The Press.
London, England, 1857-03-28 00:00:00

OUR LIBRARY TABLE.

LIFE is too many-sided in England to be
engrossed by one passion. The domestic ele-
ment prevails over all others in depth and
force, and leaves the great body of society
serene, though the surface be violently shaken,
—as in storms at sea, when waves rise highest,
the tranquil currents of the deep pursue their
course, unruffled by the commotion above.
Our complex society refuses to be strongly
stirred by any single disturbing influence.
The excitement of political turmoil no more
reflects the general mind of our people than
the bustle of Fleet-street at noon images the

(1) Blackstone's Commentaries. A New Edition, adapted to the
Present State of the Law. By Robert Malcolm Kerr, LL.D.
Pour vols. London ; Murray:

313

Hounslow-heath ; and in passing from one kind
of eotnposition to the other, we exocrience the
shuck of leaping over a century of time. A
strongerohj I,.;tion is, that the whole spirit of Eng-
lish law has greatly changed since Blackstone's
time. It is difficult to show this by instances.
Yet every one must feel that if Blackstone had
published his Commentaries in 1857, instead
of 1705, his work would have been essentially
different. We admire his rare learning, his
comprehensive views, his missive composi-
tion, and yet we feel that a different work is
required for the present time. The whole
science of equity has been wonderfully en-
larged since his day, and in all that relates to
that important branch of law he is seldom to
be trusted. We find it stated here, for
example—vol i. p. 299—that in the case of a
lunatic, "to prevent sinister practices, the
" next heir is seldom permitted to be the
" committee of the person ; because it is his
" interest that the party should die." That
might have been the rule in Blackstone's
time, but persons conversant with equity
practice know that it is completely exploded
now. The instance may serve to show how
great is the change in the whole spirit of
equity practice within the last ninety years.
Part of Blackstone's obsolete matter is thrown
into notes, yet much that is practically obsolete
still retains a place in the text, and the
historical details are nearly always much
longer than are required for an introduction
to legal studies. It is to be hoped that able
lawyers will never more waste their time on
attempts (which are impractical.le) to adapt
Blackstone's text to the present state of legal
science. What is now wanted is a new com-
mentary founded on Blackstone—a Coke upon
Lyttelton. But until a modern Coke shall
arise we must, perforce, be content with new
editions of Blackstone, the last—ceteris paribus
—being, of course, the best.
Mr. Helps continues his history of the
" Spanish Conquest in America" (2). The
third volume brings down the narrative of
events from the capture of Mexico by Cortes
to the conquest of Peru and execution of
Atahuallpa by Pizarro. It is one great merit
of this history that it is wholly composed
from original authorities. Mr. Helps has
gone to the first sources of information,
aid from them has collected his facts
and formed his opinions. This circum-
stance alone stamps his work with solid
value. The materials are well digested, and
the narrative is clear as to facts, thßigh wo
think too eccentric and loose in style to
become popular.
The " Sultan and his People" (3) purports
to be an account of Constantinople written by
a native for the benefit of the American
people. The book is apparently genuine, and
is full of curious information on the customs
and institutions of the Turkish people. The
following anecdote of the mother of the
present Sultan may serve as a specimen :

Sultan Mahmoud lost his favourite wife, and was so
much grieved by her death, that he ordered her apart-
ments to be locked up, and that no one should enter
them ; he only spent some time there every day in solitary
meditation upon his lust favourite.
There was a slave girl fourteen or fifteen years old,
whose duty was to clean the bath belonging to these apart-
ments. Site was so curious to know why these rooms
were always locked up, that she one day found herself
on an exploring expedition by means of the private
staircase. Finding the door open, she ventured to enter
the apartment, when, lo ! and behold! there was the awitt
Mshmoud himself.

He said," how dare you venture here; do you not know
ray express commands?"
The terrified girl tell at his Majesty's feet, and craved
pardon.
She v.aa so bewitching in this posture, that the Sultan
not only pardoned her, but invited her to meet him every
day in the same place, till at last he ordered that the
apartments should be appropriated to her, and she be-
came the Fifth Kadun, and the mother of the present
Sultan !

The volume is illustrated by a number of
characteristic engravings, and is very read-
able, though it would have been much im-
proved by careful revision, and by those
"cuts" which a dextrous editor so well knows
how to make. The pen should have been
11,nhesitatingly drawn through all such moral
reflections—and they are numerous—as

(2) The Spanish Conquest in America. By Arthur
.llelps.
Vol. 111. London : Parker andiSon.
(3) The Sultan and Ma People. By C. Oscanyen, of Constanti-
nople. London ; Sampson Low and Co.