The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-07 00:00:00

LITE RAT URE,

FOREIGN QUARTERLY RUVIE W. No. LT:
Black and Armstrong, London, 1841.
The chief fault we find with the present Num-
ber of this intelligent Review, is the general
sameness of its articles. They should have been
far more varied, and not confined, with scat cely
one exception, to books of travels. In Other
respects, the -li'Uniber Is not amiss, beingwell
written ; and in its literary criticisms sound and
disCriminating. In the notice of a recently pub-
lished German work on some " Roman Tablets"
.that have lately been discovered in Transylva is,
the RevieWer takes the opportunity of passing a
high encomium on modern German scholarship,
If ancient relics," says he, " are to he ex.
plained and iliustrated,..a• German Professor is
sought out for that object; if a Series of ancient
historians have been for some unaccountable
reason thrown out of circulation, a German .sug.
gests their publication, and a German edits
them ; if theology is to he viewed, in counection
with modern science, a German sets about the
difficult task; if statistics. are required of the
state of Europe, the Germans produce matters
of higher eminence and utility than-anything on
which Dr. Bowring' can alight." This is high
praise, but it is not altogether undeserved. In
the next passage occurs a sneer at Dr. Arnold of
Rugby, whose classical acquirements are most
unjustly spoken of; for he is, beyond a doubt,
one of the readiest and ripest scholars of the day.
" Sybil's History of the First Crusade" is a cle-
ver review, wherein justice is done to the late
Charles Mills's History of these Quixotic expe-
ditions, which is mentioned as being " the
largest and best connected work treating on the
subject, which is accessible to the Enlish
reader." Gibbon's episodical details of the Cru-
sades are perhaps the most meagre and inefficient
portions of his great history. They are a starve-
ling banquet„ from which the reader rises up as
hungry as. he sat down, and is, glad to turn to
Milrs's volumes, where his 'hunger and thirst fur
knowledge are sure to be abundantly satisfied.
The Reviewer, in alluding to the first projectors
of the Crusades, overrates, we think, the intel-
lect of Peter the Hermit. He by no means per-
formed the "actions of a sage," for he was little
better than a crazy enthusiast, of whom the
Church of Rome made a fitting tool. Through-
611t-his march to Palestine, at the head of an un-
disciplined band of ragamuffins, lie evinced a
deplorable want of judgment and foresight; and
influenced benighted Europe solely by means of
his headstrong fanaticism. " Hene•el's Travels
in Cashmere' is a notice of a work which will
surprise all who have been carried away by Moore's
enchanting, descriptions of this valley in " Lana
Rookh," - The Cashmerian beautieS turn out
to
be little better than frights; the men are for the
most..part rude and igaorant,"instead of being
bemire atid.sentimental; and the better educated,
who, are.. chiefly merchants,-instead- of 'casting a
languishing eye on some " young Nourtnahal,"
keep a constant sharp eye to :busineSs;,arid.are-
retriarkahle.,for nothing, so
,much as their knack
at driving aliard bargain ! Ruppell's Travels
in Abyssinia," " Kohl's Travels in Southern
Russia," and " Sweden as it is," are intelligent
reviews, interspersed with well-selected extracts.
From the article entitled " The Women of
Italy," we quote an arousing sketch of the do-
mestic habits and manners oeAmerican girls:—
The independence of a Yankee girl—we make use of
that obnoxious denomination, not through disrespect for
the " smartest ration in creation," but better to desig-
nate the people of New England, that part of the United
States where American manners are most characteristic-
ally developed—begins with the earliest stage of board,
ing-school life. Early in the morning she walks out
alone sometimes for a distance of miles to her academy ;
who her tutors and companions, what her studies, what
books she reads, what friendships or habits she con-
tracts, her parents scarcely ever care to inquire ; or it'
asked, scarcely ever does she condescend to reply. In
proportion as she grows, more complete and absolute
does she acquire the mastery over her own actions. She
chooses her dancing and music masters, her congrega-
tion, her minister. She subscribes to cotillion parties,
shines off at a fancy fair or at a flower auction. She
walks home late at night from a rout with her favourite
partner, and takes a long tour by moonlight to enjoy
the coolness and sentimentalism of the night air. She
introduces her male friends to her mother, and sends out
her invitations to tea without consulting the " old
lady ;" finally, she informs her parents that her lover
has " popped the question," unless, indeed, she prefers
the eclat and excitement of a runaway match. And yet
this unbounded latitude is scarcely ever attended with
mischievous results. Thanks, perhaps, to natural cold-
ness of temperament, or to the early marriages which
in those wide-spreading colonies are and will long con-
tinue to be the order of the day, the American young
lady very early acquires the calculating habits of the
country. She is her own duenna and chaperon. Iler
fancy and heart are always under the control of reason.
She learns to value her admirers according to their
worth. You never h2ar of a faux pas, or, if you do,
you may be sure that all worldly advantages have been
duly weighed, and that even that apparent imprudence is
the result of the most consummate policy. Before she
leaves school, a Yankee girl—God bless her I—has- a
thorough knowledge of the world. She is up to every
trick, secure against all dangers of amorous seduction.
Else, what were the good of the million of novels she
roads ? Her look is proud and daring ; her step firm
and secure.

THE OLD ENGLISH GENTLEMAN. 3 Tro

Colburn, London, 1841.
As a continuous, well-sustained narrative, the
" Old English Gentleman" puts forth but slender
claims to notice; the interest is kept up only by
fits and starts ; and the incidents are of the
most unconnected, fragmentary nature possi-
ble ; it; however, we regard the work merely
as a series of sketches illustrative of provincial
field sports, and the domestic habits of our rural.
squirearchy, then it deserves high praise ; first,
for its accuracy and judicious selection of de-
tails ; and, secondly, for the freshness and
vigour of its descriptions. The author's heart
is evidently in his task ; he writes con amore ;
and the consequence is, that he imparts much of
the pleasure to his readers that lie has himself
experienced in writing. The two principal per-
sonages of his story are, Squire Scourfield, and
his old Whipper-in, Torn Bolton; both of
whom are strongly-marked characters, and
drawn, we should say, from living originals.
The first represents the sporting Squire of
the present day, as correctly as Squire
Weston represents the same character of Field-
day, and is intended to be the model of an
old E:iglish gentleman—simple and manly in
his habits, frank, cordial, and hospitable inn his
nature, gifted with strong sense, and passionately
devoted to all the robust out-of-door sports of
his country. This fine old fellow's veteran Whip-
per-in is a portrait whose features are equally strik-
ing and attractive. To the simplicity of the child he
adds the keen intelligence of the man ; is rough and
curt ofspeech, but friendly and even affectionate
iu his nature ; convivial and jocular in his cups;
brave as a lion ; and so incurably wedded to
certain sporting prejudices, that he would sooner
lay down his life than abandon them. Tine
interest of the story is restricted almost exclu-
sively to these two characters; for the females
are tamely drawn, and possess no other requi-
sites than such as they always possess in novels—
viz., youth and beauty.
_Of the descriptions we
have already spoken, ' They teem with anima-
tion and the account of .‘it fox-chase, as
detailed by the old Whipper-in to his son,
over a bowl of punch by a Christmas fire-
side, is as full of graphic energy as a simi-
lar sketch, which we remember to have
read some years ago in the " Quarterly Review,"
and which was attributed at the time—and we
believe justly, to the pen of Mr. Apperley, better
known as the " Nimrod" of our Sporting Ma-
gazines.

STANLEYBentiey,
LTHondOoRII,II7I .8 431 Vo/s.
This is a republication in three volumes of a
tale that has already appeared, in successive
portions, in the pages of Bentley's Miscel-
lany. It was then brought out anonymously
but the author has now avowed himself.
and proves to be a Mr. Cockton, who has cer-
tainly no cause to be ashamed of his present per-
formance. Stanley Thorn, as we have more than
once taken occasion to observe, is a smart,
bustling story, put together with much tact.

Tthhe
T TO
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accountingtOh ite PmEoT r p
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forth e
followingTHE
BANQUETletterhas beets
absence of Thomas Moore, Esq.,
to some irregularity it was onlyrece_iressed :
Sloper-
"
ban-
quet. Although it is dated the llfomtrhof
vSedeptethmisbemr'oorivniinngg
by the gentleman to whom it was
ton, Se
ptemtobeyrou a few days since, msd,
w
11
e
,1841. DearOyeln w
O'Dwyer—ln Inepartedexpressing
my regret in
Dublin, that urgent business would
call i
before the day of the intended dinner to Lordmto England
Morpeth,
name to what-
ever forgot to beg that you would annex my.
ever tribute expressive of our respect and gratitude may
be presented to his Lordship. We, in whose cause be
has so gallantly fought, may well feel proud of a
cham-
pion to whose talents and character even the enemy has
borne cordial testimony. As to the prospect now before
us, I should most certainly see some grounds for de-
spondence did I not feel confidence that there is a vitality
in the cause of Irish freedom--a 4 certain spark of truth
(to use the language of Lord Bacon), that will fly up in
the face of those who seek to tread it out.'—Believe me,
yours sincerely, Thomas Moore. To A. Carew O'Dwyer,
Esq."—Dublin Monitor.
VV.
THE LATE VV. HARRISON, ESQ., Q.C.--
By the death of this eminent counsel, the following lucrative
appointments. have become vacant:-'Counsel to the Lea-
sury'and the War-office, and Attorney-General to the
Duchy of Cornwall.