The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-05 00:00:00

THE MAGAZINES.

DOUGLAS JERROLD'S.
e have two additional chapters of "St. Giles and
!pj
• as" in this number. Master Ralph Gum's
itonsllue plot against 4, the fair maid of Kent," is ini-
ered abortive by the intervention of Bright Jem, who,
Who
reserved her for his nephew, takes her to Capstick,
Jlin safely delivers her into the hands of Snipeton, by
Whom she is transferred to St. Giles, with directions to
company her to his country-house at Hampstead.
"Another minute, and to the joy and ill-concealed astonish-
.meat of the pair, the girl saw in St. Giles the wanderer and
i gralint to whom she had given the shelter of a barn—and
beheld in his new fellow-servant, Becky, the soft-
earted maiden of the Lamb and Star:,
the The return of Capstick has been petitioned against on
gr
worth"nd of bribery, much to the indignation of the
Y Muffin-maker. Tangle, turned off by the St.
JaMes D
Sft• • arty, offers to split upon them; and Capstick,
Peton, and Tangle are left in consultation. We have
also_ a continuation of the " History for Young England,"
`O4 which (the period is the reign of Henry III.) the rise
f
p; our present Parliamentary constitution is admirably
:
'4"ti. The article entitled " Criminals" is most sug-
Rese.

gm: The most atrocious criminals were innocent little babbies
same they grew up to be hanged! Of two men born on
t_day, it has happened that one has been 'launched
t,;_o eternity' by the hangman, whilst the other has been
);;Zen to his place in the respectable family vault, and his
1:10ry rejoices in an epitaph, blossoming with those scent-
‘l,l virtues which spring up so plentifully for dead men
'9l they have not to be buried at the expense of the
arish.2,
1118114 is the theme which the writer undertakes to il-
:trate, and in so doing he goes deeply into the meta-
physics of crime, and shows why it is that the generality
akind take such an interest in criminal literature;
hit shows the criminal in his moral and social relation-
fll3,; the reader is made to feel the moral magnetism
site,
mPtation—to feel, in fact, that had he been placed in
t,,,dar circumstances, he too might have fallen, and the
gni!) ceases to be the abstract thing it is in the statute
to w• All who take an interest in the prevention as
I,,liiltra-distino•uished from the punishment of crime—all
re° have at heart the amelioration of the condition of their
4"w-creatures, should ponder over this article. There
()re a variety of other articles in th present number, all
Which possess considerable meriet.

4, HOOD'S MAGAZINE.
iy ,
h 4griez de Castro "—already dramatised by Landor—
pi,
.ref ere pursued to the completion of the third act. The
tlPPears to have been elaborately constructed and
eleandlle "A Word with tor. Johnson 7 is a
h "el' bold performance. The writer dares to im-
Lea4l the celebrated " Preface" to Shakspere with in-
eilisistency and harshness. He is right in his estimate
that most beautiful and sonorous composition ; it is
lts audacious in -
euacious its condemnation of the Great, Master
8 it is admirable as a piece of rhetoric. We shall
"Itch the continuation of this essay with much irate.
Lett 3_ the elucidation. of Mara Antony's glorious oration
Coat" Julius Casar is sagacious throughout. "My of
,oitt " is just such a paper as
.would. have. delighted
poor Laman Blanchard : the narrative is simple enough
d affecting. Mr. Rowcroft's everlasting Bush -
4411ter " is continued, and while it displays talent in
Dainting scenery, it displays also his power of spinning
4,4,1.twfu11y long :‘ yarn." There are sprinklings of little
`ll andends, stray thoughts, scraps of prose and
tee,; facetim, and so forth, in the magazine, most of
a"I excellent, some of them execrable. Some " Son-
(1"4 on Snowdon " by J. Jones are worthy of that
• ghtful sonneteer. From a fine-spirited article,
thaled " Claim of Periodical Writers to Participate in
4.lss:enefits of The Literary Fund," we gladly quote the
ti wing. The observations are sensible and just ; end
11,system of that association requires a most compre-
k;live reform. Periodical writers and reporters are a
t11°,;" numerous class than many imagine : and for these
&111,2 is no refuge. Against them The Literary Fund is
`u,efully closed. Thus speaks the writer :
h 3, when in France the whole body of respectable
1,.-aiti are acknowleded as men of letters, why should liberal
itritld draw lines of demarcation to the detriment of the
'e ~—‘ section of her writers? Writers in periodicals and
,
Perh:ers, who have never published a separate volume, have,
teati7llB, done more general and essential good than.nin-
tlarr",,3 of the select, who are recognised as coming within the
l'ank`'W definition of the Society'a regulations. From the
Pr the reporters we have had a Lord Chancellor, who,
▪ Zertune turned her back upon him, instead of taking
Ilsno '',3? the hand would, notwithstanding his great and ac-
-11,i• 'edged talents, have been deemed ineligible to have re-
laicte,, relief from the Literary Fund, unless he could have
Soh, situ to the authorship of some specific book.
.Few per-
gqi,„' we believe, are fully aware, when they subscribe their
aid as to this fund for the purpose of providing temporary
tna_to the necessitous members of the literary fraternity, that
teriey!ief those whose daily or weekly, or monthly, prquattr;
linDleleubrations, they peruse with benefit and. delight, r
Etinn.B,BlY excluded, should they come to need it, from henc-
e 13Y their liberality and kindness."
renallorNelY it is a grievance which clamours loudly for its
11;0. The writer proceeds :
Dartieuel have an objection, and a very strong one too, to the
Ituip:Dalt,,,,,eahramv:nner in which literary ohpersns are required to
.11 to the society. Its printed form as been shown to
seen the signatures attached to it, and we aver
han.iiieje,,n.scientiously that we are shocked to observe the
moat.ti
ng manner in which the male or female applicant
iaore seek for relief. No mendicant could be required to do
descri;') "parish pauper could be asked more minuteli to
by thee ins whereabouts and his wants. In the first place,
form !tiles and regulations of the association, a printed
'With e:te be applied for • this form has then to be filled up
future particulareations otfhiaeeaxpplicant's present property and
open!,e exPe t •
posing his circumstances too
after h., ;11: committee. But, more than this, he is required
round t`_. s himself filled up the printed form, to go
r4f
_e.ootll2 frienda and obtain their attestation to the truth
perCar,r rt, to disclose to them that he is in distress, and
hinueji,streerm this forced exposure of his circumstances, to do
an aid y meanent mischief in some quarters, for the sake of
aistountlvial h is temporary, and never of considerable
`other
objection we have to make is to the mode ill