The Sun.
London, England, 1849-09-27 00:00:00

LITERATURE

MENZEL'S --.IIIS7'ORY OF GERMANY.

Vol. 111.

No time more opportune could possibly have been
selected for the appearance of a translation of this
condensed, yet comprehensive narrative of a very
confused and scattered history. At a time when the
attention of Christendom is directed towards the
efforts making among the dwellers on the banks of
the Rhine to resuscitate and consolidate the nationality
of Imperial Germany, an English version of the cele-
brated and popular composition of Wolfgang Menztd
is more than ever, and peculiarly acceptable. In this
instance, therefore, as in a multitude[of others, Mr.
Bohn has evinced that judicious appreciation of the
duties of selection which has been displayed so re-
peatedly, and has so very materially enhanced the
merit of his valuable "Standard Library." The prest nt
volume completes the translation from the original;
and which details the whole of the wonderful
career of Napoleon in regard to the different states
of the Confederation—that Confederation of which he,
already an Emperor and a Ii ng, ultimately became the
Protector—brings the narrative of events down to the
latest times, down to a period that we might almost
term contemporary. Hence the closing volume very
materially surpasses its two admirable predecessors
both in interest and general attraction. In testimony
of this, it is only necessary to remind the reader that
the chapters comprised in this last instalment of the
" History" recount the particulars of that extraordi-
nary campaign in n hich the Archduke Charles was
completely defeated by the youthful Bonaparte, that
campaign, we mean, which, beginning in Italy, was
terminated by the treaty of Campo Formio. It re-
counts the campaign nhich the First Consul opened
with his passage of the Alps and closed with his
triumph at Marengo. It recounts the campaign
which the Emperor began with the capitulation of
Ulm and ended with the greatest of all his great
victories, the victory of Austerlitz. It recounts his
battles at Jena and at Eylau, at Essling and at Wsgram,
at Lutzen and at Bautzen. It tells of his entry into
Berlin and of his passage through Leipzic--complet-
ing this record of miracles with the tale of his
stupendous misfortunes. Proceeding beyond the
completion of the great wars of the Emperor Napo-
leon, the novelist has sketched with his rapid but
luminous pencil the career of the various states of
the German Confederation from 1815 up to within
ten years of the occurrences now transpiring. As
an appropriate embellishment to his pages, we have
before us in the frontispiece an engraving from the
portrait of Prince Metternich, by Sir Thomas Law
rence. Prince Metternich, " that perfect representa-
tive of the aristocracy of-Europe," as„he is felicitously
termed by Menzel (p. 417), may possibly glance
over this record of his influence over the destinies of
Germany now, while a fugitive and a refugee in one
of the secluded watering-places of England. There
is a profound moral in that circumstance, and a bene-
ficent lesson to be learned from the mere conjecture
of its possibility.

SERVICE IN NE TV ZEALAND. 1 Vol. By
Lieut. H. F. MlCillop, R N.
As a midshipman on board H.M.S. Calliope, the
author of this agreeable and brilliant littie
volume witnessed the whole of the recent
disturbances in one of the most imp3rtant
and valuable of our colonial possessions. Added to a
keen observation, Mr. possessed a facile pen
and a very idiomatic vocabulary, and was, conse-
quently, well fitted to become the annalist of these
occurrences. Happily for the mass of his fellow-coun-
trymen,: he made excellent use of his eyes, his hand,
and his intellect, during the period of his sojourn at
New Zealand (1845-1846) ; we say happily, for
otherwise we should have been without so well-timed
and perspicuous a record of the proceedings in that
colony. The origin of the bad feeling of the abo-
rigines towards the English rulers is clearly ex-
plained, and the sequel recounted with a glowing and
contagious enthusiasm. Among the different merits
of the book we must especially refer to the delinea-
tion of the characters of Rauparaha, of Hoepa Tare
or Charley, of John Heki, of Waka Nene, of Ranga-
hiata, and other congenial chieftains. Major Last
and Colonel Despard are also introduced as among the
principal actors in the fantastic tragedy which led to
the capture of Ruapekapeka, to the struggle in the
valley of Horikiva, and to the expeditions against
Wakanae and Wanganui. As a contribution to our
colonial history, Lieutenant volume is
worthy of especial commendation..

STORIES OF THE REBELLIONS IN
SCOTLAND. 1 Vol. By A. D. Fillan, M.A.
Three stories of the Rebellions in Scotland have
been penned by Mr. Fillan in a manner which must
prove to many a reader not altogether devoid of fas-
cination. The first narrative entitled—" Ua•na-
brock ; or the Badger's Cave"—is another of those
tales which so beautifully illustrate the heroism, the
devotion, and the self-sacrifice of woman. The hair-
breath 'scapes of Drummond, as for example when
he crosses the torrent hurling down the ravine the
bridge by which he has been enab!ed to shun his
pursuers, are fraught with breathless interest ; and
around the fortunes of Drummond are clearly grouped
such fictitious characters as Janet Bane, Esther
Maccallum, Grigor Garach, the Laird of Bracklyn,
Matilda G: tetne, and Baillie Mackillop. The second
tale—designated " Duncan, the Seekvr ; or the
Forty Years' :Search"—is an account of the
peregrinations of a wandering monomaniac called
Duncan Graham. The miseries, anxieties, and
sufferings which turned the brain of Duncan are
painfully but affectingly described, and serve to
illustrate the brutality of Hawley, that man who was
as pitiless an executioner as Jeffries and as stern a
soldier as Claverhouse. The third and final tale—
called " Enchain Maceachain of Colquhainziet
Castle; or,What's in aName?"—is the longest and
most elaborately finished of these three enthralling
stories. It bears reference like the preceding one to
the Rebellion of '45 (the first story relating, on the
contrary, to the Rebellion of 'l5) ; and be sure of this,
that that Chatterton of Heroes, Prince Charlie, is
one of the most conspicuous of the personages intro-
duced into the narrative.. Among the numberless
other instances of devotion for the gallant Chevalier
already recounted the following is not undeserving of
remembrance :

"A young man, named Roderick Mackerzie, who had
held a commission in the Jacobite army, bore a remark.
able resemblance in face and figure to the royal fugitive.
Discovered in his hiding place, and assailed by over-
whelming numbers, Mackenzie resolved to turn this
accidental resemblance to account for the Prince's safety.
He made a desperate resistance. He avowed his deter-
mination never to be taken alive; and finding himself at
length mortally wounded, in the act of dying he ex-
claimed, 1 ye have slain your prince l'
" This declaration, coupled with his so striking resem-
blence to the Prince, imposed even on those to whom the
appearance of the atter was not unfamiliar ; and the
head was accordingly cut off and sent in triumph to
London as that of the Pretender. This generous act of
personation was soon discovered to bo a stratagem. But
for a season it had the effect of lulling the vigilance and
relaxing the activity of the pursuit."
Mr. Fillan's " Stories" will in prose form a com-
panion volume to the charming "Lays" of Mr.
Aytoun.

FISH AND FISHING, ;T. 1 Vol. By Henry
William Herbert.
Frank Forester has in this splendid volume proved
himself the Apperley of anglers. He has accom-
plished, in reference to the fish and fishing of the
United States and the British Provinces of North
America, what Izaak Walton did so welt in regard to
the piscatorial art of Great Britain. Nor does he
want the supplementary annotations of a Yankee
Cotton. He is his own Walton and Cotton together.
Not a single department of his subject has been
,over-
looked; he refers in succession to the peculiarities,
the produce, the apparatus, and the use of the ap-
paratus required or relating to—deep-sea fishing,
river fishing, shoal-water fishing, and lake fishing.
He tells of the Salmonidce, and the Siluridss, and the
Cyprimidte, and the Chipeidte, and the Esocidoh-and
the Anguillidaa, and the Perciete, and the Scienidee,
and the Sparidae, and the Scombridte, and the
Labridse, and the Gadidue—each in succession, He
explains the mysteries of salmon fishing, and of trout
fishing ; of pickerel fishing, and of perch fishing; of
eel fishing, and of carp fishing; of striped bass fishing,
and of black bass fishing in the St. Lawrence. He
describes the barb, and the tantog, and the sheep's-
head, and the drum, and the weak, and the blue fish,
among the rest of the curiosities of ichthyology. To
render the work, which is profusely embellished with
wood engravings, yet more complete, there are three
appendices, one explanatory of the angler's apparatus,
another of the fly-fisher's apparatus, and the third of
a culinary character, telling us ." how to cook fish"
with-the gusto and skill of M. Alexis Soyer. After
what we have here said, is it necessary to say that we
commended the new work of Frank Forester unre-
servedly to all the lovers of the Gentle Craft ?

THE &inures CARRIAGES.-.—TWO of the Sheriffs
carriages are now exhibiting in the front of Mr. Home's
(late Houlditch's) establishment, in Long•acre.' That of
Alderman Lawrence is exceedingly striking from its
gorgeous artistic decoration, the opposing colours being
blended into a most pleasing harmony by the dark neu-
tral or ground tint of the body. The Sheriffs Arms, the
Arms of the Carpenters' Company, and of the City, are
are exquisitely painted, and as beautifully and correctly
drawn. The interior is equally worthy of remark, from
its air of luxurious taste, it being lined with a costly
white satin, and the roof drawn into the resemblance of
a star in the same material. The Under-Sheriffs', Mr.
Millard's carriage, is in strong contrast to the hove,
being distinguished for a chaste and simple elegance of
form and colour, and embodying many of the latest im-
provements for which this firm possesses patents.
MOUNT'S BAY FISHERY.--The Mount's Bay boats
have been taking considerable quantities of mackerel—
from 1,500 to 2,loo—which have been selling for 6s. to
Bs. per 120. No pilchards have as yet appeared in bar
bay. Five seams are now in water at St. Ives, supposed
to enclose about 4,000 WE. °Ogle...Western Luminary.