PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED,

From January 12th to January 19th.

BOOKS.

Letters on South America; comprising Travels on the Banks of the Pa- rand and Rio de la Plata. By J. P. and W. P. ROBERTSON, Authors of " Letters on Paraguay," &c. In three volumes. The Last Year in China, to the Peace of Nanking; as sketched in Letters to his Friends by a Field-officer, actively employed in that country. With a few concluding Remarks on our past and future Policy in China.

Notes and Reflections during a Rumble in the East, an Overland Journey from India, Visit to Athens, &c. By C. It BAYNES, Esq., of the Ma- dras Civil Service.

Mediterranean Shetclies. By Lord FRANCIS EGERTON. The Miscellany of the Spalding Club. Volume second.

Forest Days; a Romance of Old Times. By G. P. R. JAMES, Esq., Author of " Morley Ernstein," &c. In three volumes. John of Hapsburg ; a Tragedy. By RICEIARD LEWIS, Esq.

The Annual Biography ; being Lives of Eminent or Remarkable Per- sons who have died within the year 1842. By CHARLES R. DODD, Esq., Author of " The Peerage," Sm.

[One advantage of this new Annual of Mr. DODD'S is, that it contains a more extensive and judicious selection of lives than the other Obituaries, presented in a more compact and usable volume. Another improvement is the supe• riority of its literature. For facts Mr. DODD has perhaps no more peculiar sources of information than any other compiler; and if he had, the favours would only fetter him : but, besides a knowledge of family heraldry, and an acquaintance with public events, he brings to his task an independence of judgment, and a fair freedom in the discussion of character. He has also mi- d& acumen and literary ability to vary and animate the dry detail of mere facts, by pointing attention to the general principle they contain. Sometimes, indeed, the literature may be rather overdone; the effects being too forced, and the writer's object too obvious; and sometimes the impartiality may take the form of COW PER'S over-scrupulous person, " to bang an honest man and save a thief." The apology for the late Marquis of HERTFORD is of that character. Although the immorality. of this Peer has caused a public outcry after his death, it was not his mere immorality that has excited so deep a feeling. The character of Lord YARMOUTH and Lord HERTFORD was as well known when all the " beauty and fashion " of London were thronging to his parties, as after the revelations of Snissz and Company. But the judgment was right though the reason was wrong. The revolting part of the exposure was his persistence in his propensities despite of age and infirmities, the triumph of vice over time and nature, and the wretched submission of the old debauchee to the threats and arts of the French girl Bowen. In addition to the vices of a rake, the Marquis was throughout his life more than suspected of the arts of a gamester ; and if not a positive sharper, not over-scrupulous as to how he won. But this did not prevent him from filling high offices at Court, and from being gladly " received " everywhere. The shock to public feeling by the posthumous ex- posure has been one of decency rather than of virtue; and in this light, despite of Mr. DODD'S defence, it is one of the most revolting things on record. The pictures of JUVENAL do not surpass it : the fearful delineation of the evils of old age in the Tenth Satire falls short of it; for paralysis was added to decay, and the satirist of the corruptions of the Empire painted a more domestic scene-

" ITsque ade gravis uxori, gu risque, sibigue, Ut captatort moveat fastidia Cosso." There is another difference between the present times and those of NERO and Dourrime—the Irish lueredipeta is less squeamish than the Roman.]

The Life and Times of Girolaneo Savonarola; illustrating the Progress of the Reformation in Italy during the fifteenth century. [ Savonarola was one of the early Italian Reformers; though some writers have formed a less favourable estimate of his character and purposes. The volume before us seems to have been written with the ulterior object of showing or insinuating that the Anglican is not a Protestant but a Catholic Church, " coordinate " with that of Rome, though its author is very far from being a Puseyite. The style of the work is broad, fluent, and somewhat rhetorical ; and the facts appear to have been collected with industry. As a narrative of the life of SAVONAROLA, with some account of his doctrines and times, it supplies a vacuum in English literature ; but it is not a very critical or philoso- phical production.] 27tulia; a Tale of the Antarctic. By .1. C. PALMER, U.S.N. [Thulia is a narrative, in verse, of the dangers encountered by an United States schooner attached to an exploring expedition to the South Pole, which parted company from the larger vessel and reached a higher degree of Southern latitude (70 deg. 14min.) than the others. The versified description is far less vivid than the plain prose, which is given in the appendix; and another poem, " The Bridal Rose," added to eke out the pamphlet to a slender volume, has no poetical merit. The greatest attraction of this handsomely-bound American publication lies in the wood-cuts : these are remarkable, not only as exhibiting the state of this branch of art in the United States, but for their brilliant effect and sharpness of line; arising from the openness of the work, and the simple means by which the effects of light and dark are produced. They are bard, crude, and unfinished, compared with the fine wood-cats now executed is this country ; and the principle of attaining force and clearness by less work is unskilfully carried to an extreme : there is too much white paper left in the icebergs, the opposition of light and dark in the storm is too violent, and the rippling sea is hard, and not fluent : but the reflection on the surface of calm water gives it a liquid smoothness, and the " Tahitian scene " is full of light and atmosphere. Many wood-engravings are spoiled for printing by over- elaboration, which makes them heavy in effect, and causes the spaces to fill up and the lines to break down ; and too little use is made of the white paper in the broad lights : as a general rule we should say, that the less work in a wood- cut the better, provided it be good and the effects well considered.] The Reminiscences of an Old Traveller throughout different Parts of Europe; including Historical Details of the Russian Empire, and Anecdotes of the Court. By THOMAS Baowa, Esq. Fourth edition, greatly enlarged. [This book is a remarkable instance of the popularity attending gossip, prac- tical information, a plain off band style, a fair stock of insular prejudices, and a spice of something like cant. Considerable additions, the preface says, have been made to the present volume; sometimes, if we may trust our memory, in the way of court or other anecdotes, and sometimes of mere historical compila- tion. Russia seems to have received the largest additions.] Love-Letters of Mrs. Piozzi, written when she was eighty, to William Augustus Conway. [A trumpery publication, consisting of seven letters written by Mrs. Noun, better known perhaps as Mrs. Tnatax, to a tall player of the name of Cow- wee, who, some five-and-twenty years ago, when Mre. PIOZZI had arrived at the age of eighty, took the parts assigned to youthful heroes and " walking gentlemen." These letters contain a good deal of high-flown compliment and inflated foolishness, but nothing which any old woman, whose mind was really though not palpably verging upon second childishness, might not write to a protege player, whose cause she was espousing per fas et nefas,—especially re- membering the much greater importance of actors during the youth of Mrs. "'Ramt, when her estimate of things would be formed. if she really was touched by the tender passion, she seems, like Mrs. Gilpin, to have had " a frugal mind "; for in ordering " her usual stock of wine " from her London merchant, she directed half-a-dozen to be sent to CONWAY'S lodgings, and made much ado about that. But the notion of love seems ridiculous : the editor, whoever he is, fails to comprehend what he probably never met with, the high-flown gallantry of a former age, a mixture of the court and pastoral. The most prominent topic of the letters, after CONWAY'S health, is his disappointment in some love affair at Bath, where the lady seems to have refused him a lack of hair ; and old Mrs. PIOZZL tried to comfort him by the prophecy that the young hard-hearted would die an old maid.1 The Principles of Gothic Ecclesiastical Architecture, elucidated in Ques- tion and Answer. By MATTHEW HOLBECHE BLOXANL. Fifth edition. Illustrated by two hundred wood-cuts. [The number of editions through which this excellent little work has passed in a comparatively short time, attests the growing interest of the subject, and the popularity of Mr. Bcoxam's mode of treating it. This edition has been en- larged as well as revised, and the beautiful wood-cuts, including many addi- tional ones, are nearly all new : the last chapter of the previous edition, " on the Internal Arrangement and Decorations of a Church," has been excluded to save room, and reserved to form the nucleus of a more complete treatise to be published in a separate volume. The origin of Gothic architecture and the various modifications of this style are traced through different periods; and the distinguishing characteristics of each are so distinctly presented by descriptions and delineations, that an attentive study of this volume will enable the reader to discriminate the different kinds of Gothic and to assign each to its respective period. The information is full, and conveyed in a succinct and explicit man- ner, without needless technicalities, and with an orderly arrangement that faci- litates comprehension of the details : the number of examples, the research and judgment shown in their selection, and the skill with which they are delineated, (mostly by the author himself,) evince the zeal and ability he has brought to his task : we know of no work of the kind that gives so much exact informa- tion in so small a space and with equal clearness.] Scientific Wanderings, or Results of Observation and Experiment ; being an attempt to illustrate the elements of Physics, by an appeal to natural and experimental plitenomena. By the Reverend R. FRASER. With numerous wood-cuta.

[This little volume is a sort of scientific romance, or travels of a trio of Ana- charses. The object of Mr. FRASER is to create a taste for and furnish an intro- duction to physics, by selecting examples from natural operations instead of artificial experiment ; and his framework is a series of voyages and travels in the course of performance by Dr. Woodbroke and two youths. The subject of this volume is air, or rather airs; and it opens at Teneriffe, where the ascent of the peak furnishes an instance of the necessity of air to breathing and hearing, by the effects its rarity produces on the travellers; and other circumstances of the voyage continually offer other examples, which are frequently enforced by reference to chemical experiment. The book is pleasantly written, and the conception of the travels well kept up by the contrivance of incident and the description of scenery.] The Principles and Practice of Land, Engineering, Trigonometrical, Sub- terraneous, and Marine Surveying; with an Appendix. By CHARLES Bonuses, C.E., and Surveyor, Associate of the Institution of Civil En- gineers. [This volume is designed for those who have made some practical or theoretical advance in the profession, rather than for the tyro ; and presupposes such an acquaintance with geometry and arithmetic as is necessary to the surveyor. After a general view of the leading principles of the art, and a description of the instruments and mode of using them, Mr. Boriares treats of the practice of common land-surveying, with the higher branches of road, railway, trigono- metrical, subterraneous, and marine surveys; but in too professional or tech- nical a manner to have an interest for common readers, or even to be under• stood by them.] A System of Modern Geography, with the Outlines of Astronomy ; for the use of schools and private students. By JOHN WHITE, Teacher of English, Geography, and History, Edinburgh ; Author of " Abstract of General Geography," &c. [This system chiefly consists of a full and classified catalogue of the names of places and other geographical facts ; and bears about the same relation to geo- graphy as a dictionary does to language. Conjoined with a good set of map' and an intelligent teacher, it may be made a useful work; and it will serve as a book of reference for mere names of places ; but that is all.] The Natural History of the Nectariniadm or Sun Birds. Illustrated by thirty-two coloured plates, with Portrait and Memoir of Willoughby. By Sir WILLIAM JARDINE, Bart., F.R.S.E., &c. (The Naturalist's Library, Volume XXXVI.) [This useful, cheap, and beautiful series of popular publications on natural bis- tory, is approaching its close : four more volumes will terminate its career; formie,g forty tomes, with, we imagine, considerably upwards of a thousand illustrations. The subject of the present number is the Sun Birds of the old hemisphere— analogous to the Humming Birds of the new ; and a Life of WILLououar prefixed ; which contains a brief sketch of the previous natural historians, in the exposition of our countryman's claims to distinction.] The Xanthian Marbles; their acquisition and transmission to England. [This account, by Mr. FELLOWES, of the circumstances attending the re- moval and shipment of an interesting collection of sculptured marbles lately added to the collection in the British Museum, includes some particulars that Will be more properly spoken of in a notice of these valuable antiques, to be given next week under the bead of Fine Arts.] The Church of England, as to her Excellencies and Defects; with a Plan of Ecclesiastical Reform in her Spiritualities and Temporalities, to adapt her more perfectly to the wants and exigencies of the times. With an Address to Her Most Excellent Majesty the Queen, the Nobility and Gentry of England ; an Address to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, on the defective system of education which prevails in them; an improved plan of academical instruction recommended ; a Dissertation on the Oxford Tracts, to show their Anti-Scriptural nature and irreligious and immoral tendency ; an address to all classes of the Christian community, on the existing religious crisis, and their duty with regard to it ; an address to Infidels, Sceptics, and Deists, on the truth of the Bible, and the Christian Religion. By the Reverend J. PRIDIIAM, M.A., of the University of Oxford, and Author of "Family Lectures on the Principles and Practice of the Christian Religion." [A series of well-meant but rather verbose suggestions for the reform of the Anglican Church. Mr. PRIDHAII, however, has hardly the practical sagacity necessary for so difficult a matter ; which, touching the habits,tbe social position, and the spiritual pride as well as the pride of consistency of many, (not to mention conscientious scruples,) seldom leads to much result even when Councils or Commissions attempt the task. Our reformer, how- ever, does not propose any very comprehensive or frightful plans : in the ser- vice, for example, he would retain the Athanasian Creed, but strike out the words " most religious and gracious King," as not strictly applicable to any

human being, much less to an indifferent or a bad man.] • Bibliotheca Clericalis ; a Catalogue of the Books in the Clerical Library and Reading-rooms, 21, 22, and 23, Little Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields.

[A new, and to scholars in London, or readily communicating with it, a useful volume; for it announces the formation of a circulating library for the studious, in which, although theological or ecclesiastical miters predominate, no work of a solid and permanently valuable character will be excluded. The catalogue before us extends to upwards of six hundred pages, printed in double columns; and is, so far as we have examined, various and well enough adapted to its purpose—which is that of supplying students who cannot afford to pur- chase a large library with the means of perusing scarce, expensive, or cumbrous books.] an and his Mistress, or Woman's Revolt ; a mock-heroic melo- drama. By GEORGE NASH, Author of " Records of the French Pri- soners," &c.

The Mock Catalani in Little Puddleton; a Musical Barletta, in one act. By CHARLES NAGEL, Esq.

PICTORIAL ILLUSTRATIONS AND PRINTS.

The Science of Drawing Simplified; or the elements of form demonstrated by models. By B. WATERHOUSE HAWKINS.

PERIODICALS.

The Bread Basket, Part L

[A new ally of the Anti-Corn-law League, appearing weekly in penny num- bers, and collected in monthly parts. It is of lighter texture than the ordinary productions of the League press ; and the points of the writing are aided by broad caricatures cut in wood.]

MAPS.

Becker's Omnigraph Atlas of Modern Geography. Compiled from the latest and most authentic sources, and including all the recent geogra- phical and nautical discoveries throughout the world. Drawn by F. P. BECKER and Company. The whole engraved on steel by the omni- graph.

PAMPHLETS.

The Right of Search, as between France, America, and Great Britain. By D. CaEsaR MOYLAN, of Lincoln's Inn, Barrister-at-Law.

-Modern Puritanism. A Review of the present and prospective results of the Lord Bishop of London's late Charge, with especial reference to the recent Pamphlets of Reverend Dr. Holloway, Reverend C. J. Yorke, Dean Cockburn, &c.

Gas Meters; their unfairness demonstrated, and the loss arising to the consumers of gas by their use pointed out. By HENRY FLOWER. Third edition.

A Report of the Committee appointed to Manage a Subscription for the purpose of affording Nightly Shelter to the Houseless, for 1841-2. Chess Short-hand; being a new but perfectly easy method of notation for the description of games, &c. By an Amateur.

Music.

Mass in D. By JOHN LODGE ELLERTON, Esq. With an accompani- ment for the organ or pianoforte, arranged from the full score by the Author.