The Press.
London, England, 1853-07-30 00:00:00

C'inOsitins ►us English Opium Enter. London

• -
Sunpkin and Mantball.
TH►S IS a half-crown reprint of a brilliantly-written,
but in some respects except ble, work. In spite
of the efforts of its gifted author, it belongs to morbid
literature; and, in our age, there is only too much
unwholesome genius in the world, working through
the printing-press. It wants that air of reality which
swift or Defoe would have imparted to such a theme,
and is more like what Wilford would have written,
had he added opium-eating to the other eccentricities.
Yet it is certainly difficult to lay down, as its style,
if not its story, is enchaining in its interest; and
every page is impressed with the strong marks
of a mind of mature power, dashed with much
that is quaint and whimsical. Of opium-eating
it may be stud with truth, that in sorrow it
begins, anal in morrow it ends; and it is a fault in
this work that the pleasures of opium are described
too vividly, and that the hideous anguish of sub-
sequent reaction is not strongly enough depicted.
Perhaps, if the horrors of opium-eating were de-
lineated with closeness of detail, it would he difficult
to find readers. fleeing, therefore, that this brilliant,
but painful, volume seems destined to popular circa-
latitai, we must enter our caveat against it, as being
open to some serious objections. But the eloquence
of its composition is undeniable.

Cobden Considered. Ity Alfred B. Riehard►►. With
a new Ilistorieal Pref►►ce. London : Bally
Itr►thers.

THIS energetic attack on Mr. Colslen has gradually
swelled from the size of an ordinary pamphlet to
nearly the dimensions of all octavo volume. To
some research and considerable controversial
acumen Mr. Richards unites the merits of sustained
vivacity and earnestness. We would criticise some
portions of his treatise. but that the interest of the
controversy has diminished. It has been said
jocosely that for "a man of talent to sit down to
write, an answer to Mr. Cobden's pamphlet was like
calling out the Lord Chancellor to disperse a washer-
woman." The majority of persons already look upon
Mr. Cobden as a f-Teohl, and will contentedly resign
him to an adversary as vehement and better informed
than himself.

A Satire for the Aye. "The Transcendentalists."
By Archer Gurney. London : Bosworth.
can coincide in the general purport and animus
of this attempt without identifying ourselves with
smile of the reflections upon individuals which it
contains. Though, in common with our contem-
poraries, we defer to the " conventions" of our
order, we consider that those conventions are quit.

1

open to discussion and incidentally to satire ; but we
must say candidly that in the present case the
satire appears to be deficient in vigour and coherency.

The Camp of 1853; with Hints on Military Matters
for Civilians. By Charles MacFarlane. London :
Bosworth.
CHOBHAN for the past month has been the centre of
a strong but somewhat divided interest. Thousands
of the gentle and " civil" public have cast longing
glances at the camp on the Common, while labour-
ing under serious uncertainties upon two points :
First, how they are to get thither ; and, secondly,
what they are to see when there. On both of these
points Mr. MacFarlane offers us much welcome in•
formation. Assuming the character of travellers'
guide and military tactician, he prescribes to his
readers the best line of march, and enables them
to comprehend, if not to criticise, the various evolu-
tions wh►ch, if they are lucky, they will witness at
their journey's end. A well-constructed plan of the
Common, with the adjacent country and various ap-
proaches, is prefixed to the volume.

The Quarterly Review. No. CLXXXV. June,
1t453. London : Murray.
Tut: present number, us we intimated last week,
contains an article on the Oxford Commission of
great length and unusual importance, which, to
state summarily a conclusion we shall hereafter re-
vert to (as occasion offers to discuss the question of
University reform), destroys the Commissioners'
Report, and explodes the commissioners as enthusi-
asts who have been overriding a gigantic hobby-
horse. Internal evidences, as, for instance, the de-
tails respecting Magdalen, are highly suggestive as
to the authorship of an article of which the Quarterly
has every reason to be proud. Following this, another
article on Lord John Russell's " Life of Moore," as
to the authorship of which, rrobably, no one will
doubt does deserved execution on the poet, together
with those who patronised his libels, or who have
exaggerated his generosity, honesty, and conjugal
tenderness. We shall ourselves return to Moore in
connection with the I'ower correspondence when the
session has terminated. In the meantime we call
attention to the important literary and political
questions of the treatment of Shin idan by George
the Fourth, and the suppression of the Byron
memoirs, on the former of which the King's own
statement, and on the latter Mr. Murray's archives,
throw a light as new as it is conclusive with respect
to some hack calumnies and misrepresentations of
Whig coinage. To our mind our leading reviews
have been foregoing their proper position, and have
not of late much influenced public opinion. But we
should not have to say this si sic amnia.

Blackwood's Magazine. London: Blackwood and

" Esosv " for the coming mouth assumes the cha•
racier rather of a review than a magazine. Six out
of the seven articles comprised in the number are
devoted to notices of recent publications, British and
foreign. Among these the most noticeable are the
reviews of Forsyth's " History of the Napoleon Cap-
tivity in St. Helena," and of the modern "emenda-
tions " of Shakespeare's plays.

Fraser's Magazine. Loudon : J.W. Parker
and Son.

THE navy of France forms the subject for the prin-
cipal article in this as in the preceding munber of
Fraser. Much interesting intlirmation respecting
the state and prospects of the naval armament pos-
sessed by our neighbour is accompanied by some
judicious suggestions for the improvement of our
own. The remaining papers are of average merit.

The Dublin University Magazine for August. No.
21$. Dublin : Metilashan.
Tub: present is an excellent number of a deservedly
popular periodical. The opening article, in which
verse and prose are pleasantly intermingled, is from
the pen of " Slingsby," whose poetry we will review
when lesm pre,sed for space. We may here state
that " Slingsby " is the nom de plume of Mr. John
Francis Waller, an accomplished member of the
Irish bar, and a political writer of success. The
article on " Belisarius and Marlborough " is one
of those milanges of mess-table anecdotes and book-
learned prosing of which there have been rather too
many in this periodical. The reviews of new works,
HLorenzo Benoni," and " The Novels of the Countess
ahn-hahn," are at once carefully and cleverly
written. Of " Sir Jasper Carew" we are heartily