PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.
BOOKS.
The Military Life of John 'Duke of Marlborough. By Archibald Alison, F.R.S.E., Author of "The History of Europe." The Eve of the Conquest, and other Poems. By Henry Taylor, Author of "Philip Van Artevelde." A History of the Hebrew Monarchy, from the Administration of Samuel to the Babylonish Captivity. Minutes of the Committeeof 'Council on Education; with Appendixes. In two volumes.
The Hellenics of Walter Savage Landor. Enlarged and completed. Savindroog; or the Queen of the Jungle. By Captain Rafter, late of the Ninety-fifth Regiment. In three volumes. The Forester; being plain and practicalDirections for the Planting, Rearing, and General Management of Forest Trees. By James Brown, Forester, Arniston.
Adventures of a Guardsman. By Charles Cozens. [The autobiography of a man who by a reckless and ungovernable self-will de- stroyed his prospects in life, and brought a variety of misfortunes upon himself. Mr. Cozens belonged to a respectable family in Wales, and was educated for the Church; but he neglected his studies for sports; ran away from school; and after being sought out and forgiven by his friends, eloped a second time, under circum- stances of ingratitude and deceit. After some commonplace adventures, Mr. Omens found himself at Knightsbridge, and enlisted in the Blues. According to his own showing, he was promoted, and treated with kindness and consideration, till,. right or wrong, he took upon himself the office of advocate-general for the segiment in a matter of trousers, and addressed a memorial to the Horse Guards. Henceforth he-became a marked man; and, having got tipsy, strack his superior
officer, and forcibly misted an arrest, he was tried by a court-martial, found guilty, and transported for seven years. During the passage out, and " the time" at Sydney, the respectability of his family appears to have served him, and he underwent no particular hardships or any degradations; and he has now returned home to publish his adventures.]
Ireland, its History Past and Present Elucidated. By Lieutenant-Colonel James Campbell, Author of " A British Army as it Was, Is, and Ought To Be," Sea [This large volume is totally deficient in that distinctness of plan and purpose which is requisite to give interest or value to any work, whether it be literary or scientific. Colonel Campbell's Ireland is not a narrative or a story of events; it is not a critical disquisition on the history of Ireland; it is not a series of essays or elucidations of particular epochs, or a collection of original materials. The Colonel has been reading a good deal about Irish history, in what may be called first-hand authorities, including the antiquarian stories; and this volume contains his opinions thereupon, with pretty large slices of extracts occasionally. The various ideas he entertains upon the subject we need not enter into; but the Co- lonel has a strong Protestant view.] Some Passages from Modern History. By the Author of " Letters to my Unknown Friends."
[This book contains ten narratives of striking events in modern history, which the compiler thinks may convey instruction in the school of life. The only oar count which has an individual character is the notice of Sir Philip Sidney. AU the others are too completely historical to afford much direct teaching to private persons, though they form interesting reading for the young.] A Manual of Eletnentary Chemistry, Theoretical and PracticaL By George Fownes, F.1LS., Professor of Practical Chemistry in University College, London.
[This compilation is executed with ability and care; and it forms a complete and comprehensive view of the most changeful of all sciences, under its most modern aspect. The astonishing results daily obtained by the new methods of chemical analysis are rendering the science more rapidly progressive than it has ever been before; and the most modern system will soon become antiquated. But the ge- neral student, -who desires to obtain a view of it as it now stands, will find it in the volume before us. The clearness of the text is much assisted by a number of diagrams and representations of chemical instruments, beautifully cut in wood.] The Drawingroom Table-Book. Edited by Mrs. S. C. Hall. [This volume is rather a successor to the Annuals than one of the class; but itac- complishes the main object of their existence, and forms a very pretty gift-book. Its size is small folio, with a cover of light purple and gold; there is a profusion of plates, of about the average quality, but with the occasional advantageof having already stood the test of criticism; and the margin is adorned by border-work. The prose literature is by Mrs. S. C. Hall; and consists of a series of interesting tales, relating chiefly to contemporary life, cleverly told, and generally pointing a good moral. The poetry is by various well-known contributors to the old An- nuals; who preserve their wonted skill, but do not rise beyond it.] Waverley Novels. Volume L Waverley.—I. [Notwithstanding the various forms in which the Waverley Novels have appeared before the world, from the cheapest double-column to the expensively illustrated book, the enterprising publisher finds there is room for another edition, which shall as it were keep a middle way between the two extremes. The "magnum opus," the forty-eight volumes with their plates, always struck us as being,the library edition, equally removed from the closeness of the cheaper reprints and the magnificence of the superb "Abbotsford," which perhaps rather affects the gazer's eye than the reader's sense. The "magnum opus " edition is now to reappear, with new frontispieces, (the old plates are worn out,) and at a price to give it rank among the cheapnesses of the day—a volume for half-a-crown, or three shillings bound.] The Oath of Allegiance; a Tale of the Times of Philip the Second. By Mrs. Anne Rolfe, .Author of " The Will, or Twenty-one Years," &c. In two volumes.
[A tale for such readers of the circulating library as are easily satisfied.] The Love-Test, and other Tales and Poems. By B. Lambert. [Several tales, and a variety of miscellaneous poems, of respectable character in a mechanical point of view, and with occasional force of style; but they are defi- cient in that indescribable something called poetical spirit.] Poet/rata et Inscriptions, novits aturit. Savaging Lander.
[A very neatly elegant edition of Walter Savage Landor's Latin lucubration both in prose and verse.]
Real Life in India; embracing a View of the Requirements of Individuals appointed to any branch of the Indian Public Service; the Methods of Proceeding to India; and the Course of Life in different parts of the country. By an Old Resident [Real Life in India is a species of Indian guide-book; chiefly useful to young men whom circumstances destine to the East. The volume contains a number of particulars about outfits, routes, and passage-money; information connected with the Company's requirements from candidates; an estimate of the respective advantages in the different services; and some good though not very new advice to young men on their conduct in India. Several chapters of a miscellaneous kind include a geographical sketch of India and an account of life at various stations.] A New Theory of Vegetable Physiology, based on Electricity and sub stantiated by Facts; with its Application to Agriculture. [The author of this publication is deficient in that closeness and coherence of rea- soning—that natural login—which is essential to the discoverer of anything. His New Theory consists in ascribing vegetation to electricity; he would ele, electrify, electrify. " The main-spring of all vegetation," he says, " is a eiency of positive fluid; and consequently, when the earth is impoverished of it by severe cropping, the grand secret of agriculture, in again restoring fertility, is the finding a source and a means of drawing from it the required supply."] History of Europe, from the Commencement of the French Revolution in 1789 to the Restoration of the Bourbons in 1816. By Archibald Alison, F.R.S.E., Advocate. Volume the twelfth. Seventh edition. [With the exception of the campaign of Eclunahl and the battle of Aapern,thiS volume is occupied with the war in Spain and Portugal, and the insurrection.in the Tyrol.] Racconti Istorici e Novelle Morali, ad Uso de' Giovani Studiosi della.Lia- gua Italians. By J. Christison, Teacher of Modern Languages in the Dundee Public Seminaries. CA collection of short stories and anecdotes, selected from various authors, with a taw fables in verse, and a vocabulary of all the words. The pieces selected have the merit of being easy. But the volume fails in more urgent requisites as a class-book. The selection is not always the best on the score of style: some of the pieces appear to be translations from the French, and do not seem to us mo- dels of good Italian. We observe, too, errors in the punctuation and spelling, of a kind to puzzle beginners, for whom the book is compiled.] The Natural History of Tuft-hunters and Toadies. Illustrated by IL G.
[Another of those pocket volume " skits " at the 'peculiarities of the day, in which letterpress and wood-cuts combine to give a shilling's worth of amusement.] The Improrisatore; or Life in Italy. From the Danish of Hans Christian Andersen. By Mary Howitt. [ Standard Novels.], NEW MAGAZINE.
The Faithful Missionary; a Monthly Periodical, illustrating the Value of Judaism, &c. No. I.
ALMANACKS.
The Railway A lmananck and Directory, with a Diary, for 1848. [The utility of this book might have been increased by a little more judgment and diligence. The information it contain is useful enough, and of a practical kind ; butthere is nothing of a general, still less of a curious character, notwith- standing the available amount of railway statistics.] The 21wriculturaZ Almarsack and Farmers' Calendar, for 1848. The Comic Almanack, for 184& Edited by Horace Mayhew. Illustrated by George Oruikshank.
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