The Sun.
London, England, 1836-07-07 00:00:00

LITERAT (JRE.

JE RNINGIIA.II; 0 1?, eoNSIS TEN T
N.-3 votiM .;.
S» tztlt, London, 1836.

There is of the human head
shown in these volumes, the portrait of
Sinclair,• which is drawn with
0 tfi'd tiudable purpose of pointing a useful
•,/,
• ' •
moral. The account early studies, after
the death of his mother, when he had de t?',!'ss $"0 direct
liie teadingand discipline his judgment, is so vividiy
given, ad in Ni mffell detail, that we are persuaded
did Mitst have fieen direct from the
life. The tf..4iSi l'ar stivetior to the goPeraiiv of Ana
productions, for it gives floi'r and then indications of a
power and subtlety of thought, which afe seldom or
noel td tie wet yrith in professed works of fiction, It
iristrtictS Pct it4ss than It ainuNg. The incidents are
abundant, arid, g""i4Filik §fr?:atiit%g; in strict ad-
herence to the proprieties or atue,,, if we ex-
cept the sketch of a female lunatic, which is sonwwhat
too highly 6oimited, fedni the anchor's evident desire to
comply with the necessities of the iiol`o, and " create
a sensation" in the minds of his watering,TAnce
readers. Vof ton,,§oJw44 we, like him best where he
least attempts to stir the pds.§lthol 1,09 contents himself
instead with expatiating over the broad, Vioiol 6.e41s of
rriCtliokloib The following is beautiful in thought,
and felicitous in 6Kpf'43.4it'in What a beautiful
thing it is to contemplate one/s p!-)4 works I
When we have, built a house, or planted a vineyard, or
sown a field with corn, we contemplate the work
delightedly. A sort of active pride rn,;rg within us ;
we ate Conscious of having done something. Bot to
see a smile where, erg was a tear ; to see a look of joy
on the human face which sci lady wore an aspect of
despondency ; to see peace and content Viliefe once
was strife and affliction ; and to feel that all this is the
result of our own exertions ;—tbia indeed is joy, joy
greater than that which animates the founder 6f a city."
" Jerningham" contains many passages of this bene-
volent cast of thought ; and not a few quaint, turgid
periphrases, such as where speaking .of a Baronet's
indulging in a hearty laugh, the author tells us, with a
pomp only to be equalled by George Robins's most
picturesque advertisements, that "be revivified his
, dormant risibilities." These are trivial blemishes,
perhaps, but they are just as well avoided.

DIARY OF A DESENNUYEE. 2 Vols.
Colburn, _London, 1836.

A lively, slap-dash sort of work, now gay, now se-
rious, now sarcastic, now maudlin in its sentiment—
in short, " every thing by turns and nothing long."
It is very much in the " Vivian Grey " school of off-
hand frivolity, though the author can be sensible enough
when he pleases—that is to say, when his coxcotnbry
will permit him to be so. With all its faults, how-
ever—and these are not one, but Legion—We have
little doubt that the work will sell. It is an excellent
post-chaise and steam-boat companion, and may with
case be read within the period which young ladies and
young gentlemen usually devote to sitting in chairs on
the sands at Ramsgate or Worthing..

GIFFORD' S J UVENA L.
Nicholls, London, 1836.

A republication, with notes and a memoir, of the
late Mr. Gifford's well-known translation of Juvenal's
Satires. The volume also contains a linear verbal
translation, and a well-written treatise on Latin versifi-
cation from the pen of Dr. Nuttall, the translator of
Horace and Virgil. A portrait of Gifford is prefixed
by way of frontispiece to the volume, which forms a
very valuable school-book.

GERMANY IN 1831.
BY JOHN STRANG.
Macrone, London, 1836.

We have not seen so good a work on Germany as
this ; and we have had occasion to peruse a greater
number of volumes on the subject of German scenery,
German habits, German institutions, and German li-
terature, than we have now time to enumerate. Mr.
Strang, we believe, is a native of Glasgow ; and we
have his own authority for stating that his principal
object .in visiting Germany was to make the acquaint-
ance of literary men, and to comprehend more
fully the works in that language, with which he was
early familiar. His journey was neither lightly
undertaken, nor carelessly pursued. He took care
before starting to provide himself with numerous intro-
ductory letters, and the manner in which he availed
himself of the opportunities thus afforded him of ar-
riving at the truth is equally creditable to his judgment,
his principles, and his feelings. The hunters after
journalized coffee-house gossip, and vulgar scandal, will
do well not to open Mr. Strang's book. It is addressed
to readers of a very different class. In .a word, it is
not what is technically called " a book of the season,"
but a standard work on the literature, and social in-
stitutions of Germany—agreeably intermixed with
the writer's personal adventures and observations.
In the year 1831 he commenced his journey ; but in
what particular month we ate left to conjecture. He
first proceeded to Hamburg, thence to Berlin and
Vienna. The following account of the appearance of
the far-famed diplomatist, Prince Metternich, is the
only extract for which we can find room in our columns
of to-day :
" Although I was sufficiently curious about the appearance of
the leading personages of the courtly circle, I confess I felt
a more intense interest in Prince Metternich than in all the
others put together. It is not every day that one comes so
closely in contact with a master-spirit of the age ; and I was
delighted with the opportunity thus afforded me of examining
in repose the features of one of the most remarkable men of
modern times. On the first glimpse which I had of the
Austrian Prime Minister, I fancied I beheld the Duke of
Wellington ; but on a second look, I discovered that his`face
was fuller and much less sharp and haggard than that of the
hero of Waterloo. There is, however, a very singular resem-
blance in the great lines and character of their faces—the con-
tour of the visage is the same in each : the expression about
the mouth is' not unlike ; while the self-complaisance which
plays on both countenances, indicating a feeling of conscious
superiority, is remarkably similar. With .so near a resem-
blance of -face, perhaps it is not remarkable that their political
feelings should be so much akin ; and, if we be permitted to
quote Lavatar as an authority, it is not at all surprising to find
that features, which arc hourly affected with the sentiment
that mankind ought still to be ruled by the same engine which
ambition, bigotry, and heartlessness invented, should come
within the prescribed limits of the similarity which that inge-
nious but fanciful author assigns to brother characters.
" Prince Metternich is taller than his English brother politi-
cian, and walks erect, with a cool and deliberate step. The
impression made by his appearance is highly favourable, as be
has altogether a handsome face and a graceful person. To
those whom he addressed, he seemed particularly affable; and
although it struck me that there was a constant under-current
of thought going on in his mind, he showed wonderfnl tact in
the distribution of these personal courtesies, having a word
in season for all who crossed his path. The Prince was at-
tired very much like an Englishman. He sported a black coat
and nankeen trowsers, a black silk stock and a white hat.
" The skill with which this arch-political juggler pulls the
wires which direct the imperial puppets of Austrian diplomacy
is almost proverbial. Proofs of his diplomatic capabilities are
to be had daily. For instance, at the public promenade,
which takes place about five o'clock in the afternoon, along
the beautiful valley of St. Helena, whither the crowd of fa-
shionables proceed in carriages, I remarked the Prince, at one
moment strolling forth_ with his newly married bride (this is
his third); at another, arm in arm with the French Ambas-
sador, Marshal Maison, who, though an honest John Bull-
looking personage, has a countenance which at once tells you
that he, at least, will not be the first to bring disgrace on the
high diplomatic character of his nation. Next, I observed
him pouring a joke into the laughing face of the Spanish
Minister ; and anon, familiarly communicating with our highly
respected Charge d'Affaires, Mr. Forbes, who, since the 'de-
parture of Lord Cowley, has had on his shoulders the-whole
weight of British interests connected with the diplomacy of
Austria. To crown all, I observed him iharnediately after-
wards in close consultation with the Russian Ambassador,
whose hand he cordially shook, anxious, no doubt, to extract
from the wily politician what his master at that moment
thought of Holland.
" No one, indeed, who watched Metternich's movemcnta with
the attention that I did, during the whole of last Sunday—in
the church attending mass—in the streets with the King--in

the park—at the evening promenade--at the theatre—and also
at a ball (of which more anon),---for he was everywhere to be
seen,—could have failed in be convinced of the great natural
tact of the Minister, and bis peculiar capacity for playing
the important part which enables him to regulate the affairs of
Europe, and to support a despotic system opposed to public
abhorrent to the feelings of the age., Metternich,
hov.tr.fnlc,, jc loitunate in this respect—that the Germans are
not ill to r-oitsini since he can always calculate on the loyalty
of the inhabitant.!4 of Austria Proper, whose wants are most
croAfully attended to, at the expense of the larger and more
di3tant ap:P4,ntages of the empire. With the head and the
heart of the n iha wood, he cares but little for the other
districts, provided 0..t.1-Y he can squeeze taxes out of them, and
make them contribute us that great standing military force,
only awes the nattu:"
itself, but others around. The
P. ince Austrian has plenty to eat,
fr:ri;::: full well, that if a.:
of amusement, he cares
and study interfere
and wherewitilta P' and the means
they are necessarily
very little about any 0135,g. As rern:;ng
with the continual successiOrt a meals,
who arc perhaps as
confined to a few, a very few book- worms,
great curiosities in Vienna as the ancient n: anuscripts which
Apostolo Zeno and Alw:ander Riccard collected in Italy, and
Then,
which are now ealOtitvi as such in her public libra..77
again, with regard to rdigion, or an argument upon h. reign or
domestic policy, a .Itflf,:n'it.•se would far rather dream of .meet-
ing with an inamorata hi the shady walks of Prince Schwan-
7,x,i,erg's garden, or of ii,!.ening to the delicious strains Pr
Maci,moiselle Heinefetter in ti,o- LW-theatre."