The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-18 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

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A CATHOLIC HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
Vol. I. By William Bernard Mac Cabe.
After the illustrious and remarkable writers who have
written the history of this our England, any work, now-
a-days, at all bearing upon that noble study appears a
superfluous, and, to some extent, an impertinent in-
trusion. o many inimitable authors have penned
the records of the land, that any addition to their
labours, is apparently an act of utter supererogation.
Whoever would adventure upon the publication of
such an addition must prepare himself to
be regarded with suspicion ; and must even apolo-
gise for his audacity by a eandid and minute

explanation of his reasons for attempting such an un-
dertaking. The public invariably expect this, and,
to speak plainly, they are fully entitled to expect it.
Otherwise the press might be teeming with, the lum-
ber of modern commentary upon ancient events. The
jealousy which is thereby evinced, for all historical
compositions, protects the public from libraries of
useless and unwieldy volumes. With the voluminous
productions of Rapin, of Holinshed, of Hume, of
Lingard, and others upon our bookshelves—with the
inestimable fragments contributed to our national
history by Hallam, by Sharon Turner, by Lord
Lyttleton, by Charles J. Fox, by Si: Thomas More,
and the like—with perspicuous historiettes of Oliver
Goldsmith and his followers, at our command—we
must acknowledge that we are 4isinclined to wel-
come any one, however eminent, or however learned.
who, to employ a vulgar simile, merely "dishes up.'
old materials in a new form. We have a species of
antipathy for any one who will thus dare to profane
a sanctuary hallowed by the footsteps of the writers
already enumerated. We look with suspicious cu-
riosity even to the forth-coming work by the Right
• Hon. Thomas Babington Macaulay. We are satis•
fied that this distinguished man will give some satis-
-1 factory reasons for the employment of his capacious
mind upon a history which has already evoked the
wisdom, the eloquence, the research, impartiality, and
the judgment of a Sharon Turner and a. Hume, of a
Lingard and a Hallam. Still we shall look for those
reasons, as an explanation to which we are fully en-
titled. Impressed thus earnestly with the necessity
for some comprehensive uubosoming, in every new
historian of English history, we 'have turned with
much inquisitiveness to the introduction prefixed
to this preliminary volume by Mr. Mac
Cabe. We have read that introduction attentively,
and have subsequently scrutinised the eleven chapters-
of his history iss yet published. And after a dispas-
sionate examination of these pages, we say, that the
work promises to be a valuable addition to our
national literature. It interferes in no one particular'
with the writings of preceding historians, and that it
does not, a few words will testify. The merit of Mr.
Mac Cabe's work is the novelty of its conception and
execution. Instead of filtering the stream of history
through his own judgment, as his predecessors had
invariably done, he here gives us the waters of that
stream pure and sparkling from its different fountains.
The book indeed is scarcely so much a production of
his own as a transcript from the productions of
others. It is a series of well-connected translations
from various ancient writers, the obscurities of which
are elucidated in foot-notes, and the contradictions of
which are reconciled by a similar arrangement. The
author had remarked, in his historical studies, .that
Rapin, Hume, and the rest, had all of them their
apparent blemish7—their, authorities are always ex,
eluded from their pages, and the "English reader is
seldom permitted to know snore of them than the titles
of their works." For the purpose of correcting what
appeared to him such an intolerable omission, • Mr.
.M'Cabe conceived to himself the ' notion of
affording us the descriptions of these ancient
authorities themselves—ef stringing those descriptions
together, so as to form a tolerable connected whole,
and thereby of producing a pure and unimpeachable
record of our national events. Wherever there might
be discrepancies or improbabilities. in these authori-
ties, the reader could judge for himself, instead of
trusting to the opinions of any intermediate party. If
this work have any merit at all, says Mr. Mac Cabe,—
" That merit will be found to consist in the originality
of its plan—in the attempt, however feebly executed, to
make the reader acquainted with the writings ; with the
thoughts of Gildas, Nennius, Bede, Asser, Ethelwerd,
Florence of Worcester, Eadmer, Simeon of Durham,
William of Malmsbury, Eddins, Henry of •Huntingdon,
Roger de Hoveden, John Bromton, William of Newbury,
Roger de Wendover, Mathew Paris, Nicholas Trivet,
Ralph Higden, Goscelin Sprott, Walsingham, Knighton,
Capgrave, &c., &c., &c.; to do this, not by mere extracts
from them, but by making their words the text out of
which the history is compiled, and by combining them
together, to give a consecutive narrative of the ancient
annals of the country. In short, by introducing the
reader to• those venerable monks, and leaving him to learn
history from their lips."
From the writings of Aldhelm, Boniface,•Alcuin, and
Lanfranc, he might have selected a multitude
of passages in illustration of the brilliancy and
vividness with which they can delineate a
scene, pourtray a character, or narrate an occur-
rence. Mr. Mac . Cabe has contented himself
with a few, which he ,has interpolated in his intro-
duction. The present volume closes with the reign
of Egbert, in 836. It is a most copious and pictu-
re quer t eord of all the preceding events. The English
'Historical Society is already engaged in the publica-
tion of our ancient chroniclers, biographers, and histo-
rians, in their original languages. The present book
is a translation of those chroniclers, biographers, and
historians. To the scholar the former work will be
most valuable. To the general reader the latter work
will •be invaluable. Mr. M'Cabe deserves every com-
mendation for the extent to which he has tasked his
erudition, and for the industry with which he has
compiled his materials. The ' Catholic History of
England," while it affords us a knowledge of the
English people, as well as of the English kings, in re-
mote times, is a lasting monument of the research
and intelligence of its author.

DESTITUTION IN ZETLAND.—A criminal trial took
place at Lerwick, a few days ago, of two men who were
tried before the Sheriff and a jury, on a charge of house-
breaking and theft. It appeared in evidence that the
4t two lads had broken in- through the slated roof of a
warehouse at North Yell, and taken a quantity of meal."
And what was the cause of such a crime ? The defence.
was, that hunger had compelled them to this mode of
getting food." The panels were found guilty, but were
" recommended to leniency, we suppose, on account of
their poverty and hunger," and they were sentenced
each to three months' imprisonment. Such is the state
went of this case, What dies it disclose ? What, but
that in Zetland there are individuals—young men—per-

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sons hitherto of unblemished character, but now having a
stigma affixed to their names for life—driven to crime—
not from choice butLof necessity, compelled to break the
laws of their country to keep in their existence. We are
told they entered a storehouse, and stole a " quantity of
meal." Wby did they not take tobacco, sugar, porter,
soap, molasses, crockery-ware, tea, or other articles ?
Why was it merely "a quantity of meal ?" There is
a truth telling eloquence in the words, " a quantity
of meal." It speaks of starvation. Bad as Ireland
really is, it is not, on the whole, in a condition nearly
so wretched as the county of Zetland. In Ireland,
no " lad" need starve. A generous Government has
provided means to prevent such a calamity there.
But what is doing for Zetland ? Why, the same corre-
spondent who furnished us the report of the trial we
have referred to, informs us that " poverty has now got

loose amongst us. No work is to lie had, except for a
few men, employed in draining by Mr. Davidson of Lax
firth." He adds a hint that, if some public works were
set agoing, " they might save many from utter starva-
tion.' This is truly a most pitiable state of matters,
and calls loudly for aid. A patient, persevering, the
deeply wrongly and oppressed group of islands is on the
brink of starvation, and there is nothing doing on its
behalf ! The Zetlanders have been long overlooked—
their social and physical condition has not been inquired
into—and we hold that, unless something be immediately
done on their behalf, results the most disastrous cannot
but follow.—John 0' Groat Journal.
Tu. NEW PLANET.—The present distance of the
new planet, expressed in common measure, is about
3.200,000,000 English miles from the sun, and about
3,100,000,000 from the earth. Its distance from Uranus
—whose motions it disturbs—is about 150,000,000 miles.
Its diameter is about 50,000 miles. That of Uranus is
about 35,000 ; of Jupiter, 85,000 ; of Saturn, 79,000 ;
of the earth, 8,000. Its cubic bulk is to that of the '
earth as 250 to 1. The new planet is the largest in our
system except Jupiter and Saturn ; and since these two
planets, as well as Uranus, are each attended by a train
of satellites, it is extremely probable that the new
planet will have a similar accompaniment. We had the
pleasure of seeing the planet on Thursday night from
the Calton-hill. It comes to the meridian a few minutes
before nine, and is within a short distance of Saturn
it is nut distinguishable from a.
With a power under 200,
fixed star.—Edinburgh Paper.
AN UNWELCOME VISITOR On Thursday night
the inmates of the Fountain Hotel, Sheerness, were much
alarmed by the following occurrence :—Shortly after
Mrs. Gregory, the landlady, had retired to rest, she
heard her bed room door opened and shut again, but
imagining it to be her husband, she took no notice of it;
but the opening of the door a second time attracted her
attention. when she saw, from the dim light of a night-
shade, a short figure, which she concluded was that of
her mother, who slept in an adjoining room ; however,
shortly afterwards, hearing a rustling noise under her
be, at the same time noticing a smell as of something
burning, she became alarmed, and hastening to her
mother's bed-room for assistance, returned with her to
her own bed room, and, looking under the bed,
observed the naked feet of a man. Alarmed at the
circumstance, they immediately ran down stairs for help,
when Mr. Gregory, accompanied by the waiter, pro-
ceeded to the room. The tellow having been disturbed
in his concealment. attempted to make his escape, and
which he would have effected at the moment, but for
two gentlemen who were sia)ing at the hotel, and who
intercepted him in his intended flight. He was then
handed over to the watchman, from whose custody he
escaped, and running down to the pier, took refuge in a
barge, lying alongside. The crew being aroused, quickly
routed the intruder from his retreat, and after inflicting
on him a severe chastisement, he was suffered to depart.
He was dressed in the garb of a sailor. Under Mrs.
Gregory's bed were found his stockings and a piece of
burnt rag, which he is supposed to have ignited, for what
purpose does not appear.