The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-15 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

rhc Statistical Companion for• 1854. By T. 0,

Banfield. -Longman and Co.

A. cordial greeting is due to this compact, lucid,
and eminently useful compilation. The industry
d isplayed by Mr. Banfield in the collection of the
n iaterials compressed. together in this volume of
ass than 160 pages, must be allowed to be not less
worthy of praise than the skill with which they
ave been arranged, and the scrupulous care with
which accuracy has been assured by their authenti-
cation. The compiler had already revealed the
extent of his knowledge to a considerable degree
through six " Lectures on the Organisation of
L abour," delivered by him in the University of
C. tmbridge. The scope of his information is yet
m. )re clearly, and still more usefully, displayed
th rough the medium of the present " Statistical
impanion." As the title of the work indicates,
th it particulars, comprised within and arranged in a
tal near form, are, for the most part, brought‘ down
to the present year of grace 1854, inclusively.
Fr DM the motto selected by Mr. Banfield, it would
aln last appear that he is no other than an' avowed
dis ciple of Mr. Gradgrind, M.P. for the borough
of Doketown. It is a sentence, however, which 11Ir.
Dit;kens would be the last man to quarrel with.
that noble utterance of Lord Verulam—" The mat:
who 'writes, speaks, or meditates, without being
well. stocked with facts, as landmarks to his
understanding, is like a mariner who sails along a
tre:tcherous coast without a pilot, or one who ad-
ventures in the wide ocean without a rudder or
compass." A motto like that can only be rendered
evil in its influence when perverted in its appli-
cation by a Bounderby, and crammed down the
throats of infancy by that hobgoblin MacChoak-
umehild. The nature of the information given to
the inquirer by Mr. Banfield may be understood b. y
a glance through the first few pages of the " Statis-
tical Companion." Proportions of Planets to the
Sun, that of the Earth being unity—Distance of
Planets from the Sun—Area of Oceans and Lakes
—Height of Mountains—Length of Rivers—almost
immedJately after this, Results of the Strike at
Preston—and a little further on a table of the Eng-
lish Sovereigns. It were difficult, however, to
afford by any passing reference like this an ade-
quate motion of the diversity of facts gathered to-
gether :in the pages of the " Statistical Companion
As a work of reference suited to the masses gene-
rally, the volume can scarcely be mentioned in too
high ter ms of commendation.

Statistic-al Tables for• the Half Century. By T. G.

Darton-. Longman and Co.

A compilation somewhat akin in its character to
the one already noticed above as the "Statistical
Companion." Mr. Darton's excellent tables ex-
tend, however, only over some 36 pages, com-
pressing his work in dimensions to the size of an
ordinary pamphlet—bound in limp cloth, by-the-
bye, for hard usage in the way of reference.
Few though the pages are, they comprise within
them tables sufficiently ample, so as to in-
clude an extraordinary array of facts, extend-
ing over the fifty years from 1801 to 1851,
inclusively—facts relating to Population, Mor-
tality, Food, Clothing, Politics, Finance, Taxa-
tion, Currency, Mineral Produce, Commerce,
Shipping, Emigration, and other important
and interesting subjects. Not the least astonishing
or least important of which are those of Crime,
and its Punishment. As a book, or rather pamph-
let, for instant reference to in cases of doubt or at
moments of emergency, " Darton's Statistical
Tables" will be found peculiarly acceptable even by
mon with the readiest memory and the largest
amount of information.

The Iliad of _Homer. By G. T. Barter. Longman.
A translation of Homer in verse, after Pope,
must necessarily be a very arduous undertaking,
and, in the present instance, it is not a successful
one. The writer asserts that a translator's office
is to be strictly literal, and that a moderato share
of abilities, will, with this requisite, go further than
the highest poetic talent with less exactitude. But
in avoiding this error of interfering with the author,
ho has fallen into the other extreme, and in making
his translation, no doubt strictly literal, he has
deprived it of all melody and beauty of its own.
Perhaps in distinction from his great prede-
cessor, the author has adopted the Spenserian
stanza, w hich appears to have added to the
difficulty, from the number of abbreviations
introduced. No doubt the translator fully appre-
ciates his wonderful original, but surely those
English readers who desire to study Homer in a
metrical translation have always the opportunity of
doing so, and it is a somewhat ambitious undertak-
ing to produce a work of this kind for the general
reader. It is to be hoped that in his next transla-
tion Mr. Barter will remember the reader as well
as the writer, and, dealing with a less difficult sub-
ject, present us with a more satisfactory volume.

History of the French Protestant Refugees. By
Charles Weiss. Translated by Frederick Hard-
man. Bllackwood.

The history of exiles is always interesting when
only a limited number are banished for political
offences, or by the tumult of revolutionary epochs.
But the interest is of a higher character when
thousands simultaneously forsake their native land
and all worldly advantages, preferring voluntary
exile to the desertion of their faith. Their bitterest
opponents niust at least accord them respect, and,
while believing them mistaken, cannot but admire
their consistency and self-sacrifice. Such was the
case of the Jews of Spain, and of the Protestants
of France. Surely it is not just to say that avarice
and selfishness are always the first principles in the
actions of mankind. The writer of this work has
most judiciously confined himself to the narrative
of the adventures of the refugees, avoiding religious
discussion or po itical animadversions. It is truly
what it professes to be, a history of the exiles.
The first book extends from the promulgation of
the edict of Nantes to its revocation. The six fol-
lowing books trace the fortunes of the exiles in
Brandenburg, England, America, Holland, S wit-
zerland, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia. It is the
result of much time and research among the various
documents of the different nations. Both as his-
tory and biography, independently of all other in-
terest, it will well repay perusal.

Select Library of Fiction.—" Mary Barton." Fifth
edition. "The Blithedale Romance." Second

edition. Chapman and Hall.
A new and delightful series of works of fiction
has been commenced. The first instalments pro•
raise well for the future numbers. All the readers
of "Mary Barton" will admit that the first volume
of the series is one of the best, as it is one of the
most successful, of recent works of fiction. The
fascination of romance and the earnestness of truth
are blended. The sufferings of the poor and tLe
rich are both portrayed. Not with the Chartist im-
pression, that all the higher classes of society w
unfeeling tyrants, and the poor, because they Ali
poor, all unselfish martyrs. Nor does it take the
other side, and assert that the common people have
not sufficiently refined feelings- to suffer as the
educated would. It shows, on the contrary, that
the human heart is ever the same, and that sorrow
comes to all alike. Instead of placing the interests
of the employers and employed in direct antago-
nism, as is too often done, the whole tone of the
work tends to promote a bettor understanding—
to teach the rich that the poor have feelings, and
the poor that the rich have cares. Nathaniel
Hawthorne is well known as ono of the most
popular of American prose writers. " The Blithe-
dale Romance," which was published a short time
since, forms the second number of these works of
fiction, which promise to be all of a high class,
since the two next are announced to be the clever
and satirical history of " The Bachelor of the
Albany," and the best of all the novels of the
talented author of "Olive," "The Head of the
Family."

The Commercial Products of the Vegetable King-
dom. By P. L. Simmonds. T. F . Day, Carey-

street.
This is a volume of considerable extent, display-
ing much study, and evidently the result of much
labour and research. The various uses of different
vegetables are considered, their cultivation and
commercial value, also the substances obtained
from trees and plants, the husbandry of tropical
and sub-tropical regions, &c. It is intended as a
book of reference for the colonist, manufacturer,
and merchant; and. as it is supplied with a copious
index, it is likely to prove very useful for that
purpose. In the preface the author remarks as
follows :

"The object and purposes of the following work are
fully set forth in the introductory chapter ; but I may
be permitted to remark here, that its compilation and
arrangement have occupied a very large share of my
time and attention, and I can therefore assert with con-
fidence that it will be found the most full and complete
book of the kind that has ever yet appeared. It is not
a mere condensation from encyclopmdias, commercial
dictionaries, and Parliamentary and Consular reports ;
but is the fruit of my own colonial experience as a prac-
tical planter, and of much laborious and studious inves-
tigation into a class of ephemeral but useful publications
which seldom meet with any extended or enduring cir-
culation—assisted, moreover, by the contributions and
suggestions of many of the most eminent agricultural
chemists, planters, and merchants of our colonial pos-
sessions and foreign countries."
A list of the works consulted is prefixed, -which
is of considerable extent. The author having been
for many years the editor of the Colonial Magazine,
and member of the agricultural societies ofJamaica)
• Antigua, Dukhdoes, Cape Of Ci 994 hopes natal,

New York, &c., has naturally had many opportu
nities and facilities for acquiring the necessary in.
formation. He complains, however, that the cold.
nial brokers and importers in the City have been
very unwilling to afford him any assistance, and
expressed great apprehension lest any details of
their sources of supply, cost prices, &c., should be
made public. As the author justly observes, this
is less excusable, as, from the Great Exhibition";
the Trade Museums, and the Crystal Palace col.
lection at Sydenham, so much more is generally
known on these subjects than formerly.

History of Missions. By the Rev. W. Brown.

Third Edition. 3 v ols. Blackwood.
The fact of this being the third edition of thin
work proves that it has not been without success.
It relates the propagation of Christianity among
the heathen from the Reformation to tho present
time. It relates to every quarter of the globe, and
its narratives include all the varying races of hu-
manity. To those who take an interest in such
records these volumes will afford a valuable stock
of information. There is ono point which the
author maintains which is highly commendable.
His first object in preparing his work has been to
present to his readers a correct and faithful picture.
It is remarked that " there is nothing in regard to
which the author has been so anxious as truth.
He has not concealed faults and inacerfections.
He has been as ready to state unfavourable as favour-
able circumstances, to mark failure as to note success.
He will probably, however, be censured by some
fir having brought out so broadly and in so much
detail the errors and defects of particular missions ;
but he may be allowed to say that, in giving such
statements, he has not been actuated by a tone of
detraction, nor yet by any sectarian spirit. Many
of the statements now referred to, though painful,
are highly instructive, and he trusts they will be
useful in checking similar evils in. time to come.
He is convinced that the friends of missions often
draw much too glowing pictures of their triumph
ant progress by their past success, and of their
future prospects, and that by this means they pro-
duce fallacious impressions on the public mind, and
excite hopes which can only terminate in disap-
pointment. The common observation that honesty
is the best policy, is applicable to truth in general.
It may be attended with temporary inconveniences,
but the advantages will far more than counterbal-
ance the disadvantages. Missionary societies might
by such a system be rendered less popular, but they
would probably be more useful." As a very °sten.-
sive and complete work of its kind, this volume
may be recommended to the readers interested in
the subject.