PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

Boom.

Ix spite of wet, war, and the coming volumes of Macaulay, the publishers are beginning the winter season with more spirit than might have been ex. pected under such depressing causes. Messrs. Hall and Virtue send us a Life of Fielding, by Mr. Lawrence ; a new subject, and of promise if com- petently treated. Messrs. Hurst and Blackett have published Miss Freees Biography of Jeanne D'Albret, Queen of Navarre, the ill-used contemporavy of Philip the Second and Catherine de Medici. From Messrs: Longman comes another book of Travels in Egypt and the Holy Land. Mr. Bogue produces two • editions of Longfellow's new poem : one in octavo, for those who are willing to pay; another, which is called a protective edition, ap- pears at a shilling, and is-not an unsightly book. Lastly, except the noticed novels, appears the Registrar-General's Report.

The Life of Henry Fielding ; with Notices of his Writings, his Tiro*, and his Contemporaries. By Frederick Lawrence, of'the Middle Tem- ple, Barrister-at-law.

The Life of Jeanne It Albret, Queen of Navarre. From numerous un- pubhshed sources, including MS. Documents in the .Bibliotheque Im- periale and the Archives Espagnoles de Simancas. By Martha Walker Freer, Author of " The Life of Marguerite D'Angouleme." In two volumes.

Eastern Experiences, collected during- a Winter's Tour. in Egypt and-the Holy Land. By Adam Steinmetz Kennard.

Fourteenth Annual Report of the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in England.

The Song of 'Hiawatha. By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The Song of Hiawatha. By Henry Wadsworth-Longfellow. (Author's Protective edition.)

Gilbert Massenger. By Holme Lee, Author of "Thorne), Hall."'

Cioss Purposes : a Novel. By Catherine Sinclair, Author of "Modern Accomplishments," &c. In three volumes.

A Memoir of the Life and Death of Sir John King, Knight. Written by his Father, in 1677, and now first printed. With illustrative Notes.

[Sir John King was a barrister of Charles the Second's time. He rose quickly to professional eminence ; was Solicitor-General to the Duke of York, and was considered by Eohard likely to become Attorney-General to the King, who favourably regarded him, although he was a regular and-religious character. According to his-father, he made 47001. by his practice the year before his death ; a sum almost incredible for that age. He died in his thirty-ninth year, of a fever brought on by over-work ; but the mediate cause, according Rogerto e North, was Lady King's temper.

This Life by Dr. King, SirJohn's father, is-less a -biography than a pansgrio. Its form was not unusual in that age, and is not unworthy of revival:wheat, the events of the-life are neither striking nor numerous. Instead of a-regular story, the reader has the life in various aspects presented to him,—childhood,. school days, at the University, at the bar, and so forth. Beyond a partial view of Sir John's character, and some family particulars, the Life tells nothing that was not known before by those who would hunt it up. The book, however, has an oldfashioned interest; and it is exceedingly well edited by Mr. Sawtell. In addition to published matter, he has brought to- gether a variety of illustrative materials from family sources. The story of the discovery of Dr. King's manuscript would indeed throw doubts upon the authenticity, if any conceivable purpose could be answered by a fiction, or the Life itself bore any resemblance to such fancy pieces as Lady Wil- loughby's Diary. The editor, on a visit to Jersey, wasshown the manuscript safely ensconced at the back of a framed print!) An Inquiry concerning Religion. By George Long, Author or "An Essay on the Moral Nature of Man." [The existence of a Deity, Natural Religion, the probability of a Revelation, and Christianity in its various proofs and its broader historical features, fbrni the topics of this volume. The arrangement is orderly, the arguments are clearly stated ; but the nature of the whole argumentative discussion is of a past kind. A person at all acquainted with the controversy involved in Mr.

Long's subjects will find little that he has not met already. The questions raised by modern science are untouched. The reasonings in support of Christianity are common. A liberal and very amiable feeling animates the book but the arguments may be characterized as weak.] A Handbook to the Marine Aquarium : containing practical In-

structions for constructing, stocking, and maintaining a Tank, and

for collecting Planta and Animals. By Philip Henry Gone, A.L.S. [This book is founded on the concluding chapter in Mr. Gosse's Aquarium, with additional information acquired since the publication of that book. Its object is to give practical hints and directions for the formation and manage- ment of a private aquarium, in which the observer may find a continual source-of amusementand instruction, watching the growth of the plants, the action of the fishes, and procuring a "light employment" for himself by the-necessary attendance upon them. If the fact has not escaped us, the book would be improved by some indication of the extremes of temperature beyond which the-water should not be allowedio rise or fall—unless no other direction is needed than not to let it get tepid in a hot summers day.] Elementary Chemistry of the Imponderable Agents and of Inorganic Bodies; including Light, Heat, Electricity, and Magnetism ; the simple Chemical Bodies, and their Inorganic Compounds. By John Scof- fern, M.B. Lond., late Professor of Chemistry at the Aldersgate School of Medicine. (Orr's Circle of the Sciences.)

[Collected numbers of that extraordinary combination of first-rate ability and cheapness of price, Orr's "Circle of the Sciences." A large portion of the present volume consists of the late Dr. Henry's Treatise on Chemistry, remodelled and adapted to the present state of the science by Mr. Scoffern. The editor has also added much new matter ; the section on Light is entirely original, that on Electricity very nearly so. Of the great number of elementary works on chemistry this is the fullest we have met, and is clear in its fulness.]

Conversations on Harmony. By the Author of "Conversations on Botany." [Acompilation, embracing only the rudiments of harmony, and containing nothing—errors excepted—that may not be found in books of less pretension. Neither is there any merit in the form of dialogue, and the talk between Mamma and Edward needlessly encumbers the exposition.] The Nuisances Removal and Diseases Prevention Acts of 1855, (18 and 19 Vict. cc. 116 and 121) ; with an Introduction, Notes, and Index. By W. G. Lumley, Esq. of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at-law, As-

' sistant Secretary of the Poor-law Board. [A neat exposition of the new Sanitary Acts, with the text of the Acts them- selves, foot-notes, and forms.]

German Reading-Book, on an entirely new principle : a Story, by Franz Hoffman, literally translated, with copious grammatical notes, explanations of- idioms, and an Elementary German Grammar. By Dr. M. M. Fiachel, of Queen's College, London, &c.

Historical Sketches of Statesmen who flourished in the time of George III. By Henry, Lord Brougham, I.R.S., Member of the National Institute of France, and of the Royal Academy of Naples. Volume II.

The Correlation of Physical Forcei. By W. R. Grove, Q.C., liLA., F.R.S., &o. Third edition.

The Alpha : a Revelation but no Mystery. By Edward N. Dennys; Stereotyped edition, revised, and enlarged.

MAPS.

An Elementary Atlas of History and Geography, from the commence- ment of the Christian /Era to the present time ; containing a series of Maps, arranged in chronological order, with illustrative Memoirs. . Adapted to the use of Colleges and Schools. By the Reverend J. S. Brewer, M.A., Professor of English History and Literature, and late Lecturer in Modern History at King's College, London. he Maps compiled and engraved by Edward Weller, F.R.V.S.

work is novel in plan and excellent in execution, for those who will

bLs".M the requisite pains to study and master its contents. There is a series etaiaips exhibiting.the civilized world from the over-blown state of the Ro- man Empire just on its decline, down through various ages to the present day. These maps at once impress the mind, through the eye, with the known wait of Europe and the conterminous regions in Asia and Africa, and mark out the divisions, and the states and peoples that held them. This country is exhibited at four or indeed five periods,—Roman Britain, Saxon England, England and Wales from the Conquest till the Union with Scotland, the British Isles from that Union, and the World marking the present British possessions. This last map is striking for extensive range rather than for magnitude, though Russia alone would compete- with us in that feature. Each map is accompanied by letterpress, mainly divided into two sections. One section takes a general review of the epoch, not only marking its, great events but penetrating to the social and religious spirit that animated the notions and conduced to the progressive advancement of mankind. The other section maps out the period, touching particular events in connexion with particular states Sometimes another mode is adopted : the map of Europe at the present time is accompanied with alarge quantity of geogra- phieo-staticitical information ; British dependencies throughout the world, with a'tabular exhibition of the Coloniea.

This letterpress, by the. Reverend J. S. Brewer, exhibits a familiar ac- quaintance with European history, and that easy grasp which results from familiarity. It is probably the pith of his lectures on Modern and English History at King's College. The spirit in which this extensive subject is re- garded, and the style in which it is handled, are. not those of the common college lecturer, but of the advanced minds of the present day. Without being au imitator of any one, he has a good deal that recalls the manner in which Maurice, Kingsley, and others of that school, look at affairs, and ex- ptees their ideas of them—with a slight occasional touch of Carlyle. We do not say that it is a style-to be always imitated, or that Mr. Brewer's con- clusions are always to be received ; but his survey of modern history is be- /end question fresh, striking, and suggestive. He also puts a large amount of information into a small compass, and illustrates it in a tangible way.]

ALMANACS.

The Farmers' Almanack and Calendar for 1856. being Bissextile or Leap Year. By Cuthbert W. Johnson, Esq., F.R.S., and William Shaw, [Long before The Farmers' Almanack was taken in hand by Cuthbert John- son and William Shaw, or indeed before science was applied to agriculture, this annual was remarkable for the real character of its information and a sort of fresh open-air feeling. That merit still survives, with the addition of a mass of scientific yet practical information, and a species of agricultural annals. The advertisements indicate the advance of mechanics applied to limning. The preface notes, in rather a jubilant spirit, the prices of pro- duce notwithstanding the large importations. We do not observe any refer- ence to the great author of Free Trade.]

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We have received a letter from An Educationist," on The Edinburgh High School New Practical French Reader, and the few lines of note upon it in the Spectator'of October 20. The Educationist enumerates upwards of a dozen errors of a verbal kind, one or two probably of the press, but most of them extending to grammar or idiom. He further says that the book is "teeming with blunders." This opinion he reiterates more than once ; and if all he says is true, the compiler of the Reader certainly displays negli- gence, or ignorance, orboth. Had an Educationist read our note with the same closeness of attention which he has given to the volume of a rival instructor, he would have seen that the account was limited to the general plan : "the features are chiefly those of typography and progressive arrangement." We have not the bbok at hand, but our impression still is that the general plan was a good one, and that the compiler had sensible views- on elementary teaching ; while the intro- ductory part, which we examined, was neat and brief. We have often explained, that in any opinion upon books which involve minute details-. as works of reference, and school-books in general—we can only speak as to scope and- purpose, not to particulars. Where a good general con- ception is displayed, common knowledge and accuracy may fairly be assumed ; especially if a book, as in the case of The Edinburgh High &hotel Reader, appears under eircumstancesthat should guarantee an acquaintance with the elements of the subject. To hunt out errors of grammar, of idiom, or of the press, would in our brief weekly notes on so many works be obvi, ously impossible. It has taken an Educationist a fortnight to produce his criticism on a small book, though he is apparently sharpened by something more than a critical animus.

Parcenazia.

Divorce ; suggested by the Honourable Mrs. Norton's Letter to the Queen.

The Seasons of the Church, what they Teach ; a Series of Sermons on the dif. ferent times and occasions of the Chris- tian Year. Edited by the Reverend Henry Newland, Rector of West- bourne; Vicar of St. Mary Church, De- von ; and Chaplain to the Lord Bishop of Exeter.

Jonadab the Son of Rechab : a Sermon on behalf of the Home for Outcast Boys, Belvedere Crescent,preached at St. Peter's Church, Croydon. By Henry Whitehead, M.A.

Publio-Houses Act Conference. Testi- monies and Statistics in reference to the working of the Public-Houses Act, from Magistrates, Superintendents of Police, Clergymen, City Missionaries, Employers of Labour, Working Men, (Prepared for the use of the Conference held at Edinburgh, 9th Oc- tober 1855.)

Fallacies against the Ballot, with the Answers. By the Author of "Cate- chism on the Corn-laws." Reprinted from the Manchester Examiner and Times, with Corrections and Additions. (Circulated by the Ballot Society, Ba- singhall Street.) Kossuth, Mazzini, Urquhart, and the Con- ferences; with a Letter from George Dawson, M.A. By John Alfred Lang- ford.

Benthamiana; orAdministrationReform. By an Administration Reformer. Lecture on the Products and Resources of British India. By Montague Gore, Esq., delivered before the St. James's Literary and Philosophical Society. An Inaugural Lecture on the Study of the Law and General Jurisprudence, deli- vered on the opening of the Law Class in the Presidency College of Madras. By John Bruce Norton, Professor of the Law.

Bernarks upon the Law of Marriage and