The Press.
London, England, 1855-02-24 00:00:00

the same causes which have proved fatal to
other States,—as the inroads of democraticgtur-
bulence or the too rapid progress of wealth
and luxury.
It is a fault of the book that there is not
much anecdote in it, but to relieve our disqui-
sition we may quote the account of Harring-
ton's rescue of his " Oceana" :
The " Oceans" had a somewhat ominous struggle for
existence. Mr. Toland tells us the following story :—After
the death of Charles 1., who had a high opinion of Har-
rington, the author was observed to keep his library more
closely than usual. He was then engaged with the
" Oceans." When he had made some considerable pro-
gress with the work, he made its nature known among
some of his particular friends. This came to Cromwell's
ears, and he ordered the manuscript to be seized. Har-
rington endeavoured to recover it., but without success. In
his despair he applied to Lady Claypole, Cromwell's favo-
rite daughter, to whom he was personally unknown, but of
whose affability and benevolence of disposition he had
heard much. Being ushered into her ladyship's room, he
only found a child three years of age. He entertained the
child so divertingly, that she suffered him to take her up
in his arms, till her mother came ; whereupon he, stepping
towards her, and setting the child down at her feet, said,
"Madam, 'tis well you are come at this nick Of time, or I had
certainly stolen this little lady." " Stolen her," replied the
mother, " pray what to do with her? for she is too young
to become your mistress." "Madam," said he, " though
her charms assure of a more considerable conquest, yet
I must confess it is not love, but revenge, that prompted me
to commit this theft." "Lord," answered the lady," what
injury have I done you, that you should steal my child ?"
" None at all," replied Harrington, " but that you might
be induced to prevail with your father to do me justice, by
restoring my child that he has stolen." But the lady urged
that it was impossible, because her father had children
enough of his own. He then revealed to her, at last, that
the child he had lost was the fruit of his brain, which had
been grossly misrepresented to the Protector, and taken
out of the press by his order. Harrington's wit prevailed,
and the lady got the work restored to him. It is said that
Cromwell afterwards read the treatise, which was dedi-
cated to him, and he greatly admired it.
- -

Newspapers will no doubt occupy consider-
able space in Mr. Blakey's next volume, but
we may extract his brief notice of their
origin :

Newspapers, by a sort of common consent among antiqua-
ries, date their origin from Italy. The gazettes of the Ital-
ians, which sold for a small coin called gazette, are the
foundation of our English gazettes. These vehicles of public
news first appeared in the republic of Venice, and was
under the direct superintendence of the Government.
Other cities and States in Italy adopted these kin.' of
newspapers under the same name. Mr. George Chalmers
says that, " A jealous government did not allow a printed
newspaper; and the Venetian gazette continued long after
the invention of printing, to the close of the sixteenth
century, and even to our own days, to be distributed in
manuscript." There are thirty volumes of Venetian gazettes
in the Magliabechian Library, at Florence, all in mann-
script.
A great variety of information is scattered
through Mr. Blakey's volumes, and we must
award him the praise of a diligent, though not
of a sagacious or brilliant writer.

Turkey, Ancient and Modern. By the Rev. R. W.
Fraser, M.A. Edinburgh : Black.

A HISTORY of the Ottoman empire in one volume must
necessarily be limited to a narration of the principal
events in Turkish annals. Mr. Fraser commences
with a survey of the rise and progress of Moham-
medanism, notices the sadden splendour and rapid
decline of Saracenic power, and beginning the history
of Turkey with Othoraan, traces it through the reigns
of successive sultans to the recent siege of Silistria.
Mr. Fraser, however, does more than relate—he
surveys; and those chapters in which he takes large
views of Turkish character and institutions—of the
Greek people and Church, and of the various in-
fluences which at former periods contributed to the
extension of the Ottoman power and are now working
its downfall—are among the best portions of his book,
and show that he is not wanting in philosophic com-
prehension. A valuable appendix supplies a want
much felt just now—viz., a collection of treaties be-
tween Turkey and Russia from 1775 to the present
time. The treaty of Adrianople is given in extenso,
and from that date to the last " act " signed between
the two empires in 1849, the text of all the diplomatic
instruments to which Turkey, in conjunction with
other powers of Europe, has been a party, are inserted
here. The volume is besides furnished with two
maps, one of Turkey in Europe, the other of Turkey
in Asia, and with an index.

Heliondi ; or, Adventures in the Sun. By the Author
of " The Memories of a Stomach." London Chap-
man and Hall.

Tins book is written by a drawing-room savant, a
perfect carpet knight in natural philosophy. It is a
fairy tale, with a little dash of science in it, and
cleverly penned. It may be described in the phrase
of a great French wit of the last century, as a " baga-
telle frottee de science."