The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-03 00:00:00

LITERATUR

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Macaulay's _History of England. Vol. 8. Edited
by Lady Trevelyan. Longman and Co.
The publication, in an octavo form, of this last
product of Macaulay's labours, will be hailed as a
boon by the myriad admirers of his genius ; and as
he is, perhaps, the only writer who has succeeded
in making history popular as fiction, it is both
liberal and politic to issue his work in such a
form as to be generally accessible. His portrait,
at the age of 49, is prefixed; so is a biography, by
the Dean of St. Paul's.

Popular Tales of the West Highlands, with a
1 ranslation by I. F. Campbell. Edmonston
and Douglas, Edinburgh.
The industry and perseverance of Mr. Campbell
in collecting these legends cannot be too highly
praised, and it is only to be regretted that they
are not more attractive to the general reader. By
the antiquary they will, of course, be welcomed
with delight, for their value in an archaeological
sense is unquestionable : but they are by no means
so amusing as fairy legends, whilst the Icelandic
Sagas far surpass them iu artistic execution.
Still this is no fault of Mr. Campbell's, he could
but give what he found ; his translations bear evi-
dent marks of care and fidelity, and the materials
he has brought together will be of the utmost im-
portance to those who wish to form an estimate
of the ancient Gaelic literature. The volumes now
published are the third and fourth, concluding the
work ; the former consisting of West Highland
tales, whilst the latter is almost wholly devoted to
an examination into the authenticity of Ossian,
and the bringing forward such tales and traditions
as mention his heroes or throw light on their
actions. "It is certain," says Mr. Campbell, " that
the heroes have been Celtic worthies for centuries,
and that their exploits have been celebrated in
Gaelic verse ever since the ninth century, if not the
seventh ; but of the published Gaelic Ossian as an
entire work there is not a trace before Mac f-bberson's
time." He then expresses his conviction that
MacPherson's Ossian is a composite Work, made
up of various materials, mainly Scotch, but some
portion belonging to Ireland, and concludes with
a discussion of British traditions, Celtic dress, and
Celtic art. The work contains a considerable
number of illustrations, chiefly from Celtic monu-
ments, and it is clear that no pains have been
spared to render it as complete as possible.

The Cartarets ; or, Country Pleasures. By E. A.R.

Hogg and Sons.
This specimen of the series of juvenile books is
one of the prettiest as well as pleasantest that the
publishers have yet issued. The cover resembles a
picture framed in mauve, nor is the expectation it
excites disappointed by the contents. They narrate
the events that occurred during the three months'
residence in the country of a London family, and
few rural sights or sounds escape comment, expla-
nation, or discussion. It is excellently adapted as,
a present for the young.

A Comprehensive History of India. Nos. 51 to 56.
Blackie and Sons.
These numbers conclude the work, which pro-
fesses to treat of the aspects, Civil, Military, and
Social, of the country, from the first landing of the
English to the suppression of the Sepoy revolt. It
is very nicely got up, is lavishly illustrated, and.
has an excellent index.

Crawfords. By Caroline Ricketts. Booth,

Regent-street.
Without pretending to any great degree either
of complexity or profundity, Miss Ricketts has pro-
duced a very pleasantly-written tale, moderate in
length, and by no means improbable in incident.
It narrates the history of two families, each named,
Crawford, who reside near each other, and are dis-,
tantly related, and the only son of the one and the
only daughter of the other are the chief actors in
it. They fall in love, and the former (a spoilt child)
enters the army, becomes a roué and a gambler, is
expelled his regiment, flies to the Continent, and
when :in the last extremity of distress is rescued
and reformed by a clergyman named Arthur-
Wrangham, who ultimately marries his sister.
We shall not minutely detail the plot, but content
ourselves with commending the story to the reader's
notice.

Beeton's Publication:.
Englishwoman's Domestic illagazine for April.—
The fashions, as usual, come in for illustration, and.
fiction is not forgotten. The article on The Domes-
tic History of England treats of the reign of Charles
the Second ; and there is an essay on Affectation.—
Boy's Own Illagazine—This miscellany for juveniles
contains its customary supply of interesting mat-
ter.—Garden 211anagentent—Very copious direc-
tions for the horticultural operations of the month
are given. Window Gardening is treated of, and
a chapter is devoted to Orchard Houses.—Home
Pets—Domestic Poultry form the theme of the pre-
sent issue. All the varieties, whether of water or
'And, are described. A coloured illustration is
given, and the small woodcuts are clever and cha-
racteristic.

GARIBALDI AND Thß ITALIAN
.7.47)rr5. 7,7777: A ATTUROPIO 456002:11TION.

The Tribuno of March 16 one the following:
We have received from Villa Spinola the fol-
lowing letter, addressed by General Garibaldi to
the founders of the Italian Ladies' Philanthropic
Association :

TO TB ITALIAN LADIES.
In the name of our country, I owe you a word of thetas
for your good work.

Amongst the many benefits accomplished by it is the
establishment of an institution at Torre del Greco, where
the children of the poor are fed, clothed, and educated in
the duties of citizens. Similar institutions you will estab-
lish in Palermo and elsewhere, wherever misery is most
oppressive. May God bless you, women with the heart of
angels, and bless the kind and excellent foreign ladies, ini-
tiators and benefactors of this holy work. You have restored
to Italy the old and sublime Christianity which egotism and. imposture had trampled under foot. On the day in which
the wealthy classes, regarding the poor as brothers, care for
and help them, on that day shall a term be placed to the
terrible revolution which convulses mankind, at intervals
irregular, but certain and inevitable so long as the powerful
persist in their blind obstinacy.
May the committees of generous ladies, already existing,
extend their beneficent association to the remotest villages
of the Peninsula, where the need is greatest.
I render grateful acknowledgments to the regenerators of
a people who have claims to the sympathy of the whole
human race. (Signed) G. GARIBALDI.