PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

Booxs.

On the Composition of Food, and How it is Adulterated ; with Practical Direc- tions for its Analysis. By W. Mareet, M.D.' F.C.S.,. Assistant-Physician and Lecturer on Physiological and Pathological Chemistry to the Westmin- ster Hospital, &c. &c.

The Chemistry of Food and Diet; with a Chapter on Food Adulterations. The Treatise on Food and Diet being a translation of " Lehre der Nahrungs Mittel, fur das Yolk," by Professor Moleschott, of Zurich, by Edward Brouner, aLD., 8te. The Chapter on Food Adulterations by John Scoffern, M.S. Loud., late Professor of Chemistry at the Ablersgate School of Me- dicine.

Arthur .Brandon : a Novel. In two volumes.

Dred : a Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp. By Harriet Beecher Stowe, Au- thor of" Uncle Torn's Cabin."

English Traits. By B. W. Emerson, Author of "Representative Men,* &c. (Printed by arrangement with the Author.) 7As Northinen in Cumberland and Westmoreland. By Robert Fergu- son.—According to Mr. Ferguson, Cumberland and Westmoreland were not only extensively settled by Northmen but those Northmen were Norwegians, not Danes. They came too from the West of Scotland, not direct from the North ; first effecting settlements in the Isle of Man and Pembrokeshire, and occupying the two counties after the Saxon Sing Edmund had destroyed the aboriginal Britons under their native chief Dunrnall. Of this theory there is not a particle of proof from historical record. Neither do the detailed arguments by which the author follows up his general statement in any way establish. it. Traces of institutions, customs, remains, and inscriptions, together with proofs derived from names of places, raay show that a race has occupied a country, but not how it came there.

Mr. Ferguson originally took up the subject for a popular lecture, de- signed to present to his audience the leading facts in Worsaae's Danes and Iforwegiims in England. Appetite grew by what it fed on, and he has pursued the matter to its present growth, teaching in order to learn. The main attraction of the book is arehreological or local. A person who cares nothing about the topic of inquiry for itself will feel an interest in discussions about the names of places with which he is familiar, or remains he has often looked at, while to a man unacquainted with the country the whole dissertation is dry. The introduction touch- ing upon the extent and influence of the Northern settlements in Eng- land is of a more general nature than the particular arguments. Here is a curious bit on Northern names-

" Mr. Worsaae has remarked that our greatest admiral bears a Scandina- vian name, and was sprung from one of the counties peopled by the Danes. And the names, too of Blake and Rodney are to be found in the Blake and Hrodny of the Scandinavian vikings.

'It might be curious to speculate further on the Northern origin of names. We might ask whether the well-known Dick Turpint was not a genuine descendant of one of the Yorkshire vikings—whether Thurtell,2 the treacherous murderer of his friend, did not preserve the worst form of Scan- dinavian ferocity. But though a characteristic trait seeing sometimes to start up like a family likeness after many .generations, Saxon and Dane have long been blended into one people and in many and varied spheres the descendants of the Northmen have obtained renown. Arnold' and Taits have successively developed the intelligence of the youth of England—Aldersons and Rolfes maintained the dignity of the British bench—Brodie2 has taken off his limbs with a deference to humanity—Urlings is famed for lace—and Gunter9 presides peaceably over wedding-breakfasts. The descendants of Northern Skalds seem to have found a congenial occupation in booksellim for among our most eminent publishers five, viz. Cadell,10 Colltorn,12

Orme,13 and Tait, bear names of Scandinavian origin.

" (is Thorping. (2) Thortill. (3) Arnalldr—• Old Ingle.' (4) Teitr. (5) Hal- dorsen. (6) HrElfr, mighty. (7) Broddi, perhaps from broddr, a spear, dart, goad, anything sharp, a lancet. (8) Erlingr, industrious. (9) Gunther, from gums, battle. (10) Eadall. (11) Kolbiiirn, holtr, helmeted, and born, a child. (MI Hallr—hallr, a flint ?—rather hair,' vir liter et liberalis.' (13) Ormr, a serpent —the Old Eng. worm."

The Science of Mind, or Pneumatology, Volume I.—The object of this work seems to be to place metaphysics in the same state in which Euclid left geometry ; "so that additions may be made, but neither the substrata be again disturbed, nor the organization be pulled to pieces and the parts readjusted.." It is to be feared that the author's abilities stop far short of this achievement. He bases his "science of mind" upon sen- sation; beginning with the palate, and the "several varieties of animal matter as causes or occasions of sensations of taste." However, he breaks down at the outset, from defective arrangement of the numerous sensations of taste, as he says. Others may trace it to the difficulty of the subject, or to something in the philosopher. These are his ideas of beef, &c. The Ox or Bullock.—The flesh of this animal is called beef; it is in large consumption amongst the modern civilized nations of Europe and America. Bruce makes, on several occasions, a statement that the Abys- sinians eat the raw flesh. The soldiers cut it from the buttock of the aiu. mal whilst alive. At their brinde feasts it was eaten by the higher classes. The flavour must to them, therefore have been agreeable. What the taste of raw beef may be, is utterly unknown to nearly every civilized person. The flavour of beef, when roasted or baked, stewed or boiled, is known to us familiarly as pleasant' but how to describe it is the difficulty. There are, I apprehend, no terms by which these flavours can be discriminated- from the flavours of other kinds of meat. The flesh of the young of the cow, which is called veal, is more insipid. The beef of the wild bull, a species which I suppose is still preserved in Chillingbam Park, is said in Goldsmith's Animated Nature ' to be of excellent flavour."

So much for Pneumatology.

The Handbook of Assurance; tads Hints Legal and Practical. By a Solicitor.—Various information relating to insurances chiefly life and fire, thrown into the dictionary form. There is nothing in the compila- tion but-what is well known to those who have given attention to the subject ; it will be useful to many who contemplate insuring and wish to learn something of the practice of insurance. The best part is the appendix; which contains a summary view of existing companies, alpha- betically arranged, and exhibiting their capital, objects, and business characteristics. This last feature would be improved by omitting mere general terms of praise in reference to particular offices.

Practical Mechanics. By James Imray. [Orr's Circle of the Sciences.] —An introduction to the practice of mechanical drawing, the strength of materials, and the sources of mechanical power, chiefly wind and water ; preceded by a brief exposition of the principles of mechanics. Though without novelty, the treatise is useful from its plainness and simplicity. The text is copiously illustrated by cuts and diagrams.

Lays of Memory, Sacred and Social. By a Mother and her Son.— Kindly feelings, an amiable spirit, and a devout piety, with elegance of thought rather than much force of expression, are more characteristic of these Lays than poetry properly so called. The pieces by the "Mother" are occasional in their nature, and generally on topics connected with family life ; those by the "Son" are chiefly on religious subjects, and have something of a masculine tone.

The .Barber's Shop. By Richard Wright Procter.—A pleasant and gossipy book about the "characters," events, and doings of Manchester and its vicinity, for the last thirty or forty years. The author writes in the character of a "barber "—man and boy, apprentice and master ; and his reminiscences are confined to the things and persons with which "an artist" of that grade would naturally become acquainted.

Manchester Papers : a Series of Occasional Essays. September 18.56.— This serial is an instance of the little dependence that can be placed upon occasional contributions. The first number was more worthy than the second, and the second more worthy than the third. Of the three essays in the present number—on the Philosophy of Music, our Working Classes, and the Exhibition of the Art Treasures of the United Kingdom, the last is the best, apparently because the writer takes a practical in- terest in the subject.

Inca and Gilberes Outlines. _Descriptive Geography. By Professor Wallace, M.A., &c.—A little school-book, literally crammed full of clearly-arranged facts and information relating to mathematical, physico- political, and statistical geography. The only doubt is, whether there is not too much in too small a compass for mere beginners.

Outlines of English History. By Henry Ice, M.A.—A well-known and excellent resume, the sale of which is said to have gone beyond a hundred thousand.