CURRENT LITERATURE.

PourirsEss and candour equally forbid us to contradict " Clarisse"6 when she states that her plot is loose and somewhat unconnected. We also coin- cide in her opinion that "it would avail nothing to analyze the characters who constitute the dramatis persona of this work." In fact, it may save time to say in as few words as possible that the plot is absurd and the characters mere caricatures. The author's style, however, cannot be allowed to pass without a few notes of astonishment, if not of admiration. We gather at random a few of her choicest flowers of speech: "She will want it all to care you": " He kicked them, but their having drank freely of some dragged wine, they were all but dead": "I am perfectly independent to him" : "Tell your father I am waiting dinner to him": " Will you, for my sake, trifle anything he may say or do; and don't lose sight of him, once you find him, at any expense ?" Even worse examples of ungram- matical construction might easily be selected, but these will suffice to show that however excellent her morals, and however varied her accomplish- ments, the fair "Clarissa" has not yet learned to write her own language. But after all, defects in spelling, handwriting, and composition are the last exclusive privileges of high birth, and it may easily be that our author is an aristocrat, though, we trust, not a bloated one.

" Not rural sights alone, but rural sounds Exhilarate the spirits, and restore The tone of languid nature."

So sang the bard of Olney, and so deems the agreeable chronicler of the doings of "The Carterets," at Seven Oaks, during a long vacation.t The beautiful scenery in that delightful neighbourhood is described with a gentle enthusiasm that betokens a kindly nature and a refined taste. It is really an excellent book for young people, and the very model of a juvenile guide-book, instruction and entertainment being mingled together in the most harmonious proportions, and much useful information imparted in a lively and cheerful manner.

Endowed with an ear for rhythm, a pure fancy, and a religious tempera- ment, Mr. Kelynach Dales is entitled to occupy a conspicuous position among the minor poets of the day. There is perhaps rather too much sameness in his selection and treatment of subjects, and it can hardly be said that his thoughts are very profound, or that his sentiments indicate an excep- tional organization. But on the other hand his verse is fluent and musical, and in the Legend of the Golden Ring he displays a fire and animation that promise better things hereafter. In the mean time he has given abundant proof of a gentle, amiable, and pious disposition, a cultured taste, and harmonious expression. Only in the following stanza has he descended to nonsense while striving to soar, above "the steerage of his wings:"

• The Smiles and Frowns of Fortune. By Clarisse. James Blackwood. 1. The Carterets ; or, Country Pleasures. By E. A. R. James Hogg and Sons. I Poems : The Legend of the Golden Ring, sEc. By W. Kelynach Dale. Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. " Within the depths of mountains Chimborazon, Beneath the feet of Himalayan piles, Ten thousand ingots of bright metal blazon

Like flaming lamps in dim cathedral aisles."

Horace had a more correct idea of the colour of the precious metals in " the bowels of the earth" when he reminded his friend that "Nullus argento color est avaris Abdito terris."

Apropos of Horace, the Dean of Dromore has rendered the Venetian bard a doubtful service in turning the Ars Poetics into very indifferent English rhymes.* Possibly it may be thought that a very reverend divine might turn his learned leisure to better account than multiplying the already multitudinous translations of Horace. In any case, such a task performed by such a personage should exhibit uncommon excellence, and be in some respect or other superior to the average. Assuredly one would not look for such lines as these : "'Tin Mean and trifling for a poet to Expend his care on things exposed to view, Nor should you be so literally absurd As to translate your author word for word."

"Let not.a God come forth with rules and laws, When minor Solons can decide the cause."

" Every schoolboy knows"—to use a silly phrase of the day—that the presence of the " Deus" is here expressly forbidden except when necessary to overpower and annul all ordinary " roles and laws." In keeping with this is the Dean's rendering of the 95th line : " And tragic actors mostly wish to reach, When grief's expressed, a milder form of speech."

Surely the worthy divine must have been thinking of his own " Sermons pedestres." Then the " impiger, iracundus," &c., is distorted into "Fierce as the storm, and hot as flames of hell." So much for entrusting Horace to the tender mercies of a Gothic religionist, who further renders the phrase guadet equis eanibusgue, by " Delights in noble games of chivalry."

If a pictorial history of British India were one of the "crying wants" of the age, public gratitude would be due to the publishers of Mr. Beveridge's Comprehensive History.t The illustrations are not only appropriate, but, for the most part, true to nature, being copied from authentic originals. The letterpress, too, is very creditable to the industry of the compiler, who has made as few mistakes as could reasonably be expected from the most con- scientious and painstaking manufacturer of second-hand materials. It is an imposing work, and one that will make a goodly show on a bookshelf, while it contains quite as much information as persons not specially inte- rested in India care to acquire, or can understand when acquired. It is the sort of work one presents to a godson.

"More precious than rubies"—and decidedly scarcer—are the "good women" whose meritorious lives have been set forth as examples to suc- ceeding generations. Miss YongeS and her accomplished colleagues appear to think that no perjury is committed when " Auld Nature swears, the lovely dears, Her noblest work she classes, 0 ; Her 'prentice han' she tried on man, An' then she made the lassies, 0."

Indeed, one is tempted to forgive even their abominable practice of poking the fire from the top in consideration of the manifold virtues and masculine attainments recorded by these sympathetic biographers. Not that they tell us anything with which we were not previously familiar, but then they profess to write "chiefly for young girls," and honestly confess that their memoirs are derived "from various books, including some that were in every one's hands a few years ago." And it may be freely admitted that they have made good use of this old stock, which they weave into a pleasant garland as deftly as if they were trimming an old bonnet, and making it look as good as new. Considerable judgment, too, has been displayed in the selection of " the bright lights of womankind," who are classed in three divisions, as the sufferers, the learners, and the workers. Though designed for young people, these genial s'ketches of the " softer man" are calculated to afford instruction and entertainment to readers of all ages and both sexes.

An anonymous satirist§ complains that if we "search from far Caithness to Dover's Strait," we shall " find the men are all just five feet eight." The degeneracy of the human race is a complaint of very ancient date, but perhaps was never less founded than at the present time. It is true that Peel and Wellington may each look " sadly on his pigmy son ;" and that we have no thunderbolts of war to compare with the heroes of Waterloo and Trafalgar, but neither have we had the wars that made those mighty men of valour what they were. In other walks of life, however, there are no symptoms of decay. There may not be the same difference now as in some former ages between the highest and the lowest, but that is because the average standard has been raised, and therefore the tall no longer seem so very tall. For the rest, it may be doubted if the author of A Review of Fame be particularly well qualified to estimate aright what con- stitutes true greatness. His verses, indeed, are smart and fluent, but betoken neither acuteness of observation nor soundness of judgment, and at times his satire borders on libel.

However questionable may be the propriety of converting scriptural sub- jects into plots for dramas, there cannot be two opinions as to the artistic skill displayed by Mr. Fulfordll in his dramatized history of the Son of Kish. His ear is excellent, and consequently his verse flows on in a broad, deep stream, too calm, perhaps, but full of conscious power. The destruction of the Spanish Armada, in his poem entitled "Elizabeth," also betrays the touch of one far superior to "the ruck" of minor minstrels ; while "The Three Sentences," and " She and I," are distinguished, the one by harmo- nious rhythm, the other by a simple pathos that gives promise of better things hereafter. If Mr. Fulford will eschew imitation, and trust more to his own genius, he may fairly hope to struggle to an honourable position among the recognized poets of the day.

• The Art of Poetry of Horace. Translated into Verse by the Very Reverend Daniel Begot, B.D. Hodges, Smith, and Co., Dublin. t A Comprehensive History of India, &c. By Henry Beveridge, Esq. Profusely illustrated. In 3 vole. Mackie and Son.

t Biographies of Good Women. Chiefly by Contributors to the Monthly Packet. Edited by the Author of "The Heir of Redclyffe." J. and C. Motley. § nudge of Little Men. A Review of Fame. R. Hardwicke. U Saul, a Dramatic Poem ; Elizabeth, an Historical Od e ; and other Poems. By W. Fulford, bl.A. Bell and Daldy.

Or these :

A sanguine individual proposes that instead of reading the Scriptures in the vernacular tongue,* we should avoid the inevitable errors incident to the best translations by acquiring the original languages in which they were written. Nothing is more easy. All that any one has to do is to master Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Arabic, and then " many questions, now considered as debatable, would be found capable of a satisfactory solution. To mention only a few : Baptism, baptismal regeneration, the true meaning of the word Church, the wine question, and many others requiring an accu- rate and critical knowledge of the Scriptures, would be set at rest." Besides all this, missionaries and teachers would preach to the Western Church in Latin, to the Eastern in Greek, to the Jews in Hebrew, and to Mahomedans, Turks, Tartars, and Pagans in general (including, we presume, Hindoos, Chinese, Fejee Islanders, &c. &c.) in Arabic. The so-called learned languages would thus become a bond of union between different classes and nations, '" by means of which they could maintain spiritual intercourse, however far apart from each other."

Families that keep up the wholesome practice of family worship are greatly indebted to Mr. Clabonf for his excellent compilation of prayers,

* The Last .Missing Link; or, Should all the Laity. Men, Women, and Children, everywhere Learn to Read the Scriptures in the Original Languages? Cambridge : T. Dixon.

t Praise, Precept, and Prayer: a Book of Family Worship. By J. M. Clabon. Rivingtons. psalms, and scriptural passages. It is one of the most complete works of the kind we have ever met with. The selections from " Thomas h Kempis" are particularly good.

The Rev. T. L. Montefiore deserves well of all clerical students for his Catechesis Evangdka,* though only the first part, which relates to the Gospel of St. Matthew, has as yet issued from the press. The critical information conveyed in this well-arranged catechism is interesting to even general readers, but can only be fully appreciated by those who are looking forward to a strict examination in theological scholarship. Having thus noticed a work that is calculated to be useful to youth, we may now mention another that is directly the reverse. The Rev. Bourchier Wrey Savilef has und'ertaken to refute Chevalier Bunsen, Dr. Darwin, the " Essayists and Reviewers," and all men of thought and Science, who question the literal inspiration and interpretation of Holy Writ. It may suffice to indicate the line of argument adopted by this divine, merely to state that he places the creation of man about 4100 years B.C., and impli- citly believes in the allegorical history of the confusion of tongues in the land of Shinar. It is a 'book worthy of the pre-scientific era.

* Catechesis Evangelica; being Questions and Answers based on the "Testes Receptus." Part I. St. Matthew. By Thomas Law Monteflore, M.A. Longman and Co. t Revelation and Science. By the Rev. Bourchier Wrey Savile, M.A. Longman and Co.