The Sun.
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LITERATURE.

Undercurrents Overlooked. By the Author of
" Flemish Interiors," &c. 2 vols. Bentley.

This work treats of a momentous subject, and one
whose importance is becoming daily more generally
recognised. The situation of the lowest classes in
large cities is a theme which always awakens the
sympathy of the philanthropist and the attention
of the social philosopher. A book, therefore, which
sets before us truly the state of our labouring
population, their sufferings and sins, their struggles
and successes, the evils with which they have to
combat, and the advantages which some of them
possess over others, would be a work of value. We
are bound to say, however, that these volumes by no
means fulfil this purpose. They consist entirely
of a comparison of the worst phases of English
poverty and crime with the best aspects of the
Parisian lower classes, interspersed with remarks
on the wonderful efficacy and self-denial of Catholic
charity and the coldness and apathy of Protestant
England. We do not question the perfect sincerity
of the writer, or his earnest commiseration for the
suffering he describes, but he has no right to under-
take a work of this kind with a feeling of prejudice
in his mind. In the first place it is very difficult to
make a fair comparison between England and any
continental nation from official papers. Our evils
and faults of administration, great as they may
be, are never sheltered by national mystifica-
tion or hypocrisy. Public papers, reports to
Parliament, letters, speeches, police courts, and
other channels, bring to the light all the failings
that can be discovered in the working of our system.
We are so ready to grumble at our own faults, that
continental nations, who studiously keep theirs in
the background, cannot understand us, and
think we are undoubtedly much worse than they are.
In the second place, our worst-managed workhouses,
asylums, .&e., would look very well on paper, which
is all we see of many of the Catholic and Parisian
institutions in these volumes. The practical work-
ing of the one is dwelt upon, the cases which have
occasionally been brought before magistrates of
cruelty, and similar charges are given at
great length, while the plan of the other only is
stated. :The rules are cited and their admirable na-
ture enlarged upon. Again, setting aside prejudice,
the author has not perhaps had a fair opportunity
of judging of Protestant charities. How is it that we
hear nothing of the large numbers relieved by our
hospitals ? Of the Free Hospital needing no recom-
mendation but sickness and poverty, relieving two
or throe thousands weekly ? How is it that the
numbers of Ragged Schools are not mentioned, and
the strenuous efforts now being made,by Churchmen
and Dissenters alike, to reach the lowest and most
depraved classes are not even alluded to ? No doubt
the working of our Poor-laws and Poor-rates are
inefficient and defective ; no doubt hundreds in this
wealthy city are struggling for bare subsistence ;
no doubt there is among us, as among other na-
tions, a large number absorbed in their own gains
and profits, and indifferent to the wants of the
poor ; but the picture before us is drawn in extrava-
gant colours by an unfair and partial hand. Eng-
lishmen who peruse it will be inclined to question,
if the lack of Catholic institutions is the eause of
all this vice and misery, how it is that the sister
island does not afford a happier contrast, and how
it is that the domains over which the heads of the
Church have ruled with unlimited power for ages
are just ROW the most disturbed and discontented
provinces in Europe ? It is simply absurd to take
two great nations with an immense population
with all the intelligence and the vices attending a,
highly civilised state, and to tell us gravely that
one is altogether virtuous and well governed, the
vicious reclaimed, the sick tended, the poor well
cared for ; and that the other, the most energetic
and charitable nation in Europe, is lost in slothful-
ness and apathy, while infidelity is raging, crime
increasing, and hundreds starving in its midst.
We do not wish to assert that our workhouses are
not open to improvement, but when we are told
that they are about on a par with foreign prisons,
we may console ourselves by reflecting that, at
least, no one can be confined in them for five years
"par prevention" at the pleasure of his judges
without trial, as is the case in French prisons.
They have certainly.good cause to make them com-
fortable, since the inmates are quite as likely to
be innocent as guilty. But this is the strain of the
whole work, with which it is useless to contend. We
can only approve the discretion of the author in
reserving the right of translation, since this picture
of" Perfide Albion" will be more acceptable on the
other side of the Channel than here. It will accord
very well with the popular notion of Englishmen
selling their wives in Smithfield, and similar inte-
resting facts. But the English public like fair play
for themselves as 'well as for others; and
though they have no objection to a little
honest fault-finding, two volumes entirely
occupied with their disparagement political,
social, moral, and religious and the corre-
sponding elevation of their neighbours, will be a
little too much for the national equanimity, espe-
cially when they arrive at the mortifying fact, that
ten Protestants go mad in proportion to one Catholic.
It is like the virtuous indignation of American slave-
holders on the miseries of the English poor. We
can only lament the blindness and ingratitude that
renders these unhappy people so insensible to their
own advantages. Miserable and vicious as we are
told our population are, we have not to commemo-
rate a " Harper's Ferry," our Government is not the
plague and perplexity of Europe, neither have we
had three changes of dynasty in twenty-two years.

Echoes from the Backwoods. By Sir Richard
.
G. A. Levinge, Bart. Routledge.
_ _

The backwoods of North Amerioa, and descrip-
tions of its inhabitants, both human and animal,
are the subjects of this little work. The natural
history is simple and concise, and the anecdotes
exemplify the character and customs of the various
back States. The following example of the
satisfaction or damages which a Kentucky hus-
band is contented with for an outraged wife, speaks
for the style of the book.

" Some good stories we heard illustrative of high life in
Kentucky. A man who had feasted his eyes upon a fair
lady's graceful form, and followed her through the mazy
dance, at last ejaculated, with great emphasis, By Jams I
that gal's worth spoons, so I guess I'll dance with her.'
On the conclusion of the set, the gentleman's self-intro-
duction ran as follows : ' ➢Liss, will you dance with me F'
On the young lady's declining, he exclaimed, ' Well, you're
not so handsome but what you might ; and if you have got
a friend or a brother in the room, I'll whip him, by
And at another ball, which had gone on with great spirit
up to a certain time of the night, and fair partners and mint
juleps had had their effect upon the disciples of Davy
Crockett—

' The pipers loud and louder blew,
The dancers quick and quicker flew'—
the host suddenly rushed in amongst the dancers, exclaim-
ing, ' Gentlemen, the ball is broke, Captain Harris has
kissed my wife.' Of course, a regular commotion took
place ; and soft speeches were foregone for hurried draughts
of cocktail, slings, &c., as a general search took place for
muffs, boas, and tippets, and all thought of taking them-
selves off, when the injured husband suddenly made his re-
appearance, and, taking up a position in the midst of the
room, called out, ' Gentlemen, the ball may go on again;
Captain Harris has behaved like a gentleman ; ho has given
me ample satisfaction, by I—he has given me five
dollars 1'

-4We were told of a man being seen writhing on the
ground, as if in convulsions, the while thrusting his thumbs
furiously into the sand—on being asked what he was about
he replied, ' he was practising gouging.' ,
" All carry knives, generally, Arkansas toothpicks.
The blades, being longer than the handles, allow only
three-parts to be shut ; over the point, a scabbard is car-
ried, which, when in expectation of a row, they take off,
and begin picking their teeth with the point, preparatory
to opening the full length of the blade, which is only re-
sorted to should the row become a general one.
" The following is a specimen of their mode of proceed-
ing upon entering a steamer, particularly should it be
crowded, and the chance of getting a berth doubtful. They
take out their knife and'place it on one, exclaiming, H—
that is my berth ;' as much as to say, they are real), to
fight for it ; but should any ono happen to have a pistol.
and allow the possessor of the knife to see the superior
weapon, he will immediately give in, pocket the knife, and
withdraw his claim, as be considers the other better armed,
and, in consequence, the better man. The old saying of
" might is right, is fully exemplified on the Mississippi,
and this is the excuse for Lynch law."

The Mind of Shakspeare, as exhibited in his works.
By the Rev. Aaron A. Morgan, M.A. Chapman
and Hall.
This work commends-itself to the philosophical
student and critical investigator of our great
dramatist, " who would inoculate himsejf with the
mind of Shakspeare as distinct from the discursive
flights of his genius." It is evidently the result of
a long and careful study of Shakspeare's ethics and
philosophy, and of a full appreciation of his un-
rivalled powers of expression. It, is, as the preface
terms it, " a Philological Concordance and compre-
hensive register of his maxims and wise sayings."
The subjects, which exceed five hundred in number,
are arranged in alphabetical order, and classified so
that any particular passage may be readily dis-
covered. A brief explanatory analysis is affixed to
each quotation, which must necessarily havein-
volved a great amount of labour. Tho proverbs
and songs introduced in Shakspeare's works are
annexed, and the admirer of these beautiful fi fig-
ments can quickly turn to them.

Notes on Noses. New Edition. Bentley.
This amusing little work was published several
years since, and has now-re-appeared in a smaller
and cheaper form. There is a great deal of truth
in it, though the author pushes his theories to an
extreme, as theorists are apt to do, and seems
almost to think that the length and shape of the
nose is the cause instead of the effect of certain
peculiarities of temper or disposition. Nevertheless
there is some foundation for his method of reading
character, and if the reader does not choose to agree