THE ANNUALS.
WE have now piled before us the whole crop of Annuals. The array is certainly dazzling : all that silk and satin, vellum, morocco, paper, type, and print can do for books, has here been lavished on these luxuries, with a profusion, and almost an enthusiasm, un- equalled in the history of literature, except perhaps in the curious illustration and fabrication of the Missals and Hours of a bygone age. But the latter was a work of holiness; and when once per- fection was reached, though the copy cost a treasure, it served a life, and perhaps gained a soul. Here is a pretty obvious reason for outlay. The spirit of gain is, however, in this age, as adven- turous, and as productive of deeds of high emprize, as the spirit of any other age whatever, be it religion or be it war. The Crusades even, that most striking of all grand national movements, has been over and over again equalled in courage, in expense, in enthusiasm, by the spirit of gainful commerce. Witness the discovery of the New World, the circumnavigation of the globe, the multitudinous expeditions to America, the Polar voyages, and our grand East Indian empire. The spirit of gain is at the bottom of all : it moves alike the East Indiaman and the Annual: each is an argosy freighted with the treasure and the hopes of the firm, that spreads, whether it be sails or leaves, to court the breath of heaven or of public applause. The remarkable thing about these Annuals, after their beauty, is that there should be so many ; and next, that they should be so much alike: the differences are so small, that most of them might exchange publishers and titles, and no one would be surprised. Since there is so large a capital employed upon them, in so many hands, and each striving for excellence with such energy, it is not a little singular that their productions should be turned out as if from the same manufactory, and the same fabricators. The truth
$ The following is the character of the Chinese of Canton, as given in ancient Chinese books—" People of Canton are silly, light, weak in body, and weak in mud, without any ability to fight on.land."—The. Indo-Chinese Gleaner, No. 19. § Joss is a Chinese eon-option of the Portuguese Dios, God. is, that the real workmen, whether in literature or art, are pretty much the same; and that the employers, tolerably deficient them-. - selves in taste and invention, take the production as it comes, ap- proving or disapproving as it approaches or recedes from some model in the trade, supposed to have been successful. The writers, like the artist, form a common body for the supply of all : and though we cannot be surprised that a general character should run through all their works, it is a fair and legitimate subject of wonder, ,that there should be so little novelty and variety in their successive productions. Miss MITFORD is always telling us of Kibes Lane. Mrs. HEMANS invariably raises a strain half chi- valric and half saintly. RITCHIE has always a superstition or a tradition to sell. L. E. L. is as invariable as her initials : not one new idea has she broached this year. Mr. FRASER is either in the Highlands of Scotland or the Himalayas of India. WILLIAM and MARY HowiTT are as uniform in their composition as their attire : the fashion is quaint and pretty, but never varies. And so on with the rest of the Annual Staff'.
It may be judged from these remarks, that there is nothing very special to say of the Annuals of this season : they are neither better nor worse than they have been for some years past, and indeed as like all their predecessors as they can be without containing, in any one instance, the same arrangement of words. Their comparative merits also preserve about the same proportion. The Forget Me Not is, as usual, the most various and the most unpretending in its contributions. From the pen of HAYNES BAYLY, it has also the merit of possessing the liveliest copy of verses in the whole round of the Annuals : we mean "Nen Faces." Isamu. HILL, in "Jock Shaddock," and Mr. J. M. WILSON, in the " Vacant Chair," bear away the bell in story-tell- ing. The "Vacant Chair" is, we think, the cleverest tale of the year. We like, too, the " Sporting Adventure among the Moun- tains of Auvergne," by Mr. G. A. HANSARD: it is only an anec- dote, but it is well told; the picture looks real, and comes out boldly.
In the Literary Souvenir, on the whole, there is somewhat less to admire than usual. "Kensington Gardens," by Mrs. ALARIC WArrs, is in an agreeable and gentle spirit of observation : and we were amazingly delighted with the truth and force of Mr. Howirr'S "Retrospections of the Life of Secundus Parnell." We should say that it is better worth preserving than any other of the Annual morsels.
The Amulet has a chequered character, as usual. There are papers as gay as any other, and papers of a far severer gravity than comports with the plan of its rivals. We like all Mrs. S. C. HALL'S pleasant and gentle compositions; more especially her "Grace Huntley." The "Wonders of the Lane," by the author of the-"Corn-Law Rhymes," is a pleasant, and, what is not always the case, a poetical poem. Friendship's Offering exhibits a remarkable activity : the num- ber and variety of its compositions are enormous, and it boasts the best exertions of the most accredited Annual contributors, besides some not usually found in their holyday array : THOMAS BABING- TON MACAULEY to wit, who sings the glory of England in the defeat of Armada. We are glad to see that JOHN CLARE has not abandoned the pen altogether for the plough. He has some characteristic verses on the " Nightingale's Nest." The Keepsake preserves its aristocratic tendencies ; and they have not led it to any pastures of poetry or invention peculiarly rich or rare. There is an M.P., Mr. BERNAL, who has written a pleasant enough story, entitled " Recollections of Ehrenbreitstein; ' and some of the lord and lady-Bugs prove that talent as well as titles' may ' sometimes be hereditary. But on the whole, the complexion of the Keepsake is somewhatliide. Of the Picturesque and Landscape Annuals, we believe it is universally understood that the plates are the chief if not the only attraction, and that the letterpress is introduced, as Dr. PARIS re- commends bread with bacon, by way of bulk. Mr. LEITCH RITCHIE'S travels certainly look lively by the side of Mr. ROSCOE'S stay-at-home prose; but, what with its worn-out traditions and its mere road-side or public-house anecdotes, it forms but an un- worthy companion to the exquisite drawings of STANFIELD. • The Juvenile Annuals, for some reason or other, always strike us as being the best and most successful: whether it be that an Annual is juvenile in its nature,—or that the present race of An- nual writers succeed best when they make the least effort, and compose under the least responsibility,—it is assuredly the fact, that we have read both Mrs. HALL'S and Mrs. WATTS s Juveniles with more pleasure than all the rest.
. The Elgin Annual is in some respects a creditable effort : we are glad to see literary ambition pervading the remotest corners of the kingdom.
The .Poetic Negligee is a saucy pirate sailing under false co- lours. His rose-pink leaves blush for the indecency of his verse. The platel of Miss SHERIDAN'S Comic Offering are its sole claim to humcinr : the rest is a laborious straining after puns,—at best an occupation to be rewarded after the manner of that man who sought to win the favour of PHILIP of Macedon by projecting split peas through the.eye of a packing-needle. A review of the Comic Offering, as well as the price paid for it, should consist of a bushel Atf had puns.
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