The Press.
London, England, 1854-01-21 00:00:00

SATURDAY,

picturesque that if they are altered it can only
be for the worse. Among these are Lord
Berners' translation of Froissart, Pepyu's
memoirs, and, second to none, the memoirs of
Lady Fanshawe and Mrs. Hutchinson. These
noble women, who adorned, one the side of
the Parliament, the other that of the King
during the civil wars, and who to the tender-
ness of English wives united the calm courage
of matrons of Rome, tell us what they Dew,
what they did, and what they suffered, in
language so natural, simple, and beautiful
that their works have ranked first in this
department of literature. They are printed,
moreover, in a form which is neither volu-
minous nor expensive. Yet the author of
the work before us has actually mixed
these two memoirs together and given a
version of them in her own words ! She
might as well have given a new version of
Macbeth. Many interesting particulars aro
omitted, especially the strange circumstances
attending Lady Fanshawe's birth, and the
death of her mother fifteen years afterwards.
Another life is that of Margaret Fuller, whose
memoirs have lately been published. She was
a governess for some time in a school in
America ; there she formed a class of grown-up
persons who assembled to learn from her how
to converse! she also wrote for a newspaper,
edited by our old friend Mr. Greeley, who so
much admired the yellow marble of which
London is chiefly built! finally, she went to
Italy and married privately a gentleman named
Ossoli, whom she accidentally met in the
streets of Rome. A child was born, they had
no money, and the American Consul gave
them enough to take them
,to New York. The
vessel in which they sailed was lost on the
American coast, and they perished with her.
Margaret Fuller said that she had met every
person worth knowing in America, and that
intellect.
Lives one of them was her equal in
Lives of Mary L. Ware and Lady Sale complete
this volume of 408 pages. There are eight
illustrations by Birket Foster, of which the
frontispiece is well done. The author's
hist;iry more resembles that of Mrs. Macaulay
than that of Mr. Macaulay, and her biographi-
cal labours were scarcely called for.

Six Months in Italy. By George Stillman

Hillard. London : Murray.

" ANOTHER unsatisfactory book on Italy!" was
our involuntary exclamation when this work
was put into our hands; yet the perusal of a
few pages proved that our first judgment was
premature, and that the author (who is an
American gentleman) is entitled to consider-
able credit for having read and thought much
upon the subject, and for having had the
courage to write upWards of seven hundred
pages or more after a sojourn of only six
months in a country which a residence of as
many years would scarcely make him ac-
quainted with. It seems to us that this work
presents a double aspect to the reviewer, and
must be handled according as it be intended
for English or American readers. Its volumi•
nous character will prove a great impediment
toits circulation in this country ; for the author
appears to think that he is singular in having
visited Italy ; and the constant enunciation of
the most obvious truisms, and the grave rela-
tion of facts which have been detailed with
every species of circumstance from the time of
Eustace down to the publication of the last
editions of Mme. Starke and Murray, naturally
tend to diminish the interest of the book in
the eyes of those who are familiar with the
scenes described. Thus the author tells us
that at Venice " the churches are numerous
" and full of interest " (though, by the WRY,
he only seems to have seen one or two that
are worth a visit) ; that at Florence "St.
IA
" renzo is interesting from its association with
" the Medici family, and from the light shei.l,
" upon it by the genius of Michael Angelo;
that, " when Rome- is viewed from a distance,
" the dome of St Peter's is the central point
" of observation; " and that " the museum of
" the Vatican is the first in the world, and
" comprises the highest triumphs of paMtini
"in the frescoes of Raphael and Michae
" Angelo."
As this book may be regarded as a species
of popular and discursive handbook,
,wehalo