The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-13 00:00:00

KNIGHT'S ENGLISH
_MISCELLANIES.

The second volume of " Brand's Popular Anti-
quities," from the last-edition of Sir Henry Ellis,
sets before the reader a delightful continuation
of every relic of our olden sports, customs, and
Manners, either derived from Pagan practice, or
emanating in later times from Christian observ-
ances and rites..

THE GLORY AND SHAME OF ENGLAND,
2 Vols. Ben tley, London, 1841.
The more serious and argumentative portion of
this work is by far the best, for the author—Mr.
Lester, an American gentleman—is of a thought-
ful and inquiring turn of mind, who reasons care-
fully on all he sees, and he takes care to see as
much as he possibly can, and does not rest con-
tented with noting down the hasty results of first
impressions. His passing observations on the
Corn-laws, on the working of the Factory Sys-
tem, on Dissent, and John Thorogood's case, and
on several other public topics of more or less in-
terest, are marked by great sagacity, and a tone
of moderation and liberality that do credit alike
to his feelings and his understanding. In mat-
ters of light gossip, however, and in delineating
characters of mark and likelihood, he by no
means exhibits to advantage; and he has a clumsy
method of introducing these matters, so much so
as to give his statements, though he intends them
evidently to be considered as truths, all the ap-
pearance of fictions. Thus, wishing to tell us
something about, the prevalence of gambling
among the higher classes in London, the arrange-
ments at Crockford's, and the ruinous conse-
quences resulting from the numerous hellsin which
the metropolis abounds, he introduces the subject
by stating that he most fortunately fell in with an
Irish nobleman at Liverpool, who at once sup-
plied him with all the information he needed ;
and when, in a subsequent chapter, he is desirous
of dilating on the antiquities, &c., of London, he,
with equal good fortune, met in the coffee-room
of the inn where he was staying, an antiquarian,
whom he calls Captain Manners, who happened
to be just as communicative as the Irish Peer,
and showed him all the metropolitan- lions, not
forgetting Westminster Abbey, respecting which
he told him just the sort of old characteristic le-
gends that he most wished to know I Now it
may be perfectly true that our author did meet
with these accommodating strangers, whose in-
formation came to him just at the very moment
when he was anxious for it ; but to our thinking
these two convenient rencontres read very like
fictions—that is to say, that they are merely in-
troduced for the purpose of giving something like
a dramatic effect to the local and other intorma-
,
tion tnat Mr. Lester conveys by means' of them.
What confirms us more strongly in this impres-
sion is, that neither the Irish nobleman nor the
English antiquary tell car author anything but
what he might easily have gleaned from a hun-
dred modern publications. The " Clubs of Lon-
don," in particular, would have furnished hiin
with all the gossip about Crockford's; and who
could possibly be at a loss for legends, sketches,
descriptions, reminiscences, &c., respecting West-
minster Abbey, and other metropolitan public
buildings? When we'have alluded to these ob-
jections, and stated, in addition, that Mr. Lester
is not remarkably felicitous in his delineation of
character; that he has sketched O'Connell in far
too glowing and extravagant colours; underrated
the extentof Lord Brougham's political influence,
and otherwise done him signal injustice, we have
said all that we have to urge against the book,
which is generally sound in its statistics, and
speaks of England and Englishmen in a bold,
partial, and discriminating manner. Speaking of
the difference between English and American
women, Mr. Lester says:— ' I think that while
our girls, from fifteen to twenty, are far more
beautiful and lovely than English girls of the
same e quiteacountry asi
n
personal appearance. The voices strikingly
are,t h
oy
se their
of our
r women
of the. English
women are much sweeter, their laugh is music •
they have a fine sense of propriety, but are not
fastidious, neither are they prudish." In :the
course of 'hi s first volume, the author relates some
particulars of the last days of Lord Byron, which
he says he had from a gentleman who happened
to be in Missolonghi at the time; the informa-
tion, however, is by no means new, for the sub-
stance of it may all be found in Moore's Life of
the illustrious poet. As a specimen of Mr. Les-
ter's manner we quote some anecdotes of gam-
bling and of a celebrated gaming establishment
at the West-end, which he says were told him
by the Irish nobleman to whom we have already
alluded :
Not many years ago, Lord —paid down, on his
Lolling of age, for debts of honour contracted at the