The Press.
London, England, 1856-05-03 00:00:00

PERIODICAL LITERATURE.

THE Quarterly Review fin• March (why does it ap-
pear about the 20th of April !) opens with an article
upon " British Family Histories." We wish to call
special attention to this article, less on account of
its literary merit than of the great importance of
the subject to which it is related. That is none
other than the influence still attiihutable to ancient
blood upon the whole social and political fabric of
this country. We could wish, indeed, that the author,
who is evidently master of his subject, and waiting
within himself, had permitted this aspect of the
question to assume a more prominent position in his
article; that it bad been, we mean, more practical
and less antiquarian. But we must be grateful to

425

him for a skilful essay, full of information and of
suggestive hints. Of the second article, "An In-
quiry into the Credibility of Early Roman History,"
we need only say that it is an attempt to set up the
authority of the present Chancellor of the Exchequer
against Arnold and Niebuhr. No doubt the inevita-
ble reaction against Niebuhrism is now proceeding;
but we have no fancy for being schooled by Sir G. C.
Lewis—Afato Mehcrcle cum Platone, &c. The review
of Mr. Ruskin is a very bitter article; the
writer allows him neither knowledge of art, honesty
of purposo, nor vigour of thought. The "Triton and
the Minnows" is a pleasing account of the gigantic
iron steamer now building off the Isle of Dogs .
We next have a long article upon Southey, with a
vindication of Mr. Murray from certain hasty asper-
sions of the poet ; and after that a sensible and well
written essay on " The Peace and its Effects upon
Turkey," which has, however, lost a good deal of its
interest. by being written before the publication of
the terms. The last article of all is an attack upon
M. Montalembert. The chapter on " The Political
Future of England," dealing with the subject of
Popery, has provoked the most virulent animosity
in various quarters. We certainly differ from the
count's views upon this matter as widely as possible,
but. we think it a pity that this one blot upon his
otherwise masterly pamphlet, a blot which does not
affect the gist of his subject-matter in the least,
should blind anybody to his admirable, rational, and
deeply thoughtful panegyric on the English con-
stitution.
In Fraser, " College Life in Glasgow " is the
opening article, and perhaps the best. It is a lucid
and lively account of the customs of the university,
the studies pursued there, and the character of the
students. It is followed by a brief and sketchy notice
of the two lady travellers—the Hon. Miss Murray
and the "Englishwoman in America." After which
comes the welcome instalment of " Kate Coventry.'
Cousin John has discovered what is going on with
Frank Lovell, and becomes pale, handsome, and heroic.
A spirited sketch of a run with the Queen's hounds
and a servant's ball in the country, are the two most
prominent features of the present number. " The
New Pitaval" contains an interesting account of
some German murders. Alison's " History of
Europe" is a would-be facetious critique of the
baronet's last volumes. " The Treaty "is a sensible
article, showing that we have in the present instance
approached nearer to gaining the end for which we
went to war than we usually do ; and dwelling,
though with great good temper and moderation,
on tine inevitable evils springing from a divided com-
mand.

•I'he Dublin gives us a long article entitled
" cEuvres de Napoleon III.," the writer of which be-•
lieves that afterall it is clear enough that the Prince's
professions have since the commencement of his career
been sufficiently consistent. " The Fortunes of Glen •
core" becomes very interesting : the Countess has been
compelled suddenly to leave Florence in consequence
of Lord Glencore's avowal that she is not his wife;
the fashionable criticisms on the event are admirably
done. " Novels and Novelists" deals with an
authoress little known to the general public, Mrs.
Bohn, who lived in the days of the Charleses.
" Great Wits and Little Stories" is an admirable
summary of the three latest works of table•talk and
gossipping b;ography—Samuel Rogers, Sydney
Smith, and Thomas Raikes. " The Darragh "is the
opening of a new Irish story, which promises well.
" The French Story of the War" is a witty and well
deserved exposure of the Baron de Bazancourt-
" We grudge no man his proper enjoyments," says
the writer ; " and if this miserable buffoonery be
" pleasing to the Emperor, to France, anti to the
" army, so be it." The remaining articles are all of
substantial merit.

In Bentley the eternal "Spendthrift" still stares
us in Oil face. The "Joint-stock Banker" is well
written and amusing, but the characters are too close
a copy of those in the "Dock Warrants." The re-
maining articles possess that degree of merit we are
accustomed to meet with in Bentley.
The May number of the New Monthly is better
than usual. Mr. Cyrus Redding's essay upon "Peace
and its Adversaries " is a fair and well-argued pap"r,
taking very much the same line as the writer in
Fraser. The " Mail cart Robbery " is an exciting
story, but ends far too abruptly. Mr. Andrews, the
author of the " Eighteenth Century," gives us the
first of a series of articles on the newspaper press,
which is not devoid of curious matter, though a little
spun out. Mr. Stanley's " Sinai and Palestine "is
the subject of a nicely written review; and "Finish.
ing with Scotland" is a readable magazine article.

The Eclectic Review contains an article on Dr.
Kitto ; one on the " Arts (if the Middle Ages ;" the
" Reformers before the Reformation ;" and the "Food
of London."

The Churchman's Magazine gives us a variety of
interesting ecclesiastical matteni. The only purely
secular article is on the moon's rotation. We are
glad to see this subject popularly demonstrated,

The Martins of Cro' Martin is very good this
month, with some pictures of genuine Irish life.
The Idler, which we see has changed hands, con-
tains a good article on Messinger, some well-written
reviews, and ether articles which show that it has not
degenerated under the new management.
The Train contains some capital writing. The best
article is a wild sort of rhapsody by Mr. Sala, called
" The Paper on the Wall." Mr. Yates, in an article
styled "Humbug," is hard upon writers of neglected
clucation. Had not his sarcasm against Latin quo-
tttions frightened us hom doing so, we should have
been tempted to give one entire—" Quern temere in
nosmet,"

Selections front the Writings of Dr. Whately, Arch-
bishop of Dublin. London : Bentley.
MERE is one great objection to the abridgment of
philosophical works which does not apply to selec-
tions from poetry or history. In poetry the
piece placed before us, if judiciously selected, is
usually sufficient for itself ; and in history a
compendious statement of facts has a use and
value completely separate from the original reflec-
tions of the writer. But in philosophy, regarded as
a discipline of the mind, the gradual development is
everything. Briefly, we might say that to the general
reader a history is valuable more for the conclusions
than for the process, but philosophy more for the
process than the conclusions. To derive any sub-
stantial or lasting benefit from a writer like
Whately, the student must carefully go through
some of his works in their integrity, observing their
method, and noting the deviations from established
principles. At the same time, the volume before us is of
cour,te m( ri or less valuable as a channel for diffusing
much of that practical wi:eloin which his Grace pos
messes in no small degree; and to minds fairly
acquainted with the ordinary systems of metaphysics
and morals it is naturally highly suggestive. The
misfortune is, that the majority of readers for these
cheap issues are not of a class who have received
even this much education. We would cheapen intel
lectual nourishment as much as we would corporeal,
but this kind of knowledge is not to be got cheap ;
and the full force of many of the apophthegms and
illustrations of which the volume consists will hardly
be appreciated by those who have not been accus-
tomed to the same grooves of thought in which the
Archbishop's mind has travelled so long.

Muse Etonenses. Series Nova. Tome I. Fasci-
culus I. Edit Richardus Okes, S.T.P. Londini:
Bell et Daldy.
Iv is sixty years since the second publication of the
" Muse Etonenses " appeared, and exactly one
hundred since the first. Within these periods what
a complete revolution has classical scholarship un-
dergone! In the year of Grace 1795 there was
hardly a man of any eminence in any of the proles
sions,who did not know something about " longs and
shorts," and in whose ears a false quantity was not at
o nce the mark of a literary Yahoo. With the break
u p of old traditions at the French Revolution all this
k ind of feeling began to decay. And it is curious to
observe that since the first establishment of a prize
for Latin verse in the University of Oxford, in 1772,
d uring the first twenty year: three were gained by
eminent statesmen, Wellesley, Grenville, and Can-
ning; and during the sixty succeeding years only
one—namely, by the present Lord Derby, in 1819.
The present collection embraces only poems
written between 1796 and 1800, and numbers among
its contributors two Archbishops of Canterbury—
namely, Manners Sutton and the present Primate.
All the verses, as might be expected, are good, but
none of the highest order of modern composition.
Perhaps, on the whole, Mr. Hornby's description of
a Brobdignagian belle displays the most original
power. These are a few of the best lines :
Quis non ante pedes snperbientis
Herw, pronus hemi, timens recumbit ?
Quis speetana oculum, bovina qualis
Est 3unoni acies, quis inde missam
Evitare potest sagittatu amoris?
Messrs. Herbert, Drury, Jodrell, and Dr. Sumner
have all contributed elegant and classical prolusions;
and the plan of a continuous issue of " Musie
Etonenses" cannot fail to be highly acceptable to
all who have still a lingering attachment to the
" old business."

PUBLICATIONS RECETVED.-Arim. :31.
BOOKS.

Memoirs of the Court of England during the Regency, ltql
to 18.40. Duke of Buckingham and Chandos,
Hurst and Blackett
Robert Bell.
.1. W. Parker and Son
The Poellea/ Works ,:11. r,l Byron. A New Edition, in
Six Vols. Vol. VI. Murray
Essay* on State 3ledicine. Henry Wyldbore Rumaev.

Poetical Works of Ben .TOPIROIS.

J. Churchill

Lift'a a Dream : the Great Theatre of the 110r141.--
JJ. IV. Parker and Son