1 APRIL 1843, Page 18

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED,

From March 29th to March 30th.

BOOKS.

Elegiac Poems.

The Man of the People ; a NoveL By the Author of " The Prince, Duke, and Page." In three volumes.

A Treatise on Mental Derangement. By Faawcrs WILLIS, M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. Second edition, revised. [This is the second edition of a book published some time since by Dr. WILLIS, the grandson of the celebrated keeper of GEORGE the Third, and now reprinted through the public interest felt upon the subject from the cases of APN.anowrzw and others. The primary object of the author was to defend the necessity of medical treatment of the insane, and restraint in certain cases, in opposition to the views of those persons who considered madness could be cured by moral means alone : Dr. Witias also offered some opposition to the law for the supervision of madhouses by periodical inspection. These objects, however, are incidental, and subordinate to an essay on the subject of madness; which Dr. Wilms considers under three divisions,—derangement, delirium, and insanity. In delirium, the bodily disor- der is obvious ; the patient is unconscious of surrounding objects, or the im- pressions made upon the senses are false or inaccurate ; and if the bodily disease be not terminated by rapid cure or death, there is every probability-of the patient becoming deranged. In insanity, said the first Dr. WILLIS before a Committee of the House of Commons, "there may be little or no disturbance apparent in the general constitution ; the mind is occupied upon some fixed assumed idea, to the truth of which it will pertinaciously adhere, in opposition to the plainest evi- dence of its falsity; and the individual is always acting upon that false impres- sion. In insanity also, the mind is awake to objects which are present. [And it might perhaps be added, that the impressions made on the senses by material ob- jects are generally true, though the inferences deduced from them may be false.] Taking insanity, therefore, and delirium as two points, I would place derange- ment of mind somewhere between them." Dr. WILLIS, the author of this volume considers that, however difficult its practical discovery may be, the principle of the test between derangement and insanity consists in this—that derangement is accompanied by bodily disease' and is curable ; in insanity, there is no apparent bodily disease, and the case is hopeless. Both insanity and de- rangement are characterized by a high and a low state,—the raving and melan- choly madness of the people; the suicidal tendency chiefly prevailing in the low state.

The pith of the opinion of Dr. Wrrms on cases similar to those of WIstanceiTzsr may be given in his own language. "When we see a man, rational on most subjects, arming himself with pistols, and coolly waiting for an opportunity to slay his victim on account of having received from him some fancied ill-usage, we are led to suppose, as this man seemed to premeditate the act, and was sane on other subjects, that he should be held responsible ; and I was once greatly disposed to yield to this opinion : but, upon looking more closely into the subject, I am now satisfied of the incorrectness of it. Speaking of a sane man, we can justly say he premeditates the act he has planned to perform ; but this word does not express or embrace the intentional conduct of the madman ; nor can I explain my sentiments more clearly than by saying that he is haunted by such a constant and irresistible impulse to fulfil the object on which his mind is bent, as to overcome every healthy and natural feel- ing, and shut out from his consideration all regard for the consequences, however serious they might be to himself or to any one else. Whatever be his all- absorbing idea, the lunatic cannot rest, cannot obtain what he calls his peace of mind, until he has accomplished his purpose. This irresistible impulse is strongly exemplified in the case of the patient who ao determinedly strove to bite out his tongue. Be was regardless of the torture he put himself to, so that he could accomplish what he conceived to be his duty. A similar state of feeling leads to suicide; and I am persuaded, if restraint was had recourse to when it is first observed, we should have fewer to lament over.

"The intellects of these persons, although greatly deranged, are not impaired: they are not ignorant of the sinfulness of their conduct; but they are, as it were, compelled to yield to the dictates of their disordered imagination."

The admirers of SHARSPERE will find in this volume a farther proof of his universal knowledge. Dr. WILLIS not only instances passages from Hamlet and Opbelia as exhibiting traits of peculiar shades of disordered in- tellect, but he treats Lear as a more perfect • case" of mental derangement in the high state than his own experience or that of other writers on the sub- ject can furnish; tracing it through its origin, progress, and cure ; the main curative means (sleep) being properly indicated by the poet.]

Religious and Moral Sentences culled from the Works of Shakspere com- pared with Sacred Passages drawn from Holy Writ: being a selection of religions sentiments and moral precepts, blended in the dramatic works, &e. of our immortal bard. By a Member of the Shakspere Society.

[In the house at Stratford-upon-Avon where some SHAKSPERE relics are shown, is a framed and glazed copy of a will, purporting to be the poet's but in reality a gross and impudent Popish fraud—as may be verified by any one at Doctors Commons. This daring imposition set the compiler upon se- lecting passages from SHAKSPERE to disprove the notion that he was a Papist; and these collectanea, attacking the priesthood and the Pope, form the first part of the book before us. But, though certainly exhibiting no reverence for the Romish clergy, a casuist might remark that they are dramatic speeches, expressing the opinions of the characters represented, not the deliberate convictions of the writer himself. The second part of the book contains passages supposed to be derived from the Scriptures, with the view of showing how carefully the poet had read the Sacred Writings, and therefore could not be a Papist. But, to say nothing of the defectiveness of this general argument, the majority of the particular passages prove nothing mil regards imitation, or even derivation of idea. The third section consists of moral and religious sentences from SHARSPERE, and illustrates the force of JonusoN's remark, " that he who would recommend Skakspere by the quotation of par- ticular passages, acts like the pedant in Hierocles, who carried a brick in his pocket as a specimen of his house." The introductory matter contains some curious remarks, not unpleasantly written : but the book altogether is crotchety.] The Juryman's Legal Hand-book, and Manual of Common Law : adapted to the comprehension of jurors and others, and affording information peculiarly useful to professional gentlemen, to the man of business, the parish-officer, &c. By THOMAS H. CORNISH, Esq., of Gray's Inn, Barrister-at-Law.

[This volume is a singular hodgepodge. There is in it a view of the laws relating to Juries, a good many legal axioms, and a good many apothegms deduced from law, or based on law, but which a lawyer might doubt to be law, though he might admit their truth. Mixed up with this information or instruction directly useful to jurors, is a strange variety of subjects about CONFUCIUS of China, 2Eneas the Trojan, and other things as remote from English jurymen as it is possible to conceive. There is matter. in the volume for a useful and practical little work on the subject ; but this is less a book than the materials for a book.] A Diamond Latin-English Dictionary: being an Abridgment of the Young Scholar's Latin-English Dictionary. By the Rev. J. E. RID- DLE, M.A., Author of " Ecclesiastical Chronology," &c. [This is a new and excellent idea well-executed. There is a diamond Join:- SON published by PICKERING, and some smallish editions of French and other dictionaries of modern languages have appeared that would go in the coat-tail pocket of a traveller ; but the neatest and most needed of all, a classical vade- mecum, was reserved for Mr. RIDDLE and the year of grace 1843. A pocket English dictionary is chiefly useful to gentlemen in the condition of LISTON in the farce, "It's not for the orthography I care, it's only for the spelling " : a foreigner may produce any dictionary openly and without shame, to make his way in a strange land ; but what distress and dilemma were his who, with a re- putation for classical scholarship, was called upon to translate inscriptions by the ladies of the party ! whereas now, with Mr. RIDDLE all unseen in his coat, he may construe all such puzzles in his morning-walk, and astonish by his glibness at noonday. Jesting aside, however, this abridgment, from the small space it occupies, will be very useful to those students who are sufficiently advanced to take a classic author as a companion, and yet may frequently need some help. The author states that nearly every word occurring in writers of classical authority is contained in this multum in parvo or the Latinist's vade-mecum.] The Christian Philosopher; or the Connexion of Science and Philosophy with Religion. Illustrated with engravings. By THOMAS DICK, LL.D., Author of " The Philosophy of Religion," &c. Eighth edi- tion, revised, corrected, and greatly enlarged. [The extensive circulation of this volume, which besides having passed through several editions in this country has been stereotyped in America, shows that the purpose of its author in popularizing the leading facts of natural science, and rendering them subservient to the illustration of revealed religion, has been generally appreciated. The present edition has received material enlarge- ment ; the article Geology having been increased to double its former extent, and other subjects extended by the introduction of recent discoveries, especially those connected with Electro-Magnetism. Dr. DICK'S work is well calculated to enlighten those persons especially who from religious scruples have shunned the investigation of the phmnomena of science and the wonders of creation.]

A Course of Lectures to Young Men, on Science, Literature, and Religion : delivered in Glasgow, by Ministers of various denominations. Second series. Second thousand.

[ Though partaking too much of the character of oral discourses, and occasionally of a pulpit tone and manner, these lectures possess the merit of being well adapted to the persons to whom they were addressed, and are suggestive of thought and reflection. Those most free from the declamatory and dictatorial style are such as treat on scientific and literary subjects; for instance, those on Geology, by Dr. DUNCAN, and on Modern Prose Literature, by Dr. BRYCE.] Voices of the Night. By —1°T.NRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW. Sixth

edition.

[A sixth edition speaks enough for Mr. LONGFELLOW'S American popularity ; but the poems have not sufficient distinctive mark or novelty to require an elaborate notice.] The Judgment of .Brutus ; an Historical Tragedy, in five acts. By JAMES FORD, M.D., Author of "Sonnets," &c.

Waverky Novels, Vol. XXV.—" The Surgeon's Daughter," and "Cas- tle Dangerous."

Our Mess, No. XVL Combe Abbey, No. XII. Thornton's History of the British Empire in India, Vol. IV. Part VI. Boz's Martin Chuzzlewit, No. IV.

New Statistical Account of Scotland, No. XLII.

Klauer's German Amaranths, No. Ill. The Smugglers, Part IL PERIODICALS.

The Story-Teller ; or a Table-book of Popular Literature. Edited by

ROBERT BELL, Author of" Lives of the Poets," &c. No. I. [This miscellany is a sort of wallet for scraps of every kind of light literature, fiction and fact, legends of old times and sketches of modern life, ballads and epigrams, original, translated, and reprinted. The chiffonier—to carry out the simile—who has undertaken to fill it weekly, has a quick eye for such waifs and strays as arc picked up in nooks and corners, hut are overlooked by many who tread the by-paths of the world of letters : he can appreciate an antique coin or a quaint trinket as well as rusty nails and bits of metal, and descants upon any curious fragment in the gossiping vein of a virtuoso. The attraction of this collection of odds and ends consists not so much in the intrinsic worth of each one—for gems are rare—as in the fragmentary nature and medley cha- racter of the whole ; subjects and styles being jumbled together in most ad- mired disorder. The carouse with which the opening of the wallet is celebrated smacks of the Gaberlunzie's revel, and is reeking with tavern-fumes; but some latitude must be allowed to the "snapper-up ot unconsidered trifles."] British Quarterly Journal of Dental Surgery. Edited by J. ROBINSON,

&el. No. I. Foreign Quarterly Review, No. LXI. Church of England Quarterly Review, No. XXVI. British Farmer's Magazine, No. XXV. New York Democratic Review for March.

Magazines for April—Blackwood's, Tait's, Fraser's, Churchman Village Churchman Ainsworth's, Monthly, Civil Engineer and Architect's Journal, Church of England, Farmer's, New Monthly Belle Assemblie, Sportsman, British, World of Fashion.

ILLUSTRATED WORKS AND PRINTS. Gailhabaud's Ancient and Modern Architecture, Part VII. Abbotsford Edition of the Waverley Novels, Part XXV. The Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland Illustrated, Part XXIII. SERIALS. PAMPHLETS.

The Necessity of Reforming the Corporation of London Demonstrated By a Citizen.

[The general views of the Citizen are not very striking in themselves, or very powerfully expressed ; but his statistics and personal facts, showing the cor- ruption of the Corporation and the jobbing of its members, are strong.] Corn-laws : the Consequences of the Sliding Scale examined and ex- posed ; being the substance of a Speech delivered in the House of Lords, on Tuesday 14th March 1843. By Lord MONTEAGLE, F.R.S. Six Lectures on the Corn-law Monopoly and Free Trade : delivered at the London Mechanics Institution, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane. By PHILIP HARWOOD. A New Theory and Treatment of Disease, founded upon natural prin- ciples. *By Rune TINNION, M.D., Ayr. Aug Church Polities: in Letters to my People ; with special reference to the present position of the Church of Scotland in its relations to the State. By the Reverend N. MORREN, North Church, Greenock. The Anglican Bishopric of Jerusalem : a respectful Letter to Mons. WI- ham Howley, styled the Most Reverend Lord Archbishop of Canter- bury, Primate and Metropolitan of all England ; from a French Pro- testant Pastor. Translated by Join: MIDDLETON HARE, Author of "The Life and Labours of Dr. Adam Clarke."

The Factory Bill overstocks the Trade with Hands, and thereby reduces Wages and ruins the Workpeople. To the Right Honourable Sir Robert Peel, Bart. FRANCIS THORPE. A Few Thoughts on Church Subjects; viz.—uniformity, daily service, gown and surplice, private dress, pews, preaching. By the Reverend EDWARD SCOBELL, A.M., Incumbent of St. Peter's, Vere Street, &c.

Four Waltzes for the Pianoforte. Composed by R. W. H. Bcanacs, Organist of Ashborne, Derbyshire.