The Sun.
London, England, 1838-04-02 00:00:00

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE.
Holdsworth.

The second Canto of " Rubi," a tale of the sea, con-
firms the favourable impression made on us by a perusal of
the first. The author is a poet, and a very promising one
besides. The portrait for this month in the " Gallery of
Illustrious Irishmen," is that of the celebrated humourist,
John Philpot Curran—in his day, the most brilliant orna-
ment of the Irish bar. The " Last Days of Nero," is a
very fine dramatic sketch, and as regards the character of
Nero himself, true to the life. Vie hare read it with much
pleasure. Meyler, on the " State of Ireland," and " By-
ways of Irish History," are Orange battering-rams directed
against the citadel of Irish Catholicism. They only serve
to keep up a bad feeling between the assailants and the
assailed, who might otherwise be brought to see the folly
of such impotent hostility, and how much better it would
be were they to live in harmony with one another.

NICHOLAS NICKLEBY. Part I.

Nicholas Nickleby opens with spirit, and gives promise of
a clever and popular work. It has more weight and ear-
nestness of manner than Pickwick, and less breadth of
comic humour, at least so far as we can judge from the
present specimen. But the main recommendation of the
tale is this. The author bounds upon his characters at
once. He wastes no time in long preliminary details, but
comes without an instant's delay to the matters on hand.
Mr. Ralph Nickleby is a vigorous portrait—a shrewd,
callous, money-getting man of business, whose heart is in
his breeches pockets, and whose sole records of sensibility
are to be found in his ledger. This in ordinary hands
would be a very common-place character ; but Boz has
given it a " mark and likelihood," and thrown into it certain
subtle traits of individuality, that show the master. Nor
must we omit to notice, in equal terms of praise, the
Fielding-like sketch of Mr. Wackford Squeers, the
grinding, ignorant Yorkshire schoolmaster who undertakes
to board, lodge, educate, clothe, and supply with pocket-
money " young gentlemen" for twenty guineas per annum!
This sketch will task all its author's tact and attention ;
but if well worked out—as we feel assured it w:11 be—it
will give him a foremost place among the novelists of the
day. In order to lighten the Number, Boz has given a
sketch, bordering on caricature, but irresistibly laughable,
of the mode of getting np a new Joint Stock Company, in
which occur many stinging satirical reflections. As a
specimen of the author's manner, we quote his description
of Mr. Wackford Squecrs, the schoolmaster, who, we
should premise, is waiting at the Saracen's Head, in the
hope of receiving applications from parents who may be
desirous to place their " young gentlemen" at his establish-
ment. The sudden adroit change in the pedagogue's man-
ner towards the defenceless child whom he has been mal-
treating, when he hears that a stranger entering the coffee-
room to enquire for him, is a ♦ery felicitous trait of
character :

" Mr. Squeers was standing in a box by one of the coffee-room fire-
places, fitted with one such table as is usually seen in coffee-rooms, and
two of extraordinary shapes and dimensions made to suit the angles of
the partition. In a corner of the seat was a very small deal trunk, tied
round with a scanty piece of cord; and on the trunk was perched, his
lace-up half boots and corduroy trowsers dangling in the air ; a diminu.
Live boy, with his shoulders drawn up to his cars, and his hands planted
on his knees, who glanced timidly at the schoolmaster from time to time
with evident dread and apprehension.

,‘ ' Half past three,' muttered Mr. Squeers, turning from the win.
dow, and looking sulkily at the coffee room clock. ' There will be no.
body here to-day.'

" Much vexed by this reflection, Mr. Squeers looked at the little boy
to see whether he was doing anything he could beat him for : as he hap-
pened not to be doing anything at all, he merely boxed his ears, and told
him not to do it again.

" At Midsummer,' muttered Mr. Squeers, resuming his complaint,
I took down ten boys ; ten twentys—two hundred pound. Igo back at
eight o'clock to-morrow morning, and have got only three—three oughts
an ought—three twos six—sixty pound. What's come of all the bo)a ?
What's parents got in their heads ? What does it all mean ?`
Here the little boy on the top of the trunk gave a violent sneeze.
" ' Halloa, Sir,' growled the schoolmaster, turning round. What's
that, Sir ?'
" Nothing, please Sir,' replied the little boy.
" Nothing, Sir exclaimed Mr. Squeers.
" ' Please Sir, I sneezed,' rejoined the boy, trembling till the little
trunk shook under him.
" ' Oh! sneezed, did you retorted Mr. Squeers. Then what did
you say nothing' for, Sir ?'
" In default of a better answer to this question, the little boy screwed
a couple of knuckles into each of his eyes and began to cry, wherefore
Mr. Squeers knocked him off the trunk :with a blow on one side of his
face, and knocked him on again with a blow of the other.
" Wait till I get you down into Yorkshire, my young gentleman,"
said Mr. Squeers, "and then I'll give you the rest. Will you hold that
noise, Sir ?'
'" Ye—ye—yes,' sobbed the little boy, rubbing his face very bard
with the Beggar's Petition in printed calico.
" Then do so at once, Sir,' said Squeers. Do ye hear ?'
" As this admonition was accompanied with a threatening gesture,
and uttered with a savage aspect, the little boy rubbed his face harder,
as if to keep the tears back ; and, beyond alternately sniffing and chok-
ing, gave uo further vent to his emotions.
" Mr. Squeers,' said the waiter, looking in at this juncture ; here's
a gentleman asking for you at the bar.'
" Show the gentleman in, Richard,' replied Mr. Squeers, in a soft
voice. Put your handkerchief in your pocket, you little scoundrel, or
I'll murder you when the gentleman goes.'
" The schoolmaster had scarcely uttered these words in a fierce
whisper, when the stranger entered. Affecting not to see him, Mr.
Squeers feigned to be intent upon mending a pen, and offering benevo-
lent advice to his youthful pupil.

My dear child,' said Mr. Squeers,' all people have their trials.
This early trial of yours that is fit to make your little heart burst, and
your very eyes come out of your head with crying, what is it ? Nothing;
less than nothing. You are leaving your friends, but you will have a
father in me, my dear, and a mother in Mrs. Squeers. At the delightful
village of Dotheboys, near Greta Bridge, in Yorkshire, where youth al e
boarded, clothed, booked, washed, furnished with pocket-money, pro-
vided with all necessarscs—'

" ' It is the gentleman,' observed the stranger, stopping the school-
master in the rehearsal of his advertisement. ' Mr. Squeers, I believe,
Sir ?'

' The same, Sir,' said Mr. Squeers, with an assumption of extreme
surprise."

MONTHLY CHRONICLE.

" Are the Planets Inhabited?" is an essay penned in a
graceful, unlaboured style, and shows not a little scientific
knowledge. With all these recommendations, however, it
is merely" much ado about nothing ;" for after all his specu-
lations, the writer comes to no other conclusion than that
" the planets are worlds fulfilling in the economy of the uni-
verse, the same functions, and created by the Divine hand,
for the same moral purposes, and with the same destinies as
earth," which amounts to no more than the tritest of ac-
knowledged truisms. " Zicci" is full of exciting interest.
It is just the sort of tale for a Magazine ; light, sketchy,
and prolific in incident. " Slivery and the New Slave
Trade," is an animated article, penned in the right spirit.
The introductory paragraphs are dashed off in a fearless
and vigorous style. We should like the critical essay
entitled " Art in Fiction" much better, if it were
not for the frequent indirect sneers at Sir Walter
Scott, whom the writer is evidently anxious
to represent as a mere mechanic in his capacity of
novelist. Now, this is rather too bad. Mechanist as he
may have been, Sir Walter's very worst work of fiction is
full twenty degrees better than the very best work of the
sort that has been produced since his days. We have un-
doubtedly many clever novelists, showy, smart, sentimental,
and so forth, who cater to the philosophy of the drawing-
room, and the humorous tastes of the " reading public," in
very excellent style ; but we have none who will stand
comparison with the Author of Waverley—none who pos-
sess half his shrewdness, his good sense, his easy, natural
liveliness, his splendour of description, and perfect mastery
over the feelings of his readers. Placed side by side with
this giant, the present race of story-tellers look merely like
so many clever, strutting pigmies. " The Coal-trade Com-
bination" is a most useful paper, put forth at a season-
able period. We have elsewhere made some remarks
upon it.

TEE RAIL WAY ILIA GA Z INE. Wyld.
The popularity of this Periodical can be but little affec-
ted by any notice taken of it by the Press. It addresses
itself exclusive to all who have, or take an interest in
the progress of Railways ; and among such it will neither
lack subscribers nor admirers. The editorial department
is carefully and spiritedly conducted.

THE ARCHITECTURAL MAGAZINE.
Longman and Co.

We heartily recommend to modern architects the
" Chapter on Chimneys," with which this Number com-
mences. Chimneys have been the torment of our lives.
It has been our misfortune to be smoked out of twenty
houses in half as many years ; and if something be not done
to improve their construction before we grow a year older,
we have before us the gloomy pt nspect of long out-living
our eyesight. With our nose laden with an enormous pair
of spectacles, and an empty grate, we can contrive to

breathe with tolerable freedom ; but the instant the fire is
lighted, it is a hard task for us to grope our way from one
chair to another. We used formerly to rack our brains to
account for the number of shrivelled-up animated mummies
one meets with in a walk at noon-day between Charing-
cross and Fleet-street ; but the mystery is now cleared
up—they are the victims of smoky chimnies. The scentific
and medical world may profit largely by attending to this
discovery of ours. A smoky chimney is the true origin of
complexional ugliness. The other articles are on architec-
tural subjects, with which we are not so familiar, and there-
fore we must decline offering any opinion upon them.