The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-02 00:00:00

THE MAGAZINES.

Blacktvood. —A melancholy interest attaches it-
self to the current number of Blackwood, containing

no less than eleven contributions. It is a sorrow-
ful task to make reference in this manner to the
last, and about the shortest, of these papers in the
May instalment of Maga—a plaintive but manly
memento of Professor Wilson, the writer who, of
all those who have aided in establishing the world-
wide reputation of the magazine, was its chief glory
and its most honoured representative. Nothing,
we are bold to say, could possibly be in more per-
fect good taste than the few but sufficient sentences
here dedicated to the mournful duty of his comme-
moration. If the mortal is gone, his works, which
have about them somewhat of the bloom of immor-
tality, survive. So that, as with the old Bourbon
kings spoken of from that one awful window of the
Tuileries, we may cry. out of this monarch among
his kind, Christopher North is dead—Long live
King Christopher ! Among the re-
maining contributions to the new number of
_Blackwood there are this month no less than
three of a metrical, scarcely can we say of
a poetical, character : one a joltering specimen of
classical verse-making, anent "Marathon," by J.
S. B. ; [can it be our veteran Silk Buckingham ?]
and two by Trevor " Too Late " and the " Re-
lease." What possibly can be the meaning of the
following stanza, the second in the little poem of
" Too Late," by this exceedingly incoherent con-
tributor ?
awich'dichb esneeeamthtothhyaukni kiss
Fm
it
" MYF
rhoeuair t
dreams was
yet,
But I am I—thou, thou--and this
is waking truth—and we have met I"
Surely it must be some practical joke on the part
of the editor of Maga to admit lines like these into
the pages adorned by the graceful verses of Moir,
and by the exquisite version of Schiller, from the
master hand of Bulwer Lytton ! It is amusing,
moreover, to read, as the commencement of the first
sentence of the opening article of the new number
of Blackwood, these remarkable words—" On Fri-
day night, April 2,1854—or rather at half-past one
on the Saturday morning," sic. Seeing that Sa-
turday was the first of April [ominous date for the
writer of this article on " The Oxford Reform
Bill !"1 it is somewhat bewildering to comprehend
how Friday could be the second ! Unless, indeed,
one dated as one reads Hebrew—backwards. What
renders the error as to the day of the month notice-
able at all, perhaps, is the evident anxiety of the
contributor to be strictly exact as to the period
referred to—insomuch that, as Mr. Bucket would
say, " he cuts his time so uncommonly fine," as to
specify the precise hour—" at half-past one on the
Saturday morning." Fallible as the writer evi-
dently proves himself to be as to dates in this "the
very head and front of his offending," it is impos-
sible for him not to impress his reader throughout
the whole paper with an unpleasant consciousness
that he may be no less fallible as to his argument.
So pass we on, without another word, to the
remaining contributions. Prominent among them
is the new instalment of the charming little domes-
tic story of Scotland, " The Quiet Heart"—more
than usually prominent indeed among the contents
of Blackwood, seeing that the new chapters of the
narrative bring the incidents of the plot to a con-
clusion. It is enough that we say this conclusion
is for the hero and heroine of the tale, for Mennie
and Randal, eminently satisfactory. Randal is
reformed. He gives up his selfishness not less
agreeably and completely than young Martin
Chuzzlewit. Besides an article on " Ancient and
Modern Fortresses," a paper descriptive of a jour-
ney from " London to West Prussia," an account
of " The National Life of China," and a descrip-
tion of " The Progress and Policy of Russia in Cen-
tral Asia," there is one of old Ebony's glorious
criticisms, half serious, half droll, spiced with sar-
casm and seasoned with praise, a review of another
young poet, whose powers have recently been re-
vealed through an extraordinary tragedy, called
" Firmillian. A short time since Blackwood gave
high praise to Mr. Smith, as one of the chief
among the youthful poets of promise. It now
places at the head of what is here aptly termed the
Spasmodic School, not Mr. Smith, but Mr. Jones.
The paper is throughout singularly entertaining.
It is, from first to last, in tone both wise and hu-
morous, and seems to have been dictated, incre-
dible though it may seem, by the apparently irre-
concileable feelings of good nature and vengeance.

Fraser.—Fraser opens with an elaborate account
of Cronstadt and the Russian fleet. The writer
having been for some time resident in that country
feels enabled to give some authentic information
respecting the naval resources, the army, and
other points of general interest, respecting which
many incorrect rumours have been circulated. A
list of the entire fleet is appended, and the author
arrives at the satisfactory conclusion, that " the
combined fleets in the Black and Baltic Seas are
superior in an overwhelming and incalculable de-
gree to the largest force which the Ciar can range
against them." A very amusing "Anecdote Dra-
matised," by the clever author of "The Bachelor
of the Albany," relates a trick played on a Gascon
lady as much distinguished for her self-conceit as
for her learning. A sketch of the insurrection in
Naples in 1647 is given in an account of its famous
leader, Masaniello, the fisherman. "-Gallinaceana"
is proceeded with this month, and relates the his-
tory of the pheasant tribe. " General Bounce" is
also continued, and shows us the oft-drawn contrast
between London for the rich and London for the
poor. In the present instalment of " The Decline
and Fall of the Corporation of London," its relation
to commerce is considered. Part three of the " Re-
searches in Dutch Literature" continues the ana-
lysis of an almost unknown department, for there
appears something extraordinary in the idea of
Dutch poetry. A very curious account of " Wolf
Nurses in India" narrates the discovery of two or
three children who had been brought up by wolves,
and who had- almost lost the use of their reason.
" Sirius," a fairy tale, will attract the lovers of
those charming legends. " Leaves from a Dream-
book," the only poetical contribution, certainly re-
quires a dreamer to understand it, it being removed
far above the reach of ordinary comprehensions to
the altitude of those mystical regions where mo-
dern poets have their abode. The political articles
consist of a paper on "Lord John's Sacrifice," and
some severe remarks on the evils of party govern-
ment, which naturally display a considerable por-
tion of the party spirit they condemn.

Dublin University.—" Sir Jasper Carew" is con,
tinned this month, and the complicated story
almost reaches its completion. The hero retires to
the estate of his ancestors, and prefers his claim to
its possession. He is aided and abetted by the de-
signing and artful Pole Tissatich, who has his own
plans to serve in the restoration of Carew's rights.
The tale breaks off in the midst of the excitement
of the trial. " Norway and its Glaciers" contains
an interesting account of the subject, in which it
is remarked that few people have a correct idea of
a glacier. Many consider it " a shapeless mass of
ice and snow." This is the origin of glaciers :
"Wherever the valleys on the flanks of snow-clad
mountains are so disposed as to regularly receive
these alternately melting and freezing products of
the snow, these pass into glaciers. A glacier is a
great stream of ice constantly flowing from the huge
snow masses above down to a certain point where
it as regularly thaws and dissolves itself into a
river." There is a long memoir met with of " Col.
Cameron, of Fassifern," who was slain at Quatre
Bras, 1815. Iu Kilmalie a monument has been
raised to the hero of Arriverette. The epitaph is
written by Sir Walter Scott. Its last words are—
" Reader, call not his fate untimely, who, thus
honoured and lamented, closed a life of fame by
,a,
death of glory." " French Dramatists and Actors"
gives a short sketch of Moliere, Boissy, Adrienne,
Lecouvreur, and some others. It is a curious
fact that Moliere died on the stage while perform-
ing the part of "Le Malade Imaginaire, h his
own comedy of the same name.
Some remarks are
galaxy
of poets who
n to ture
made on the late Professor Wilson, in which it is
saadiodritlleiadtthhee ipsatsitieaglaes.t o"fl.ve hardly
t h eg
con-
tribute even a stone to his cairn," but we feel of a
truth that he has left a void which can never be
filled up, and that in him Scotland has lost a glo-
rious figure, a stately and heroic life, and a beloved
presence, from the midst of her."

Colburn; s New Monthy.—The chief feature of
this number is the conclusion of the author's tale
of " The Flitch of Bacon ; or, the Custom of Dun-
mow." It appears that such a custom really ex-
isted in Dunmow, as there are many allusions to
if in the earlier poets. The present and concluding
portion of the story is entitled "The procession of
the Flitch," and describes the important ceremony
of the examination of the candidates and bestowal
of the prize. It is worthily gained by Alured Fitz-
waiter, and Rose, his wife, to the great discomfiture
of Jonas and Nellv Nettlebed, their unsuccessful
rivals, whose boast of matrimonial felicity is proved
to be
jeuettteforlrysuonaufeotsipnide.d
vTehrissetsa,lewihsircehlaatercet,inhtio.
author's liveliest inanner, and, though of course
wonderful relationships are discovered, and a ghost
comes to life in a surprising manner, yet that must
be expected in a tale of old romance, and its satis-
factory conclusion removes all ghostly impressions.
An interesting account of the cruise of " The Mi-
randa in the Baltic," written by one of the officers,
will be highly attractive to many at this time.
No. XIX. of "Literary Leaflets" is devoted to
John Gibson Lockhart. The alliance of Britain
and France furnishes Mr. Nicholas Michell with a
i ever, scarcely equal to some of his former lyrics.
" ,A, Peep tato jatibie Studios i 33 Rome" 4esolibo
_._ ..