9 JULY 1864, Page 22

After Breakfast; or, Pictures Done with a Qui/L By George

Augustus. Sala. (Tinsley Brothers.)—A collection of articles which have "for the most part already appeared in All the Year Round, and Household Words," and are a fair specimen of the author's power as well as his. weakness. The force and vigour of the author's style, and his really genuine humour, always carry him triumphantly along, and the less information he has to convey, the more he relies entirely upon his own observation for his subject-matter, the more amusing he is. But then he constantly abuses this facility, and wanders away into a series of far-fetched illustrations, which make one think that the author imagines that the public will be as delighted at finding him in possession of all this information as he is himself. No doubt, however, the papers are very amusing, especially we admire those entitled, "Waite;" "Flowers of the Witness Box," and "Madame Basque's." But why will Mr. Sala.spoil his style by inventing such words as " belligeroue" and " pullnlate." A dictionary informs us that the latter moans "to ger- minate, to bud," and we appeal to Mr. Sala'e owe good sense to pronounce if there is any wit in talking of the streets that bud round Seven Dials. If not, is there any more when " bud " is turned into Latin ?