12 APRIL 1845, Page 18

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

From April 4th to April 10th.

Boors.

The mad of the Islands; a Poem. By the Honourable Mrs. Norton. Lands; Chissical and Sacred. By Lord Nugent. In two volumes. The Life of Lord Hill, G.C.B., late Commander of the Forces. By the Reverend Edwin Sidney, A.M., Author of the " Lives of the Reverend Rowland Hill and Sir Richard Hill," and Chaplain to the Viscount Hill. The Lifis•of the Reverend Joseph Blanco Whste, written by Himself; with portions of his Correspondence. Edited by John Hamilton Thom. In three volumes.

Anne Hathaway; or Shakspeare in Love. By Emma Severn. In three volumes.

The Power fry' the Soul over the Body, considered in relationto Health and Morals. By George Moore, M.D, &c.

[The first nppareat purpose of Dr. Moore is to-prove that the soul is immaterial, and has an existence separate from the body, with an action apart from the brain, and depending as a medium rather upon the nervous system. With this object he goes over a large extent of ground, physiological, metaphysical, and physical—in aense of the disease or ill effects induced by disordered action or disordered emotions. Daring this long survey, he brings together a great number of curious facts relative to the operations of the mind in health, in disease, and in the abnor- mal states Of insanity, mesmerism, and somnambulism; but without inducing conviction in his main object; since, if thought, or rather mental volition, is nn- peseible to matter, then is the mind of brutes immaterial. We are not sure that Dr. Moore might deny this conclusion; but if it be admitted, no religious results

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Can be deduced from immateriality. Something of the same logical defect may be visible in the practical conclusions aimed at. We all know the power of the Mind; how the health and the functions of the body are controlled by it; how one passion or emotion is subdued by another more powerful. The difficulties he in the discovery and application of the proper stimuli, so as to act not at random but by rule, and safely as well as regularly: for intense emotion may not only injure -health but destroy life, as some of Dr. Moore's instances show. Proper nutriment and proper exercise are the true principles for a healthy human being, if we could but apply them; though, perhaps, the mess sane in corpora sano re- • a good basis to proceed upon. If, however, Dr. Moore's conclusions are not altogether convincing, his •book is curious, and attractive from the number of curious facto he has collected together.]

Shakespeare's Play u/King Hemy the Fourth, nted from a contemporary Manuscript Edited by James Orchard Harwell, Esq., F.R.S., &c. • (Printed for the Shakespeare Society.)

C" On the 23d October I844, the Reverend Lambert B. Larking, * • * then on a -visit to Sir Edward Hering, Bart., of Surrenden, was occupied in making some researches among the valuable charters and manuscripts preserved in the inuniment-room of that ancient seat," for objects connected with a forthcoming history of Kent. In one of the chests Mr. Larking discovered an ancient MS. of Bran the Fourth; which is here printed by the Shakespeare Society, with notes and an introduction by.Mr. Halliwa According to such evidence as is convincing to pakeographista, the manuscript was most probably written about the reign of James the First; but as there are various corrections of the text, held to be in the handwriting of Sir Edward Daring,the first Baronet, who died in 1644, the conclusion drawn is, that it must he aariier than that date. The apparent use of this manuscript was for getting up " private theatricals " at &menden; and it is inferred that it was altered by some playwright or player for that purpose, (though possibly not for this parti- cular occasion); the two plays being compressed into-one, on the evident principle of embracing the whole history. With this object, the First Part has been operated

; but the Second is very greatly curtailed, containing in fact little more than • opening and the scenes relating to the 'Linea death.

A MS. formed under such circumstances can, of course, have no authority; and besides, there are occasional references in the handwriting of Sir Edward De' to a published edition—" Vide book." Still it is.a curiosity; and we agree with . Halliwell and the Society that it was worth publication, verbatim et literatim. Nor is it altogether without use for its various readings; some few of which seem worthy of adoption in the same way as a lucky emendation by an editor not as an authorized text. Some, however, are mere blunders or injudicious attempts at improvement. There are also some obvious interpolations. The book lass been well edited by Mr. Halliwell, in his account of the MS., Iris view of its value, and the notes by means of which he supplies for all useful purposes a fa -simileof the original. It has perhaps a further value than this; at least it has so struck us. Stripped of the large spirit of Shakspere, as it often is by the necessity of reducing two dramas into oneaoting play, the wonder- ful universality of his characters becomes still more remarkable. Falstaff, cut down and sometimes prosified as he is here, does not so much look like " the un- imitated the inimitable, as the counterpart of hundreds of good fellow; who in

every age have haunted houses houses of ready entertainment, " living men know not how, and dying men lmow not where.")

"gra Aetroaa, or the Age of Justice; an Ode to her most gracious'Majesty Victoria. By Donald Bain.

[Mr. Donald Bain rejoices in the triune of poet, prophet, and politician. His Ode to the Queen. IS not a mere complimentary poem, but an elaborate ex- position of our social,political, and religious evils, with the bard's ideas of the proper remedies. And, lest the fine phrensy of the poet should cause any ob- scurity in the expression of the views, he prefixes to the verse a prose essay, enfolding more specifically, his ideas of political things. Mere plans, however, do not appear sufficient to Donald's mind. Like Disraeli the Younger, he looks to *"coming coming man ". but differs in the.choice of the person, who, it would seem, is- no other than Donald himself.

Tho' unaceustom'd, and at last In years, One heart at least shall hall thy opening reign,

Not to express my useless hopes or fears, Or launch a leugthen'd and unmeaning strain,

Baying in verse what it would be In vain To say in prose : no ; tho' I speak in rhyme, Things of great weight inust Justify this strain — Even from the steps by which we have climb'd and

To teach a hation'toovenients to allfuturetime?'

It might look like a descent to drop from so lofty a theme totthe particular opinions of the politician; which, having a practical sort of eharacter, are some • what prosaic,—e. protection to agriculture, which Mr. Bain pathimzes; exten- sion of the mann system, which he denounces, along with Repeal, and the Romish priesthood; ough advocating a concordat, to keep them " under our thumb." Those who wish to learn the views at large must study the zEra Astrcea; which they will find, notwithstanding the word of its parent, "a lengthened strain," but exceedingly well sustained by the "full resounding line.")

English Churchwomen of the Seventeenth Century.

[An elegant and agreeable compilation, consisting of biographical notices- of devout ladies who flourished during the Stuart dynasty: for Lady Falkland, the wife of the celebrated Lord who fell at Newbury, was born under James the First; and Lady Elizabeth Hastings flourished under Anne; though she did not die till 1739. As much of the materials is derived from funeral sermons, or sketches by the spiritual director of the lady, general character forms the staple of the book, rather than events or personal characteristics; whilst distinguishing traits are sometimes lost in a haze of panegyric. Some of the conduct praised verges upon an ascetic transcendentalism, more fitted for an anchorite than a human being with human ties; and a tone of pleasant bland fanaticism pervades a good part of the work. It smacks of Tractruiaabim, and is probably issued with Tractarian objects; at least the religious establishment of the Ferrars, de- scribed in the introduction, looks -very like that sehooL] Life of Jean, Paul F. Richter. Compiled from various sources: Together with his Autobiography. Translated from the German. In two volumes. This work appears to be a reprint from an American edition that appeared some thrm years ago •' which Mr. Chapman has now republished in his "Catholic Series,' with the sanction of the author, who is to partake of the profits. The autobiography of Jean Paul is only a translation; the continuation is compiled from various sources, principally from two German Memoirs, and-Richter's own correspondence. As the American Author does not seem to have been a thorough German, " numerous errors "appmred in the original edition; which William Hewitt has corrected, and revised the work.] Lost Happiness, or the Effects of a Lie; a Tale. By Lady Chatterton, Author of "Rambles in the South of Ireland," Stc. [The hero of this juvenile moral story is Edward Langdale; who, through a habit of falsehood, and to screen himself for destroying his mother's favourite vase, allows a servant to be transported, and breaks the heart of the man's mother. In due time the consequences of his lie " are brought home to him; and Master Edward, after exposure, becomes the moral outcast he had made the man John. The design of the story is excellent; but the effects are too extreme, and too ob- viously contrived for a purpose, to produce an ethical impression. The com- position possesses Lady Chatterton's usual elegance, but is too artificial for a juvenile work.] Travels in Sweden: Sketches of a Journey to the North. By Ida Countess Hahn-Hahn; Authoress of " The Countess Fanstina." Translated from the German, by J. B. S. [A translation of another tour of the migratory Ida Countess Hahn-Hahn; but partaking more of the bookmaking craft, or at all events of the individual im- pression that distinguished the opening of her Letters from the East, than the more amusing matter of her Oriental sketches. Her suggestions of Swedish life and climate, however, are good: the want of sunshine, of amusement, of occupa- tion apart from the every-day business of vocation and family, is clearly impressed,- -

The book also is very cheap, yet neatly printed.] etaz

The Parliaments of England, from 1st George I. to the present time. By Henry Stooks Smith. Volume II—Oxfordshim to Wales inclusive. [The second volume completes Mr. Smith's useful manual of the elections of England and Wales, from the accession of the house of Brunswick; including the names and politics of the candidates, and the plumpers for each, as well as the total numbers polled, when such particulars have been preserved. - " Unus Pare° juveni non sufileit orbis :

Cum tamen I figulis mnnitam intraverit nrbem,

flareophago eontentos eras."

But what was the ambition of one Alexander shrunk into a vase, compared with the ambitions, hopes, fears, disappointments, rows, and rain of these contests, now contracted, not into a monument, but into a few pages, by the statistical labour* of Mr. Henry Stooks Smith?] Specimens of the Early English Poets; to which is prefixed an Historical Sketch of the Rise and Progress of the English Poetry and Language, with a Biography of each Poet, &c. By George Ellis, Esq. The fifth edition, corrected. In three volumes. [Mr Washbounie has here added another work to his list of reprints tending-to popularize the- neglected or homely literature of Great Britain; confined, till OW times, to the libraries of the rich. That well-known but somewhat rare wet Ellis's Specimens is now added to his editions of Spenser, Elassinger, and Reiigues; ranging with the latter in point of size, if the clothing is not the same.] The Maniac linprovisatore; and other Poems. By William Murton. [A collection of occasional verses, of a rather prosaic character.] A Grammar of the German Lgr. By Dr. Gustaf Kombst, Fellow of

the Royal Ikrthern Society of en, ha. Second edition, revised and greatly enlarged.

[A clear and concise epitome of German grammar, on a good system. " To in- duce Englishmen," says the preface, " to look back into their own language, and to show the great similarity which exists between the Anglo-Saxon etym and the German even of the present day, the author has thought proper to below the text the Anglo-Saxon 'inflections, rec." This is an interesting feature of the book.] The Handbook of Usqul and Ornamental Amusements and Accomplish- ments; including artificial flower-making, engraving etching, painting in all its styles, modelling, carving in wood, ivory, and shell; also fancy work of every description. By a Lady. [A book of recipes for those harmless but rarely useful e .loyments termed " elegant accomplishments." The directions for making1111, cial flowers and articles of needlework are full, and probably complete; at least they occupy two out of the three hundred pages, and are illustrated by diagrams: in the othei hundred pages the author runs the whole round of the fine arts—drawing, paint- ing, engravmg, and carving in all sorts of materials—with what result may be readily inferred.] Ten Thousand a-Year. By Samuel Warren, F.R.S., author of "The Diary of a late Physician." A. new edition, carefully revised, with Notes and Blustrations. In three volumes. Volume IL NEW PERIODICAL.

The Prospective Review; a Quarterly Journal of Theology and Literature. No. I.—February. [The Christian Teacher has merged in the Prospective Review, which starts under a new name in the quarterly character. It appears to he Unitarian; not devoid of the controversial or proselytizing spirit which Unitarima partake of:in common with other religionists, but without the fury and bitterness in which controvertists too frequently indulge, and possessing a calm philosophy they seldom attain to. The subjects of the work are various enough in form; but as all have a religious object, the effect is somewhat same. One of the best of the articles, the review of'ArnoId'S-Lite, is less an account of the en- tire man'than a discussion upon the Trinity, the Established Church, and public schools. This uniformity of object, however, is designed. We may observe that the work has been long in reach us: the date onthe titlepage is ``February"]

ILLIISTRATED WORKS AND PRINTS.

Portrait ofSir Charles T. Metcalfe, Governor-General of British North America, &c. Painted by A. Bradish; engraved by Wm. Warner, Philadelphia.

[This print is a characteristic specimen of American art: it is coarse and vulgar in style, but a vigorous and striking representation. The likeness to Lord Metcalfe is =mistakeable, and faithful in its lineaments even to the warts on the face. nor is it devoid of expression; the character of resolute determination is.strongly marked in the physiognomy. But there is an ignoble air about the portr t, that is not in keeping with the moral dignity of the original: the artist has failed in expressing the higher mental characteristics of the Governor- General of Canada.] Roberts's Sketches in the Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia, Part XIX.

[The views in this part are of Mounts Sinai and Horeb; subjects grand and im- pressive in themselves, apart from the awful associations connected with them. Mr. Roberts's sketches are, however, in this instance not rendered with Mr. Mag.he's usual success: the lithographs are not only slight but hard and tiny; the buildings are My-like; and the factorial effects are produced by an obvioustrick cif opposing lights and darks, without reference to natural truth.]