The Sun.
London, England, 1848-06-16 00:00:00

or on one Shelley—" Shelley knew little of the nrt
of composition • his poetry lacks repose . . . .
the general reader becomes wearied with a single
page, &c. ;" or on one Alfred Tennyson—" If Mr.
Tennyson aims at readers who have vacated the
nursery, he should remember that they will probably
require something more than that he should lisp in
numbers, &c.'" How terse, how racy, how senten-
tious, is Mr. Anno Domini Toovey ! Yet, notwith-
standing the book before us, we cannot but doubt
that the cloak of a Gifford, a Johnson, or a Dacier,
has descended upon such shoulders as his.

LAYS OF THE DEER FOREST. 2 Vols. By
John Sobieski and Charles Edward Stuart.
To every one who is acquainted with the publica-
tion of this work merely through advertisement, we
can imagine that the signature of its authors must be
somewhat enigmatical. Many will regard the
names on the title-pages as mere pseudonyms, as-
sumed for the nonce as Mr. Dickens assumed the
mask of Boa, Dr. Walcot that of Peter Pindar, Sydney
Smith that of Peter Plymly, and Mr. Lever that of
Harry Lorriquer. Briefly, however, the supposition
would prove to be erroneous ; for the names are writ-
ten down in sober earnest, like the names of the merest
John Smith in Whitechapel. The fact is, the authors—
John Sobieski and Charles Edward Stuart—are two
brothers inhabiting a little river-island given to them
by the good Lord Lovat, and who have penned these
flowing " Lays of the Deer Forest," not for the sake
of writing a book, but for the unaffected love of song
and for their simple narrative. The assumed rela-
tionship with the Jolair Dheirg—the son of Prince
Charles Edward and his wife, the Countess D'Al-
banie—may be better understood by consulting their
previous work, called " Tales of the Century."

OF
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Gradually, from month to month, the new edition
up on
our bookshelves, until we have now before
us
eighteen elegant and handsome volumes, together
with fourteen parts of the new illustrative " Atlas."
We have watched the progress of the republication
with some interest, and with no little attention, from
the time of its commencement ; and we have great
satisfaction in averring, that, with a very few unim-
portant misprints, we have not detected any diminu-
tion whatever of the care with which the new edition
has been revised. The work is laid before the public
in as cheap a form as could, by any reasonable man,
be desired ; and, certainly, in as admirable a shape as
could be wished even by the most fastidious. Of the
"Illustrative Atlas" we shall only remark, that as it
contributes an absolutely essential accompaniment
to the narrative of European history, from the com-
mencement of the French Revolution in 1789 down
to the treaty of peace in 1815, so it is literally in-
valuable to every one who remembers the master-
piece of Alison among the classic gems of his library.
The edition is altogether one of the most remarkable
productions of the British press during the present
century.

FINE ARTS.
THE ART-JOURNAL. No. CXX.
Notwithstanding the slight modification in the
name of this enterprising periodical, it would be im-
possible not to recognise it at once as our old fa-
vourite, the Art- Union Journal—and not so much
from the light-brown cover with the disc, the candle-
sticks and the goddesses, as from the beauty and
profusion of the embellishments. "The Golden
Age" is an exquisite engraving by Hunter, from the
painting by Magnus, copied from the original en-
graving by Mandel. The " Prince Alfred as
Autumn," again, is a continuation of the charming
series of statuettes by Mary Thornycroft. And
" The Nymph of the Waterfall," taken by F. Bacon
from the painting of Daniel Maclise, in the posses-
sion of Charles Dickens, is a brilliant and elaborate
production. Of the curiosities contained in this
number the specimen of the compound plate-print-
ing is decidedly the most remarkable—it sets the
forger entirely at defiance. It is quite impossible to
praise too highly the original designs given in pages
187, 188, and 189, for our manufactures. There is
a poetical gracefulness about some of them (such as
the marmalade pot with its circle of oranges, and
sprigs of orange leaves and blossoms or the salad bowl,
consisting of an opening lettuce, or the butter-dish,
composed of a king-cup) that is really admirable.
These are the designs which have made the name of
Felix Summerley pleasant in the popular ear, and
which has lately provoked the pencil of Doyle to the
embellishment of Punch with his droll suggestion for
a milk jug. The exhibition of the Royal Academy
for 1848 is criticised with considerable care and
ability ; and the country abodes of Teniers and Rubens
are represented by excellent wood engravings.