The Express. — London, England, 1850-12-28 00:00:00

LITERATURE. BOORS FOR THE NEW YEAR. it ri,ii teas with the Va Poets: • Ornudes ef Sur , Carob, .„ li sse ripave se" wits tine g ths Fest ival of Christ- Subsliubsd by lifty.two elated Wait:otiose, by LAW Faster, esgravul by !teary Visually. Bogue. Foremost certainly anroogst the gift books of the presen t season stands Hu new volume entitled Christmas with the Foots." It compels Utica at first sight by the novelty and, beauty of its binding ; and a closer inspection of its character is likely to confirm the first favourable impression. It has claims, both litirary and artistic, but probably the latter are those most lik.ly to secure general notice. It is plea sant to find in • handsome volume all that our pets, old and new, have been able to say about the joyous season of the general merry-making in Ear lad; and pleasant, moreover, to have enemas of anent notes telling the literary history of the olden carols, end of the custom' to which they were akin ; but n ore satisfactory still to find both linked to a Berke of artistic novelties likely to give a charm to less wel come text. Mr. Murray, some years ago, supplied the luxuaions book-buyer with a volume of Spanish ballads, printed M what was then considered to be the very highest style of typographic art. The work attracted very general attention, and its success probably had some :Mpg to do with the appearance of Milman's edition a(" Horace," rich in similar attractions of vellum-like paper, profuse illustrations, and borders to the pages printed in different Huts. "Christmas with the Pats " is a step still further in &deuce, and its pecu liarities are these : volume is full of woodcuts; now for the first time printed in Huts in the body of a book with the type, thew tints, moreover, being, not single, but cioubk ; that is to say, two colours are printed is addition to the ordinary impression made by the black ink. Printing in colours from wood-blocks has long been practised for the production of separate specimens of the art, bat printing in colours in the body of • book with the picture surrounded by type has now for the first time been perfected in this volume of Christmas carols. The tints chosen is the present instance are • warm brown and a grey, and by the artistic mingling of these, something very like a coloured drawing is produced. An instance of this is afforded in the illustration of one of Herrick's poems—" The Wassail." The warm brown tint gives the local colour of a red-brick Elizibethan manor house, and supplies the place of more positive colours to a group of figures &nomad the doorway, whilst the grey tint produces the effect required for a cold winUr tky and the shadows on a scene of snow. A combination of the two gives a deep neutral tone to the stems of trees, and altogether • picture is produced curiously full of the feeling con veyed by . the verges of the poet. Similar effects may be seen in another cut—the Boar Hunt—and in the I.:aeration of a song of Shakepere's. Toe drawings have been made by Mr. Birket Foster, and dispiay great talent, especially in the landscapes, where be exhibits at once a close acquaintance with the exact forms of natural objects, coupled with a singuarly graceful and delicate mode of portraying them. Toe winter scene looks literally frozen, and the trees, laden with snow, throw out their gaunt arms towards the cold, sharp, winter sky with an exactness and augularity peculiarly na tural. Mr. Faster has a genius for this work. lie is at once faithful to nature and a muter of the eleganees of his branch of art. 'f he literary claims of the book are much higher than those of the uld annuals now expiring. We find a careful collection of the religious, coovivial, and de lIICTWATO poems relative to Christmas, arras in the historic periods ranging from the Anglo- orman period to the days of Alfred Tennyson. Many of 1 these are of consicerable eerily, and others have hi therto been mattered about beyond ready reach at a festive season. Hereafter, all who want carols for thristo as, or a book for any other season, combining ' novelty of illustration with - - - beauty of typography and - ty of English poetry both old and new, may Bod all con tained in this volume. The illustrations are on-qoot able, but a carol we may have, and it shall be one as uld as the days of George Wither MERRY CHRISTMAS. " S 1 now ie oom, our j iyfal'st resat, Let very man be jolly ; Each IJOIK with ivy teams , is drest, Awl ey'ry post with holly. Thoaph some churls at our mirth repine, !Laid oar foreheads garlands twine, Drown wrest is a cup of wise, Aad let as all be merry. N nr all oar nsialthours' chimneys smoke, And Christmas bids Sr. burning, Their ovens limp with meats choke, Aad all their spits are tur.i , ne. Wivtiout the door let sorrow lie ; Aid if to cold is apt to dm, Will Mary 't la a Chrism.. pie, Aid ev‘r more be merry. " New se's, lad is wondrous trim, Aid so mss minds bus labour ; Oar lures have provided them A bagpipe aid a tabor Yr .men add muds,adil girls and boys, aaag Clive life to ewe aweaker's joy., And yea mot shell by their noire rff :miss that they art merry. " Book misses now do epariag 'hut Their ball of meek seaadeth ; And does theme with whole ehoulden ran, ho ail thirgs there aboundeth. The country folks themselves minima erowdy muttons out of Frame ; ATI J sek shall pipe, sad Jill shell dame, A...d all town be merry. "Ned Squeak bath fetched kis beads from pawn, And all bit beet apparel; Ne:l bath b4uscht a rati of lowa, W ith dropvings of the barrel ; Aud owe that hardly all the year 1101 tread to eat, or rags to wear, Will have both clothes and daiaty fare, And all the day be sir try. " Nisi poor men to the justices With capons make their 'mats! And il they hap to fail of thaw, They plague them with that warraata. list sow t usy feed then with rod sheer, And what they west they Mks is beer, For Cnristates mimes bat cram a year, And then they shall be weeny. " Good tamers in the country nurse Tiie poor, that else were undone ; Some landlords spend their money won*, On lust sad pride, at Louden. 'l` -etc. the royaters they do play, I , r,b sod dim their lands away, tt t. eh mei be ours another day, Ar.d therefore let's be merry. '• Toe eLeot now his suit forbears, Tae prisoner's heart is lamed; '1 he di btor drinks away his one, And Mr the time is pleased. hniiiih other purees be IMMO fat, tt by should we pine or grieve at that ? ii.g a =ow " care will kill a at, Anil therefore let's be merry. Hark! bow the wags abroad do call limb stair forth to rambling ,• ...non you'll me them in the ball For ants and apples scrambling. Hark! how the roofs with laughter sound, Amos they'll think the house goes round, Fee they the cellar depth have lowed, And there they will he merry. The stashes with their wassail bowls About the streets are singing ; The boys are come to catch the owls, The wild mare in is bringing. Our kitchen-boy lath broke his box, And to the dealing of the cm Our honest neighbours come by limb, And here they will be merry. " Now kings and queens poor sheep-cotes have, And mate with everybody; The honest now may play the knave, And wise men play the noddy; Some youths will now a anuainiag go, Soms others play at itealaadeoh, And twenty other marbles nor'; Because they will be merry. "Shen wherefore in these merry day. Should we, I pray, be dater? N. let us sing some roundelays, To make our mirth the fuller; And, whilst thus inspired we ling, Let all the 'insets with echoes ring— Weeds, and kills, and everything, Bear witless we are meny." CAristmas wish CU Poeta. • Mars. ------ ---- --- assysis ha llta th i lt; 6ll4 t -tha "" hac ha/1 " 1 "up • hitt°, the of their respective aeaseas, whilst otheri . will _ . up Immedleady reedited the mate to lower his boat, recollection, of sundry ga ll eries of rich amateurs. SUN he did theism* with his own, in order to go is par. enitildtlient. The subjects may be imagined by ell who know the The two boats were intently lowered, foe they were painters—they are wood, water, rich meadows, quiet usable to send mote, having had two others " noes' the urea nooks, afretchee of sea-shore, a gloomy ravine, day before. They soon got neer the whales, but were maw- a sunshiny avenue, sedgy streams, sod Welsh moon tweately seen by them before they could dart the herpoos talus . A passage . or two from Mr. Thackeray's pot ieliti say abases of emcees, and the *envie*. was, that t o o so ya a o p a l.. separated, no d went o ff with pest lion of the work will gtve an idea of the tone he has ,repaint, in different directions. One, however, after adopted: Mahe several tarns, came at length right rew a rd the JOHN CONSTABLE. eeptaia's boat, eskine, he denying, waitid in silence for his John Constable was intended by name for a landscape eppreseb, wits,* esevieg an 04r, se that the "young ball" painter; but, by his parents, for the honourable craft of Mee ISSN by Ids lois, and rewind the blow ogthe harpoon miller. For a while, he served two masten; whea 'roadie, ems dimes. aside& kis " hump," and so near to the ship con he still had leisure to examine the fleeting effects of' seas Massa by ell ea beard. nature, sod thus turn the mill into en observatory. This TM whole appeared quite terror-struck for a few seconds, influenced his style ever after, as clouds always occupied the sad then, suddeafie enevering itself,dared off like the wind, prominent part of his compositions ; it was is clouds that and spun the boat so quickly round whoa the tug came upon he excelled, whether in their transparency and misty appear ** lies, that she win within a miracle of being upset But awe, nr in their maws of light. IMP they "wt. "dead * windword," at the nth of twelve When be returned from a sketching excursion, he used to er Moto miles an hoar, right against a "bead sea," which soy, . 1 have had a good saying; " and when he displayed Sew against sad over the Was of the boat with uncommon these sketches, they were found marked with the day, hoar, we., so that she at times appeared to be ploughing through and which way the wind blew. la. making • high bank of surf on each aide. He resided latterly In Hampstead, sod has left innate.- The second mate, bevies observed the course of the whale table reminiscences of in everlasting heath, that **ring Oleg beer, MEW! to waylay them ; and when they caw " sitter." The amateur will recognise in the soootnov en ine - • Cyclopedia of London. Pert I. Sall HOY s toile flie Beat wee bo Ws, svibes *my speedily did, " a short warp" was excellent sketch, the " Conitield" of the National 0 . Atifitors. Pictorial Lla,f •flowrs. Charles Enfolpt thassirs, and hell heats was soon towed at nearly the isms This beautiful pins of autumn new to be uader Win- The humbler classes in this country are very libe rate es the captahes boat had bees before. fluent* of a late shower; the shrubs, trees, and distance, an The cassia was sew seen dating the lance at the whale saturated with it—what a lover of water that youngster meat rally supplied with religious tracts, which would do as it almost flew ski*, bat he did Not mein to do so with any be, who is filling himself within after he has been wetted to them considerable good if they coald be persuaded to kindof effect, as the speed of :he whale did sot appear In the skin by the rain which has jest pess.d away ! AS one read them, and with irreligious novels which would the nest ditaiaehed, and in a very when time they all di.- looks at this delightful picture one cannot but Moire the do them no harm if they could be persuaded to leave appeared together, being at too great a distance to be seen meaner in which the spezific character of every object is them alone. Publications of an elevating, interesting, by the naked eye from the deck. The officer ran slot:, and, made rat ; the undulations of the ripe corn, the *Neared by the aid of a telescope, ooeld jest discern from the light on the road, the freshness ef the banks, the trees and and at the same time entertaining, nature, are corn mast-beed, the three objects like specks upon the war- their Infer, the brilliant cloud artfully contruted Neatest partitively rare; and in this department of letters Mr., face of the ocean. At an alarming distance he the tries, and here and there broken with saute. Knight—by a rare combination of literary ability and could just observe the two beats, with the whale's Fash's standing joke, ea be looked atCoestable'gietures, commercial enterprise—has been for many re* bead occesionally darting oat before them, with a good wt. to call for his great-gnat and umbrella. The tof the honora bl y codapiedoid. deal of " white water," or loam, whir* coaviseed academy showed a better appreciation of the great Landscape """ The publications before at 1 that the whole was still runniag. He watched with the painter'. genius than Chanty did, who ca. day took op however , while they are placed, by their price, withla.i glees until he could no longer trace them, even in ters most Constabie's palette, and rubbed kis picture with a glaze of the reach of the most humble, ere of a character well indistinct manner, and then called to Wee ea deck, that asphaltum. • There gots all my dew," the poor artist said suited to the more elevated ; and they will doubting they might take the bevies, by the simper, of **direct/toe to Leslie, his charmleg biographer. le not many soother g o d man y t h ousan d. of readers among the ,Mitre, at in which he had lust sight of them, so that they might con- post's dew and delightful natural bloom *men by dull 1861, to whom any fact , relat i ng to London mad tinite to " beat" the ship up to that quarter. denten, and rubbed away by *arse *the* I prove highly intereeting, and whose general reading' It was now, 'aye the story, within half an hour of sunset, Not fairly appreciated during his life-time, every seemed and there was every appearance of the ooming on of se lag year adds to the public appreeletion of this great genius. will, probably, for the most part be cut op into "Half - " ugly night:" indeed, the wind began to teethe* every Before be was admired al be downed to be amongst our- Hoare." me meat, and* " awkward bubble" of a see soon to make selves. the Parisian painters had greatly and justly apple- The " Cyclopedia of London," the Irak part of I remained aloft ,eatil I saw the sun dip, angry and red, be elated him, and be was as much the originator of tin which i s j ail „ mo w ed, ta a twat " a . t of low the trembled kiwis*, and was just *boat to descend, modern Fria* landscape, as Scott wee the father Of French whoa I was dreadfally It e m shoked at hearing the loud cry of romance. , a very able work on " London, ' completed hy Mr. " a mire overboard!" o all upon deck. I looked DB WiNT. Knight in 1844. The additions and completions. astern, end sew with honor one of our men, by the name of Oar well-beloved De Wiet bee gone like one of these however, are necessarily extensive, and = Berry, grappling with the waves, and eating loudly for calm rummer days he used to depict. He spent his life Is everything of most recent and immediate help one revel of su ne. He caught well the warm, purplish The article upon the New Palace at Weettableler— The ship wes soon brought round, but th dnieg so, she blue et las summer sky. All artiste generally shoos* morning namour —. unavoidably paned a lonrc=rom the poor fellow, who or evening, as the thug sweeping shadows form at eaceeasy which teed sy be new la s aid still supported himeaU by the water with his hands, pictures, bat Ds Wins was not frightened by the sin in sat neatly-written description ;:and the Viotoei=t- is although ha was claire unacquainted with the proper art of meridiem . one of the sew attractions of the metropolis' we swimming. Several can were thrown overboard the so- Wilson is said to have aimed at representing the subtle air take to hav e a risen gam the p er i o d o f M r . M u f s ba meat alter be fell, but be could not reach them, th ugh they in which bass* the ephemeral insects ; we Wok De Wiest, h ymn m u t:at t n . were near to him; and directly the ship brought up with the more deader material or water, has bettersseeseded A. "" Al "t h ee we-believe- that the p . . a Sandwich Islander, who formed one of the crew, Let Fusili, who wanted his umbrella to ink at Constable'. tae—unlike overboard, and swam toward him, while at the man t e showers, might have called for a pot of porter at seethe one mat 1 3100 1 119— bwe run the =l c e deemriblimir **people en deck were lowering a (pare beat, which is of Ds Wiat'e bar makings. Distant towns, moat nape°. the work as " a tilde or the visitor—a parbtament always kept for such emergencies. I could be of no nevi**, milting is aspen, \name pteassat-looking under his pencil. volume in the Na ottibriory." emapS to amp their expedition by many milk der it was only large mom of tae: d s=f Unalligun shape :he caught 1 The " Half-Hoore with the beet Alain "Is a new theMenkfif Ma few minutes. the murmuring a of quiet 14gcsal ; "% gu m I series of a former work , several volumes et which TM seed Sandwich Islander streak eat mast bravely st basked Isely with him, and one wondered whether re paired come years back. It is to _dieeti , "111% Soot, bat fading that he wee some MMus hem the ship, maimed torpid in winter. and bides *able to en Berry ma OPMlllet od the agitated There yes sot muck depth in he scheme of essuipulation. hose for every day in the year, silesilrout m = surface o f the gem, actually turned bosh thrash fear — find- but the charm me in the blerbleillte perception of nature's department o f literature; the ealliest fee every I ins, as he said, that the " see sips" midyear his heed. The cunning simplicity, the simple WSW _by, w4ich so me* is d a y b e i ng a mon d vie sig i sm me. The od , men in the boat now lied their ems 111 Si their igreesth, brought about, as to make us exclaim, ' ow H eit dos. ?" woad „ tartar, „ma boo ahesdy bow end were making re y worm ill* &main peas man, As ftwilleetel said, "Ca fee* pen aims' bee I'.a femme ;" it _s. I c fr prombi muldekkele Thew ceder tits ma Wrests, be pillages latealrested resanseissa, end it mast Wordsworth a wide faIMM -00 = 4 frola -Os! ‘'• fis ass see orhy. ll_y Tam SPICTATOR. TM Notes who now and this d by w. Box " w rux ; die Bareviog , ow, which wen ' 07, ,ielL • silkowleg satiety always be so, unless he fame the sempleismit andel, whisk wordsworth ; keen th , y ; hatless niewboi so prow the host ea- is ever paten-making, far Me wet Mime ele noel* to from Addison - to --Limb ; besides a tat by Tmonroos, iron Dssigas by Fam. TAILOR. Pa , gavial my t~oy kts ward to the spot where l it pew Mow still grappled, but look out. Ds Amt was cue Of these; itio evillest is all his o d ooo g ooood . wr i topo w b one at b ine longease. • lonely with the woks tut hs never invested the leasnout Imulusi% bus otherwise of beteg nod or rimed taby eosl—.ll would teeny • aPPeer ae if the writer, of Clu es fee boat ;rind len st i e li sement strength, sprang ever*. followed she wise amiss for laadowpisie—" always to wait - .. eisuea time were beginninglto rise again to oomethiair . won Al i oon sdi g do b et they snivel for • age , which will be nee to appose whoa, wanted." Mail of readers.. _, -1.61- uruuk hes ale! ehlt eel Lae that supremacy which Jeffrey so vigouroany a minute too two NA= Z' from his And es all faitlffel paisley. &rap awaited patiently the . itttrestioe of permitter Ilekreetta rim il ll, lisloht most Wailed in his famous article en Swift. We bate watery grave. I saw brea . toe nail! the sowing asa. De Whit painted freely and without effort, distinguished writer& THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 28, 1850. reeently had • novel about the Deaa's love affairs; Croker is editing Pope ; only the other day all Eng land was listening to the Earl of Carlisle quoting the little man with equal gusto and taste. Be. fore us lies a radiant volume, coloured like the " tiger-moth's deep &masked wings," that Raab talk. about, which contain time papers is the • Blestator " which tell the story of Sir Roger de Oiroubtr. This happy idea we owe to Mr. Wine. wits Ms written an agreeable preface, and added notes aid alutrations, that admiration may want nothing which literary industry can supply. He has done bx Addison somethinr 6est like what Lord Elgin did for Pleidies—brought the and greatest figure out of the somparative obscurity of the temple into better quarters. He seems to regret having to observe that Sir Roger's conception and execution were not all Addison's. For ourselves we are most fully persuaded that he furnished the heart and soul of the old gentleman. Steele had great knowledge of " the world," and inexhaustible liveliness, as so much of the gaiety and all the " ques tionable " gaiety of the famous old journal shows. We can sully fancy that he suggested mach of what is merely comic in Sir Anger—much of what depends on contrast—a good deal of that whMh we laugh (though very tenderly) at in him. But it is to Addi son that we owe the eternity of the individual. We order it in our minds somewhat thus : that Steele gave much of what was amusing then—Addison what is living and loveable now. We remem ber, too, an anecdote which marks how subtle and delicate was Addison's discrimination, when compared even with such men es hie compeers. When Pope sent to the Guardian that essay which Byron cilia a "model of irony," wherein he with exquisite ingenuity , affects to set Philippe' Pastorals above his own while admirably demonstrating their inferiority, Addison alone saw through the stratagem. Steele was hoaxed, and the rest puzzled. Sir Roger, though only set in the framework of an essayist—and sometimes brought out just tobe preached upon (u Thackeray thinks some very different old fellows of our day ought to be), is as real, distinct, and living a character as the drama or fiction can supply. His unfortunate attachment to "the perverse, beautiful widow of the next county," is really as melancholy as Otway, or as ' Keats's " Isabella." Romantic young gentlemen will I laugh at this, but really we can easily fancy old Sir Roger wandering in the cypress grove with the • " youths who died for love." Addison's delicious hil -1 moor, to be sure, wraps a haze of sunlight round him, , that blinds us to his melancholy, but think you a saint may not be sorrowful though with an aureole ' round his head ? We thoroughly agree with Dr. Johnson, that friend Addison should not have killed Sir linger is order that he might have some "very fine writing " about his death. This kind of thing is very much as if the Greek actor who stimulated his tragic powers by bringing his son's ashes in an urn on the stage—had previously killed him to have him ready for the effect ! Nevertheli as, Sir Roger still Huth, and in this volume of Mr. Will. • will continue to charm many. The book is beautifully printed, and in every way a credit to those who have brought it out. The Inaleman's Adventures us Me SostAorta Oooan. Edited by the it.,, W. 8 , D.D , FAIL Samp son Low. Peter the Whaler. By WILLIAM H. O. KINGSTON, BEI., Author of " How to Emigrate," " TM Albatross," Ike. , Great and Griffiths. Here we have two contributions to " whaling literature." There being now-a•days a literature of everything, the whale himself has his own. He has long been chronicled in corthern song ; and now his history is edited by a doctor of divinity, and a halo of romance thrown round him by a nautical novelist. The first of the above works contains the narrative of an American missionary who embarked,. for the sake of his health, in a whaling voyage in the South Seas and Pacific Ocean. The Heir. Mr. Cheever, in a voyage of 236 % from the Sandwich Islands to days, Bata, had various opportunities of seeing whaling pea ice, and has recorded them in a bock which oon , tains a great deal of information on the subject gene- Ally. Our readers know that the whale fishers have boss geadually driving the whales to the poles. Oar esbeol friend, the bakena Britannia; has long since disappeared. Shoal after shoal has been consumed. But the trade goes on merrily. We learn from Mr. Cheever's first chapter that " the average yearly quantity of sperm oil taken for the last nine years has been 142,242 barrels; of right-whale oil, 255,4361 barrels; of whalebone, 2,324,0001b*. ;"and also that the " imports of oil to foreign parts in 1848 from New Bedford, were 17,093 barrels." It is a most airlift eant fact, which will sufficiently show how much the Americans cultivate this trade, that nearly one-tenth sf their whole navigation is employed is it. Some interesting extracts from the volume will IlikeW the bard and perilous hfe which many mast had before we at home can light our domestic lamp for household purposes. One of a ship's company or officers in the North Pacific., ' near the close of a day that had been rather Moray, says that • school of young bell whales made 11::: to sipesranos close 1. 0, rhea the ham of a beaker ma roared over him, sad esseal him to Abappear be ever I The boat wee rowed rowed eel mead the lira spot spats sad span, until sight fell, sad them the was slowly and reluctantly pulled to the ship by her wriemeholy drew. At they returned, the turbu lent waves limed them about es if la maize the boat ',broth front the Warn and dashing warts whisk flew weird her bow. The moment the aanttunate tram= disappeared, a Lugo bird of the abattoir hied caste careerist along, mad alighted ore the era* at the very spot whets the poor know was lest set a. It was a MOONS einamstaam, and slily served to heighten war honer, whin we Am the earesporotes bird art *fedi Penal, twat the hood of our 000spolios ; sad whirl also wired to ranted are of the number of sharks that we hod so throned, seem of late, and of the horrible propeasidee of which we read not dare to think. In 'rodent 'Whistle betanco, whoa a boat was shrine • whale, he stadasely tamed to windward, and made di reedy tor his pumas, who were so excited by the ahem as to be algid to Amager. Oa, therefore they madly rushed, without h7ing to avoid the infatiated imam, so seem were they to please into kin their item, till the boat streak with *ash term upon the whale's head, a. to throw the ears men hem their thwarts. At the same moment the boa t:Metes let Ay his two harpoons into the airmail, whisk thee rolled over at its beak, sad before the boat could get clear of the danger, being to windward, a heavy sea struck it, end threw boat and nen into the whale's mouth' All, of mane, =for their UM an , d they had bar to rly time throw Ives clear of the boat, before it woe crushed to piton by Mom imosedoroods jews, and its ejected mew were providen tially all picked up by another boat. ----- - - - - A terrible little particular that last about the alba tross ! We ones heard a similar story from a naval friend, which has ever sines diminished the horror which we used to feel at Coleridge's " Ancient Mari ner" for killing his famous bird. Mr. Cneever's book, u we hays said above, will be found interesting and instructive, but it is decidedly liable to some literary objections. When he urge, the necessity of preserving the Sabbath, afloat we agree with him. When he indulges in pious reflection, we honour him. tWhen be quota; Coleridge and Cowper, we sympathise with him. But we are bound to say that there is too much in his work of that kind of morbid methodisin which Sydney Smith used to lash in the Edinburgh Review. Once he takes an opportunity, apropos of the grave of a Tahitian, to have a fling at the memory of Byron ; and once he suddenly diverges from the subject of whales tothstof " suicide r—wben he recommends, to prevent that melancholy crime "the enacting • law, as they once did in ancient Rome, to expose the body of every suicide naked in the marketplace after death," (p. 81). The editor, Dr. Scoresby, would have done well to strike out this recommendation of a heathen custom by • Christian minister: the sentiment is thoroughly contrary to the humanity of the present age, and to the good feeling of all ages. Mr. Cheever must have written it under the influence of some maudlin feeling akin to sea sicknei.s. " Feter the Whaler" is rather long. but we find it full of true and animated painting. We have the less hesitation in not quoting it, es moat readers of fiction will be likely to peruse it. Bu: we have, besides, ex hausted our space, and our readers would find too juurs whale worse than even the proverbial Couleur' perdrix. .etcher of the English Landscape Piiiritees. By L. liaavy. With Short Notice', by W. M. THACKIRAY. Bogue. The revolutions of 1848 teat upset one throne and shook so many others, drove from France, it seems, one Monsieur Louis Marry, a landscape painter. But in his exile be found the solitudes of Leicester-Kuhre ekvered by one fact—M. Louis Marry had had, in by-gone times, the pleasure of making the acquaint ance of the author of " Vanity Fair," in days it would seem when the now popular novelist found his chief companions and chief occupation amongst artists and works of art in Paris, M. Marry, with the eye of a painter, and with a zealous admir►tls for excellence, found in London another source of gratification in the abundance and excellence of its paintings in water-colours. To admire was the lag step, the second was to study, the third to espy 1111 stone, and the fourth to seek a publisher and profit But publishers, as Mr. Theckeray explains in his preface, would not hear of M. Marvy's appearance before ` the --- of _.,.ore the English pablio without _ name a friend who should introduce him in due form, and so M. Marvy's needs were kindly considered and generously met by Michael Angelo Titmarsh himself. Hence the appearance of this thin folio amongst the crowd that offer themselves as gift books for New ltsar's Dey. "There are no incidents in our show," says the editor in his preface " upon which the showman can dilate ; in most caws he bout to introduce his audience to the sight of a simple and quiet landscape, over which ideal pleasure is ever the best commentary, Slid concerning which it is as hard to explain one's own emotions as to cause another to share in them." TM sketches thus introduced are twenty in number, selected from the works of Calloott, Turner, Holland, Denby, Creswiek, Collins, Hedgrave, Lee, Ca -1 ter mole, W. J. Muller, Harding, Nasmyth, Richard Wilson, E. W. Cooke, John CAI.. stable, I'. de Wint, Cox, Gainsborough, Roberts, end Stanfield. Many of the selections Irom these masters will be at once recognised as old fa mullet. Some may be remembered by the habituis let oar water-colour exhibitions as amongst the gems all I avoiding al modern innovations. He was married to 164111. and WM his triad and early emanate. 'Comm By ALSIANDIS. vox Buissonor. Bsetioa 111. VeL 8. Cone, Watteau. This long-expeoted Third Part of the Emma has ,just appeared at Stuttgart. Goethe said, To the Germans belongs the peculiar gift of making the soleness inaccessible." It seems me week of Alexander von Humboldt's life to repeal His maitim. Kosmos, the erowning work of his fang and arduous life exhibits him to us as the avast isesser ot scienoe, summing up, before he gaits this all that the conscious human soul his learned of the universe, around, beneath, MA above it. Adore Humboldt, physical science had variety IONIV, but its impressive influence was and frittered away in detail. We had i f .t botany, geology, Bre., artificial names from the restrictions imposed on the excursivean intellect, but the vision of one symmetrical harmo ' Moos whole, a structure of perfect grandeur and fair proportions was seen only by the poetic eye. Men there were of excursive genius who directed their attention to many sciences ; bat their number was small, and this very quality was generally the proof of an erratic, unstable, not to say frivolous mind. Alexander von Humboldt tells us that an Irresistible propensity to pumas science of various kinds W Ma through many years to devote himself to rmikerelar branches, to descriptive botany, geology, ebemistry, astreselmisal observations, and terrestrial meginilem. A .knewisdge of these things had been W nest use the all of study, to him it was bat a mum a preplasaion to emyrehend the phenomena of Moss in their goosed seamection, to embrace na ture as a whole, ostosted ar animated by . eternal kW& The discipline of special study was indispen- Sl t iezel has proved how for want of this the general views of nature became but airy This thorough indoctrination in pardon lam gained. Humboldt sallied out to observe, as so man had ever done before him, the vieible phenomena of the universe. He vi sited the interior of two great continents, and marked the most striking contrasts of outward na tare—the Alpine landscapes of tropical America and the dreary steppe-lands of Northern Asia. He studied botany amidst the luxurious vegetation of the New World—amidst the palm, the bananas, the eyeadeas of the plain, the cinchona of the hills, m hos thilandias of still higher regions, and yet higher in the stormy regioas of the Parmas he saw whole meadows of glumaceous monocotyledons. Chemistry and geology were applied as he watched the cauldron shaped throats of the hollow white mountains, sending forth, above the line ot perpetual snow, carbonic acid, kydro-aulphurets, and hot vapours. Amidst the gran deur of this magnificent scenery his idess expanded, he felt that he had seen Nature face to face, and henceforward the language in which he spoke f her was distinguished by clearness, directnese, and confi dence. Now the scenes began to expand. Descrip tive betas'', for example, no Imre circumscribed to mere clasefication, and the determination of goner& and species, advanced to the doctrine of the geographi cal distribution of plants over the surface of the globe, according to distance from the equator and height above the level of the sea. Again, to illustrate the causes of this distribution, the laws of climatic differ ence in respect of temperature, and the metemegitial processes of the atmosphere, were to be investigated. By following out this process, Humboldt has shows that the beauty, the grandeur of Nature, thus re- I girded:as a whole, were greater far than any with which the most dreamy enthusiast, the most gifted child of mere imagination, had ever dared to invest his ideal worlds. Poetry, he maintains, is not some thing different from fact. It exists in the letter, and to reveal this in-dwelling, so far as the framework of the universe is concerned, is the peculiar task of the modern cosmologist. Having considered, in his two first volumes, the history and phenomena of the land, the water, and the air of this lower earth, the venerable author, in ' this, the first section of the third volume, just pub lished at Stuttgart, carries his readers upward to the starry heavens—a welcome journey to most of his countrymen, distracted by the loss of freedom, con stitutions, and almost of hope. It is one of the most remarkable circumstances connected with the book that it has been written in the very echo of the neighing of war horses, the tramp of soldiers, and all the bustle of impending strife. Humboldt seems re solved to believe that a people which builds itself up in knowledge and civilisation may defy the machina tions of Warsaw and retrieve the looses of Olmises, and lot ns partake in his confidence. Know ledge, science, in Germany have been straggling far two hundred Jeers to get away from a Moe and barren method. Prom the alchemist to Mesmer, and from him to the transcendental phy sicists, was no doubt a great step ; but before science could confer material benefits upon society and strengthen civilisation, it was necessary to throw off the merely deductive, ideal process of inquiry, and come out into the world of practice and experiment. The Germans have been the lest to do this, and Oken is • living proof that the old spirit is still strong. Nevertheless, the discoveries of Liebig, Oersted, Ehrenberg, and, above all, the grand generalisations of Humboldt, demonstrate that the greatest physicists of the age thoroughly understand the conditions under which alone the natural sciences can be suc cessfully cultivated. Like the knight in the legend, science in Germany has watched through the long night of purification, and will now rise to battle with the barbarism which menaces the land from the east. If any one man has contributed more than another to develope this new power in the minds of the mass of the population in Germany, it is Hum boldt, who has freed knowledge from its cambrims farms, and offered to all the fruit of science without its leaves. In this last gift of the great philosopher, any reader of average information will find an intel ligible account of every memorable astronomical fact since the invention of the telescope. Such a work does not offer facilities for quotation, which is the less to be regretted as the English public is sure of at least two translations from competent hands. A ver7 entertaining companion to the above is the " Pictorial Half-Hours"—• profanely illustrated week, in which the literatese is survisnt to the picture, PenteA'sAlmenachfor 1851,—Paaelvoen. The Bogue. Come Zadkial for 1661 Edited by 8. EDWLIDII. Our clever annual friend, "The C 3160 Almanaok," makes his appearance this time rather scantily sup plied with matter, bat certainly entertaining enough. The female emigration article is very lively, and ob viously written by a gentleman noway. squeamish about the materials of his jocosity. The bast thing in the number, however, is the following comic poem, wherein the verse Sows along gleaming with jokes like a stream with bubbles : OVER-POPULATION; A YALTEMILLII LAIMITATION. Oh ! what a sight for these who cook Affairs of state in clover, To see, whishaver way they look, Our ocuatry boiling over I So many hoods, and bends, sod hearts. (Unless the bluebook Mil coast) Of nature's very flout parts, At such a dreadful dialogist! Though Malthus cries," Centric'," liacculloch, " Emigration,' Folks stay at home sad wed, we see, Then swell the population! The army numbers hens at home " 01 thousands double twenty ; But many not " at home " are found, When creditors ars plenty; And more than shoes—by thousands dm— " On shore " there are of seamen But some of them are " all abroad," And shock tee-total tea-men ! Ws need a million Malthnses, 'Tie plain to save the nation ; And myriads of Macullochs scarce Can cheek the population ! We've full a million servants, and, To make their fortune harder, They've fifteen thousand " p'lioemen" brave To famish from the larder • Yet should this number as to o great By statists be rejected, We've fourteen thousand lawyers, so Our purse must be pros, oted ! Maeulloch well may advocate His schemes of " emigration :" Fourteen thousand lawyers ware 11 tut hum our population ! Of authors we have thirty score, Besides the present writer ; And forty thousand butchers, to Employ when things I.rok brighter; Wee's Ilium hundred actors, who Our patience try most sadly ; Besides the nation's minister,, And they act just as badly ! In such a cue, Mslthusisn plane, Must meet with approbation; Ot actors we have certainly An over-population. Four thousand artists, meet of whom When sees in fullest feather, Wear beards, or whiskers, or moustache, Or else all three together; But let the bearded youths beware, Nor too ult. trusting, slumber— Their native foes, the barber', like Themselves, lour thousand number! Unless in wearing beards we soon Observe an alteration, The barbers they must clearly be An over-population ! Distillers—we have hundreds seven, To make our men unsteady, And fell three thousand auctioneers To knock them down all ready ; We've ninety thousand blacksmith', and Of one the work's • wonder, He forges chains at Orem' Green, Which none can break asunder ! • The last, indeed, may well excite Malliusian consternation— This blacksmith's work by no mesas cheeks The over-population. We've houses where for half-a-crown One gear a shilling dinner ; We've silty thousand publicans, And not a single sinner ! At least we can't believe there is, Until we see some now bsok, For certainly Merv', no return Contained within the blue-book. But the' the book of sinners makes As yet no revelation, 'Tie said by some, of thew there is An overpopulation ! Bat while these publicans abound (Young gentlemen take warning), But twelve men sods-water mike To sober you next morning ! And as for sinners—bills are " done " In public by twice twmty— The number's small—but if cornet, Hen then we've more than plenty! Se Malthus snd llsculloch, both Pray rise and save the nation ! 0111111 discounters sure we have An over-population ! Of tailors we in thousands count Sis score and something over— Of these some drive a roaring trade, And live, 'Lis said, in clover ; But some, I fear, we victimised, And paid upon a plea, sir, As if nine tailors really were But equal to • man, sir ! 'Ds hoped, indeed, their present state Is but one of probation, For, surely, of the underpa id— There's over-population . But naming every class that throng Our country and our cities, Would occupy, I fear, too long, And need a doaen ditties. So many bootmaken—and yet So many people bootless! Bo many clergymen—and yet So many sermons fruitless I I fear, indeed, howe'er we land The grandeur of the nation, Of poverty and crime we have An over-population! The " Independent" are returned, But nothing mid of toadies— And there appears an item which ♦ very heavy load is ; We've twenty thousand, (rather more) Of doctors, all in action— And surely we should view this as A common benefaction; For more than eighteen millions now Sarvive within the nation And without doctors think how grass Would be the population. "Punch's Almanac!" enstaine its reputation. There are many admirable illustrations by Leech, and it is spangled all over with pleasant jests. Leech in hie 1 hest days has seemly ever done anything better than the " London Dining-room in 18.51." TM motley assemblage of suspended hats of every clip:e— -1 the devouring Gauls, the Indian summoning the waiter with raised tomahawk, are broad warm pieces of comic+ life ; but the gem of the affair is the Credo asesaltiog the carte, while the waiter Mee, " Very Mee birds'-nest soup, sir !—Yes, sir I—Rat pie, sir, Jut up.—Yes, sir!—And a nice little dog to Mier— yes, sw !" There is a ludicrous gravity about the fat satire of the Flowery Land which is highly h with it air of discrimination that seem ti 32 12 him reflectively between the respective media of "Skye terrier " and "shepherd's dog." We select a specimen or two of the literary matter : Lanai, MinOWn:RIU.—It is cot perhaps generally hewn that If one man steals another's donkey, the remedy of the aggrieved party menses in an action of saossmpeit. PROPILITT 07 IJMOVAOI.--11. vulgar little boy obbarv lag that William Ruin got his "gruel" in the New Norest, is reminded by his companion that he ought to have said ernecrem. Fasanam.—The latitude of Louden may be aseicialasd at the Casinos, where the greatest latitude is allowed. NOT, On CERIITIIka o•llll.—Many a young lady who **cm to being kissed under the mistletoe, her no objection es be kissed under the row. Tire HTIORT or Paiebta.—Tie famous Driven of Want ley is related to have been so famished with hanger, that he rose usually ate a raw &Mahican ! ._ . AmEcnom or Val AILUITOCILACT.—A greengrocer hav ing, unexpectedly, come lute property, sends to, a toiler to lose sad mason Ida br a sat-Menen The " Comic Zadkiel: ocedeeted by Mr. fintimk land Edwards, it a battens* m the prophetic alma packs. 'This is not the first time that amid literature has been indebted to the abenrditias of the periodicalaslog writers. Few things are more amusing than the history of Swift's persecution of poor Permtelge, of that kidney. lie preMetek(ender his essonied name of Isaao Ili that Partridge himself would die cm a certain day. In doe time he announced the poor man's death, and amidst the laughter of i S allied persisted in maintaining it Jot i spite of the protestations of the all-alive and within . 1 . . Mr. EdwardMi &Leanest is, fall of gay fun, and it is with the remembrance of i the above-mentioned jests . d'ete:it,o Swift's in oar bowl *it we my so. , ~. . . ~..., . PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. The Literary and Scientific Register and Almanack for 1861. By J. W. G. GUITH. Bogue. A Pocketboo k Alunnack, of more than usual pretension , — Intend of the old astrological nonsense of "Francis Moon, Physi cian," Mr. Gulch fill, up a good portion of 200 pages of cloeely-packed type with a variety of tables and feats. more or lose useful, on a great variety of scientific and business subjects. TA. Banking Almanste.k for 1861. The Backing Alma mak for the new year will be particularly welcome is commercial circles, ma, in addition to the accustomed fea tures, it contains some statistics in relation to the price of bullion, and other subjects of financial Interest. London Labour and London Poor. B_y Mainnw. Noe. 1,2, 3.—A cheap resigns of Kr. Henry Mayhew's investigations into the eircumstaxurn, habits, sou charm). Moieties of the needy portion of the London community. E lett number is illustrated with a drawing from some daguerreotypes, by Beard. In a work prolessiog to deal with facts, such fecoinsilee as the camera alone can throw upon paper must be valuable contributions. The Children'. Own Sunday Book. By JULIA Conran. Longman.. A remind conversational book for children. written in prose and vine, with the declared object of impressing children'. minds with the spirit and lemons of Scripture. This endeavour is greatly promoted by two wellstrecuted line-tint isagnorings: indeed it is seldom that we find, In a child's book, engravings with better claims to favourable notice. Silver Blossoms to Produce Golden Fruit for Me Young and Good. Dean and Son. Christmas Berries for Ma Young and Good. Dean and Son. Papa and Mamma's Easy Lessons in Geography. By ANNA Mama Sag- GIANT. Dean and Bw. Three illustrated books, re splendent in gold and crimson, for Christmas gifts, written in each cue with the hope of imparting knowledge in the pain of recreation. TILE COMMITTAL OF MR. SLOANE. Yesterday, after the examination and committal at Guildhall of Mr. Sloane, his solicitor said that on of the aureate was at Bristol, and unable to come forward, but that he would be in town in a few days. Mr. Alderman Humphery—Under these circumstances, it will be my duty to commit Mr. Sloane to Newgste to await his trial, or until the required bail is forthcoming. In the coursed the afternoon, the depositions having been signed by those witnesses who were present, the Alderman was about to formally commit Mr. Sloane to Newgate, when, in accordance with that gentleman's request, the worthy alderman said he would remand him to the Compter in order that he might be brought up next week, and tne case perfected in every respect, as well as to afford the defendant an opportunity of giving bail for his appearance at the trial. Great difficulty was experienced as to how Mr. Stoma should be removed in safety, as the mob seemed rather to be increasing. Various expedients were suggested, and a person wee despatched to obtain a cab in some part remote from Guildhall, and to drive round by Newgate torcet and Fore-street into Betinghall-street, and there wait at the church ; acd in the meantime it was arranged that several policemen were to guard the magistrates' entrance, end keep back the crowd from the hall while Mr. Sloane made • rush into the hall, and effected his escape through the back way, where the cab was waiting for him. The cab was kept wetting at the church for a short time, and then Alderman Humphery thought it advisable to have the cab brought close up to the door, which was accordingly done. An offieer was sent down to the Compter, with instructions to the governor to have the door open and every thing prepared le afford defendant a ready reception on arriving there. The eabdoor was opened, and Mr. Sloane (who had only about 3 yards to go), accompanied by Springate, the gaoler, sud denly rushed out, and they were endeavouring to force their way into the cab, when the mob cloud upon them, and had it not been for the able exertions of Mr. Superintendent Hodgeeon, Mr. Hoe, and about a dozen constables ' Mr. Sloane must have been torn to pieces by the exasperated mob. One old woman we noticed in particular was making most furious lunges at him with an immense umbrella. With great difficulty Mr. Sloane got into the cab, but the crowd all premed forward, and with such violence, that both the plate glass windows of the vehicle were smashed to atoms, and mud, spittle, and all kinds of filth were showered upon him through both wiadows ; in less Akan two minutes he was so bespattered, that it was next to Impossible to discover which was the gaoler and which Mr. Sloane. About twenty constables surrounded the tab, and the driver lashed his horse to try end escape the rabble, but they impeded his way so much, that he wee unable to proceed at any but a rapid walk'ng pate. Two policemen endeavoured to bl .ck up the windows by standing on the steps of the cab, but in spite of their rumen., the gaoler received a smart blow on the face that was intended for Sloane. Through some mistake, the vehicle was directed to the Old liatiq, where a crowd of some thousands awaited his coming, snd not wittiest most indefatigable perseverance on the part of the police was the sub able to make its way along, and by the time it arrived 'opposite the Comptet in Oiltapurstreet, the road and every place where 'mailing room wee to be obtained was crowded with one vast mass of human heads. The policemen were bespattered with filth. The policemen were obliged to use their staves very freely on stopping at the door of the prison, and Mr. Sloane, as coon as the nab door was opened, made one bound on to the pavement, and three more took him into the middle of the lobby, and the gate closed babied him, much to the disappointment of the people outside, who seemed to relish the proceedings. Shout., yells, groans, and every imaginable expression of diegust and horror were re. iterated by the crowd on the way from the court to the Contour, and even when defendant was safely inside they lingered outside, hiring, and hooting, and cannier upon the turnkeys to turn Sloane out among them, and they would give him what he deserved. Six policemen remained in front of the door for some time, as it was anticipated by the 'ileac* that ensued alter some time, and the mob not at all decreas ing, that it would not be sate to leave the front door guarded only by the gaoler. The crowd loudly demanded that Mr. Sloane should be delivered up to them as often as any officers of the police were seen. Mr. Alderman Humphery acknowledged with thanks the receipt of the second halt of the If. note, No. 08107, being 11. for Jane Wilbred and 41. for the poor-box ; also 11. from Mr. Wells truths poor-box. THE LATE HOMICIDE OF A FATHER BY HIS SON, NEAR BRISTOL The coroner's inquest on the body of Mr. Woolen, landlord of the Blue Bowl Inn, on the Bath and Bristol ro w, of whose unhappy death by the hand of his 11011 some particulars appeared in yesterday's Express, wag held ruerday afternoon at the residence of the deceased, before Hobert BK.. one of the coroner. for the county of Somerset, and a highly respectable and intelligent jury. The varied, and in many instances exaggerated, reports Which bed got abroad in regard to the occurrence, as well as the Intent to which the deceased, who has been for many years an Innkeeper, was known, caused a considerable degree of Interest to be manifested in the proceedings. The coroner and jury bevies viewed the body, Mary Wools., widow of the deceased, was called. She deposed that her husband was 62 years of age. On the afternoon of Christmas Day she and deceased and one of his sons were getting their tea in a small parlour of the inn, and the son was toasting himself a piece of bread, which he held so near to the bus of the grate that it caught and burnt. Witness took it from him, intending to finish it herself, when the deceased snatched it away from her, and said he would not have any toast made there, at the same time throwing the piece on to the fire. She replied she would have toast if she pleased, and went into the other room to get some more bread, upon which her husband struck her • blow on the mouth. The son asked, " Whet did yen do that for 1" Upon which deceased took up • stick with which he threatened to strike him on the head. The son then caught hold of the gun, which immediately went off, sad shot the old man above the groin. The son did not pout the gun at all. Witness was certain that he bad no intention to shout his father, and that he did not know that the gun was loaded. His eldest brother had brought it down In the morning and loaded it for the purpose of shoot ing a bird, but the bird get away, and he incautiously put it down in the house without drawing the charge. The son was on good terms with his lather, and the father was fond of him. The accident occurred about 20 minutes put five o'clock. Deceased was at owe taken up to bed and medial aid procured. lie died about 25 minutes put nine o'clock the same night. In reply to a juror, she said they were at the time when the gun went off standing all of • row. Believed that the eon took up the gee to ward off the blow with the stick. Samuel Wades, eldest eon of the deceased, deposed that he wee not at home when tke fatal occurrence trick place, bat was sent for at about half-past 6 o'clock, and then learned what had happened. Winter loaded the gun in the morning. It belonged to himself and brother, and he loaded it for the purpose of shooting • pigeon which was flying about the house, but before he could get it ready the bird was too far oft. Was certain that his brother did not know of the gun being loaded that moaning. Deceased and his son had bean oa good terms ter two months, and it was arranged that on Monday they were to have a large party at the house. By a juror—l don't recollect how long ago it was that my father and brother had • dispute. The Coroner said that would not In material, as the jury *field hardly infer malice from an altercation which, sup posing it to be a het, took piece more than two months ago. ♦ man sassed Child, who happened to be in the house at the time otitis enarrence, deposed that he was drinking In thmlour, end on hearing • gun fired off ran inks room the bar, where fie saw the desired leaning back easiest • settle, with his urns Wedged out, end evidently tai gnat**. lie celled eat, " I shall die—l shell die." allege a these, and said, Oh, run for • Tro th . I *alit ithew that the caned gun was loaded.' Wieser saa bsuediately in quest of Medial assistance, which was me Waked. Mr. Ellis, of Roden. puede, wpm, deposed to having been ca ll ed in between 6 and 6 o'clock. The dammed had ruelved • gunshot wound in the lower pare of the abdo men, and was elaking fut. ♦ friessigithe need_ named Hunt, stated that Ilejwas with his skis be aggived the wound and before kis death, 11421.• wialwiosa ; to - silo - nut - sae was no 111- laws. MR end his we, ke, after wreath beguile. ;Mr the fedi* of his property equally between then.. Ile WOW mmad up the evidence, attention to the facts, de s:digt gat the law 41113:PeZthiree th e ease, and tieing inakedWAT. setnened • verdlet, That the ems p ift 1111 11