BOOKS ON THE TABLE.
1. Real Life, Pages from the Portfolio of a Chronicler, is a charming volume and is worthy of its title, with the addition of "Scotch." It is volume; Real Life, and in an agreeable form details anecdotes, scenes, sketches, and characters, such as may occur to the experience of a man of a humble but a wayfaring occupation, and whose education, piety, and shrewdness—added to which, long life—have enabled him to watch the ups and downs of an ex- tensive circle of acquaintance and friends. The scheme is very well imagined. Old Simon, the dealer or travelling merchant, takes his son-in-law on one of his extensive rounds ; and as he arrives at or passes the different farms or villages, or meets with his old friends, he either gossips over the history of the inhabitants, or enters into a conversation which throws light upon the subject he wishes to bring out. The tone is one of extreme earnestness and deep piety; and the pictures are striking, and in their effect likely to be extremely improving. The volume is printed in an unambitious form, and is calculated for extensive circulation.
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