre of gravity of a given body is not a constant point, but shifts about within the body, according to the position in which the latter is thrown I He pre- tends " to simplify the study of mechanics, and thus adapt it to the capacities of young persons"; but this he cannot do, for he does not himself understand what he professes to teach. Instead of simplifying, he confuses the subject, not only by his positive misstatements, but by his invariably loose, obscure, and fallacious language. His definitions are all calculated to mislead: e. g. " Momentum is the force which sets and keeps a body in motion." " A force is that which prevents or produces motion in matter, or which has a tendency to do so." " If a weight be lifted by the hand the hand is a force, because it produces motion in the weight.' Ergo—the band is a momentum, and a stone wall is a force. Sub- stance and quality are all one to this B. A. of Catherine Hall, Cambridge; who de- fines matter as " everything which may be touched or seen, or be made evident by experiment." His own incapacity is matter made evident by the present experi- ment.]

Lionel Deerhurst; or Fashionable Life under the Regency. Edited by the Countess of Blessington. In three volumes.

[" God bless the Regent and the Duke of York!" must have been the exolama- tion of Lady Blessington when she stumbled over the names of these two royal personages in the pages to which she has lent her name; since an excuse was thus afforded for giving to Lionel Deerhurst its second title of " Fashionable Life under the Regency. That so clever and brilliant a writer as Lady Blessing- ton should have penned her literary reputation by standing sponsor to such our inane and ludicrous production as this, is not merely to be regretted but to be censured; for her name will give a circulating-library currency to stuff that is vicious as well as worthless. Intelligent readers will fling the book aside at the first volume; but a numerous class of idlers might be lured by the title of the book and the name of the " editress" to wade on through this puddle of slipslop. We cannot better characterize this absurd imitation—this unconscious caricature of a " fashionable novel," than by saying it is exactly such a book as Betty: Fin- nikin in the farce would have written, had her low ambition taken a literary turn—an incongruous jumble of cookery and hysterics—millinery and madness —and the inconsequential way in which suicide and seduction are mixed up with tailor's trappings and upholstery accessories, with the sentimental touches after the fashion of February " Valentines," and the facethe of the servants-hall. The story is inimitable for confusedness of narrative, never ending, still beginning; and the confusion extends even to the names: Lionel Deerhurst is the hero of the title, but Sir Freville Deerhurst is the title of the hero. Not that this matters much; for all the characters are sufficiently silly and disreputable to change places with each other: the men are fools and profligates, and the heroine, Argline, cha- racterizes herself in her delicate phraseology as " giving up her body to vice while her seal aspires to virtue" I]

The Influences of the Game-laws; being classified Extracts from the Evi- dence taken before a Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Game-laws, and some Introductory Remarks. By Richard Griffith Wel- ford, Esq., Barrister-at-law, and Member of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. With an Appendix; and an Address to the Tenant- Farmers of Great Britain, by John Bright, Esq., MP. [The " blue book deters readers by its bulk, which defeats the object of those who promoted the inquiry; hence the more readable volume before us. The spirit of the evidence, mixed with commentary, is collected, in a condensed form, into separate chapters bearing upon the several parts of the subject; and that text is interspersed with large slices from the evidence. The extracts are taken from evidence given by witnesses in favour of the Game-laws as well as from the opposite witnesses; but it is all selected and set forth by an avowed par- tisan. The volume will be convenient for those whose minds are already made tip and only seek passages to justify foregone conclusions; but it is obvious that those who desire to form an impartial opinion must still recur to the blue book. Mr. Bright's address is a call rousing the farmers to agitate against the Game- laws.]

A Cabinet Lawyer; a Popular Digest of the Laws of England; including the Statistics and Legal Decisions to Michaelmas. Thirteenth edition. [A new edition of a work long established in public estimation. It ably fulfils the import of its title; being a lucid and compendious exposition of the civil, criminal, and constitutional law of England. There are also a valuable diction- ary of law-terms, tables of taxes, of the fees of the courts and costs, with other useful supplementary information. Many public statutes have been repealed, consolidated, or augmented, since the former editions of the Cabinet Lawyer; but it is now brought up to the immediate time by a thorough revision. The volume is remarkable for compactness of typography, distinctness of arrangement, and clearness of exposition.] Indigestion Familiarly Treated, with reference to its Prevention as well as Cure. By Jacob Dixon, Surgeon, &c.

[This little treatise may be studied with safety by the non-professional reader,- and that is saying a great deal for it. The author is deserving of all encouragement, were it only for the earnest manner in which he protests against the too common and frightful abuseof purgative medicines, especially calomel; which latter, he says i with great truth, is in the hands of the uninformed like a razor in the hand of a child. His therapeutic directions are judicious; but we are not so well satisfied with his dietetics. He might considerably improve this department of his work by availing himself of the labours of Liebig and Dr. Dundas Thomson.]

The Handbook of Grammar: for the use of teachers and learners. By G.

J. Holyoake, Author of "Practical Grammar," &c.

[A handbook should be a substantive thing, but this of Mr. Holyoake's is an ad- jective. It consists chiefly of examples and questions, the answers for which are to be found in his " Practical Grammar." We have not the latter by us to refer to, but, judging from so much evidence as is before us, we think we may with much confidence recommend both works to students and teachers.] The Lady's Practical Arithmetician; or Conversational Arithmetic, in which all the rules are explained in easy and familiar language: to which is added, a short History of the Coinage; with Tables of the Weights and Measures of the Ancients. Adapted to the use of ladies' schools and private families. By Mrs. Henry Ayres, Authoress of " Addresses to the 17oung." Second edition.

[This book is a very bad specimen of a bad class. The rules are explained in any- thing but easy and familiar language; and the conversational part, which is intended to be amusing, is dull and wearisome in the extreme. Books of this kind are for incompetent teachers what Godfrey's cordial is for lazy, selfish nur- ses; both are the bane of the young.]

An Elementary Treatise on Hydrostatics and Hydrodynamics. By Andrew Searle Hart, LL.D., Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. [In this work, which appears to have been intended for the use of students in the University of Dublin, the fundamental propositions of hydrostatics are demon etrated geometrically, and a brief outline is given of the method of solving hydro- dynamical questions by the principle of vis viva.] Howe-apathy viewed in connexion with Medical Reform. By Henry R Madden, M.D., Edin., Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edin- burgh, &c.

LA temperate but forcible appeal to the medical profession to examine the prin- ciples of homeopathy. The work is deserving of attention for the ability with which it is written.]

Hood's Own; or Laughter from Year to Year. Being former runnings of his comic vein, with an infusion of new blood for general circulation. [A collection of long -familiar compositions and wood-cuts,-things over which readers innumerable have already laughed often, but yet unexhausted in their laughter-producing power. The collection is very handsomely printed and "got up, and is an excellent table-book.] The Count of Monte Christo. By Alexandre Dumas. In two volumes. Being a Sequel to "The Chateau d'If." (The Parlour Novelist. Volumes VIII. and IX.) [What is here called " The Chateau d'If" was a translation of the first part of M. Dumas's long and interesting romance: these two volumes complete the present version of the work.] Political Dictionary; forming a work of universal reference both constitu- tional and legal; and embracing the Terms of Civil Administration, of Political Economy and Social Relations, and of all the more important statistical departments of Finance and Commerce. In two volumes. Volume H.

The Horatii; a Tragedy.

The Story of Toby; a Sequel to " Typee." By the Author of that Work. (Murray's Home and Colonial Library.) The Naturalist's Poetical Companion; with Notes. Selected by the Reve- rend Edward Wilson, M.A., F.L.S. Second edition. With My-seven illustrations by W. H. Prior.

Some Account of My Cousin Nicholas. By Thomas Ingoldsby, Esq., Author of " The Ingoldaby Legends." (Standard Novels, No. C111 ) History of the French Revolution, from 1789 to 1814. By F. A. Mignet, Member of the Institute of France, &c. (Bogne's European Library.) The Works of G. P. R. James, Esq. Revised and corrected by the Author. With an Introductory Preface. Volume X. "The Brigand."

Sharpe's London Magazine: a Journal of Entertainment and Instruction for general reading. With elegant wood-engravings. May 1846 to October 1846.

Peen,. By Samuel Browning. Volume I.

A Metaphysical and Metoposcopic Chart, or Educational Guide.

SERIALS.

Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son, Wholesale, Retail, and for Exportation. By Charles Dickens. With illustrations by H. K. Browne. No. I.

[Noticed in our last number.] Philip of Lutetia. Part L (Completion of the Chronicles of the Bastile.) ILLUSTRATED WORK.

The Standard Edition o f the Pictorial Bible; edited by John Kitto, D.D., F.S.A. With many hundred wood-cuts, and thirteen engravings on steel. Part L

[A reissue of every handsome work, at a cheaper rate.]