The Sun.
London, England, 1840-10-01 00:00:00

NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE.
As this periodical has reached us only at the
eleventh hour—indeed:.it has a genius for non-
Punctuality—we must perforce be brief in our ac-
°°llt of it. Douglaglerrold, we perceive, contri-
es an excellent tale, under the title of ~ Christo-
-Iheri Snub, the Man who was born to be Hanged,"
'which enforces a valuable moral, and incidentally
btees several useful home truths. The introductory
the
of young Snub, as the inveterate scamp of
Be neighbourhood, is in the author's most piquant
%Vie, who seems to have the same sort of sneaking
Legard for scamps that we ourselves confess to.
frasoUr inveterate young scamp, at whom all his
,ends and kinsfolk make a point of turning up
"leir noses, frequently cods in being a far better
tan and citizen than those who look shy on him.
"to Jonec was a scamp—a confirmed one, accord-
ing to the world's notion ; yet who would not a
his
times rather be Tom, notwithstanding
Lis accident with Black George's daughter, than
tnat silr decorous hypocrite, Master Blifil
Fathe'rs and Sons," by the Editor, is tamer than
usual, but will, doubtless, soon fetch up its lee-way.
Popular People" is by that arch and sprightly
B•
velist, Mrs. Gore. It is not deficient in spirit,
have
is carelessly worked out. Much more might
'Bole been made of the subject. We quote the best
Passage :—.
tb`l This, at least, must be a superior man. This au-
t, • •
t Y. to which sages and statesmen bow, must be a
oracle.--An oracle ?—Meggot is a man who, in
ope•nrh°,4 course of his existence, never uttered an
tfyle-cm'--•Meggot is an echo,—an embodied affirms-
tbo-Ltho best listener in the world. He is one of
who can submit to be told the things he knows,
re., People %q uo know nothing about the matter. He is
seams to swallow the most monstrous assertions. He
g'is convinced by the most preposterous arguments.
ireclstair of candour is worth a million. WLen. we
oroet-
wo uP°ll the craving appetite of human vanity, it is
couderful that such a man should command the a
of
PopullL" of society, and stand prc-eminent in the ranks
',Pular People.
ar
‘..q:31)°"18 erlioys a less gratuitous species of popularity ;
u ...-1/41P0rUs isa
P Pular author. His works flash upon
tle l:ke Lucifer matches, and go off l.ke detonating
gaps, No sooner in print, than out of print. The re-
mews revere him —the daily papers delight in him
magazines make much of him._Nothing .
like
41):tus !--Such style—such delicacy—such freedhorn
gad affectation !—The petite maitresse buyshim
him up in morocco ; the schoolmistress
book ll mro and binds him up in calf; the
to er "
buys him and binds him up in a penalty
guns a new book at a month's warning. Great
the are discharged from the battery of the press on
the Lir°doction of every new work, as on the birth of
th4t-vnEs of the Sultan. He is written up, till one fears
his tne sky must be raised a story to make way for
to trrea?na• The most crabbed of critics grows mild
sie„-esting of him ; and the reading world, like Mon-
An; Laffarge, is poisoned in doses of sugar and water.
.
HZ who or what is this successor of Byron ?—this
tnereain,' this Rogers, this Moore ?—Alas! Sporus is a
` A shadow of his namesake of the days of Pope,
tnouiiildere white-curd of asses' Milk Por rather the mere
cites Y SPOnge of a leaden inkstand ! But Sporus ex-
Spot n°.igalousies. Sporus eclipses no humiliated rival.
anionUs i 8 "e of whom literary men say with a smile
wpiteg each other, • Poor Sporus, he is a painstaking
d* 'tad really an excellent fellow. Let us do him
eosod turn.' Puffed, therefore, and praised on all
14041 'Writings first attract notice, and finally com-
a attention."
Seale °reign Sporting," is a continuation of a
lods °f papers for which we are indebted to Nim-
. tett WhO assures us that the French arc very indif-
%tin anglers—we should conclude as much from
Itte mercurial vivacity of their nature—though the
of the net is well understood among them.
6;34 Trollopc's 4, Life and Adventures of Charles
niueeshtto etfield, is a clever tale in parts, but it is not
its a- our taste. There is a coarseness about
finish eseriptions and a want of distinctness and
; .
tree to its portraits of characters, that greatly de-
1u t; 'foto the interest of the narrative. The
itis,„-ati,ve plate by Phiz is excellent. " Secrecy,"
elegant Essay; which reminds us somewhat
Tithte manner of Mackenzie. " Rhymes for the
-e'l/2" is one of Hood's smartest jeux d esprits.

FRASER'S MAGAZINE.
„ laginn continues his " Homeric Ballads,'
xna-s Lle quaintly calls his translation of the well-
pxo-ii:Ntlll?ialogue-between Glaucus and Diotned—this
As he fairly and boldly puts the Greek
fots,id own English, we are enabled at once to
Lis.'" an estimate of the correctness or otherwise of
/rt°er Portions of it are rendered with re-
atr-aule sPirit ; but the opening stanzas are less
vorainslation than a diffuse paraphrase. Thus the
" iI,EY 7' rh,,Bp,oc
merely mean " The wind strews some
c"Plet
es On the around," he gives verbosely in this

" The wind outblows, and straightway strews
The scattered leaves upon the ground.",,
t Ilere,
and scat-
" outblows," •4 straightway,
ered," are clearly superfluous ; N'veaken and encumber, rather than add strength
and serve to_
.!1(1 spirit to the version. -Doctor renders by ~ bold," which is not Homer s
" Me-riccOut,,,').;-," too, the,
!Teaning ; " magnanimous" is the word—an epi-
't peculiarly applicable to Diomed, as he is de-
lineated in the Iliad. These defects are the
result of carelessness, for when he pleases, Ma-
gt_lun can be literal and emphatic enough, as he
Bnows in other portions of his " Bailad." We
should be delighted to see a translation of i,he en-
tire Iliad hoar his pen—alwas pided th be tasks his great powers to the utymost,rov and does not
slumber over his version. Poor Sotheby's was
lint a
tame affair, and Pope's, which is but an
elegant mistake, still takes the lead for want of
a better. "
d Living Phenomena," is far too bitter
an unjust in its political tone, and where it is
I:
absurd. lvVii,!, :or irtita),,,c ttiore ridiculous than the remark that Chartism
°PlSinateS in " a want of Church Extension and