DR. DAVY'S ANGLER IN THE LAKE DISTRICT. * THIS agreeable volume

of dialogues on angling in.the Lake district also contains sketches of its varied scenery, allusions to the authors who have made that region so celebrated, and notices of the manners of a particular yeomanry and peasantry, not forgetting their social economy. The "placatory colloquies," however, contain a good deal more than such topics.. The reader is presented with some of the lifelong observations and reflections of a man whose avocations in the public service have led him into every quarter of the world; the form of rambling dialogue, like that of table-talk, facilitating digression, and permitting a touch-andgo kind of handling, that allows the presentation of salient points without their formal accompaniments. "The outward forms of sky and earth, of hill and valley," (to use the great Lake poet's language,) suggest remarks on the chmate, the meteorology, and • The Angler in the Lake District ; or Piscatory Colloquies and Fishing Ilrcursions in Westmoreland and Cumberland. By John Davy, M.D., F.B.S., fee. Published by Longman and Co. the geology of the district ; as these things in their tarn explain particular modes of culture, peculiar vegetation and the like. The ostensible basis of the book, angling, fitly leads to observations on the natural history of fishes; the angler's repasts, after the fashion of good. old hank Walton, as properly lead to the chemistry of cookery. The " Amiens " has been abroad as well as " Piscator " ; and this twofold experience naturally occasions contrastive remarks on the scenery, the vegetation, and the temperature of tropical and other countries, compared with the landscapes around them. Strange names of places give rise to etymological discussions ; the Northmen having settled in these parts, and it is supposed given their titles to many natural features, which, odd or uncouth as they now sound, mark, like Indian names, a characteristic feature. The most valuable bits of the whole, in our opinion, relate to the author's own profession, and consist of the medical remarks and hints that are scattered through the pages, suggested by such circumstances as arise. For example, the two :friends ascend a steep, and Piscator, observing Amiens feeling his pulse, remarks upon it, and. thus leads to some useful advice to the ei-devant young. "Amiens. My breathless state and my beating heart reminding me of some former hints of yours on the impropriety of elderly gentlemen attempting the ascent of mountains and its danger, I wished to have sonic exact evidence in my own case, and therefore I counted nly pulse. To my surprise and almost alarm I found it exceedingly quick. However, now we have rested awhile in the cool air, I am so refreshed and easy in my feelings, that we will attempt, if you please, the hill above, for the sake of the prospect, which I have no doubt must be glorious. ".Piscator. Would that we were a few years younger, I will not as how many ; then I should have no objection to the higher ascent, to durib the hill rising above us : I would even propose the ascent of the Langdale Pikes, within two miles of where we are, or the mighty Scawfell, not far distant, where, as the poet sings, you may be

Awed, delighted, and amazed.' But the time is past, not for the enjoyment in our case of the sublime pleasure, but for the attaining it without experiencing a degree of fatigue that would mar the pleasure, and without running a risk as regards health, which it is well to avoid. You allude to my former warnings briefly given. I have had many a trial in ascending mountains, as I know you have in your wanderings ; and though I have not reached the greatest altitudes, I have been on some, as Etna, only second to them. The result of my experience, I may repeat, is that only the young, or at most those of middle life and with vigorous and unimpaired constitutions, should subject themselves to such labours such trials,—and I use the latter word advisedly, for I know no exercise so trying to the vital organs, or more endangering them. How often have I seen even young men thoroughly overcome in ascending a mountain, and, having reached its summit, throw themselves on the ground, and there remain prostrate till it was time to descend, altogether incapable, from sheer fatigue, of the enjoyment they looked forward to when they set out. In the exertion of ascending, the strain is mainly on the heart, and indirectly through it on the lungs and nervous system, especially the brain."

The retired medical man, who has really prosecuted his profession in the spirit of a science and not of a trade, has a great advantage over the followers of other avocations. The physiology of plants and animals, and the questions connected with physiology, are open to him as a transfer of subject, without the incessant strain upon the mind and time, or the heavy weight of responsibility, which presses on the conscientious medical practitioner when attending upon his fellow men. Dr. Davy has taken to amuse himself and. instruct others in the pursuit of breeding

fishes ; his experiments being simple, and easily enough practise id pans, finger-glasses, &c., and carried on in a room. The

following is a curious account of the escape of the young fishes from the ova. Piscator has used the word hatching. Amieus wishes to know if it is selected advisedly, and then to have an explanation of the process.

"Piscator. I will tell you as well as I can the little I know of the process collected from my own observations. The embryo fish undergoes development, gradually increasing in size from the absorption of the substance of the yolk, and the conversion of that substance into the substance of its various dissimilar organs. This is the most remarkable of metamorphoses. When near its full time, an absorption, I believe, of the shell commences, and proceeds till rendered so thin as to be no longer able to resist the force acting on it within—that is, the efforts of the hotel fish. But as the fcetus is folded in the egg so as to form nearly a circle its muscular exertions to straighten itself, chiefly by the action of the tail, impel it forward, and the head being one of the firmest parts of the body, the probability is that the membrane will yield to it, and that the young fish will be impelled head foremost into its world of waters. Sometimes, as I have seen, the tail first appears : this is a mishap, and it may be of a fatal kind, for the tail being the chief moving power of the fish, its action impelling forwards, tends rather to prevent than promote the extrication of the head. It is a somewhat carious sight to see the young fish in this predicament : its bulk being still within the shell, and the protruding tail so delicate as easily to escape observation when in motion, the appearance is as if the egg itself moved spontaneously."

Another topic which may naturally engage the attention of a medical man retired from the continual calls of an active life is Instinct and Reason. The course of conversation leads to an incidental remark by Amiens on the masterless dogs of Constantinople, and the jealous strictness with which they defend their boundaries. To this Piscator replies.

"An interesting book, I have no doubt, might be written on the subject by a competent person, tending to show that the line between instinct and reason, or, more properly speaking, intelligence, is nowise a strongly marked one ; that in some degree, in proportion to the similitude of organization, there is a similitude of nature, and that the highest in the scale amongst brutes are but little inferior to the lowest in the scale of our own species ; in other words, inagmuch as the reasoning faculty is connected with the brain in man so may the instinctive faculty be connected with the brain and nervous system of brute animals ; and as man in some of his actions is guided by instinct, so brutes in some of their doings may be guided by reason. Remember the analogy that exists, with differences, comparing the nervous system in different chasm of animals. May not such a vast variety of structure, associated as we know it to be with as great a variety of in

stincts, be the corporeal cause of that variety ? • • • •

"When in Ceylon many years ago, a friend of mine who was DeputyQuartermaster-General consulted me about an elephant belonging to his department, one that had a deep burrowing sore on his back, just over the back-bone, which had long resisted the ordinary mode of treatment employed. After due examination, I recommended, as necessary, the free use of the knife, that issue might be given to the accumulated matter ; but no one of the ordinary attendants would undertake the operation. Being assured by my friend that the brute would behave well under it, I undertook it. The elephant was not bound; he was made to kneel down his keeper at his head ; with an amputating knife, using all my,foree, I Made the incision requisite through his tough integuments : he did not flinch, but rather inclined towards me when aging the knife, and uttered merely a low as it were suppressed groan ; in short, he behaved as like a human being as possible, as if conscious, as I believe he was, that the pain inflicted was unavoidable, and that the operation, as I am happy to say it proved, was for his benefit. From the elephant I will you to the dog. The then Governor of Ceylon, the late Sir Robert Brownngg, had one of more than ordinary sagacity : he always accompanied his master, being allowed so to do, except on particular occasions, as on going to church, or council, or to inspect the troops, when the general always wore his sword. Now, when he saw the sword girded on, he would give his attendance no further than the outer door : without a word being said, he would return and wait the coming back of his master, patiently waiting up-stairs at the door of his private apartment. Here is another instance. Once, when fishing in the Highlands, I saw a party of sportsmen with their dogs cross the stream, the men wading, the do swimming, with the exception of one who stopped on the bank piteousri howling : after a few minutes, he suddenly ceased, and started off full epee for a higher part of the stream. I was able to keep him in view, and he did not stop till he reached a spot where a plank connected the banks, on which he crossed dry-footed, and aeon joined his companions."

The social condition of the people of Cumberland and Westmoreland is peculiar and primitive. A "rood of ground does not maintain its man," but a few acres do, and the family in addition. The land tie is usually the cultivator's freehold, often with extensive common rights. This has produced great independence of character and of manners, perhaps to pass away with railroads and the influx of wealthy families that facility of locomotion and the beauty of the country have begun and will probably continue to introduce. The primitive habits have induced a singular state of economy in-doors and out of doors. Great order and cleanliness within-doors, while out of doors there is great bareness—neither cultivated flowers nor vegetables, nor attempts at a garden, to be seen. The framework of the colloquies is a visit of Amiens to Piecetor, and their occasion a number of fishing-exeursions to all the more remarkable features of the district. As may be gathered from our extracts and remarks, angling adventures and even local descriptions are subordinate to more varied and interesting themes. We are not sure but that the occasional brevity of the angling and the descriptions may be a critical defect ; for, coming in as they sometimes do by-the-by and in an inferior position, they produce an interruptive effect. Perhaps there is not sufficient dramatic discrimination between the two interlocutors. Amious is almost the counterpart of Piscator, with nearly the same experiences, the same sort of knowledge and pursuits, and only differing to agree, or to carry on the argument or discourse. These, however, are very slight drawbacks to a work of such original observation on such varied and interesting topics, treated with such easy mastery.

WILLIAMS'S LETTERS TO JOHN BULL.* WITHOUT any appearance of imitating Sydney Smith, Thackeray, or any other humorist, these Letters, in defence of lawyers and suggestive of law reform, are clear, terse, and lively if not pungent. The matter and opinions have that look of solid reality which arises from a.practical knowledge of a subject. They are advanced not only with the firmness of knowledge, but with a directness that knowledge does not alway attain. They are written with a vivacity which if sometimes a little forced is never flat, and which has the effect of exciting the reader's attention. There may be a more clear-sighted perception of the virtues and merits of all grades of lawyers than readers may altogether follow; but esprit de corps is a natural failing. If there is a little onesidedness in some of the arguments, that was to be expected : what would a barrister be without ambidexterity

The letters are numerous, but all short,—which perhaps contributes to the effect. The more technical topics relate to the proper suede of paying solicitors, to the character of attorneys and advocates, to legal education, and to the excellencies of conveyancers —blushing unseen and wasting their sweetness in the "dark unfathomed caves "of dingy inns of court. Among the questions discussed in order to reformation are the drawing of acts of Parliament, the transfer of land, debts—of which there are six sorts in law, appeals in Chancery, and the treatment of criminals. Primogeniture is handled, but mainly to show that there is legally no such thing, and rarely in practice, till a man gets into the position of a territorial gentleman, when the wish to maintain the dignity he

has achieved induces him to settle or devise the estate to his eldest son. Mr. Williams admits that in classes below the landed gentry the descent of freehold property to the eldest son may work evil, and that it should be remedied, by distributing freehold property like personal in case of intestacy.

The points to which the most general objections are likely to be made concern the payment of solicitors, and the moral question connected with the right of advocates to lie. Mr. Williams says what has often been said before—that paying solicitors by the length of deeds is a vicious principle; but the remedy he proposes is to abolish the taxation of costs. This will startle John Bull. It is like abolishing the restraints of law, and that in favour of

• Letters to John Bull, M.. on Lawyers and Law Reform. By Joshua Wes Hams, of Lincoln's Inn, Esq., Barrister-at-law. Published by Sweet. lawyers alone. Nor should it be overlooked that deeds are but One portion of an attorney's business, and the mere charge for them is by no means the only mode in which clients can be fleeeed. In his zeal for the bar, Mr. Williams not only maintains that an advocate may make the worse appear the better reason, if he can, and practise the " suppressio van, but, as we understand him, maintains a right to lie for his client, "the other side" having the same privilege: a monstrous doctrine, which if really carried out, would make causes turn in part upon the facility of invention possessed by the respective pleaders.

There is too much of the moderation which knowledge produces to render the suggested reforms of Mr. Williams what is called " striking" ; nor are they very new, though they may look fresh from the manner in which they are presented. The two most practical suggestions relate to the drawing of statutes and the simplification of debts. The principle involved in the first is to employ competent men and pay them. Yet it is probable that if this were attempted it would be opposed, and with the present condition of Parliament perhaps successfully, by some noisy hustings economist, who had not a wbrd to say about the blundering waste of hundreds of thousands every year during peace and of millions in war. Mr. Williams asserts that the only persons fitted to draw acts are conveyancers; great judges, great lawyers, and great advocates, not being accustomed to the task.

"What are called estate bills are almost always drawn by conveyancers. Now, turn to any volume of the statutes ; look over the list of private acts, and see how many there are which have required other acts to amend them. You will find very few. Turn again to the index of public acts, and you will find many of the most important 'amended,' explained and amended,' repealed, consolidated, and what not, year after year. How is this ? Are not many of these acts brought in by great lawyers ? No doubt; but who draws them ? Not the Lord Chancellor, not the Attorney-General, who neither of them probably (I speak without any reference to dates) could do it if he would ; but some young man, if a lawyer at all, who can afford to give his time for the scanty remuneration that is usually offered. It is notorious that the most eminent and skilful draftsmen are not employed upon our publio acts of Parliament ; they are too busy, and, as it is whispered, expect too high foes I 'Occasionally, however, an act occurs drawn by such a man. Witness the Act for the Abolition of Pines and Recoveries, drawn in 1833 by the late Mr. Brodie, whose name I have just mentioned. This act has now been in force nearly a quarter of a century ; it deals with a branch of real property law, the entanglement of which can scarcely be conceived by those who have not thoroughly studied it. It has never been ' explained ' or amended ' ; scarcely a single judicial decision has occurred on any important part of its construction it has worked admirably ; and the nation at large, and landowners in particular, little know how much they owe to the framer of that act, for the masterly clearness, precision, and pains with which it was drawn. It occupied the learned framer nearly a twelvemonth in its preparation. He was obliged to neglect his ordinary clients in order to give his mind to this great work. It consequently inflicted a blow on hie practice, from which, I believe, it never completely recovered ; for his clients, seeing they could not got their papers attended to, took them elsewhere. I had it from his own lips that he considered the country indebted to him at least 1000 guineas for that bill, and I thought his estimate a great deal too moderate. He received, however, woad" at all. As a Real Property Commissioner, he was paid for his trouble in bringing together the evidence and making the reports, which of themselves were abundantly worth all that was paid for them ; but for this act, a masterpiece of legislation, and one of the very few of which the country may be proud, the draftsman never received a farthing. No wonder that other draftsmen of eminence are rather shy of drawing public bills I"