The Sun.
London, England, 1836-10-14 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

FRIEND SHIP'S OFFERING.
Smith and Elder, London, 1836. •
l se'
The Annual season is setting in with its us" it
verity. We suppose for a month at least to come'
will rain Annuals ; and truly we shall not be sorrY for
it, if all are like " Friendship's Offering," which, as
it is one of the oldest, so also is it avie of the ablest Of
the showy fraternity. The pictorial illustrations, in
particular, are selected and engraved with great taste
and skill ; and if we mistake not, are more nutria!
certainly more various in their character, this year, t.4.3_,
they have yet been. The view of " Gouri descending
to the lake of Oodipoor," is a striking oriental lant
scape, displaying considerable fineness of touch' '
noble oriental mosque, standing on the banks of a large
sheet of water, whose surface is embellished by many
gorgeous gallies, stretches along the fore-gr(nind
while in the distance, are a range of lofty mountatusi
the lower summits of which are crowned with ruins.
°f
old castles. Along the spacious terrace that borders
the lake, appear crowds of figures, gracefully grouped'
and imparting life and spirit to the landscape. Goodall
is the engraver of this littlegem, which is executedfr°,..
a design furnished by Purser. "Jenny's first Lope
-
letter," is an illustration something after the md"ner of
Wilkie. The face of the careful old father whO has Just
got possession of the combustible epistle, is fall of ch:
•
racter ; nor less so is the frightened aspect of the
bee.
tected Jenny. Allan Cunningham has explained t.
subject of this print by a lively tale, written in an ePls:
tolary form. " Early Morning " is a delightful sp
van landscape, from the pencil of Barret. The fresh
light gleaming on the slightly ruffled waters ; the dear
unclouded sky ; the Claude-like temple in the fore-
ground ; and the dark, frowning bit of crag, against
which the tide is gently breaking, form a truly Pietu.
resque assemblege of objects, which Mr. Barrett has
turned to the best account. The' literary contents °f
" Friendship's Offering " are worthy of its illustrations'
Among its contributors we find Allan Cunningham'
Barry Cornwall—who furnishes a striking little peal'
entitled "Il Penseroso and Allegro "—T. Miller,
Haynes Bayly, C. Webb, T. K. Harvey, and some
few others of minor note. The most interesting article
in the volume is the " Bridal of Gertrude," a tale by
Mr. James.

I EDINBURGH CABINET LIBRARY. No. XXI.
Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1830.
The volume before us contains a history of the P`o;
gress of discovery in the Pacific Ocean, from the day
of Magellan down to those of Captain Cook, the
particulars of whose untimely death on the shores °f
Owyhee, are copious and interesting. The Work °
course, is little more than a compilation ; but it is veil
ably done, and abounds in curious knowledge.

THE LONDON AND WESTMINSTER
REVIEW. Macrone.
We have seldom known alliances, whether inatrr
monial or literary, increase the sprightliness of the
allied ; though we could cite numerous instances f
their astonishing effects in the way of promoting di
ness. Taking this as a general rule, we may defy all
the political economists in the world to cite the Pre'
sent Number of this periodical as an exception. 'bee
article on Shakspeare alone redeems it from being 00,
of the very dullest Numbers of which we could p°s9l;
bly form a conception. The first article treats of, an
°
attempts to fix, the definitions of political economy`
subject long since worn perfectly threadbare. The
third article is on the subject of Medical Reform, ,f
which we willingly acknowledge the great importance'
The writer's views are very correct ; his arguments
are cogent and convincing ; and his materials °re,
ample ; but still the article is so heavy, as to be all
but unreadable. The other articles are, for the most
part, tedious dissertations on Timber Mono
P
Scotch Law Reform—Factories—Endowment 9"-ci
the Voluntary Principle--and the policy of EnglB9
with respect to the aboriginal inhabitants of the,
Cape of Good Hope all, no doubt, important
in their way, but very unsuited to appear altogether
in one Number of any periodical intended for general
perusal. The article on Shakspeare is evidently the
production of one to whom the subject has long been
familiar. We quote the commencement of it :--
of
" The curiosity universally felt respecting the lifear
Shakspeare, and the early history of his writings, hes
rived food to satisfy itself from two sources—the disl;he
ries of research and the creations of the imagination. '0
fictions are of two kinds, professed and unprofessed'the
imaginary tales and scenes of Tieck and Landor, and ro.;
equally fictitious, though less beautiful and pleasing, tio,
ductions of tradition and gossip. Until recently, the
graphy of Shakspeare was a heap of fictions and 011ie,
tures. The traditions shaped into the narrative of ft,l'oe
the ingenious guesses, about dates, of Stevens and Ma'°Aio:
and all the labours of his biographers previous to the uti,
coveries of Mr. Collier, possess a value which may be es or
mated from the fact that they leave our knowledge to
Shakspeare—the pride and idol of our nation—conflne7o,
little more than those few particulars which form the .
graphies usually inscribed on the tombs of ordinary rneriv'es
" This circumstance is itself characteristic, It POks,
how far the moral as well as the mental q the
of Srba
peare placed him aloof from the common vices ei he
poetical character as usually exhibited in his day. gadwp
possessed them, they would have made themselves lorthe
and conspicuous. His character was not made LIP (/' jaa
elements which made the character of a poet by prof!: of
distasteful to the right-thinking and well-regulated mind
.Locke. If you would not have your son the fiddle in lite
jovial company, without whom the sparks could not relish t
yid
wine, nor know how to spend an afternoon idly ; if you vi°_oa
not have him waste his time and estate to divert others, 500 t
contemn the dirty wares left him by Ms ancestors, I a°„,..
think you will much care he should be a poet.' bliPrwde.
dente, licentiousness, and sycophancy, the malice vvhich„_t,
fames in defiance of evidence, and the meanness which l'is4i
ters and defames according to the influence of Peel° the
stimuli, are not merely the vices which especially peen
times preceding the days of Locke had made the 70.,
poet synonimous with parasite ; but they are noisy o'lo
ticeable characteristics which draw attention to the Per
e•
who possess them, and cause their names to live in the we
cords of scandal and gossip. It is a grateful fact that re,
have no such reminiscences of Shakspeare. Had he 01)
faced his poems with the flattering sonnets of his file in,
►
he would have furnished us with a store of biograPhiftiee,
formation by the very act of puffing himself. The prai,eini4
common enough among the poets of his day, of exto ,j
money annually by eulogy and satire, a melliffn",9
on
honey-tongued sonnet for a handsome sum, and a bitter
u if
unscrupulous madrigal for a niggardly pittance, via s with
he had practised it at all, have plentifully supplied u
of a
biographical matter. By placing himself at the h".tc_l,.ters,
poetical party, consisting of the imitators and poeta'iht
who would naturally seek shelter under his wing, hem Be-
have secured himself an admiring biographer ; and.
oppo-
miniscences of his friends, and the sketches of his_, And
eedotrst the
nents, in the shape of songs, epigrams, an
pamphlets, would have enabled us to live again amid the
scenes in the green-room of the Blackfriars, an. and
Globe on the Bankside,' and listen to the bright w nests
merrllll,:ts,
the sweet poetry which shed delight among the
of the Mermaid. His private talk, his
his dramatic triumphs, narratives of his early !,_o7,,ad
histories of the growth and processes of his intelrat giveo
indications or revelations of the inner man ;' a;" ttnhis
vivacity and distinctness to biography, might, -n
have made the life of Shakspeare a living picturef.
ll this
ful and complete ; but we question if the want I a
0 .t.
which
is not more than made up to us by the assurance h
rivairieg '
it furnishes us of his superiority to all the petty tie was
peculiar ha
and the paltry plaudits of taverns and poetasters.
not the Sir Oracle of a club ; Shakspeare was n 0 t an
spired toadey."

that a

ARRIER PIGEONS.—The longest flight b
carrier-pigeonA has been known to make is 800 miles, whife.
an Antwerp bird will perform at the rate of a mile a millu,frt'
In so long a flight the bird is supposed to roost at °
nig
renewing his journey with the day-break.
The tremendous oale of Monday night and 111`b_
day morniner, has occasioned considerable mischief throtig_
out the West of England. In Bath and its immediawg
neighbourhood much damage has been done to ehitnnea
roofs, and trees. The orchards have everywhere ter
extremely, both in fruit and branch. At Bridgewater
river was swollen by the rain to au unusual height.