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

THE PRESS.

aspect of the whole country. Dwell only in
the broad thoroughfare, and the movement
seems universal and incessant ; leave it, and
the throng grows thinner, the noise less
deafening. till at length regions are reached
where seclusion is perfect, and the sweet in-
fluences of nature prevail.
In our day public affairs occupy perhaps
too smAll a share of general attention. The
attractions of politics diminish as the enjoy-
ments of home increase, and as the sources of
pleasure from private pursuits are multiplied
Literature does not seem much affected by the
present electoral strug4le. Here is the swag-
gering address of the Premier, worthy a bully
of Alsatia, and here, as a relief from his tumid
insolence, is a reprint of the most charming
dramatic story in the world—" Peg W otfington."
Lord John is up for London ! What care we,
with Mr. Thornbury's volume of Cavalier
songs, and Roundhead and Jacobite ballads, to
pore over. Shelley and Evans are in for
Westminster! We only wish they were equal
to Westminster's former representatives—
Fox, and Whitbread, and Romilly, of whom
we are reading. Potter will stand for Man-
chester ! Ohe jam was ! What is that to the
love story in three volumes on our desk, re-
calling the days of our youth?
The literary and philosophic mind is seldom
partial to politics. What is the worth of a
single vote in a constituency of twenty thou-
sand? The butcher, the Laker, and candle-
stick-maker, must settle the choice among them.
They approve of Evans and Shelley. So be
it. One only wonders what would become of
the world if Shelley were Prime Minister.
Perhaps it would roll on as steadily as it does
at present, and with a little less noise. As
for Evans, if he were a great commander, we
know what he would do. He would cut all
Sebastopols as quickly as they showed their
teeth, and leave to such snobs as Raglan the
task of subduing them. " I feel that I get
" younger every day," said the veteran on the
hustings ; " I was fearfully ill when I came
" from the Crimea, but look et me now."

For he who fights, and, &c., &c.

Verily we are getting beyond our record—
not the newspaper of that name, wish " Pal-
" merston, the man of God," inscribed on its
front— but the limit that inexorable snare
prescribes to us for the notice of a multitude
of books, which during the electioneering
hubbub have been accumulating on our table.
To many of them we would willingly devote
a separate article; but authors and publishers
are much of the opinion of beggars—Bis dat
qui cito dat. Some volumes have already been
on our table too long. "Festus we plunge,"
and take the first book that offers. It is a
bulky one.
A new edition of " Blackstone's Commen-
" taries" (I) in four handsome volumes shows
that the reputation of the judge's great work
continues undiminished, and that no superior
legal luminary has arisen to pale his light.
The editor, Dr. Malcohn Kerr, is not afraid to
take the field after the elaborate and learned
labours of his immediate predecessors. Dr.
Kerr's plan is simple; he gives the text of
Blackstone with little alteration, making such
additions to the various parts as are required
by the altered state of the law. The matter
contributed by the editor is distinguished by
inverted commas ; and thus the methodical
arrangement of Blackstone is preserved, while
necessary additions are made. Dr. Kerr has
conscientiously performed his duties. His
Blackstone seems to us about as good as a
Blackstone can be made. The only doubt is
whether the time has not gone by. for any
successful attempt to adapt his Commentaries
to existing legal rules and practice. The
modern additions may be consistent with
Blaekstone's general scheme ; but surely they
are not congenial to his style and manner.
It is necessary to enter into details of Railway
Legislation, of Winding-up Acts, of Reform
Bills, of penny postage, and so forth. These
subjects are admirably disposed of by Dr.
Kerr; but there is that in Blackstone's com-
position which does impress us with the idea
that he lived in an age when mail-coaches
were commonly stopped by highwaymen on