PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

BOOKS.

Thirty Years of Foreign Policy. A History of the Secretaryships of the Earl of Aberdeen and Viscount Palmerston. By the Author of "The Right Hon. B. Disraeli, M.P., a Literary and Political Biography."

The History of British Guiana. Comprising a General Description of the Colony ; a Narrative of some of the principal Events from the Earliest Period of its Discovery to the Present Time ; together with an Account of its Climate, Geology, Staple Products, and Natural His- tory. By Henry G. Dalton, M.D., &c. In two volumes.

Miscellanies, Critical, Imaginative, and Juridical, contributed to "Black- wood's Magazine," by Samuel Warren, D.C.L., F.R.S., of the Inner Temple, one of her Majesty's Counsel. In two volumes.

The Rural Economy of England, Scotland, and Ireland. By Leonce De Lavergne. Translated from the French, with Notes, by a Scottish Farmer.

Jerusalem Revisited. By W. H. Bartlett, Author of " Walks about Je- rusalem." With Illustrations.

The Rose and the Ring; or the History of Prince Giglio and Prince Bulbo. A Fireside Pantomime for Great and Small Children. By Mr. M. A. Titmarab, Author of "The Kickleburys on the Rhine," &c.

March Winds and April Showers : being Notes and Notions on a few

Created Things. By " Acheta," Author of "Episodes of Insect Life." [The title of this book has no correspondence with its contents ; for although much of the matter is about natural history, it is not at all limited to those parts of it which are connected with March winds or April showers. The volume touches upon things of all seasons, apparently with the purpose of popularizing science ; but the method of proceeding is not exactly the right method. The facts of natural history which furnish information, especially where they illustrate a principle, are clearly and very agreeably told ; but they are overlaid by too much of fanciful framework, by a minute though elegant manner of description, and with more than enough of moral reflections or personal reminiscences of the author. The incidental auto- biography of an eminent writer is deeply interesting, but not that of a small anonymous celebrity.]

Odessa and its Inhabitants. By an English Prisoner in Russia. [To render of any value a picture of the Russians at Odessa and its neigh- bourhood by an officer of the Tiger, we must feel sure about the authenticity ; and this can only be effected by the writer's name being prefixed to the work. This has not been done by an English Prisoner in Russia. Odessa and its Inhabitants is therefore open to the suspicion of being the production of some mere litterateur ; and there are no such internal marks—as original obser- vation, or particular circumstances tearing an evident air of truth—to remove the doubt. Even if authenticity were established, the interest would be slender. At best it is but a weak repetition of Mr. Royer. The larger part, however, consists of trivial social sketches, and an infusion of such indi- vidual matters as the author's study of languages and his love-affairs.] History for Boys; or Annals of the Nations of Modern Europe. By John G. Edgar, Author of "The Boyhood of Great Men," &c. With eight Illustrations.

[A rapid and rhetorical summary of the leading incidents in the history of all the nations of Europe. It may well be said all ; for besides France, Eng- land, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Portugal, which together with the Low Countries, Holland and Belgium, contributed to form modern society and the modern political system, there is Switzerland, Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, and Turkey. In doubling up so many histories into a single volume, only salient points can be noticed ; even in their case many necessary cir- cumstances must of necessity be omitted. This superficial mode of dealing with history is not exactly to our taste. Those who like it will find History for Boys well done in its way ; striking, picturesque, and somewhat osten- tatious in its exhibition, after the manner of the lower schools of rhetoric.] Detached Thoughts and Apophthegms, extracted from some of the Writings of Archbishop Whately. First series. [The editor of this neat little volume truly observea that Archbishop Whate- ly is not one of those fragmentary writers who deal in insulated passages of "wit and wisdom." Pointed sentences 'complete in themselves--‘, tares atque rotundus "—may easily be found, as this volume testifies. De. Whately's more distinctive qualities must be sought in his works ; ex- tracts from him are like the ancient's brick as a specimen of his house. Love of truth in religious inquiry—love of truth for itself—is the subject of the present series ; to be followed by selections of a miscellaneous kind. The pn sent volume will furnish matter for serious thought as well as for striking reading.] The Forest Exiles; or the Perils of a Peruvian Family amid the Wilds of the Amazon. By Captain Mayne Reid, Author of "The Boy Hunters," &c. With twelve Illustrations.

[Among the many modern imitators of De Foe, Captain Reid has the faculty of starting his adventurers appropriately, so that his story has likelihood for a basis. He is also acquainted with Transatlantic countries and an adven- turous life, with its excitement, its dangers, and its varieties ; and that knowledge gives vraisemblance to his descriptions and incidents. The ob- ject of this story is to describe the fauna and flora of the great forest of the upper waters of the Amazon ; and to describe it not drily, but by individual specimens connected with human interest. For this purpose, the author implicates the head of a Spanish Creole family in a plot against Spanish au- thority in Peru, just before the final revolt, some fifty years ago, which severed the colonies from the mother-country. Denounced, and pursued by soldiery, Don Pablo is compelled to fly across the Andes with his wife, his family, and a single Indian servant. When they reach the forests on the Eastern slope, slow starvation, or a violent death from Indians or animals, stares them in the face. The discovery of a deserted " mission," with its plaintain, -bana- na, and cassava trees, its coffee and cocoa plants, secures them food ; a natu- ral plantation of chincona trees furnishes them with a boundless supply of medical " bark." When they have leisurely gathered a sufficiency to load a raft, they descend their river to the Amazon, and thence to Para, where Don Pablo freights a vessel for New York ; and he becomes a rich man by the produce of his sojourn in "the biggest wood in the world."

The regions are various enough to exhibit variety in natural history, from

the condor of the highest Andes to the reptile of the swamp ; the nature and duration of the story allow them to be shown without too much crowding or force. A little of the melodramatic is sometimes found in the incidents that display natural history in action, but this need not mislead.] Dashwood Priory; or Mortimer's College Life. By E. J. May, Author

of " Louis's School Days," &c. Illustrated by John Gilbert.

[In form this might be considered a juvenile tale ; for it relates to school days, college days, and domestic occurrences, in which family affections, rather than manners or the common " interest" of novels, are concerned. It might also be called a religio-didactic fiction ; for the leading persons are serious, several of them are clergymen, and a religious atmosphere pervades the book. Besides the main moral of individual firmness and self-control which the hero at last attains, there are other lessons, striking from not being obtruded. However, its class is of no consequence. Dashwood Priory is full of characters, often very nicely marked, and with sufficient incidents, mostly interesting, sometimes touching. There is more too of liveliness and lightness than is often found in tales which avowedly aim at improvement. Dashwood _Priory is really a remarkable book, with far greater reality and interest than more ambitious fictions.] Alice Nugent; or Seed for Coming Days.

[Alice Nugent is a pattern governess, who by her amiability, cleverness, in- dustry, and other excellences, not only checks the evil dispositions of her pupils, but, by cultivating their good qualities, fits them for the days of ad- versity that come, as well as for the prosperity that finally comes back again. The story is evidently by an amateur ; but, with the pleasant gaucherie, there is also the freshness of an amateur writer.]

The Castle-Builders ; or the Deferred Confirmation. By the Author of " Heartsease," &c.

[In this religious tale the well-known author of "The Heir of Reddy& " has applied her talents to some charitable or society object, if we may judge from the style of getting-up. The usual readers of such books, however, will almost wonder where they have got to, for they will find themselves in company both high and mixed, exhibited in a diffirent way from what they are accustomed to.]

Remarkable Sieges, from the Siege of Constantinople in 1454 to that o Sebastopol in 1854. With Observations of Fortification and Siege Operations. By Henry Ottley. Illustrated with numerous Diagrams and full-page Engravings.

[Beginning with Mehemet the Second's capture of Constantinople, and end- ing with the attack of Sebastopol by the Allies, so far as it has gone, Mr. Ottley fills up the intermediate space with some of the most remarkable sieges between the periods. Besides a dozen sieges, and some introduc- tory observations on fortification and siege operations, there are numerous wood-cuts—all for a shilling.]

_Daily Thoughts for a Child. By Mre. Thomas Gelded.

[Texts of Scripture, followed by explanatory remarks, and illustrated by short and simple stories.]

Horatii Carmine. The Odes and Epodes of Horace. With short Eng- lish Notes for the use of Schools. (Latin Texts, with Notes.) Bucoliea Virgilii. The Bucolics of Virgil. With short English Note*

for the use of Schools. (Lntin Texts, with Notes.)

Georgica Virgilii. The Georgics of Virgil. With short English Notes for the use of Schools. (Latin Texts, with Notes.)

[Very neat classical pocket-books.] Some of the following have a London titlepage, but from the typogra- phical appearance we believe them all to be importations from America. There is not much at the slackest of times very deeply attractive to English readers at large in another history of the American Constitution, in an essay on Chinese in particular or language in general, or in a sort of half-tale half-sketches, for such is " Later Years." In this busy period of war and Parliament, with the prospects of an early and a bustling season, we must announce and take leave at once. The first and last are from Sampson Low ; the two middle volumes from Triibner.

History of the Origin, Formation, and Adoption of the Constitution of the United States; with Notices of its Principal Framers. By George Ticknor Curtis. In two volumes. Volume T.

Discoveries in Chinese ; or the Symbolism of the Primitive Characters of the Chinese System of Writing as a Contribution to Philology and Ethnology and a Practical Aid in the Acquisition of the Chinese Lan- guage. By Stephen Pearl Andrews.

Glossology : being a Treatise on the Nature of Language and on the Language of Nature. By Charles Kraitser, M.D. Second edition. Later Years. By the Author of "The Old House by the River."

The only publications in the following list which call for remark are " Orr's Circle of the Sciences." " Organic Nature," containing the principles of physiology, the structure of the skeleton, and the varieties of the human race, has reached a second edition, while we have been vainly trying to find an opportunity to notice the first. The "Mathematical Sciences" is not strictly a new edition, but a reissue of parts in the form of a volume.

Ores Circle of the Sciences. A Series of Treatises on the Principles of Science, with their Application to practical pursuits. Organic Nature. Volume I. Second edition. (The Principles of Physiology : the Structure of the Skeleton and of the Teeth : and the Varieties of the Human Race. With an Introductory Treatise on the Nature, Con- nexion, and Uses of the great departments of Knowledge. The Prin- ciples of Physiology by the Editor. Structure of the Skeleton and Teeth, by Professor Owen, F.R.S. Varieties of the Human Race, by R. G. Latham, M.D., F.R.S.) The Mathematical Sciences : including Simple Arithmetic, Algebra, and

the Elements of Euclid, by J. R. Young, late Professor of Mathema- tics. Planes, Spherical Trigonometry, Series, Logarithms, and Mensura- tion, by the Reverend J. F. Twisden, M.A., Professor of Mathematics, Sandhurst. And Practical Geometry, by Alexander Jardine, Esq., Civil Engineer. (Orr's Circle of the Sciences : a Series of Treatises on the Principles of Science. With their Application to practical pursuits.)

The Dream of Pythagoras, and other Poems. By Emma Tatham. Second edition, revised and enlarged.

Talpa : or the Chronicles of a Clay Farm. An Agricultual Fragment. By Chandos Wren Hoskins, Esq. Third edition.

ILLUSTRATED WORKS.

Milton's " L' Allegro" and "Il .Pcnseroso." Illustrated with Etch- ings on Steel, by Birket Foster. [A beautiful edition, printed in red ink on yellowish paper. We do not remember to have met Mr. Birket Foster before among etchers. His designs here are generally very graceful and delicate in the landscape portions, and in the figures quite up to his usual mark. Their execution is midway be- tween refinement and finish, though a deficiency of rich surface is often felt. The intrinsic want of Mr. Foster is strong individuality. His figures are the pretty puppets of every one who can manage a pencil ; his view of mi- ld-re is every body's view, very clearly and agreeably expressed ; his tone does not become sensibly and intrinsically graver in the Penseroso than in the Allegro; and his style depends not on character, but on dainty practice. This may be the more strongly felt if we compare his designs with those of the Etching Club to the Allegro ; where great brilliancy is combined with solidity and force by the best men, and indeed more or less by all. How- ever, Mr. Foster shows himself a capable etcher, and continues to deserve admirers among the lovers of the beautiful and the artistic as well as of the pretty.] Willie's First Drawing-Lessons : Simple Lines of Nature. By a Lady. Illustrated by numerous Engravings, by Philip II. Delamotte.

[These drawing-lessons belong to the "good little boy" school. They teach hardly anything beyond the fact that all lines in nature are either straight or curved, and that their combinations are angles, circles, &c. ; the remainder being an exemplification of these truisms from various objects falling under the eye of ' Willie" in his excursions with papa and mamma. Such lessons do not lead far even towards half-way-house on the road to art, though all well enough in their small way. Mr. Delamotte's wood-cuts are good ; some of them extremely good—facile, simple, and full.]

The Butterfly's Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast. By Thomas Ros- coe. Illustrated by Kenny Meadows. [Amusing verses and pretty prints. The former did amuse us earlier in the century ; and the latter, however inaccurate as natural-history delineations even in grotesque, are spiced with grace and with fun, like other things of the kind by Mr. Meadows.] Pippins and Pies : or Sketches out of School. Being the Adventures and Misadventures of Master Frank Pickleberry during the Month that he was at Home for the Holidays. By I. Stirling Coyne. Illus- trated by M'Connell.

ALMANACKS.

The Literary and Scientific Register and Almanack, for 1855. By I. W. G. Gutch, M.R.C.S.L., late Foreign Service Queen's Messenger. [This valuable and well-arranged pocket-book of infinite information does not seem to have any new branch of science for next year, but it keeps all the old well up to the time.] The War Almanack, for 1855; a Naval and Military Year-Book.

[This almanack contains accounts of all the battles and affairs, in the present war, from Oltenitza to Inkerman, including the principal official despatches ; biographical notices of the most distinguished officers ; an obituary ; sta- tistics of our military and naval force; and a variety of information, political, diplomatic, warlike, or courtly.] PAMPHLETS. •

Russia, Poland, and Europe; or the in- A Letter on the Rank, Rights, and Recog- evitable Consequence of the Present Nib:0a of the Officers of the Army of . War. A Sequel to the Pamphlet en- India, as Soldiers of the Empire ; ad-

titled "Russia and Europe." By Count dressed to my Cousin Samuel in the Valerian Rrasinski, Author of "The Horse Guards, by Percy V) vyau. No. I.

History of the Reformation in Poland." Death in Battle. A Set mon preached in Why Besiege Sebastopol? A I.etter ad- the Church of St. George's, Hanover dressed to the Right Honourable the, Square, on the 26th of November 1854.

Earl of Derby. By a Man of Business. By J. L. Roberts, M.A., Fellow of

Russian Sympathies in Germany. Queen's College, Oxford, and Curate of On the Militia Force, and its Right A p- St. George's, Hanover Square. plication to the Present Circumstances , HaeLaurin's System of P riling. of the Country and the Regular Army. The Crystal Palace. Reasons for and

'A Letter to the Right Honourable Sid- against the Admission of the Public on

ney Herbert, Secretary-at-War, from Sundays. A Dialogue.

Colonel Mansfield, 53d Regiment.