31 MARCH 1860, Page 19

PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

Seldom have we had to chronicle a more interesting event in historical literature than the publication of General Sir Robert Wilson's NARRA- TINE OF EVENTS DURING THE INVASION OF RUSSIA BY NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, A.ND THE RETREAT OF THE FRENCH ARMY. It may be safely asserted that, among all Sir Robert's contemporaries of every na- tion, there was not one so well qualified as himself, both intrinsically and by circumstances, to write the history of that campaign under the aspect it presented as seen from the Russian side. As British Commis- sioner at the headquarters of the Russians, he had all the opportunities natural to such a position, in addition to which he enjoyed a close per- sonal intimacy with the Emperor Alexander, and was highly honoured and trusted by him. It was for that very reason he resolved that no history of the war, traced by his pen, should appear during his life ; for, says his editor, "the disclosure of facts and opinions to which he could only have access through this confidence of a generous friendship, would have prejudicially affected the relations of the Emperor with his great nobility ; and, moreover, it would have given pain to some with whom he had himself relations of attachment and esteem formed by the fellowship of danger among the moving scenes of military service." But he was not the less careful to preserve for another generation an exact record of what he had seen and known, and his editor now gives it to the world "in the full assurance that truth without exaggeration and without injurious suppression, is the characteristic of its pages."

The ARREST OF THE Frvs MEMBERS BY CHARLES THE FLRST 111 a chapter of English history on which Lord Clarendon has bestowed "most elaborate, ingenious, and studied misrepresentation," and which Mr. John Forster has rewritten, upon the testimony of trustworthy contein- porary records, all of which still exist in manuscript, and have not before been used by any historian.

THROUGH THE TYROL TO VENICE is a volume of travel by Mrs. New- Maze HALL, the wife of the eloquent preacher, who accompanied her her brief excursion. She records the thoughts, feelings, hopes, and aspirations that visited her on the way, as well as the incidents of her journey, interspersing her narrative with historical reminiscences and criticisms on art. Mrs. Hall crossed the Channel on a "bright August morning," we presume in the year 1859. From Brueaels, she went to Cologne, and thence proceeded successively to Mayence, Frankfort, Nu- remberg, and Munich. Entering the Tyrol, she arrived at Salzburg, then at Innsprur-k, and, crossing the Brenner, had a peep at Trent, the Lego di Garda, and Verona. Descriptions of the cities and towns, and of the rural scenes through which she passed, with appropriate reflec- tions, poetical and historical, make up the first part of her volume. Venice, with its ducal palace, Lido, Rialto, churches and pictures, is described in the second part; and in the third, the homeward route, by Padua, Milan, Lake of Como, the Stelvis, Meran, Zurich, Basle, and Paris, is traced with a light and facile pen. Our travellers reached London on the 23d of September, after an absence of seven weeks and three days.

A HISTORY OF THE BRITISH SEA-ANEMONES AND Coma, has been drawn up .by the well-known naturalist, Mr. Philip Gosse, in the special interest of the practical student. It has been the author's aim to describe "with distinctive precision and with order" the characters of the animals that form the subjects of his delineation, so that species can at once be compared with species and genus with genus. Of the seventy-five species which find their place in these pages, no fewer than thirty-four have been added to the British Fauna by the author. The prominent varieties of each species are distinguished : and to each variety a name is assigned. Analytical tables of the families, &e., are added ; and an attempt has been made to tabulate the geographical distribution of the species. The plates printed in colour, by Mr. W. Dickes, are fac-similes of Mr. Gosse's original drawings which were made from the life. Of these plates, twelve in number, one only is plain. The remaining eleven, with their depth of shade, rich colouring, and brilliant light, convey even to the uninitiated mind a striking impression of the superficial appearance of the "fairy- formed and many-coloured things," which fancy, that loves to dwell on an "accidental resemblance," has not inappropriately designated "Ani- mal Flowers."

Boors.

Narrative of Events during the Invasion of .Russia, by Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Retreat of the French Army, 1812. By General Sir Robert Wilson, British Commissioner at the Head Quarters of the Russian Army. Edited by his Nephew and Son-in-Law, the Rev. Herbert Randolph.

Arrest of the Five Members by Charles the First. A Chapter of English His- tory Rewritten. By John Forster.

The Life and Times of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. From Original and Authentic Sources. By Mrs. Thomson. In three volumes. Wycliffe and the Huguenots; or Sketches of the Rise of the Reformation in England and the Early History of Protestantism in France. By the Rev. William Hanna, LL.D.

.Es.says and Reviews.

A History of the Creation and the Patriarchs; or Pentateuehism analytically treated. Volume I. The Book of Genesis.

Academic Reform and University Representation. BY James Heywood, F.R.S., BA., Trinity College, Cambridge.

Philebus : a Dialogue of Plato on Pleasure and Knowledge, and their Relations to the Highest Good. Translated into English, by Edward Poste, Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford.

The Hand Book of Chess. By an Oxford Amateur.

Amy's Kitchen : a Village Romance. By the Author of "A Trap to Catch a Sunbeam."

The Volunteer Levee. The Remarkable Experiences of Ensign Sopbt. Written by Himself. Edited by the Author of" How Not to Do It." Rooks and Libraries. A Lecture. By Sir John Simeon, Bart., MA.

The Graduated Series of Reading Lesson-Books for all Chimes of Kaglish School s In Five Books. Book the Third. Lyrics and Legends of Rome. With a Prologue and Epilogue, by Idea-

Peercises adapted to the New and Complete Course of Grammatical and Idio- matic &udies of the French Langmsge. By Auguste Aigre de Charente, &c. Part III. Gallicimus and Anglicisms. Advanced Course.

NEW EDITIONS AND REPRINTS.

St. Stephen's, a Poem. Originally published in 'Blackwood's Magazine." Homeward Bound; or the Chase. A Tale of the Sea. By J. Fenimore Cooper. Illustrated from Drawings by F. O. C. Darley.