The Sun.
London, England, 1846-05-04 00:00:00

author intends us to be merry. Keneay has a curious
morceau entitled

A THOUGHT.
"Life—like a lute, whose strings, tome sense, some loose,
Discourse delicious music—is mosi, sw(et
When in pursuits diversified employ'd—
Pleasure this hour and wisdom in the next."
Such are the component parts of this magazine, mis-
cellaneous both in selection and ability.

AIZ S WORTH.
There is a really mournful poverty in the present
number of Ainsworth the principal portion of its pages,
consisting of twat! tree chapters, translated from third-
rate French romances, another section of a long-pub-
lished fiction, and only three original contributions.
Alexander Dumas and Eugene Scribe are very
clever, showy writers, without question, but surely we
h. ave scribes of our own equally good, if not
immeasurably superior, and as surely their effusions
would more appropriately distend an English magazine
than the second-hand lucubrations of our neighbours.
" Piquillo Alliaga" and the " Count of Monte Christo"
are not decidedly of such transcendent excellence but
that they might give way to wholesome picces of our
indigenous scribblers. Such an anomaly as the one we
have just mentioned is too glaring to allow us to pass it
over in silence. Ainsworth must " awake! arise!" or
very rapidly dwindle away in popularity. We say this
from a wish to witness its resuscitation from a terrible
state of torpor. Mr. Wright's article about an alchemist
is the only attractive one in the number, and it is suffi-
ciently strange to excite the curiosity of the most indif-
ferent. " Bassora" carries in every line the impress of
Mr. W. Francis Ainsworth's pen, and consequently,
while it betokens the industrious and observant traveller,
it is tedious withal. " Irish Legends," by Mr. Forrest,
may possibly be read, because they are the only rhyth-
mical Effusions in the magazine; which altogether affords
good opportunity for improvement.

DOLMAN.

Guided by experience, the new editor proceeds upon
his mission with even increased ability; the articles are
generally selected with discrimination, they are attrac-
tive in their theme, and have a very singular and pleas-
ing diversity of style. In this latter respect one might
almost identify the writer of each without the assistance
of their signatures: the galloping, beige-and-ditch pre-
cipitation of John Keegan, the earnest, though some-
what crude beauties of the compositions of Mr. Price,
the lucid precision of Mr. Jerningham, the sonorous but
rather elaborated mannerisms of the author of the
" Analysis of Wit," and especially the scholarly, yet
natural eloquence of Mr. Keon. All these may be de-
tected without much trouble, and their great dissimilarity,
together with their different amount of merit, impart to
this magazine the charm of discursiveness, We pre-
sume we may now regard Dolman as numbering amongst
the prominent miscellanies. It has proceeded with an un-
usual appearance of vigour for fifteen months, and
instead of dwindling away to the average tenuity of new
publications, it has ripened in merit as time has elapsed.
The opening paper for May has considerable interest,
being a narration of the persecutions inflicted upon
"The Catholics of England." It extends in point of
time to the reign of the boy king, Edward VI. The
compilation reflects much credit upon the industry and
impartiality of Mr. Jerningham. " A Tale of the
Falls," by the Rev. E. Price, has a dual attraction, see
ing that it recounts a perilous escape from a cataract,
and hinges mainly upon the conversion of the writer to
Catholicity. " Gleanings in the Green Isle" displays
the same animation as ever, but, unfortunately, the
same want of concentration. It is aptly followed by a
metrical tribute to the "Lakes of Killarney," by Mr.
James Silk Buckingham. " Vicissitudes of Illustrious
Men" has no little novelty in the subject selected for the
re 'ent number-namely, the romantic history of l) '
Na-
poleon's Paladin, Murat. We remember no separate
narrative of this extraordinary man—indeed, we believe
this to be the first memoir of his life which has ever ap-
peared, at least in the English language. The editor
has restricted himself to a critical notice of a remarkable
work, published not long since, and called "Rome as it
was under Paganism, and as it became under the Popes."
On the whole, we admire the panegyrics lavished on the
author, because we conceive them to be honest and dis-
criminating. In one particular, however, we think the
reviewer has displayed an undue leniency—he lauds the
book in its entirety. Now, here we seriously think him
to be at fault. The two volumes are undoubtedly superb in
their imaginativeness, in their erudition, and in their
artistic excellence; but we regard them as decidedly de-
ficient in symmetry of construction—they are void of
that sequential perspicacity of narration, without which
a literary work cannot be regarded as faultless. It is a
glorious assemblage of fragments, but they are discon-
nected and confused in arrangement. As a specimen of
the poetry in Dolman's Magazine, we transcribe several
verses from an exquisite coatribution addressed to the
E. E. M. K.:—
subject of " Spring," and subscribed by the initials

A beam and a gush of tears—bless'd tears!
From relenting spheres,
Have pierced my dungeon's gloom ;
And now uprisen from chains, from prison,
I float on clouds of bloom!

A zone, and a kirtle green—tender green,
With the trickling sheen
Of molten diamonds spread,
These have lured, from its cell immured,
The snowdrop's virgin head !

I smile and the stirring mould—miser mould,
Of ILy bourdea gob a,
A boon is forced to yield;
As it up-creeps in dazzling heaps,
The crocus gilds the field.

I weep, and the violets bloom—purple bloom,
In a leafy gloom,
(Like sweet thoughts barn of sorrow)
Than which no gem my diadem
Of rarer werth might borrow.

My feet as the meads they skim—deftly skim,
From the mountain's rim,
A trail of lustre bear ;
Emerald gloss for the sprouting moss,
Sheen for the piping air.

-
And see, in my wild-wood bowers—happy bowers,
The white may-flowers,
As saints immaculate,
Whose starry eyes look up to the skies
With beam-light saturate!

FRASER.
Fraser contains a number of very readable articles
this month, but scarcely any of them refer to subjects
requiring discussion, or that can give rise to any
lengthened observations. " Past and Present Condition
of British Poetry" gives a succinct and on the whole an
impartial account of the poets that came in with King
George 111., and those that flourished during his reign.
And it may be mentioned as a curious fact, that all the
great, celebrated poets of the age closed their labours
with the close of his reign. Byron died four years after
that period, Campbell, and Scott, and Crabbe, and Moore
may be said to have then finished their poetical labours,
and not one has sprung up since that is really entitled
to the name, and we can therefore hardly see how the
writer will be able to find materials, as he promises, for
another paper on the present condition of our poetry.
" The Principal Campaigns in the Rise of Napoleon"
are continued, and the present article is entirely devoted
to the campaign of Marengo. In that we find little
novelty, for the history of the remarkable battle, re-
markable for its results, as well as for the mode in
which it was gained, is generally known. It was an ac-
cident to which Bonaparte's genius and courage con-
tributed nothing. Dessaix and Killerman did the work,
but the prime agent was the old, incapable Austrian
General, Melas, who, in place of following up the most
complete victory ever gained, went to sleep at one
o'clock in the day, and when he awoke found his army
utterly ruined. " Something more about Victor Hugo"
gives a very fair opinion respecting the works of the
French poet and peer, and will enable the reader to
judge for himself, for there are long extracts given
from his works, with a free translation in English.
There is a well arranged summary of the campaign on
the Sutlej, with a description of the battles and the
country where they were fought. It is extremely im-
partial. All due praise is given to Sir Hugh Gough for
his resolution, daring courage, and ultimate success, bet
doubts are occasionally thrown on his mode of command-
ing an army, and some blame is attached to him for
trusting more to English bayonets and English bravery
than to judicious arrangements and manmuvring, by
which the writer thinks many lives might have teen
spared. The charge is not unfounded, and possibly
Gough would have had less reason to boast, nay, might
have been defeated, if he bad commanded any other
troops. The writer thus sums up his remarks:—
are.a absorbed and.
.become an integral
"The Seikhs have been punished by the privation of all
that fertile district which lies between the Sutlej and the
Hyphasis or Beass. The wholeb of the protected states, as
portion of the British empire. One million and a half ster-
cShirhenhaaarrynobl
ling is demanded as compensation for the expenses of the
war, and military occupation of the whole of the Punjaub is
to be held till the full amount shall be paid. And a re-
they used to be called,
Smith hasge'been
arrangement of the Seikh army is to take place, on such a
plan as the Governor-General shall judge best for the preser-
y earned ; and
vation of peace both at home and abroad. Finally, Sir
Hen Hardinge has been created Viscount Hardin y,
Sir
on all the other officers and men engaged ho
heaped, which may gratify the country honours have been
but can add nothing to the high fam
Hugh
w a r d eGd owu gi
thl;
e ef h bestows them,
They have been thanked by
both nous the recepients.
they are thanked by every man, woman, :s_of Parliament ;
out the empire; and even they who mourn
nd child through-
their nearest of kin find comfort i . over the fall of
0 the thought that they

sUbaneletnedallowed to usurp
rni
ae
tae,
locyfo nhtthaaevi ne
TAIT'S-7.--
The arcleThe Tariff. anclvtehiet
dOigreegsotend,'a'
States, and the
account
Government of the Fountry. We fear there is but too much truth in the view. which. the writer takes of the populace,
and th© ruinous influence they have upon
all statesmen not endued with virtuous principles, and,
above all, moral courage. The mob, la fact, guide the
iunnAfo conditionmrtAmer
destiny of the young Republic. The tames of Wa3h-
ington, Jefferson, and others of the same class, are, to all
appearance, revered, but, the y are revered as were the
names of Brutus and t,assius: and others of the same
school, when Rome was sunk in slavery, and the people
only thought of indulging their. grovelling appetites.
" The plague of demagogues is upon the land—the com-
promises of the Constitution are trampled. under foot—
E partiesot
hfnetghlei s
presenttmh ana t
the tyranny of the numerical 231, ajorit_
y is complete."
And in another place he says-- The tyranny of public
opinion in this country paralyses the boldest hearts, and courage as
moral . a virtue is nearly extinct, in all the
relations, public or private,. o.f American life." This is
a sad picture, but we believe it. is true to the letter, and
that America, of all places in the world, is the very
last which a man of refined habits and independent
mind would select for his residence. Mobs are the most