Cornhill Magazine.—September.—Tho padding of the number consists of an exoellent
though appreciative account of Bishop Atterbury, whom the writer believes to have been a mis- taken patriot, though no lover of still waters or a quiet life. He is said to have preached so well on the death of George of Den- mark, that his widow, who heard the sermon, actually felt her loss ! The "Story of the Registers"—that is, of Registration in England— is clearly written, from the commencement of the practice under Cromwell the Reformer; and the essayist, who is familiar with his subject, comes to the conclusion that the work is now well done, the effort to obtain more particulars having boon shown by an experiment in Scotland to bo futile. Tho most attractive paper in the number will probably be " Oxford in the Long Vacation," by one who feels intensely not only tho charm of the old city, but also of the scenery in the country round about, which most men suppose to be fiat and tame. "The Dance of Death in Italian Art" is a striking paper on a well-worn subject, and contains some suggestive paragraphs on the causes of the change which, from the tenth to the thirteenth century, transformed the Devil from a spiritual tempter into a maleficent deity, engaged in working men material harm. Europe, it would appear, oppressed with material misery and infected with Eastern doctrines, very narrowly escaped raising the Devil into an Ahriman, or co-equal evil deity, one cause of that worship of the Devil which un- doubtedly underlaid the belief of the day in magic and witchcraft.
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