The Sun.
London, England, 1839-03-21 00:00:00

will amuse the reader, even despi!e the somewhat
loose and slovenly way in which its incidents are put
together.

THE Q UEEN, THE PARLIAMENT, AND
THE PEOPLE.
By Wm. ItEmrsoiv DI4.VHAM, F. R. C. S.
Effingham TVilson, 1839.

The author advises the people to petition in person
for a redress of grievances, and to adopt the following
plan :—" Let them (the myriads of the north and the
famished agricultural labourers) assemble on some
chosen spot, as near as possible to the House of Com-
mon ; and, when the Members of that House are en-
gaged in their ?nighty labours, let the congregated mil-
lions march to, and draw up before it, and then send in
a previously appointed few to confer with their rulers."
We suspect the physical-force men will not choose
Mr. Denham for General till he explain the secret how
these myriads are to be fed on the way and lodged in
London, and how tile congregated millions are to be
condensed, or paired down to the Lilliputian form, so
that they might all find elbow-room in Old Palace-
yard
; and till these important points are cleared up, we
must decline entering on the subject of the pamphlet.

ENCYCLOP2EDIA BRITA2VNICA,
Vol. XVIII. Part 2.
Black, Edinburgh, 1639.
The present Part of this Encyclopzeclia—which is
undoubtedly the ablest and most carefully digested work
of the sort to which modern times have given birth—
contains, among other sera iceable essays, one on " Popu-
lation," which displays in every page a luminous and
impartial spirit of inquiry, and is defaced by none of
those sophistical theories in which those two extreme,
Malthus and Godwin, so liberally indulged when dis-
cussing the subject. . The writer's researches are in
general remarkable for their profundity, and drawn from
a multiplicity of sources, which few but himself would
have had the patience and courage to explore.
" Porism" is a scientific article, filled with algebraic
figures and calculations, of which we must, with
shame, confess our entire ignorance. The essay
looks learned, and that is all we dare venture
to say of it. The brief biographical Memoir of
" Porson" is neatly written ; and does no more than
justice to the abilities of one of the most learned
men, and profound Greek Scholars that ever existed.
Yet the Professor would have been a greater—and as-
suredly a more useful—man than he was, if he had not
devoted so much of his time to the mere pedantry of
scholarship. But this was the fashion •of his age—a
fashion which, we are glad to see, is now nearly exploded.
" Printing" is a treatise containing many valuable, and
some curious, facts ; but, indeed, the whole Part abounds
in useful information, to a degree not often seen in mo-
dern publications.

THE YOUTH OF SHAKSPEARE. 3 Vols.
Colburn, London, 1839.

These volumes are by the author of " Shakspeare
and his Friends," a work which attracted some little
notice at the time of its publication about a year since.
The present production is not unworthy of its prede-
cessor ; indeed in one respect it is superior, for it
abounds in snatches of poetry, some of which exhibit
powers of fancy which the author certainly did not de-
velops in his former work of fiction. The whole of
the first chapter is a most successful flight of flancy,
describing the descent on earth, in a fine summer moonlight,
of Oberon, Titania, and their attendant bands of fairies.
The language put into Oberon's mouth, on the occasion
of these fairy revels, is full of poetic beauty ; and almost
leads us to regret that the writer had not confined him-
self to the purely ideal, instead of dealing with grosser
natures, such as Masters Malmsey, Dowlas, and
Buzzard, in sketching whose peculiarities it is evident
he is not quite at home. The work, however, will be
as successful as " Shakspeare and his Friends," for it is
well and carefully written, and is by no means deficient
in various and well-sustained interest. The Preface—
which is somewhat rare in Prefaces—contains many
eloquent passages ; one of which we quote, for it is as
just in thought as it is in expression :—" In what remote
wilderness hath the Missionary set up his dwelling,
which knoweth not, in his higher hours, ;he cheerful
piety of Shakspeare's matchless preaching? Over
which inhospitable towering mountain doth the tra-
veller seek a path, that hath not heard, to beguile the
way of its weariness, the welcome remembrance of his
infinite wit? And over what far distant ocean bath
the sea boy strained his gaze, that never caught from
such lofty gallery, snatches of the inimitable music of
his everlasting tuneful verse ? There are no such
places !"

WOMAN PHYSIOLOGICALLY CONSI-
DERED.
London, Baily, 1839.
This is one of those works of which it is impossible to
take adequate notice in the columns of a Daily Journal.
It professes to be an essay--or rather, series of essays--
on the character of Woman, as that character is influ-
enced by society. Some of the author's remarks are
just ; but there are many of them, especially those re-
lating to marriage, which are of so heterodoxical a nature,
and so likely to shock received opinion, that the less we
say of them, the better.

BENTLEY'S STANDARD LIBRARY.
Bentley, London, 1839.
The present volume of this Miscellany consists of a
re-publication of Gleig's well-known " Traditions of
Chelsea College," his cleverest, or at any rate his most
interesting work, with the exception of the " Subaltern."
The volume is embellished with a portrait of the author,
which, as an engraving, shows no slight skill ; of its
resemblance to the original we cannot offer an opinion.

SHELLEY'S POETICAL WORKS.
Maxon, London, 1839.

This volume contains the " Prometheus Unbound,"
Shelley's finest poem ; and the " Cenci," his finest
tragedy, which last rivits attention, and challenges
admiration, despite the repulsive—and we might
add, disgusting character of its incidents. The
edition is beautifully printed ; but we fear it will not ob-
tain any very extensive circulation.

PERU AS IT IS. 2 Vols.
Bentley, London, 1839.

These volumes form very interesting reading, for they
regard a country of which, comparatively speaking, little
is known. We are all familiar with Constantinople and
its romantic neighbourhood, even though we may have
never travelled beyond the shores of England ; and
equally well acquainted are we with the United States,
and the hacknied countries of Italy and the Genoese
Alps ; but the Peruvian republic is, in a great measure,
a terra incognita to us, like the forbidden regions of Dr.
Francia's Paraguay ; wherefore we have perused Dr.
Smith's details of it with very considerable satis-
faction. This gentleman, it seems, resided in Peru
upwards of ten years, during which protracted
period he lived sometimes among miners, and
sometimes among agriculturists ; and was professionally
brought into contact with people of all classes and ranks
in society, from the palace to the humblest hut. Hence
he had opportunities—unknown to at least one half of
our mere coxcombical and aspiring tourists--of making
himself thoroughly acquainted with his subject ; and it
is doing him no more than justice to say that—to use
his own words in the preface—" he has treated it with
candour and impartiality." Of the hospitality and
generally courteous manner of the better classes in
Lima, Dr. Smith speaks in terms of approbation ;
though he is far from extending his praise to their
morals, for the relaxation of morals in that city is,
it appears, " general, but not universal"—which is
as much as to say, that the moral tone in
Lima is about as low as it can well be in a
place which puts forth the slightest pretensions to
civilization. The laws also are but feebly administered
there, which is scarcely to be wondered at, however it
may be regretted, considering that Peru has scarcely
yet had time to settle down from the fierce convulsions
of the revolution. Of the scenery in the neighbour-
hood of the majestic Cordilleras, the author speaks in
the warmest terms of admiration. " The Cordilleras,"
says he, " crossed at noon and in dry weather, is a
grand sight. 'When we first crossed it, the sun was out
in full blaze ; and though mountains of snow lay on
every side of our way, we felt quite warm ; but we ob-
mired that in the shade the cold was very chilling. It
was to us peculiarly exhilarating to gaze on so many
snowy monuments reflected in all their sublimity from
the green waters of the lakes beneath, thickly thronged
with sportive ducks and cormorants." We recommend
Dr. Smith's volumes of travels to all who are curious to
become
i acquainted with the manners and customs pre-
valent n one of the most remarkable of the South Ame-
rican republics.

WORKS OF JEREMY BEN THAM.—PartVIII.
Tait, Edinburgh, 1839.
The Part before us—whose contents, we fear, will
be caviare to a great portion of our readers—contains
some of Bentham's subtlest and most speculative
writings—such, for instance, as his Essay on Political
Tactics ; Junctiana Proposal, and Tax with Monopoly
—treatises which it is difficult to read, and, in some
places,
still more difficult to understand. The edition
is got up under the surveillance of the great Jurist's
friend and executor, Dr. Bowring.

THE FAMILY SANCTUARY.
Smith, Elder, and Co., London, 1839.
A collection of Sermons, illustrative of some of the
most important texts in Scripture, and written in such
a simple and unassuming manner, as at once to con.
vince the understanding. The work is well adapted to
the purposes of family devotion, for the author's piety
is ardent, without being fanatical.