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felt my strength returning to me. You will perhaps think,
gentlemen, that I gave myself up to lamentations, seeing
myself wounded and beyond the reach of help. Not a bit of
it ! On the contrary, I kept repeating the bono besef, our
" all right," of Africa, and taking the road which our com-
panions had taken in issuing beyond the parallel, I tried to
make the best of my way to the ambulance in the trenches.
Jes bono besef, our African slang ; these were the words that
came from my lips when the horn fell from them. Thanks,
gentlemen of Russia; you send me on my convalescent trip.
Thanks to your cylindrical ball, I shall return to my native
place, my old mother, and my friends. Bono besef. Nobody
had seen me, or at least nobody had appeared to pay any
attention to me when I fell, except the sub-lieutenant of the
company, who, feelinc, the point of my sword-bayonet scratch
his thigh, feared that I might rip his trousers. But when he
was assured that his trousers had not suffered, he began to
laugh his loudest to hear me cry bono besef, and then he dis-
appeared amid the whirlwind of the fight. The next day I
saw him carried upon a hurdle into the operating tent of the
3rd division. He was not laughing then, while I was smoking
my pipe."

The hero of the preceding narrative, as well as of
the book, so far as can be learned from its pages, is
still in Paris, where his light-hearted viva voce nar-
ratives continue to secure for him a popularity as
earnest as that which he established for himself among
his wounded comrades on board the Nile. His native
lightness of heart has not been subdued by the
severity of his wound, and he brings one vividly in
recollection of those veterans whose peculiarities have
been so strikingly and pleasingly immortalised in the
fictitious characters delineated by Goldsmith and by
Smollett. Every line of the volume suggests the
reckless light-heartedness of the individual who strongly
feels that

" Glory is the soldier's prize,
The soldier's wealth is honour."

The Island Spectres ; and Something More, but
Nothing Worse. By Alban Rosse, A.B. Bir-
mingham : M. Billing.

The " Island Spectres," is an allegory, in which the
author, by various well-contrived means, inculcates the
advantages to be derived from the active exercise of
moral courage. The text of the allegorical homily is
conveyed in the subjoined distich, which forms the
concluding advice of the monitor to the hero of the
tale :

"But if you should meet with a snare,
Let not your courage fail :
Whilst life you have, do not despair,
Be firm, and you'll prevail."
The admonition is delivered by a spectre, who
represents one of the victims allured to destruction
by the varied temptations by which the " Island
Spectres" seduce the unsuspecting objects of their
malignity. Like others whose facts are narrated or
symbolised, the hero of the tale, Lomond by name, is
caught in the toils, but at the critical moment, recall-
ing the strangely-conveyed advice, he, amidst perils
and difficulties, applies it to practical use and escapes
the machinations of the demoniac enemies by which
he is surrounded. Besides the principal poem, the
volume contains several minor effusions marked by
considerable sweetness and fancy ; and it is embel-
lished with engravings, several of which are cleverly
executed.

The Works of Joseph Addison ; with Notes by
Richard Hurd, D.D., Lord Bishop of Worcester.
London : H. G. Bohn.
The works of the Right Hon. Joseph Addison,
though not reaching far into the profound depths of
philosophy, nor embracing a systematised consideration
of any very important branch of human science, are
nevertheless so fully permeated, in all their details and
generalizations, by a spirit of acute mental perception,
as to be eminently useful in completing a course of
liberal education. To the valuable qualities implied
in this consideration must be added the beautifully
chastened style of his writings ; the combination
leading to a conviction of their real utility as a col-
lected series. The collection has now, so far as we are
aware, been nearly completed for the first time by
Mr. Bohn, and published by him under the able and
judicious editorship of the Bishop of Worcester. The
works are to consist of six volumes, the first four of
which are now before us. The first volume contains
the " Poetical and Dramatic Works," the " Dialogues
on Medals," and the " Remarks on Italy." The
second, third, and fourth being occupied by Addison's
contributions to the Tatler, the Spectator, the
Guardian, the Lover, the Whig _Examiner, and
the Freeholder : together with his " Essay on the
Present State of the War," and one or two others of
minor note. The fifth and sixth volumes will be oc-
cupied by letters, state papers, and miscellaneous
literary essays. When finished, the series will be
by far the most complete of any which has yet ap-
peared, as it will also be the cheapest and most
judiciously compiled. It will constitute a highly
creditable feature in the set of works published as
" Bohn's British Classics."

Blackwood's Magazine. Edinburgh: Blackwoods.
The first number of this magazine for the new year
opens with an article on "The Gold-screw and its con-
sequences," in which the effect of the restriction upon
the currency, by the Bank Charter Act of 1844, is
treated at some length, and with considerable ability.
We may not coincide with all that the writer has ad-
vanced, but his argument is entitled to careful con-
sideration, more particularly as the necessity for a
change is urgent, and must be forced upon the atten-
tion of the legislature at the earliest opportunity. A
vicious system has created a necessity for gold which
ought not to have existed, and the demand becomes
the greater at the very time when there is the least
ability to satisfy it, while the burden has to be borne
by the mercantile interest, who have had no hand in
causing it, in oppressive rates of discount. " The new
Peace Party" is a dialogue between Irenceus, Tlepo-
lemus, and a friend, on the present position of the war
and the desirability of a return to peace, in which the
subject is handled with much ability. The evident
leaning is in favour of a continuance of the war until
the objects for which it was commenced have been
fully accomplished. The first part of " A Military
Adventure in the Pyrenees" gives goodly promise for
interest in the remainder, the story being told with
great spirit and humour. An article on " Lancashire
Strikes " is entitled to much serious attention both by
manufacturers and operatives, as, without taking the
part of either, the writer offers much wholesome
advice to both, on the errors of which they have been
guilty, and recommends that unity of action which
ought to spring from community of interest. As in
most quarrels, both parties are somewhat to blame,
and each should make some concessions in order to
promote a satisfactory settlement of their differences.
A paper on " The Inns of Court and the Bar of Eng-
land," which is said to have been written by Mr.
Samuel Warren, Q.C., contains some valuable sugges-
tions on a subject which is entitled to more public
attention than it has yet received. At the same time
we cannot agree with the conclusions of the writer as
to the necessity for a preliminary examination for law
students. Indeed he, himself, adduces the evidence
of several very high authorities against the practice
which he recommends. The paper is chiefly a com-
mentary on the Report of the Commissioners appointed
to inquire into the arrangements of the Inns of Court
and Inns of Chancery, for promoting the study of Law
and Jurisprudence. " Wet days at Bryn Cefn," is a
very agreeable reminiscence of pleasant days in North
Wales, reminding us of the celebrated Noctes of
Christopher North. After an article on " Drinking
and Smoking," containing much sober reasoning on a
subject which has often led to much intemperate
discussion, the number concludes with some ably-
written comments "on the state of the British
Army," a subject which at this time is one of peculiar
interest.

The Train. No. L London : Groombridge and Sons.
This quaintly-titled periodical starts laden with a
goodly company of pleasant literary gossips. It is a
new shilling serial devoted to light literature, and,
judging by the first number, it promises to be a wel-
come as well as a valuable vehicle of that kind of
mental pabulum. Many of the papers contained in it
give indications of a higher aim than the mere sur-
face frivolities which of late years have been suffered
to usurp the place and take the name of light litera-
ture. The work is profusely, and in not a few in-
stances cleverly, illustrated by wood engravings. If
continued in the style in which it has been commenced,
it will deserve popularity—the only sure way of ulti-
mately securing it.