The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-06 00:00:00

E VENING EDITION

LITrat,IT U RE .

BRITISH AND FOREIGN REVIEW—No.IB.
Taylor, London, 1639.
of Copywright question, which forms the subject
f the first article in the number before us, is fairly
enough argued, with this exception, that the Reviewer is
opposed to the protracted term of sixty years, as pro-
Posed by Sergeant Talfourd. If he is averse to the
granting of this term unconditionally, we will allow that
there is some force in his onjection ; but if he is hostile
to it, no matter what conditions favourable to authors
may be affixed to it, then, we say, that he is advocating
the cause of injustice. With his proposal to disencum-
ber the measure of the formidable machinery for litiga-
tion with which it is armed, to the dismay of the judges,
tand the terror of literary men, we cordially agree, for
is unquestionably a radical defect in the Learned
sergeants Bill. ."Fhe works of George Sand" is a
, analytical criticism on the writings of Madame
budevant, who has assumed the 710711 de guerre of
Sand, and whose earliest novels, we are told, contain
snatches of beautiful description, fine raillery, and deli-
cate observation, strangely interspersed throughout
Scenes lurid with every false desire, and orgies of a
b.lasphemous madness. Unfortunately, this is too much
a nee,
the character of the fictitious literature of modern
Pr
which consequently contains few or none of
the elements of perpetuity. " Present State and
Prost
pects of Wallachia and Moldavia," displays much
useful information, and expresses a strong conviction
chef l
inhabitants of these Principalities would feel
ththemselves essentially benefited by being placed under
e
sway of Austria, whose Government, far dif-
erent from that of the Russians, is, on the whole,
friendly to the labourin Physical comforts of th
g classes,e and
I promotes the
e people. n e on the
Life and Writings of Coleridge,"
weth havees say
an elabo-
rately-drawn character of the intellectual idiosyncrasy of
this poet. The article is one continuous flow of pane-
gyric, at times quite hyperbocal, were te Re-
viewer hints that Coleridge was one ofas theh master-h spirits
of his day, who stamped it with his own impress. Now,
never was there a greater error than this. As a poet, the
author of the " Ancient Mariner" influenced only a
small circle ; and as a philosopher, he had no influence
at all, because, generally sp.aking, he was not only
unintelligible to others, but even to himself. We have
read Page after page of his " Frid in whic we ave
Peen unable, however anxious, en
to," discoverh evenh the
Oct gof a meaning. The mystical character of Cole-
!idge's metaphysical writings has been admirably exposed
have Peacock's " Malincourt," the best prose satire we
had since Arbuthnot's " John Bull." In the arti-
cle entitled Justice and Profit of a Uniform Penny
Postage," the Reviewer expresses himself favour of
Mr. Rowland
nev Hill's experiment., observing that " there
er was a financial experiment of such glorious pro-
mise attended with so little risk of failure. But the
less should be accepted than the entire plan of a Uniform
Penny Post. We ought to prefer even the present
system to a mere reduction too small to check smuggling,
or materially increase correspondence, which therefore
would be a dead loss to the revenue, requiring to be
made up by other taxes, and the failure of which would
of triumphantly quoted, as the failure of the principles
a Uniform Penny Postage." In the " Speeches of
Lord Brougham," a spirit of strong and even rancorous
Personality is evident, which greatly detracts from its
merit. Otherwise, it is eleverly written, in point of
style. Of the remaining articles, that on " Public
rAteation in Russia," is the best,
QU

-4RTERLY REVIEW, No. CXXVI.
Murray, London, 183 g.
;lThere are several very entertaining articles in this
umber, but among them we certainly cannot rank the
g-winded dissertation on " Oxford Theology"—a
Subject which, however all-important it may seem in the
eyes of a Quarterly Reviewer, is of no great interest to
the community at large. The temper in which this
notable article is written may be judged of from the
banner in which that illustrious philosopher, Locke, is
spoken of. "He is the man," observes the Reviewer,
" who, of all others, has done most to corrupt our
ethics, unsettle our politics, and debase our meta-
Physics." Immediately afterwards follows a sneer at
Paley, one of the shrewdest, most liberal, and most en-
lightened divines and moralists that ever graced the
English Protestant Church—whose only fault, indeed,
was that his general tone of thinking was far too liberal
to suit the views of an intolerant hierarchy. The Quar.
terly may sneer at these two great men as long as it
pleases, but it will never, notwithstanding its caustic
sarcasm, be able to sneer them out of fashion. They
have taken too deep it root in our national literature,
ever to be dislodged. Paley's " Natural Theology," in
Particular, is as much a standard work as any in the
language, and has been of incalculable benefit to the
cause of true religion, by appealing to common sense,
instead of the mere dogmas of priests. The notice of
Captain Scott's " Travels in Andalusia" is the work of
11 writer who is evidently familiar with every step of
the ground over which the Captain conducts his readers ;
and points out his numerous errors unceremoniously, but
at the same time without ill-nature. There are several
vivid descriptions of natural scenery in this criticism,
which show the master hand. " The plains," observes
the Reviewer, " in the neighbourhood of Medina Sidonia,
are uncultivated, treeless, houseless, and lifeless ; the
Meeting extremities of Spain and Africa resemble each
Other in desolate character, heightened by the silence of
loneliness. Vigo, a mid-way town, is perched on a shelving
precipice ; below, crouches the miserable Venta, a dark
lspot in the memory's waste of travellers ; a rocky gorge
eads to the shores of the Strait and to Tarifa ; a Moor-
ish watch-tower invites the wearied stranger to repose,
no while he gazes on the magnificent panorama. Africa,
flat line of desert sand, rises abruptly out of the sea,
10 a tremendous jumble, backed by the eternal shadows
of the Atlas. Two continents lie before us ; we have
reached the extremities of the ancient world ; a narrow
gulph divides the lands of knowledge, liberty, and civili-
zation, from the untrodden regions of danger and mys-
tery. Yon headland is Trafalgar, where Nelson sealed
with his life's blood the empire of the sea." Speaking
incidentally of the Alhambra, the Reviewer goes on to
observe that it has been completely done for in Annuals,
insomuch that the bright suns and snowy mountains of
Granada, lithographised with Highgate effects and
Hampstead squalls, encumber even the album of school
girls, astonishing those who have never been there, al-
most as much as those who have. " Beale on the Na-
tural History and Fishery of the Sperm Whale," is a
remarkably spirited paper, and gives some vivid details
respecting the mode of capturing this monster of the
deep. " Letters on Paraguay" contains a well-drawn
character of the Dictator, Dr. Francia, whom the Re-
viewer believes to be by no means the sanguinar
that he has been generally represented to be. y "
d Statespote
and Prospects of Asia" is, in some passages, more libe-
trbou
alorinigtvone than we should have expected from such a
going party Journal as the " Quarterly."
" Life of Thomas Telford" is an entertaining biogra-
phical sketch of one of the cleverest engineers that
Modern times have known. " Colonial Government,"
as a matter of course, finds all sorts of faults with Lord
Durham's Report, which the Reviewer predicts will be-
come a text-book of disaffection in the distant recesses
°I. our American provinces. Altogether the Number
may be considered a very fair average one.