The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-25 00:00:00

WELLINGTON-PROSE TRIBUTES.

Life and Character of the Duke of Wellington,

By Lord EllesMere. John Murray.
A singularly interesting biography of the de-
parted warrior—condensed into the compass of a
few pages—and from first to last strictly anecdotal
in its character. Unimportant though it may ap-
pear in the size, and even the manner of its publi-
cation, the brochure will, nevertheless, furnish
many valuable hints to the future historian—all
the facts mentioned in it (some of them new and
curious) being given on the authority of a personal
and intimate friend of the deceased, a man no less
eminent in letters than in his position in the
patronage of art and his distinguished rank amongst
our national patricians, the Earl of Ellesmere.
The " railway readers " are under obligations to
Mr. Murray for having placed within reach of all
a volume so valuable, as well as attractive as Lord
Ellesmere's Memoir of the Duke of Wellington.

By Charles

Wellington. A Historical Sketch.
Phillips. Longmans.
It is unnecessary to comment here upon the
merits of this impassioned eulogium upon the Con-
queror of the Peninsula, extracted from the mas-
terly " Life of Curran," written by Mr. Commis-
sioner Phillips, and now printed in a separate form.
To do so were surely superfluous, seeing that we
had the satisfaction of ourselves printing the
chapter in extenso in The Wellington Sun, on the
Day of the Duke's Obsequies. Sufficient for us
here to notice the fact of its present re-appear-
ance.

The Wellington Souvenir : A Golden Record.
1852. Simpkin and Marshall.
A very beautiful memento of the eath and
Funeral of Wellington—perhaps them os Dt
graceful
and elegant souvenir of the occurrence that has
yet been published. It is exquisitely printed and
embellished, the lette-press and the engravings
being alike—golden. Indirectly, the little book
is a souvenir of the golden year 1852, as well as of
the magnificent interment of the Duke in our
Metropolitan Cathedral.

We//ingtonia,na. Selected by John Timbs
Ingram and Cooke.

As with the " Sketch" by Mr. Charles Phillips,
we took occasion on the 18th of November to
speak in deserved terms of praise of Mr. John
Timbs's selection of anecdotes, entitled " Wel-
lingtoniana." The different incidents appear to us
admirably well chosen, and are chronologically
arranged. The volume reflects credit upon the
taste and judgment of the compiler of " Laconics,"
and author of " Popular Errors 'Explained."

Wellington : the Place and Day of his Birth
Ascertained and Demonstrated. By John
Murray, A.M., L.L.D. Trinity College Press.
Reference has been frequently made in our
columns to the ingenious and we think unanswer-
able arguments advanced by Dr. Murray in refer-
ence to the disputed question of the day of the Duke's
birth, and of the very spot having the honour of
being his birthplace. These arguments—which by
the way are simply facts—are her reconsidered bys
the author and rearranged. They appear to u
conclusive.

Sermons.—lt would be rather difficult, we fancy,
to enumerate one quarter of the sermons and dis-
courses pronounced upon the memory of the Duke
of Wellington. Several of them are highly meri-
torious, and among them may be mentioned one
by Dr. Croly, the reverend poet of St. Stephen's,
Walbrooli ;—another preached at Eynsford Chapel,
Kent, by the Rev. J. Whittemore ;—and a third,
originally intended as such, by T. BinneY, but
which the author expanded into an essay on
" Wellington," considering him as " warrior,
senator, and man," and estimatmg both his public
and his private character.

Pictures.—Besides other works of art dedicated
to the memory of the old Duke and already noticed
in these columns, cursory reference must here be
made to two water-colour drawings now "on view"
at Mr. Ackermaus', representing the " Lying in
State," and " The Burial," painted by Louis Haghe
—as well as a masterly oil painting on view" at
Messrs. Graves', being Sir George Hayter's picture
of " Wellington visiting the Effigy and Personal