The Sun.
London, England, 1839-08-01 00:00:00

MAGAZINE DAY

•
L BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY.
ream,T "°se who are partial to—what, for want of a better
v.,
net;' may call—the melodramatic school of prose
c7i°l will be delighted with " Jack Sheppard" this
onth, for it teems with all sorts of attractive inci-
, B.!nt.s. viz., hair-breath escapes, midnight surprises,
"nll-assassinations, proposals of marriage, mad mothers.
and a scene in Bedlam ! These various items, however,
are worked up with uncommon skill, and in an ad cap-
, eater style, that proves Mr. Ainsworth to be a shrewd
euhat.,e_rr for the public taste. The best scene in the present
ter is the interview between Jack and his mother in
res 4 road- house, where the author has called into action all the
ource' of his art. The 4. Old Elm" is a sentimental,
~,eb ebullition, easier, we suspect, to write. than to read.
,4 n writer's signature "J. N. Macjilton" is by no means
',11,1e most euphonious part of this rythmical outburst.
atin nie "
equa Crayon Papers" are penned in a style as easy
, ble as Addison's. Here and there occur
touches of arch humour, the more relishin because
!tthey seem to ooze out by accident. Alluding for in-
.ance, to those bands of maurauders who infested the
,United States during the revolutionary war, and were
,_.,l'fire nown by the names of " Skinners" and " Cow-boys,"
"ooy Crayon observes, with amusing naivete,
hNeither of them stopped to ask the politics of
orse or cow, which they drove into captivity ;
nor when they wrung the neck of a rooster, did
they trouble their heads to ascertain whether ho
Were crowing for Congress or King George."
Again, speaking of the desperate hair-brained,
and unsuccessful enterprises of an American back-
woodsman, which lost him both house and lands,
we are told that " he fared like some heroic spider that
has unwittingly ensnared a hornet, to his immortal
glory, perhaps, but to the utter ruin of his web." We
subjoin one more specimen of Master Geoffrey Crayon's
Vy.nc'ilY humour. He is alluding to a legend of Sleepy-
°"°w---" As to the enchanted fountain, said to be
gifted with the power of making
still wells u old folks young again,
,it, p at the foot of the bank, and goes by
Lae name of the Indian spring ; but I have my doubts
as to its rejuvenating powers, for tho' I have drank often
crand copiously of it, I cannot boast that I find myself
owing younger." Equally excellent is our author at
ndscape description. Here is a scene dashed off at
noe stroke of the pencil :—" A lonely, rambling, down-
dhill lane leads to it, overhung with trees, with a wild brook
ashing along, and crossing and recrossing it." The
chapters of " Vincent Eden" are capital this month.
College life is hit off to a nicety, and in a lively, unex-
aggerated spirit. This tale promises to be the best in
the " Miscellany." The " Phantom Funeral" is told by
4r, Gleig with earnestness and energy.

FRASER'S MAGAZINE.
The article entitled " Specimens of Persian Poetry"
is resumed in this number, and enters into somee enter-
taining details respecting the poetry of Scheik Feizi,
brother of the celebrated Persian historian Abul Fazil,
respecting whom, we are informed in a note, that the
t2trionarehs of Asia stood more in awe of his pen, than of
ia sword of Akbar In "My Private Log, a Tale
'tt the sea:,
there is a clever graphic description of the
the MininK on, and the consequences, of a white squall in
editerranean. The story is rather of a sentimen-
to
I,' though not maudlin, character, beginning with
(1-4, and ending with marriage, as such stories usually
eI-I°' A Young sailor, named Vernon, forms a sudden
lidd:z_irdnt attachment to a beautiful Spanish. girl ; and
her, g It wholly impossible to support existence without
' very naturally and rationally walks off with her
,frarn a convent, claps her on board a schooner, and then
'B"akes an
sail for the nearest English church and par-
-07)! Here the tale ends, leaving all parties in a state
2 auprenne felicity " John Bull's Castle" is another
well-written story, ;hose termination, however, is dismal
enough
n,„ to give even Democritus the dumps. Fortu-
-7,l;e'Y' the writer makes short work of his distresses.
place e 4 Rising of the Sun" is a very harmless, common-
thevo.utbre.ak of Conservative poesy. . " Sketches.. oft
f. university of Heidelberg" are wanting in interest
Twelfth the general reader. The " Paris Rebels of the
sipwelfth of May," furnishes us with some curious gos-
isPing details of the French House of Peers. Here
h 4 condensed biographical sketch of the present
Duke Decazes :
h;_ ha Duke Decazes is a wonderful man. You may like
f,._0l or hate him, scold him or praise him, according to
i7ear tagte ; but he is, after all a wonderful man. Whe-
i r as 'Alagistrte, counsellor to Louis Buonapartc the
theng of Holland, or as secretary to Madame Mere; whe-
mar_ as commander of a company of volunteers on 20th.
of 11,-,ebt 1615, when he separated himself from the family
- Na '01615, and read the proclamation of Louis XVIII.,
or 43 Prefect of Police of Paris in July of the same year,
asen before the return of the King to his capital ; or
trii
n'st .14ember of the Chamber of Deputies ; or as
t
of ar of police in the place of Fouebe; or as minister
bk:e in times of vast difficulty and danger; or as am.
or saltdor to the court of St. James's ; or as peer of France ;
„leas grand referendary to the chamber of which he is a
hih.luber ;--in each and all of these positions he has proved
tr':'elf to be an extraordinary man, and continues to ex-
-1,4`1'130 vast influence, both in the upper house and at the
',ace of his+knence, king.
ill 4. v, • 1., .gyptian Mythology" there is a great show of
..draed research on the abstrusest and most perplexing
`_'t all subjects. " Catherine : a Story," which exhibits
(Pai'arne powers of drollery, is illustrated with a remarkably
kylent and humorous wood-cut, " Sidney Smith, John
jus' and Grantley Berkeiey,” is a critical article in
stice of many of whose n tiirti rogress of Disorganization o"
piisions we coincide. The a
frantic political dia-
b.be, in which we are gravely assured that the Reform
'ill is a failure, because the Conservatives say so '.

_ -
MONTHLY CHRONICLE,
es on acquaintance. At first
i, This Magazine
16 NS somewhat diomgpmrao:ical and sectarian in its tone,
Dtit of
quite catholic. The Number
bp,. late it has become
Pear
us is one of the best that hpaesrsybeu,t,tmpoasd:esistess ainp:
terra .4rnee. Scarce one of the Pa
Characters of
, for the generality of. readers.
thunblic Men" opens in a sprightly, pertinent style, and
h 4 goes on to discuss the
France ; and of
..,44. liter.aursyocflaims of M. Cor-
wk In. who, it seems,
is
the
Junius
from his pen pro-
,'4°Tn we are told that 'pamphlet
`4ees Et sensation which' awould scarcely be buerecroeodiinteedd
off
pro-
°4r Wintry atmosphere. His
and search-
w4.t° current axioms and the whole population rings
sentences
irlith the echoes of his antithetical sarcasms and
course of
~,, eriticisms." Alluding, incidentally,.
4.4 eSSaYI to Sir Robert Peel's publicinch a_raoctmera,uthine
ttith observes, with striking felicity—". IN
44..g14nd understands the vulgar English ch.arawcittehr
mboerte-
tor_ than Peel ; and no man plays up
keelurnmate skill. Every ' respectable' into.d.il:Tidual ' who
or h. 9
f I:4 4 gig ' naust entertain the most implicit admiration
There
i 41'. He is the head of the class."
: ,!Itich justness and significance in the above passage.
Nrt°l°nization of New Zealand" enters into some curioushose
it)11 le.ulars respecting these barbarous islands,
petl4°ltants are rank cannibals, and remarkable for their
overtehant for re
heads when nicely baked in a.
In this respect they are decided epicures. Their

BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE.
I That delightful, rambling essay, " Our Pocket Com-
panions," is continued in this Number, and administers
a gentle, and not unmerited, castigation, to a certain
Quarterly Reviewer for his late disparaging treatment
I of Campbell's Poems. Mr. Heraud is also visited for the
same offence, and slily informed that " men not in-
spired, but puffed up, may publish themselves for Isaiahs,
and yet find themselves in the Balsam box." We agree
with Christopher North--for he it is who thus lets fall
his crutch on Mr. Heraud's sconce—that " O'Connor's
Child" is the finest of all Campbell's productions. It is
as Polished throughout as Parian marble, and as symme-
trical in its proportions as a Phydian statue, yet
withal full of passion, vigour, and sensibility. Few
who have once read,
ever' for'ffet this " gem of purest
ray serene." In the " Hasty Hints on Horses" occurs
a clever sketch of a hack cab horse—that most discon-
solate and hopeless of quadrupeds. We cannot say
much for the three Letters addressed to the " Protes-
tants of Scotland." They are eloquent enough, so far as
mere manner is concerned ; but the spirit that pervades
them is jaundiced and illiberal. The writer entertains a
perfect horror of the Catholics, and boldly asserts the
doctrine that we have laid the axe to the root of our
national Prosperity, by admitting them within the
walls of Parliament. This is a monstrous asser-
tion to make in the year 1839 ! " A Prosing upon
PnetrY," is a graceful essay, studded with bright
toughts and images. How just is this observa-
tion ;--" Many a feeling which those who profess
.t 0 despise poetry, would not willingly relinquish, has
been originated or fostered by the ideas thrown into
general circulation by a succession of poetic teachers.
The sentiment of beauty in all its modifications7a
sentiment which adds so much to the pleasure of life,
much to the refinement of character—is due to those
associations of thought which imaginative writers have
th
',re tight about. It is the poet's province to multiply
e associations, and his combinations extending through
all literature, become the common property of mankind."
ht " Songs of London" is a compilation, common-place
iugh, yet not uninteresting. " Pietro d'Abano" is a
° of enchantment, translated from the German of
f Tieck. It is replete with the wildest incidents,
fu put together, and with great knowledge of dra-
tie effect. " Song Writing" does justice to the
ri.o poems of Burns. It is a spirited and discrimi-
_ating little essay. From " Literary Fables" which are
freely rendered from the Spanish of Yriarte, we quote
the " Alusical Ass" :
The fable which I now present,
Occurr'd to me by accident.
A stupid ass this morning went
Into a field by accident,
And cropp'd his food and was content,
Until he spied by accident
A flute, which some oblivious gent
Had left behind by accident ;
When, sniffing it with eager scent,
He breathed on it by accident,
And made the hollow instrument
Emit a sound by accident.
Hurrah, hurrah," exclaim'd the brute,
" How cleverly I play the flute l"
A fool, in spite of nature's bent,
May shine for once—by accident.