REPRINTS FOR THE FEW.

FREQUENTLY of late we have had occasion to notice the appear- ance of reprints of standard works for the many : as a slight set off—a "pennyworth of bread to all this sack"—we have now to discuss three volumes, whose style and price announce them to be intended for the wealthy, or at least the well to do.

1. GIBBON'S Life and Correspondence. 2. Lord BROUGHAM'S State.ymen of the Times of George III.

3. D'Isitarifs Literary Character.

1. This companion to Mr. MiLmax*s edition of the Decline and Fall contains, as Ave conjectured, none of GIBBON'S Miscellaneous Works, as his " Outlines of the History of the World," the " An- tiquities of the House of Brunswick;" embracing only the autobio- graphy with Lord SHEFFIELD'S connecting passages, and such letters as that nobleman interwove with the life as necessary to its illustra- tion. What the editor has done, however, is done exceedingly well. The work is for the first time divided into chapters ; which not only breaks up the subject for the reader, but impresses the dif- ferent epochs more distinctly on his mind, and facilitates the

• reference to particular parts. By this mode, too, the longer notes, and extracts from the journal, (which impede Gloomy's own narrative, though so useful for its illustration,) are conveniently relegated to an appendix at the end of each chapter,—which is en- riched by selections from his general correspondence, as well as by sonic interesting anecdotes, and curious matter collected by Mr.

MILMAN.

To those who have read the Memoirs any remark is needless. Those who have not, have a literary treat in store. Other auto- biographies may deal in much more various fortunes, much more extraordinary events, and may display much more of the passions and feelings of man. But, unless it should be FRANKLIN'S, we know of none so amusing, none so instructive, or so likely to stimulate the young to a vigorous and diligent course of study. When noticing the appearance of Mr. edition of the Decline and Fall, we quoted some of the passages which bore directly upon the production of that work; but there are many others, describing the gradual course of the author's self-education, which, if less dignified in subject, are more useful to the mass, as they sug- gest modes of study which all may follow. The style of GIBBON, it has been said, is subdued in the autobiography ; and perhaps it is, but only in the more level parts. His stately march, how- ever, detracts nothing from the interest. In the loftier passages— as his sarcastic disquisitions on the Universities, or on the pride of family with which he opens, it is as appropriate as so measured a style can be. In the laboured though indirect apology for his juvenile conversion to Popery ; the account of his reconversion to the Protestant faith by the ministry of PAVILLARD ; the "deli- cate subject of his early love," which he "almost trembled to ap- proach," and somewhat rapidly hurries over; and in many other passages, the sonorous and balanced periods contrast with the indi- vidual nature of the subjects, and, without detracting {font the per- sonal interest, add a spice of the humorous, by exhibiting the not offensive vanity and weakness of the man. Let us add, that throughout there is the same comprehension of the whole subject, and the same rejection of useless details, which sustain the interest of the reader through the long narrative of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

2. The Statesmen of the Times qf George the Third has been expressly designed for grandees ; and "aims at recording, for the warning or for the encouragement of the great, the errors or the wisdom, the vices or the virtues, of their predecessors." " It is," continues the noble writer, " a well-meant contribution, of which the merit is very humbly rated by its author, to the fund of useful knowledge as applied to the education of those upon whose infor- mation or ignorance the fortunes of mankind in an especial manner depend." It consists of a selection of characters from celebrated articles in the Edinburgh Review, and the Introductions to the late edition of the author's Speeches, with a good many new subjects English and Foreign, and an expansion of the remarks on Party, which appeared as a tailpiece to a paper in the Edinburgh.

The foreign characters consist of FREDERICK the Great, FRANK- LIN, GUSTAVUS the Third of Sweden, the Emperor Josuen the Second, and CATHERINE of Russia ; and, though readable, and striking sometimes, they are all indifferent. Lord 13a000iLtm knew nothing of the original men and women ; not much, appa- rently, of any one who did; and he has patience to collect or philosophy to use the materials upon which a just judgment could be formed : so that, whilst his figures want the freshness and life of sketches from nature, they have not the accuracy of more la- boured composition. The best is CATHERINE; though the hap- piest piece of this character is the comparison with our ELIZA- BETH. FRANKLIN displays nice discernment in what is said of the simplicity of his experimental apparatus ; but is on the whole a panegyric, rather than a character. FREDERICK the Great is the reverse ; consisting of all the discreditable anecdotes Lord BROUGHAM could rake together, whilst his great achievements, his wonderful struggles, and his warlike exploits, are huddled up

la a closing paragraph, and damned with faint praise—if that can

be called praise which says such things are not praiseworthy JOSEPH is a dullish affair ; Gusmvus chiefly remarkable for di a.- playing one of the author's besetting failings—a disposition to ex- aggerate little men, that he may, as he fancies covertly, depreciate the greatness he envies.

The new English characters are—Lord NORTH • a fair and .

vourable sketch, for which there is a reason in the A fa Appendix. Lord

MANSFIELD and Sir WILLIAM GRANT; both flattering, if not ex- aggerated portraits, the former generally, the latter as a judge. TnuaLow ' • picturesque and depreciatory. LOUGHBOROUGH, (the

" wary We ,

dderbune ' of JUNIUS, the man " that treachery cannot trust,") is a mixture of bitter-sweet. GIBBS is keen and lifelike, but incomplete ; painted, too, with some remembrance of their old contests, and made the vehicle for an elaborate portrait of the in- • tellect, acquirements, and prejudices of a mere English lawyer, whose highest trait is thus described, or, as the author thinks it complimented — the utter indifference Of an advocate to right, wrong, or conscience.

" The professional character of the men whom we are discussing is gene- rally pure and lofty ; the order to which they belong is sacred in their eyes; its fame, its dignity, even to its etiquette, must all be kept unsullied; and whatever may be their prejudices and their habits, politicial or professional, how great soever their deference to power, how profound their veneration for the bench, how deep--rooted their attachment to existing institutions, how fierce their hostility to all innovations, how grave or how scornful their frown upon the multitude at large, yet is their courage undaunted in defending whatever client may intrust his suit to their patronage, be he a rabble-leader or a h. son-monger, „ a libeller or a blasphemer; and in discharging towards him the high duties of their representative character, they so little regard either the resentment of the Government or the anger of the Court, that they hardly are conscious of any effort in sacrificing every personal consideration to the performance of their representative, and because it is representative, their emi- nently important office.

The negligence and inconsistency, which, though marked on the first appearance of' the more important of these Sketches, were purposely unnoticed by us, from an allowance for the necessities of periodical haste, are not corrected in the old matter, and are repeated in the new. For example, in that splendid passage of CmaTnAm's eloquence, respecting the "Englishman's house is his castle," which he struck out upon an excise-bill, and which is said to be the only perfectly correct report of any of his speeches, the received close upon the mysterious power of the "straw-built shed" is—" The winds of heaven may blow around it ; every element may enter it ; but the King cannot, the King dares not." In place of this piece of nervous pithiness, Lord BROUGHAM has composed (for we cannot think he found it anywhere) a lumbering awkward sentence, as if for the pur- pose of intimating that the elder PITT was not so great a master of involution and — as himself. In illustrating the apt and easy pleasantry of Lord NORTH, he seems to have taken the first examples that offered, neglecting well-known pieces of wit. For instance, NORTH in his old age lost his sight from a palsy of the visual nerves; and his former antagonist, Colonel BARRE, had become nearly blind too : they met somewhere, (we think at Bath,) and when the ex-Premier was told who was by him, he neatly opened with "Although we have been often opposed, Colonel, I think there are no two people who would more gladly see each other." The vanity of the author is visible everywhere: if there be such a thing as the transmigration of souls, BROUGHAM'S mind was whilom a tenant of the currier who suggested "leather for defending the city." In his view, the only two really great men are a lawyer and a rhetorician. Yet a lawyer is not great per se—he is great only as he receives a reflected lustre from the profession which HENRY BROUGHAM has honoured : so a rhetorician, though highly to be admired, is by no means a perfect per- son, unless he had acquired practical information, sharpened acumen, ready dexterity, and knowledge of human nature, in contests at "Nisi Prius." morbid vanity leaves GOLD- SMITH'S jealousy of the " painted jezebels" and the " pup- pets" behind. He has set up in his own mind a standard of excellence, of which he himself furnishes the " rule ; " and men who do not approach it are tested by it—those who soar far beyond it are, as it were, frittered down in their qualities, till they pale before its light. Thus we are told, in regard to BURKE, that "the kinds of composition are various, and he excels in them all, with the exception of two, the very highest, given to few, and when given almost always possessed alone,—fierce, nervous, overwhelming de- clamation, and close, rapid argument." We have alluded to matter in the Appendix which may have biassed the criticism on Lord NORTH. It is a volunteer communi-

cation from his youngest daughter, touching her father's habits ; and, though making no pretension to authorship, shows how far a knowledge of the subject is superior to mere literary ability. In it

we are made to feel the statesman's personal amiability by Ins play- fulness with children ; we are taught the power of trifles, when we learn that he who dozed upon the sarcasms of Banal:, or the decla- mation of Fox, or the fierce and philosophical denunciations of BURKE, used to be provoked to anger by a stupid groom, though, so singular was the circumstance, that the servant was known

amongst his children as "time man that puts papa in a passion e' and, more than all, we may be instructed in the uselessness of

grandeur, and the value of' domestic ties, when we find that the chief anodyne of the Premier and favourite—old, blind, and afflicted with a nervous depression—was his wife's reading to him far into, the night, " till he was amused out of his fits, or fell asleep: His closing scene is touching—placability the ruling habit strong in death. a In 1792 his health began to decline ; he lost his • sleep and his appetiteihis legs swelled, and symptoms of dropsy were apparent. At last, after a pecu- liarly uneasy night, le questionea his friend • and physician, Dr. Warren, begging him not to conceal the truth ; the result was, that Dr. Warren owned that water had formed upon the chest, that he could not live many days, and that a few hours might put a period to his existence. He received this news not only with firmness and pious resignation, but it in no way altered the serenity and cheerfulness of Ins manners; and from that hour, during. the re- maining ten days of his life, he had no return of depression of spirits. The first step be took, when aware of his immediate danger, was to desire that Mr. John Robertson (commonly known by the name of the Rat-eateher) and Lord Auckland might be sent for ; they being the only two of his political friends whose desertion had hurt and offended him, he wished before his death to shake hands cordially and to forgive them. They attended the summons of Course, and the reconciliation was effected. My father had always delighted in bearing his eldest daughter, Lady, Glenbervie, read Shakspeare, which she did with ranch understanding and effect. He was desirous of still enjoying this amusement. In the existing circumstances, this task was a hard one ; but strong affection, the best source of woman's strength, enabled her to go through it. She read to him great part of every day with her usual spirit, though her heart was dying within Tier. No doubt she was supported by the Almighty in the pious work of solacing the last hours of her almost idolized parent. He also desired to have the French newspapers read to him. At that time thsy were filled with alarming symptoms of the horrors that shortly after ensued. Upon bearing them, he said, ' I am going; and thankful I am that I shall not witness the anarchy and bloodshed which will soon overwhelm that unhappy country.' Be expired on the 5th of August 1792."

It is evident, not only from a former statement of the noble author, but also front his additions to the character of GEORGE the Third, that state papers of the very highest importance are still in the possession of Lord Nonni's family; consisting of letters from 1 '4 the King to their father, when he fillea the office of Prime Minis- 2 ter, during the American War, and valuable alike for the light they must throw on the character of the Monarch and the causes of :events. It is to be hoped that papers so essential to English history . will not be lost to the world ; and as no living person can be hurt by their appearance, except perhaps the King of ILmover, we trust ; no false delicacy will delay their publication.

3. The admirers of the amassing and lively, but not always accu- rate, though always self-sufficient D'IsstAwra, are indebted to Mr. MOXON for this filth and revised edition of the Literary Character; an aneedotical work, in which, by bringing together under the same head—as " Susceptibility"—the traits of different men of genius, the author infers that, however they may seem to differ, there is a strong and uniform resemblance in the nature of them all. The work is dedicated to SOUTHEY, in not the neatest of addresses ; and a pre- face describes the cause and mode of its gradual expansion, from an essay on the manners and genius of the literary character, pub- lished some forty years ago, to its present size.