The Sun.
London, England, 1853-02-10 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

I The Private Life of Daniel Webster. By Charles
Lanman, late his Private Secreta, and Author
of " Letters from the Alleghany Mountains."
Longman.
This book is one of great interest, and it will
doubtless be fully appreciated by those who delight
to peruse the records of the domestic life of the
departed great. The style is simple and unassum-
ing, such as is befitting the seclusion and tran-
quillity of its subject. Occasionally, however, ex-
tracts are given from distinguished writers, to
exemplify some of the public doings and character-
istic peculiarities of the celebrated man whose
career is put before us. It will be seen that he
was very quiet and unpretending in his manners,
affable in his deportment to all, and in-
defatigable in his exertions, whatever duties
he had to perform. " When all of genius
that can perish dies," it is gratifying to meet
with tributes to its memory, whether accorded by
popular applause in high places, or offered in de-
voted simplicity, as in the present instance. The
author of this memoir has taken for a motto, " He
that hath the vantage ground to do good, is an
honest man ;" and he endeavours to show how,
having the opportunity, Daniel Webster strenu-
ously laboured to make a glorious and a blessed
use of it. At the conclusion of the book there are
two eulogies, which were delivered at Boston and
at New York, which show in what high estimation
the great man just departed was held in America.
The accounts of his style and manner in public are
thus given in the course of the details :
" As a lawyer, pursuing his professional avocations in
the judicial courts," wrote Harriet Martineau in her
" Society in America," " and as a member of the Senate,
he has ever formed a striking character. In the supreme
court, where he has often pleaded before the judges, and
in which many of those masterly forensic arguments
were delivered that constitute a considerable portion of
his published productions, he is described by an eye-
witness as sometimes standing firm as a rock, while
listening to the Chief Justice delivering a judgment,
his large, cavernous eyes wide awake, his lips com-
pressed, and his whole countenance in that intent still-
ness which instantly fixes the eyes of the stranger. It
was not uncommon for him to saunter into the court,
throw himself down, and lean back against the table,
while seeming to see nothing about him, and there
was no knowing whether he would by-and-by go away,
or whether he would rouse himself suddenly, and stand
up to address the judges. Still, however it might turn
out, it was amusing to see how the court would fill, after
the entrance of Mr. Webster, and empty when he had
returned to the Senate Chamber. In his pleading, as
in his speaking to the Senate, it was interesting to see
one so dreamy and nonchalant roused into strange ex-
citement. It was something to watch him moved with
anxiety in the toil of intellectual conflict ; to hear his
voice vary with emotion, and to trace the expression of
laborious thought, while he paused for minutes together
to consider his notes, and decide upon the arrangement
of his argument.

" In the Senate his services have always been acknow-
ledged to be invaluable ; he there displayed industry,
energy, and sound-heartedness. He spoke but seldom ;
but when he did so, it was generally on some constitu-
tional question, where his logical powers and legal know-
ledge were brought into play, and where his authority
was considered oracular by assemblages of the first men
of the countrT. When speaking to the Senate, he in-
variably manifested great earnestness, and seemed to be-
lieve every sentiment he uttered ; and he convinced by
appealing to the reasoning powers of his listeners rather
than to their passions. Before entering on the delivery of
a speech, on one occasion, he might be seen, absent and
thoughtful, making notes. When he rose, his voice was
moderate and his manner quiet, with the slightest pos-
sible mixture of embarrassment, his right hand resting
upon his desk, and the left hanging by his side. Before
his first word was finished, however, his voice would
rise so as to fill the chamber, and ring again to the
remotest corner. Then he would fall back into his
favourite attitude, with his left hand under his coat
skirt and his right in full action. At this moment the
eye would rest upon him as upon one inspired, seeing
the invisible and grasping the impalpable. When the
vision had passed away, the change was astonishing ; he
sat at his desk writing letters or dreaming, so that he
did not always discover when the Senate was going into
a division. Some one of his party had not seldom to tell
him his vote was wanted."

Autobiography of an English Soldier in. the United
States Army. 2 vols. Hurst and Blackett.
In these volumes a great deal of information may
be obtained concerning the arrangements of the
American army. It will be seen that, after giving
both countries a fair trial, the writer inclines to
that of home. Apart from national prejudices,
however, it is evident that our army has many ad-
vantages in construction, discipline, and feeling.
The time to which the subject of the book refers is
the war with Mexico, which was carried on during
the years 1846, '47, and '4B. Some of the engage-
ments and skirmishes are given in detail to our
notice, and many may be pleased to gather these
accounts from an eye-witness. It will be shown in
these remarks how, after having been enlisted in
the armies of the two countries, the author prefers
the English system in all its branches.
" In looking over my experience of a soldier's life in
both the services, I must say that if compelled by cir-
cumstances to choose one of them, I would not hesitate
a moment in preferring the British service to the Ameri-
can. Neither am lat all singular in my opinion on this
point concerning those who have had an opportunity of
comparing the relative merits of the services. In the
American service there are many discharged British sol-
diers, besides a number of deserters from that army. I
have conversed with many of them on this topic, and I
never met with one who did not confess the immeasur-
able superiority of the British soldier's condition to that
of the American. An almost proverbial expression
in colloquial discourse on the subject, which I
have often heard uttered with that emphatic utter-
ance which earnest conviction alone can give
is the following The British soldier is treated like a
man, the American soldier like a dog. This difference
of the soldier in these two armies is the result of a
variety of causes, several of which I will try to point
out. In England, the army is very perfectly organised
and disciplined, and a strict subordination runs through
all the various grades and ranks, from the highest to the
lowest, rendering the evasion f the standing rules and
regulations of the service an impossibility. In England
the army is also a popular profession, and the nation
generally is proud of its achievements in the lists of
modern warfare. The public, therefore, take some inte-
rest in the concerns of the army ; and no abuse could
long exist in it, without showing the importance
which it attaches to the subject of fair play
to the soldier. In the English service, the
soldier is enlisted for a comparatively long period,
discharged with a pension in the event of his losing his
health while in the service, unless such incapability be
the result of his own crime or folly. He is provided
with good quarters in commodious barracks, and supplied
with a sufficiency of wholesome food. On all occasions
the complaints of the soldier are patiently listened to by
his officers for the purpose of affording him redress.
Neither is all this mere matter of form, the desire exhi-
bited by their officers to promote their comfort, and pro-
tect them from every species of imposition and injustice
is well understood, felt, and appreciated by the great
majority of British soldiers. The American army is com-
posed of Germans-and-Irish, with a small portion of na-
tives of the lowest caste, and a thin sprinkling of English
and Scotch. The officers are all natives, and graduate for
a certain period at West Point Military Academy before
receiving their commissions, as the idea of a standing
army is very unpopular in the States ; and as the mass
of the army are foreigners, the officers are allowed to
govern (or misgovern it) as they choose. The system
and subordination extending Lthroughout the various '
grades of rank, on which the discipline and good govern-
ment of an army principally depend, is very imperfectly
developed in the American army. This evil arises partly
from the ideas of equality in which the American officer
' has been educated, and partly from the difficulty of
enforcing proper regulations, owing to the army being
split into a number of petty detachments scattered
at wide distances. The officers commanding
these small bodies, thus removed from the inspec-
tion and control of their superiors, too commonly be-
come the petty tyrants and oppressors of their com-
panies. The American soldier's nominal pay is larger
than that of the British soldier, but his comfort and
health are not cared for as well as the British soldier's
are, and no amount of pay can compensate for the depri-
vation. It would be much better for the Americansol-
sol-
dier to have more comfortable quarters, a more
whole-
some dietary, more liberal treatment when sick, and the
sympathy and protection of his officers, even if this
should be purchased by a reduction of his pay. At pre-
sent the American soldier is paid only once every two
months, and his pay being mostly consumedinriot and
debauch in a few days, its large amount is more an in-
jury than a benefit to him."

saliving
m,
haunted hi
Claverston : a Tale. By Charles Mitchell Charles, i
author of " Hamm and Catar ; or, the Two
Races." Saunders and Otley.
This
in tajleamisetsoNshicoowrshioiwousteh,ehreowwiat
ske-
leton
and how it was laid. It is said in the preface;
"Passion and crime still obtain in the world, and I
"
wish to hold the mirror up to nature." But it is
to be questioned if the events here described are
according to truth and nature. It •is certainly de-
sirable that fiction should not embellish the scenes it
represents, nor exaggerate their
and beauties till all con-
fidence in its veracity is lost, its claims to vrai-
semblance are denied. But, on the other hand, the
contrary practice should b© avoided. What is not
a
all light, need not be
_dark, as the author of
Claverston would intimateall
by some of his sketches.
The fancy is, however,
very well carried out, of a great
crime downweighing the spirits, rankling in the
mind, and poisoni • •
ng the whole life. Some of the
characters here met with are very pleasing, James
and Emma especially.
love the marvellous to peruse this narrative, for it
is startlingand • • •
astonishing in many of its occur-
rences.

Putnam's American Magazine.
It is interesting to observe among the numerous
serials and reviews published monthly in London,
a magazine of tranaatiantio literature, !‘.Neiv Xork

Da.guerreotyped " gives a very striking idea of the
business streets, banks, &c., of that city—it is the
first group of a series. Several characteristic ar-
ticles entertain the reader, and the criticism on
music and literature offers an attractive review of
the late American and English works, and the
triumphs of Sontag and Albom at New York.

History of Fran :3e, in Letters to his Nieces. By
Viscount Cranbourne. Joseph Masters.
A simple and concise history for children, from
the earliest period to the present time. It is cal-
cukted to instruct juvenile readers by the narra-
tion of facts, without unnecessary details or elabo-
rate descriptions.

The Flight of the Pigeon. By Drapeau Blanc.
W. Allen.

This work is the description of a trip from Paria
to Vienna ; but the preface informs us that it is
neither a story, a book of travels, nor a history, but
something of all of them. This is certainly true,
for it describes the appearance of the towns and
scenery passed ; it gives us several romantic tales ;
and it adds many digressions and accounts of the
state of public affairs in France at the time the
journey was taken--the autumn of 1848. It
is an amusing and agreeable collection, likely to
entertain and interest the reader.

The Peak and the Plain. By Spencer T. Hall.
Author of " The Forester's Offering," &c.
Houlston and Stoneman.

This volume is entitled " Scenes in Woodland,
Field, and Mountain ;" and consists of tales and
sketches of English villages and scenery. The
author's two previous volumes, " The Forester's
Offering," and " Rambles in the Country," have
been out of print for nearly ten years. But he
was reluctant to re-publish them, though frequently
requested to do so, as he considered they had many
defects, from being hurriedly written ; but he has
inserted their best passages in the present volume.
Should it be as well received as the former ones,
it will be followed by others, describing life and
scenery in other interesting parts of the country.
The frontispiece represents " The Pass of the
Windgates, Castleton ;" and the vignette, "My
Native Cot," a view of the author's birthplace.
The sketches are very varied and attractive ; one!
of the most pleasing is a " Wreath of Rhymes,"
which contains several verses of a superior order.

Deane's Illustrated Almanac for 1853.
This is one of Messrs. Deane and Dray's, of Lon-
don-bridge, annual publications. It has reached
its ninth year, and we may hence conclude that it
has met with a fair share of public favour. The
calendar is excellent ; it is full of valuable and
interesting information for general use, and con-
tains, moreover, a pleasant story by Mr. Thomason,
cleverly illustrated, which will well repay perusal.