The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-17 00:00:00

is iNi'.l . EDITION.

LITERATURE -
CRUICSHANK'S O.II2VMUS.-1,-0, L
• Tilt, London, 1841.
If this work be carried on with the same spirit
and vivacity with which it has been commence
we have little doubt it will realize its projector's
most sanguine expectations. As a first _Number,
the one before us is a highly promising one, both
as regards its illustrations and its letter-press.
The " Monument to Napoleon" alone is suffi-
cient to ensure its popularity. In this admirable
plate, Cruikshank has shown much of that grave,
caustic satire fir which Hogarth was so remark-
able. The Emperor is represented standing erect
on a pyramid of human skulls; he himself is it
skeleton, attired in his favourite cocked-hat acid
jack-boots; and he looks about him, with folded
arms, with an air of assumption and superiority
exquisitely ironical. Never waf a finer Moral
conveyod than by this sketch ! It reveals at
once the true character of that glory of which:
conquerors in all ages have been so covetou•
We would recommend those who may be ena-
moured of the heroic deeds—as we confess- our-
. selves to have once been—of' the mighty Napo-
eqq,, to fix a thoughtful gaze on this ghastly
sketch, which will go far to cure them of their
false notions of heroism. The cap of liberty,
and the eagle, which are affixed to the pyramid.
of skulls, add greatly to the point and meaning;
of the satire. Tile portrait of George Crl4-
shank, which accompanies a brief autobiogr4,-
phical memoir, is a capital likeness, eoa-
veying,, not merely the features, but the exac
expression of the original's countenance. The
clear full eye, has an earnest and penetrating
look, but in the play of humour about the mouth
we recognize the genuine spirit of the carica-
turist. The literary contents of the 'Number
aboundin piquant vanities. Among the cleverest
articles we may mention the rhymed quiz on the:
new school of portrait painting, entitled' " Pho-
tographic Phenomena," which is smart, and evol
witty in passages.

TEXAS. 2 Vols.
Hastings, London, 1841.
In his preface to these volumes which
give the fullest- accounts that have yet
appeared, of the rise, progress,
and pro-
spects of the republic 01-* Texas—Mr.
the author, pays the folloWing deservea
tribute of respect to the memory- of his friend
and patron, Lord Durham-:—" The first time I
saw his Lordship in 1833, I was drawn to him by
a sentiment ofattachment which seeMedto be re-
ciprocal. -Whatever trust he reposed ,in me af-
terwards, strengthened that sentiment, fbr his
soul was a mirror on which meanness and du-
plicity had never left a shade. Even in the
tabiiities of his pile!: temperament, there always'
seemed to me a gladdening leaven of Truman,
kindness. His foibles belonged to the accident`'
of his position ; his virtues were his own ; and t'
my part I could more readily excuse the unr.re-
meditated overflow of an impetous temperar Aentp
than tolerate the frigid self-sufficiency whi...h emm
trenches itself behind specious formalities, for the
conservation of its prerogatives, real or sy:pposea•
Truth, justice, and honesty were thu pervading
elements of Lord Durham's moral nature, and
because they. were, I honoured him when living,
and mourned him when dead. As a public math
he was surpassed by none in devotion to his
country, and equalled by few in a clear percer,
tion of its interests; but be was •in advance Of
his time, and paid the usual penalty for being
so." There is much justice in this character °I
Lord Durham, whose worst .fault, we • be'
lieve, was an irritable temperament, which.
was apt at times to get the better of his'
judgment. Having accompanied his Lordship
to Canada, Mr. Kennedy, when his official dutlt*
were somewhat abruptly brought to a close. by
the return of the Governor-General to Enciand,
took the opportunity- of visiting the souther')
States of America, and thence passing into To,;as,
of which he here gives- us an account. On the
whole, his account is favourable, and, not. impro-
bably, will have the effect of directing the atten-
tion of enterprising emigrants to this •hitherto
neglected—and, indeed, in some respects an'
known—country, Texas, the author assures 09,
is remarkable fbr the general salubrity of eta
climate, and has been termed the Italy of Anne"
rica. That portion of it which consists chietlY
of prairies, is blessed with a delightful tempera:
ture favourable to most of the products whim
render life agreeable. The mildness of the-sea-
sons enables the planter to pick all the cotton he
can raise, to grow as much corn as he requires,
and to accumulate stock of every description,
almost without labour or expense. The Prevail-
ing summer wind from the south-west telnPer°
the v. araith of duly and August, itswith
grateful and constant play. While the midsummer
air of the alluvial region of the Mississipi is sill.t'
charged with noxious moisture, the clear atmo-
sphere of Texas is quickened and renovated by
invigorating sea-breezes, which, passing over the
dry, rolling, and verdant surface of the interior,
enliven the spirits, and iuduee aloe of existence,
even fbr the passive physical enjoyment it afrol7°"
Time drought that pervades the season troth
the close of April to September is often Mollhi
lied by copious and refreshing showers, whic
sometimes distribute their favours very unequabY. •
The unequal distribution of rain is indeed consi-
dered by huSbandmen the chief defect in time
character of Texas. One section ofthe country
is frequently saturated by teeming shower*'
while, at the distance of only a few miles, the
ground is gaping fur moisture. In December
and January the cold north winds sweep down-
the plains with nearly as much regularity .
as the south-west wind in summer; bet:
notwithstniding their severity, the winter`
are generally as moderate as the month 0t
November in the North American States. Ica'
is seldom seen, except in the districts towards time
North, and snow is a rare and transient visiter'
Estimated by its effects on a bountiful soil, di('
climate of Texas may, it seems, claim to be cn—
titled a perpetual summer, admitting, as it cloe°'
of two or three crops a year, of fruit and vegeta'
bles, in great abundance and perfection. Muc
quitos, however, and -sand-flies, the curse of all
tropical countries, abound in the lower grounu?
of Texas ; alligators infest the rivers; arid ven
mous snakes are numerous, though ofcourse theyr
will become more rare as civilization gradvallY
increases. Mr. Kennedy's second volume is de-
voted to a consideration of the recent quarrels
between
.Texas and Mexico, in which in man.);
respects he gives a different view of the sultiee
to those which have hitherto been published.

SCOTT'S LIFE OF SWIFT. -
Cadell, Edinburgh, 1841.
We are glad to meet with this re-publicatioliy
one cheap, commodious Number, of Scott's Lire •
of Swift, which till now, we believe, has not beell
published apart from the voluminous edition t°
which it was prefixed. In point of style, g°'
minuteness and accuracy of details, it is a very'
creditable perfbrmance, but we are not dispose...
to rate very highly the critical estimate of Swift'
literary powers. The biographer, we conceive,
is much too lavish of his praises of the Deart's
" felicity of expression." There are certainly •
some pointed, neatly turned couplets in
poems—which, however, are greatly infeit!sr
to Prior's light, lively rhymes ; but
prose is distinguished by nothing so ,Duc,-
as its low, homely, and ungracetbl
meter. Compared with Addison's 'style, it is
the fashi••):l to
Llijieldrftc'cotrliy.e cut': I;tesaidtalblales,
and is
pronounce it. Many instances of negligence
may be found even in Swift's most carefully
written work, the " Tale of a Tub," - and
" Travels of Gulliver," decidedly his master'
piece, as respects invention, abound in gross •
long
nesses of taste. Though as a dry, sarcastic 110,'
bbeyellio means so ters.c
niourist, the Dean of St. Patrick's is without
rival, yet his writings seldom give genuine
pleasure; we are struck, it is true, with the
vigorous intellect they display; but, at thesame time, we are disgusted with the cola,
heartless, cynical spirit that pervades them. In'e
stead of elevating, improving,- and refining 1'13"
inanity, Swift's 'constant object seems to be to
degrade it as much as possible. Spleen and
veterate misanthropy are the inspiration of al"
most. every sentence he penned. Yet his a°,,
mirers call him a moralist. If so, he is a moralist
of the lowest and most repulsive class. It is n°'
a little singular that the most unsocial of antlior
should have had the most social of biographer';
and that that biographer should have been o:le
of his warmest eulogists. Extremes, it is said,
meet ; and this is a case in point.

THE DEBATE.—With respect to the in!"-f
tions of Ministers, or the probability of a dissolution °
Parliament, nothing has transpira Our own opiln°/I
whatever be the result of the present del—'
l
Ministers will not relinquish office, until they have
the opportunity of laying the whole of the cominerc!A
changes which they contemplate, before the country I°r
its consideration ; and that their future conduct, and ~,
advice they may tender to their Sovereign, will
grent
depend -on the way in which these changes are receive,
by the commercial interests. We are happy to find thP
these interests in various parts of the country are alrel
actively stirring ; and, in the coarse of the next
,we 141,1
we have little doubt that a very decided manifestation
public feeling will take place. Of the character a thet
debate, so far as it has proceeded, we shall not atteino!,
to
.say much. Nothing, it seems to us, can be in
striking than the superiority, in point of rgument'but
the speakers on the Ministerial side of the House;
what a,vails,superiority, of argument against the Conlin
unitin, cemented by personal interest and parttllPP'-'
--L,illanchester .Guardian.