The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-11 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1841.

LITERATURE_

ENGYCLOP/EDIA BRITANIVICA, Vol. 21.

Black, Edinburgh, 1841. ••
Among the articles of interest that are to be
found in the present Part of thiS valuable Mis-
cellany—by tar the best of its kind in the lan-
guage, we may mention the essay on " Turkey,"
which is luminously and concisely penned, and
evinces a very considerable extent of reading.
The accounts of the tragic end of Sultan Selim ;
of the narrow escape of his successor, the late
Mahmoud ; and, more particularly, of the last
insurrection of the Janissaries, a short time pre-
vious to their final overthrow ;—these details are
not only given with scrupulous accuracy, but
nave the additional • recommendation of pos-
sessing both liveliness and vigour of manner,
which are qualities rarely found- in encyclopsedic
essays. The " United States" is another article
that exhibits diligent research, and, as may be
surmised from its title, embraces a wide range
of inquiry. The spirit that pervades this essay,
;s liberal and impartial. We have been pleased
with the following remarks, suggested by the
Republican Institutions of America. :—" Popular
election, however, if it lead to faction and dis-
order, never fails to ensure an able Government,
as the hereditary principle is as certainly a source
of weakness. When the people have a free
choice, they will always prefer merit to demerit;
capacity for service becomes in this manner
a passport to honour and distinction, and abi-
lity is secured for the. business of the State. In
America the experiment of a republic has suc-
ceeded. The great political principle of popular
election has been found to be compatible with all
the great ends of Government." In the treatise
on " Voltaic Electricity" there arc many curious
matters of information, which will be interesting
even to those readers who may not happen to be
scientific, for they are detailed in the simplest
and plainest language, and without the slightest
parade of superior knowledge. The Memoir of
the " Duke of Wharton," though brief; says all
that need be said on the subject. His Grace
would have been forgotten long ago, had it. not
been for Pope's famous character of him in the
Satires, wherein .he still lives—a fly enshrined in
amber ! He was an eccentric, dissipated noble-
man, who obtained a reputation for far greater
abilities than he possessed; and whom Miss Jane
Porter, in her tale of the "Pastor's Fire-side,"
has converted into quite a Quixotte of romantic
generosity. After a hectic, chequered career,
during which he had many enemies and not one
friend, the Duke died in the year 1731, at a
miserable village in Catalonia, worn out with dis-
ease, and destitute of almost the commonest ne-
cessaries of life. By way of extract from the
present Part, we quote the following "Notice to
Subscribers," which will give a clearer idea of
the work than any analysis of our own :
In issuing the twenty-first volume of the Encyclopedia
Britannica, which completes the work, with the excep-
tion of the Index and Preface, the publishers have finished
the main part of their task ; and they flatter themselves
that they have discharged to the satisfaction of the sub-
scribers the engagement entered into at the commence-
ment of the undertaking.
The successive parts of the first nineteen volumes
issued from the press with a punctuality unexampled in
similar publications; and when interruption did occur,
which was chiefly in the last two volumes, it was occa-
sioned by the anxiety of the editor to procure important
contributions, some of which it was impossible to get out
of the hands of the writers in the stipulated time. Had
the editor been content with a superficial correction of
the old articles, a more rapid rate of publication might
easily have been attained, while a large amount of ex-
penditure would by the same means have been saved to
the proprietors. It was found, however, that in order
to maintain the pre-eminent reputation of the work, cor-
rections and new articles would be required to a much
greater extent than was originally contemplated; and to
obtain these from the hands of their respective contribu-
tors in due time for publication, -.demanded no small
exertion on. the part both of editor and proprietors. In
consequence of the very extensive alterations and addi-
tions thus introduced, the expense of publishing the
seventh edition has greatly exceeded the original esti-
mate; but the publishers are happy to acknowledge that
this excess has to a great extent been compensated by a
corresponding increase in the sale of the book.
The proprietors are satisfied that it cannot with jus-
tice be alleged that the later portions of the publication
are in any degree inferior to the early parts, on the ap
pearance of which the original subscriptions were ob-
tained; on the contrary, they flatter themselves that
those subscribers who have watched the progress of the
work, will acknowledge that the performance has sur-
passed the promise of the original prospectus. After
the publication of the second volume, the size of the
page was enlarged; and after the appearance of-the ninth,
it was still farther enlarged; while to the present volume
there have been added no fewer than 227 pages.
At the commencement of the work, the geographical
articles were illustrated by quarto maps, the intention
of the publishers being to limit them to the number
usually given in similar works. These maps, however,
they afterwards cancelled, and substituted a new series
of a folio size, adding also. to their number, so as to form
a complete atlas. The number of wood-cuts and of plates
was also greatly increased; and, in short, as the work
advanced, the publishers were encouraged to devote in-
creasing attention to every department of the publica-
tion, and to spare no expense in order that the seventh
edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica might maintain
the pre-eminence which it has always held among works
in this class of literature.

The Index, which is intended to form part of the first
volume, will be a most- valuable accessory to the Ency-
cl.padia. It will furnish a ready reference to many sub-
jects noticed in its pages, although noten:ered under dis-
tinct alphabetical heads; and the variety of information
on particular points scattered throughout the general
treatises and other articles will in the Index be indicated
under one head, so that the reader who is seeking infor-
mation on any subject will have the whole resources of
the Enoyclopadia, so far as that subject is concerned, at
once laid open to him.

It was obviously impossible to commence the compi-
lation of the Index till the whole of the text was printed.
The publishers, however, have the satisfaction to state
that it is now at press, and is expected to be finished in
about two months, when it will be delivered along with
the preface and title pages.
Edinburgh, Ist September, 1841.

BRITISH AN DraFylOorß, roInGdoNn,IRB4ELVIEW. No. 24
We have so often spoken of Mr. Carlyle's
peculiarities as a writer, that we deem it super-
fluous on the present occasion, to do more than
just glance at the notice of his " Chartism.,"
which forms the subject of the first paper in this
number. The notice is by no means deficient in
intelligence; but instead of restricting himself to
a consideration of the work in question, the Re-
viewer discusses almost every one of Mr. Car-
lyle's productions, with the exception of this one !
He gives us a very fair and impartial idea of the
peculiarities of the " French Revolution," and
that strange farrago " Sartos Resartus;" but of
" Chartism" lie tells us little more than that it
is "by no means exempt from the faults of
sameness and mannerism." In the justice of his
tempered stricture on Mr. Carlyle's frequent ec-
centricities of style, we cordially agree, and are
disposed also to concede to the filet that he is
the most subtle and vigorous thinker of the day.
The review of " Millman's History of Chris-
tianity " is evidently the production of
a scholar, and a ripe one. The following
tribute to the merits of this able history is
honourable alike to author and critic:—
" in his general freedom from professional pre-
judices, Mr.Millman is honourably distinguished
ti•orn nearly every Church-historian in our lan-
uage; and his candour or his scepticism arises
from research and reason, not from the love of
innovation, or from indifference to results. So
far as his labours embrace controverted pointS,
they have been made public in an ungenial sea-
son; but we trust the comparative coldness of its
reception will not induce Mr. Millman to leave
"Dutch
some in-
terestingecr()fel co tn.
Colonial
PI no
chye, articleAv.e fion/di
i
particulars respecting
Chioslownoireks inndp
the rise and pro-
e:ress of the commercial relations of Holland with
Java and some of the adjacent islands. In the
course of this article the Reviewer makes several
pertinent reflections on the great free-trade ques-
tion, and observes :--" the present year is one of
the molt momentous for our commercial and
national interests that we have yet seen.
All the great questions are afloat. Ger-
many, France, Austria, Holland', and last,
not least, our own colonies, give us a
pretext and an opportunity that may not soon
recur, for reviewing our relations with them, and
placing them upon a healthy footing. Once
more, therefore, we call upon those to wom the
national welfare is entrusted, to pause and consi-
der the immense responsibility they
incur. Let
them beware of trifling with the pillars upon
which the power, nay, the existence, of this
great and favoured nation rest." In the course
of a shrewdly reasoned essay on the " Corn-
laws," the Reviewer justly and forcibly remarks
that the whole history. of. monopoly shows that
it acts as a discouragement to improvement, and
that the farmer is not an exception to the general
rule, for that it tends to make him rest contented
with a slovenly system of cultivation because it
is cheap, under the belief that the diminished
quantity of produce consequent thereon, will be
compensated by an increased price.

.
ACTION OF THE CORN-
LATIrS, AND OF
OTHER PROVISION-LATIA .c.
London, Saunders and Oldey.

The number of pamphlets on the Corn-laws
quite equals the number of articles on the same
subject in the newspapers, and they are endless.
The aauntdh o
discrepancy
i(s)fertelli points out the
tally of endeavouring both to
stimulate tlh. growth of corn, and of endeavour-
ing, at the same time, to encourage the eultiva-
)eanpci;ersent work