PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

BOOKS.

The Bushman; or Life in a New Country. By E. W. Landon Secret History of the Court and Government of Russia under the Em- perors Alexander and Nickolas. In two volumes.

Pius the Arintli; or the First Year of his Pontificate. By Count C. A. de Goddes de Liancourt, of the Pontifical Academy of the Lincei, at Rome; and James Manning, Esq., of the Inner Temple. Volume I.

Posthumous Works of the Reverend Thomas Chalmers, DD., LL.D. Edited by the Reverend William Hanna, LL.D. Volume L Seven Letters on the Recent Politics of Switzerland. (Originally published in the "Spectator.") By George Grote, Esq., Author of "A History of Greece."

[The Letters on Switzerland, with which the historian of Greece enriched the columns of the Spectator, are hare reprinted, in a form better adapted to the con- tinuous perusal they deserve from the politician, than their successive appearance in a weekly journal would permit. The accomplished author has added a preface, that indicates the manner in which he acquired the materials for this exposition of Swiss politics; while it shows the way in which he turns to account the op- portunities of modern life for training an historical perception of ancient affairs. A passage having strict reference to the subject of the Letters themselves may be quoted. "There is one remark, and one only, which I shall permit myself to make. Whatever may be the internal elements of disturbance under which Switzerland now labours, none of them will be removed, several of them will be aggravated, and many new causes of mischief introduced, by an armed foreign intervention. A partition of Switzerland, arranged between DI. Guizot and Prince Metternich, under the name of protection to the Sonderbund, will be a heavy price for the country to pay for the continuance of the blessings of Jesuitism and for the maintenance of what the foreign protector may choose to call peace."] Biographical Sketches, European and Asiatic. By Mrs. William Busk, Author of "Historic Sketches of Spain and PortugaL"

[This volume is a mixture of biography and history; characters being selected whose lives in some measure represented the spirit of their age —as Mahmood of Ghizni, Godfrey of Bouillon, Henry the Lion, baladin, and Manfred. The choice is judicious; as, except Godfrey and Saladin, the persons my seldom mentioned in detail in common books for juvenile readers, for whom Biographical Sketches is designed. With this end, the style is rather too artificially made juvenile: the frequent addresses to "my dear Rkhy " give a natural air to the remarks that fill the place of the disquisitions and reflections of historians; but the juvenility of style is pushed a shade too far.]

History of Europe, from the Commencement of the French Revolution in 1789 to the Restoration of the Bourbons in 1815. By Archibald Alison, F.R.S.E., Advocate. Volume the eleventh. Seventh edition. [The European history in this volume is Napoleon's attempted settlement of Europe after the treaty of Tilsit; including his customhouse contest against Eng- land, and the intrigues which led to the Peninsular war. The volume contains besides, a history of British India, from Clive's foundation of our territorial power to the close of Lord Wellesley's government] The Island on the Mere; a Cheshire Tale. By the Author of "The Legacy of an Etonian."

[The time of this poem belongs to that of the house of Lancaster; its object is to point the moral of rashly giving way to passion. Reginald de Davenport is attached to Isabel de Vere daring her troubles: on the recovery of her fortune he hears she is fickle, and makes a vow never to see her until a miracle is wrought.

Yes, here I swear by all I hate, And all that I revere,

Until that island moves along

The waters of the mere, I will not look upon the face

Of Isabel de Vera."

When the falsehood of the rumour and the truth of Isabel are made apparent, Davenport is overwhelmed with agony, and his life is endangered by sickness: but on his recovery he is an altered man, mildness superseding vehemence, piety in- difference; and he is rewarded for the change. An unexampled flood loosens the island, a tempest drives it to the shore, and the conclusion may be guessed. The tale is slight, but well told. The manner is appropriate to the subject, having a touch of the simple and trustful spirit of the old ballad, without a vulgar imitation of its form; and the narrative is animated throughout. Something more of strength and depth might be desirable; not, perhaps, in this particular Poem, but in the author's style. The Island on the Mere, however, gives promise Of better things, with time and a larger subject.] The Story without an End. From the German of Carove. By Sarah Austin. Illustrated by William Harvey, Esq. New and improved edition. [It is fourteen years since we first welcomed this effort of mystical fancy, with its poetical prose and its fairy-like pictures; and nearly a dozen years have elapsed since we chronicled its sixth edition: yet here it is again, looking as fresh and ethereal as ever, as if there were to be no end" to it.] St. Roche; a Romance. From the German. Edited by James Morier, Esq., Author of "ILO Baba," Sm. In three volumes. [The scene of this fiction is laid in France, during the reign of Louis the Four- teenth; with whose court the less romantic events are intermingled, as they are all made to take a tinge from the opiuion of the times. The story is of a wild and mysterious character, but in its execution more approaching the tale than the novel; so that the length is not well adapted to the style. The manner, too, is foreign, though not so marked and peculiar as many German fictions of which translations have appeared. Whether St. Roche was altogether needed by the iiçlish public, may be doubted; but if it were to be translated, it could not be

in ter hands, perhaps, than in those of the amateur before us. The editor- ship of Mr. Morier does not seem to have extended farther than the titlepage: as they say of accommodation-bills, he has "lent his name."] Practical Hints on the Moral, Mental, and Physical Training qf Girl, at School. By Madame De WahL [There is not much of educational novelty in these Practical Hints. If the world does not know, it is not for want of being told, that mere intellectual train- ing is not education; that the affections and moral principles should be cultivated as well as the mind; that it is desirable to gain the confidence of pupils, and influ- ence them rather by love or reason than by fear; and that physical health should not be sacrificed to over-teaching or over-refinement. These views, however, are well advocated, and with something of novelty derived from the experience of the writer. There are also many practical hints scattered through the book as to the management of girls at school; Madame De Wahl maintaining, in opposition to the general opinion, that females are better educated many together than at home.] A Catechism of the Steam-Engine; illustrative of the Scientific Principles upon which its operation depends, and the Practical Details of its Struc- ture, in its applications to mines, mills, steam-navigation, and railways; with various Suggestions of Improvements. By John Bourne, C.E. [This volume is intended for professional rather than popular readers, and is de- signed as an introduction to a larger work by the author. The physical principles and mechanical laws on which the steam-engine is constructed, and the different manner in which these principles may be.practically carried out, are the topics, rather than a description of the steam-engine itself; a knowledge of whichr in- deed, Mr. Bourne assumes the reader to be possessed of. In this educational point of view, it is a useful publication; containing a large amount of practical knowledge, some of which is as yet floating and not to be found in books.] A Manual, chiefly of Definitions, introductory to the Plane Astronomy of the Globes. By Robert Snow, Esq. [A useful, almost an indispensable companion to the use of the globes; contain- ing in a small compass the necessary elements of geometry and astronomy.]

The _Vaturai Ilistory of Humbugs. By Angus B. Reach. Illustrated by A. Henning. [The wood-cats of contemporary heads alone are almost worth the shilling.] SERIALS.

History of the Prussian Monarchy, from its Rise to the Present Time. By Leopold Ranks, Author of "Lives of the Poets," Ac. Translated by Pro- fessor Demmler. Volume L Part I.

The Campaigns of the British Army at Washington and New Orleans, in the years 1814-1815. By the Author of "The Subaltern," Ac. A new edition. (Murray's Home and Colonial Library.) Journal of Public Health and Monthly Record of Sanitary Improvement. (Published under the sanction of the Metropolitan Health of Towns As- sociation.) Edited by John Sutherland, M.D., Senior Physician to thee Liverpool Dispensaries, Sec. No. L Letters of a Traveller. Part I. (Works of George Sand.)

ALMANACK.

Punch's Pocket-book for 1848.

[If uot quite so racy as usual, Punch is various, smart, and witty; ahooling folly as it flies, and bringing down the game. Besides the every-day weaknesses of mankind that are always with us, Punch exhibits the manner in which the stoppage of a bank may be turned to account, in the doings of Mr. Frederick Bal- sever, of Fig Tree Court, Temple.]