20 MAY 1854, Page 18

BOOKS ON THE REGIONS OF THE WAR. *

TEE week has supplied several books on the war, or the countries which are the seat of war; the writers of each having a personal acquaintance with the regions they write about.

Captain Spencer's Turkey, _Russia, Black Sea, and Circassia, has the widest geographical range of any one book that has been lately published. The writer has a large practical knowledge of the countries and the peoples, having been for twenty years en- gaged in travelling among them, especially in the regions border- ing on the Danube and the Black Sea; while he has filled up his leisure in recording his travels, or writing against Russian am- bition and in favour of the Circassians. His descriptions of the countries and their populations, and his various disquisitions on war and politics, are relieved by anecdotes of personal adventures and observations, some of them made within this year or two. To persons who are not acquainted with the works published for these last twenty years on Hungary, Servia, the Danubian Pro- vinces, Turkey, and Southern Russia, Captain Spencer's volume will furnish a readable book, with a large quantity of information, often sound, though not characterized by strength of diction. Farts of the volume have a touch of the listlessness which ge- nerally attends upon the reproduction of what we have already done spontaneously, and the earlier speculations are superseded by the present position of affairs. Captain Spencer, though favour- able to the Turks, and convinced of the good intentions of the Turkish Government, sees clearly that we cannot return to the status quo ante bellum, and that Russia will not be the only dif- ficulty in winding up affairs.

The subjects of Russia and the War are more limited than those of the previous volume, but Captain Jesse also brings to his task the advantage of personal experience derived from travel and resi- dence. There is something of the past in the book as respects the history of the Sovereigns and their encroaching policy, but the bulk of the matter refers to the present time. Russian society and institutions are looked at, from the Emperor to the serf—from the army, the highest employment, to the lowest hanger-on of the Cus- toms or the Police. The whole is painted in dark colours, but with a light and lively brush; the exhibition being aneedotical rather than descriptive. This mode of exhibiting Russians of all grades, coupled with the actual knowledge of the author, renders Captain Jesse's book one of the freshest and most living sketches of the Autocrat and his slaves that the present crisis has given rise to, except Dr. Lee's reminiscences. Humorous, shocking, but characteristic anecdotes, are met in almost every page. The only glimpse of political light amid the darkness is a passing sketch of the old nobility.

"A difference exists between those who are of old family and those who have risen with the military system, imagined and instituted by Peter the Great. The former, by far the smallest number, form the real aristocracy of the country : they pride themselves upon this circumstance, and are to a certain extent exclusive in society. Many of them have retired to Mos- cow, to avoid a Court which, owing to this system, is inundated by men from the ranks, not because they are in any way particularly distinguished, but advanced because they have ascended as a matter of course some steps up the ladder of the fourteen chins or grades of rank recognized by the state as the incarnation of its authority. For this reason, Muscovites are not always in favour at Court. They know this, and are sometimes not averse to giving expression to independent feeling. When General Yermoloff, as previously stated, was placed on half-pay, he retired to Moscow ; where, from the repu- tation of his services, and the circumstance of his being in bad odour at St. Petersburg, he became so much the fashion that no large party was thought complete without he was present. When he appeared, and then only, the music struck up, and the company gathered round and received him with the most marked attention and respect. The Emperor, hearing that his admirers in the ancient capital intended to elect him Marshal of the Nobility in the very teeth of the displeasure he manifested towards him, anticipated, with his usual policy, a measure which would have marked his own defeat. Yermoloff was offered reconciliation and employment : the former he accept- ed; the latter, held out only as a bait, was never given him, and he lost by the reconciliation the consideration which his former conduct and the Ern- perces neglect had procured him; for there is a party in Moscow, though small, who can admire independent feeling. "Amongst the members of the old nobility are to be found the most civilized people in Russia ; and their feelings are far less in accordance with the Government than those of the men who are daily rising into importance under its protection. As a clogs, their political influence has departed ; for the majority of their ancestors dissipated their fortunes in the splendid and luxurious courts of Elizabeth and Catherine, by an inordinate display of magnificence and hospitality."

Captain G. Rhodes's Personal Narrative of his journey from Con- stantinople to the Danube and the Black Sea, in company with the Spanish General Prim and his staff', on their tour of military in- spection, is a professional itinerary. Their daily route with its dis- tances, the nature of the country they passed through, the accommo- dation at their resting-places, the strength and character of fortified towns, and the forces of their garrisons, form the topics of the book.

• Turkey, Russia, the Black Sea, and Circassia. By Captain Spencer, Author of ...Travels in Circassia," &c. With coloured Illustrations, numerous Engravings, and a Map. Published by Routledge and Co. Russia and the War. By Captain Jesse, (late Unattached,) Author of Murray's Handbook for Russia," &c. Published by Longman and Co. A Personal Narrative of a Tour of Military Inspection in various parts of Euro- pean Turkey, performed, from August to November 1853, in company with the Mi- litary and Scientific Commission under General Prim, Conte de Reuss. accredited by her Majesty the Queen of Spain to his Highness the Sultan Abdul-Medjed. By Cap- tain G. Rhodes, (94th Regiment,) an Honorary Member of the said Commission. Published by Longman and Co.

A Handbook for Travellers in Turkey: describing Constantinople, European Turkey, Asia Minor, Armenia, and Mesopotamia. With new Travelling Maps and Plans. Third edition. revised and greatly augmented. Published by Murray.

These matters are stated with military precision, but with technical dryness. The most popularly interesting feature of the book is the battle of Oltenitza, at which Captain Rhodes was present. His account paints the courage and conduct of the Turks and the loss of the Russians in the strongest light we have seen ; and it con- trasts remarkably with the Russian bulletin, which he quotes as a sample of Muscovite veracity.

The third edition of the Handbook for Travellers in Turkey is a timely publication, as well for the general interest in the country as for the probability that numbers will bend their steps towards the East who wish to be near the scene of war without.engaging in the war. The new edition embraces new matter, but not, we think, any new feature. The vocabulary and the observations on the Turkish language, as well as the general information, will ren- der the book very useful to officers or others connected with either services.