The Sun.
London, England, 1839-06-08 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

DUBL I Y REVIEW, No. XII.
Dolman, London, 1839.
The besetting defect of this periodical—a defect which
has characterized it ever since the publication of its first
number—is the very narrow and circumscribed sphere
of its range. It devates far too much space and atten-
tion to matters purely theological—that, is to soy, to
points of Catholic discipline, arid wire-drawn details of
the disagreements of its Church with that established in
England by the Reformation. All this may bt-into-
resting enough to theologists, whether Catholic or Pro-
testant, but to the general reader it has few or no at-
tractions. It is, however, but ju,tice to she Editor to
state that his present number is of a more comprehensive
character than any of its predecessors, and we care not
how soon the Review is subjected to a process of still
ftirther improvement, so as to appeal to the sympithies
of the Many, instead of the Few. The opening article
is entitled " Sylvester the Second and Gregory the
Seventh," and pourtrays the character of Pere Gregory,
LI e strsngest-minded and most ambitious Pontiff that
ever launched the thunders of the Vatican, in a spirited,
but rather too panegyrical style. This celebrated man
was shrewd, resolute, inflexible, and endowed with sin-
gular foresight , but he was cursed with an insatiable
ambition, which made him too often utterly unscrupulous
as to the means by which be gained his ends. It is
much to his credit that in many matters, where elsnrch
di ciphne was not concerned, he was far in advance of
his age ; and it is curious to find him, in the eleventh
century, ridiculing the notion of witchcraft, in which,
nearly six hundred years after, the great philosopher
Bacon expressed his firm belief ! Equally averse was he !:
to the "sale of man," and yet that " sale" still continues to
be:the disgrace ofthe enlightened nineteenth century. The
Stavonians" is a sketchy and amusing account of the
earlier history of Poland, in the course of which the
writer justly and tersely observes, " the existence of a
middle class is the finest monument a nation can pre-
serve." " Trade with France" is a seasonable treatise,
wholly of a practical nature, and is suggested by the
publication of the first and second Report on the com-
mercial relations between France and Great Britain.
The remarks incidentally thrown out in the course of
this essay, on the expediency of England exerting herself
to the utmost to keep on terms of amity with France,
are worthy of attentive consideration. "-With her,"!
says the Reviewer, "we may dictate our own terms to
Russia—without her, Russia will become the most
dreadful enemy that has ever yet assailed the fortunes
of Great Britain." The notice ef " Dodd's Church
History of England" is heavy and wearisome, though it
evinces marks of extensive reading ; and still less to our
taste is " Froude's Remains," in which too much is
made of the subject. With the Reviewer's comments
on " Cooper's Novels" we heartily coincide. They ale
caustic, and pregnant with good sense. From the arti-
cle on the " Slavonians" we quote a sketch of the cha-
racter of the Polish peasant :
" The Polish peasant is not without superstition. The
belief in hidden treasures amuses his fancy, excites his
hopes, and but too often ruins his little fortune. But the
most obnoxious and fatal consequences of his supetstition
are perceptible in his aversion to have recourse to medical
aid, in case of serious illness. lie considers the noble art
of Eseulapius as a wicked invention of the Germans—for
such is the term which he undistinguishingly applies so all
foreigners. The Polish peasant will more readily travel a
hundred miles in quest of supernatural aid, than take ad-
vice of an experienced physician. With him, Cuvier would
find his eloquence at fault; Cooper, with his art and in-
struments, might find himself in the dangerous position of
being taken for a sorcerer ; Hahnemann would not stand a
better chance; —but no, we beg pardon of the learned
visionary, his system of infinitely small doses, and horsces.
pathic drugs, would find more docile adepts amidst Polish
peasantry, than the astonishing cures of his soberer
brethren ; for be it said, to his astonishment or confusion,
his precepts have been there long known and practised, as
it may be conjectured from the two following modes of
treating a patient :—The peasant labouring under fever,
inflammatory disease, or nervous complaint, will neverthe-
less have recourse to his customary medicine, a large cup
of whisky, in which he mixes up a handful of ground char-
coal ; so, in the same manner, he uses for all maladies a
mixture of whisky with honey, which he takes in infinitely '
small doses. Yet the peasant is not deaf to the voice of
reason, and enlightened proprietors have latterly done
much for the diffusion of better information. The blissful
influence of religion will be traced in his morals and habits.
his hospitality, charity to the poor, good faith in contracts
and obligations, reverence to the aged, religious scruple
in paying tithes, could not have a nobler origin, or a
stronger stimulus, than in his attachment to the religion of
his fathers. Theft, robbery, murder, are almost unknown
among the communities of labourers."

A SKETCH of NATIVE EDUCATION in
_INDIA under the SUPERINTENDENCE of
the CHURCH of SCOTLAD.
By .I.A.3tEs B A
Ercr, D.D.
London, Allen and Co., 1839.
The title of this volume is sufficiently explanatory of
the subject of it, which is treated with considerable
ability. It adds but little, however, to the stock of
current information relative to the progress of education
among the native population of India, being rather a
record of the minutes of the General A3sembly of the
Church of Scotland for the propagation of Christian
knowledge in Hindustan than a careful examination
of the triumphs of the schoolmaster among the
worshippers of Brahma and Vishnu. Still it is a
work which possesses far the religious reader a very
high degree of interest. Dr. Boyce's long residence
as the Chaplain of a regiment in India attaches a de,
gree of weight to his observations upon the choraettr
of the natives which will be felt and appreciated. But
the fact is that in India, as in Great Britain, the pro-
gross of education is retarded by the struggle.; of So-
cieties to substitute sectarianism for Christianity. It
would be easy to make a Hindoo a Christian, but it is
vary hard to make him a Presbyterian or a Papist.

PICTORIAL EDITION OF SHAKSPEARE.

This elaborate publication has already reached its
eighth Part, which comprises the entire play of King
Henry the Fifth. The explanatory notes attached to
this drama exhibit no falling off in point of research or
ingenuity ; and the engravings, which arc numerous, are,
if possible, better executed than they have yet been.
The views, in particular, of Southampton and Rouen,
leave nothing to be desired, in point of skill and taste.
The only objection to this edition is, that it must be so
very long a time before it is brought to a corn pletion
This, however, is the necesary result of the extraordi-
nary care that is lavished upon it, arid therefore ought
not to be urged as an objection.

THE NEW STATISTICAL ACCOUNT 01
SC@TLAND.
Edinburgh, Blackwood and Sons.
This is the twelfth part of a work destined to remain
an imperishable memorial of the learning and pattiogsm
of the clergy of the Church of Scotland. It contains
the usual historical, topographical, statistical, and general
account of the County of Kinross, with parts of the
Counties of Haddington and Ayr, and is embellished
with an excellent map of Buteshire. As this work is
published under the superintendence of a Committee of
the Society for the benefit of the Sons and Daughters of
the Clergy, who devote the proceeds to the use of that
benevolent institution, the well-disposed will readily dis-
cover in this circumstance an additional motive for en-
couraging the extension of its circulation.