The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-22 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Health and Beauty.. By Madame Roxey A.

Caplin, Darton, and Co.
The author of. this interesting and useful t vv-
clmre has acquired such a celebrity in the art or
profession—for to the latter dignity corse'tmaking
is elevated in her hands—to which she has
ievoted
her talents and energies as to render any intzodo.°-
tory notice on our part unnecessary. Suffice it to
say the question of "corsets or no corsets" is
dealt with in these pages in an able, and, as mol't
people will think, a satisfactory manner ; the gene-
ral principles of dressing in conformity with the
conditions of health being also clearly laid down
for females of every age. Madame Caplin, of:
course, is at issue with that section of the medical
profession which sets its face against the use of the
corset altogether, and her efforts are directed to.
show that it is the abuse, and not the
use, of corsets that is to be deprecated. The laar
has so far the best of the argument in that
she shows that, if unnecessary for females in tv.
normal condition, the corset is necessary to an ex-
cessively large proportion of the sex, who, in con-
stitution or figure, have fallen into an abnormal
state, which more than warrants the use of this
appliance if constructed with scientific regard to
the constitutional, accidental, or incidental neces-
sities of the individual. That Madame Caplin
posses:Ns the requisite knowledge to adapt the cor-
set scieniifically to the wearer, and understan
the principles to be observed in clothing, few, if
any, who peruse these pages will be inclined tO
doubt. The book may therefore be commended to.
the notice of the female world, and more particu-
larly that part of it to which is entrusted the re-
sponsibilities of maternity, the requirements of the
sex in regard to clothing being set forth from the
cradle to old age,

The Duration, of Human Life and its three Eras.
By Joel Pinney, Esq. Longman and Co.
The desire—so generally entertained—to live'
to a good old age would seem ,to promise au
e
eager perusal by the many of a treatise lik
the present. A fair consideration of the con-
duet of mankind in relation to the acknow"
ledged means of securing such longevity, as
shown in the indulgence .of depraved appetites'
the neglect of sanitary appliances and the indiffcr-
epee manifested to the acquirement of sanitary
knowledge—leads, however, to a different conc.ltl-
sion, and, unfortunately, all the author can res.-
sonably look for is a careful perusal and a candid
judgment from the intelligent few. This, though'.
some of his propositions and deductions be of
doubtful acceptability, to use no stronger term, be
undoubtedly deserves and it is hoped will secure.
The importance of the subject with which he deals
he evidently appreciates, and to his philosophioa,.'
examination and extensive research, if we d
owe much that is new of a positive nature, We all
o pc"
at least indebted for a forcible representation 01
the probable causes and material agents that have
Shortened the lives of the human race, and of 41_1
barriers that prevent a return to the longevity of
the early patriarchs. A consideration of the dr'
cumstances distinguishing the era when the terl
of life reached three score years and ten leads the
author, apparently, to the conclusion that these
barriers are insuperable, but it is still open to us
obedience to natural laws to raise the average of
human life to the patriarchal level of oodern times.
A noticeable feature of the work is a .chapter fur;
nishing examples and illustrations of sensual aulav'e
voluptuous living from the earliest ages, eine° t
Deluge to the present time.

Orr's Circle of the Sciences. Houlston and
Stoneman.
Two instalments of this ably conducted, encl
popular series lie before us. One by James ImraY:
M.A., Civil Engineer, &c., may be deicribed LeL;
lucid exposition of " Practical Mechanics,"
cluding mechanical drawing, strength of materials,
and sources of mechanical power. The other,
" Chemistry of Food and Diet," including .CO
stituents of the human body, digestive and secretive
organs, and the physiological principles of diet is
translation of Lehre Der Nahrungs Mittel, Fur
Das Volk, by Professor Moleschaff, of Zurich by
Edward Bronner, M.D. To which is appended
A Chapter on Food Adulterations," by John
Scoffern, M.B. So far as we can judge both works
deserve the office of handbook on the
,subject on
which they treat. The latter—what we are about
to say, must not be taken invidiously—gives pro"
mise of the greater success, being lucidly written
like the former, and approximating closely to
scientific accuracy in matters in which all ago
directly concerned. A chapter on adulterations it
quite apropos at the present time, and that before
us is characterised by sufficient research, know.
ledge of the subject, and good sense, to add con- •
siderably to the value of the volume.

The Communion of Labour. By Mrs. Jameson.
Longman, Brown, Green, Longman, and

Roberts.
In the " Sisters of Charity," a lecture published
last year, Mrs. Jameson set forth and urged the
claims of her sex to a more equal share of the work
to be done, and a more perfect communion
of interests in the work done, enforcing her argu-
ment by the plea of necessity—the practical recog-
nition of such claims being imperatively demanded
in the present state of society. The present work,
meant, we are told, to be supplementary to the
above, is an'illustration and an expansion through
facts and examples of the principles there briefly
set forth, and was, in part, delivered as a lecture is
June last. It is an earnest book, in which mot °,
the arguments are strongly fortified by facts, en'
not a few just thoughts find the happiest exPres'
sion—a book to read and ponder over with discri-
mination and candour. Some of its revelations '
are startling and deplorable •, for instance, those
relating to hired nurses in workhouses and hospitals,
including the wives of soldiers chosen in the latter
capacity, to minister to the wounded and suffering
in the East. In a word, a strong case is made out
for the social reform the author seeks.

The Northmen in Cumberland and Westmoreland.

By Robert Ferguson.
An attempt, on the part of the author, to preElellt
in the form of a popular lecture such of the leading
facts in Mr. Worsae's " Danes and Norwegians 111
England," as relates to Cumberland, led, We 11:
told, to the production of the present work, wheel''
we do not hesitate to say, will be found extremely
interesting to the archaeologist and etymologis
The object of the author is to estimate the extent
of the Scandinavian immigration which took Oar
into a particular part of the kingdom, to investi-
gate its character, and to inquire into the probable
circumstances under which it occurred. In this
attempt he was led to form the theory of an /rural"
gration, more particularly Norwegian, proceeding,.
from the western part of the island, the grounds of
which are adduced, though the theory is not dog
matically insisted on. The traces left by the North'
men, unlike those left in this country by the ~.,,__
mans, which are almost exclusively material, the
reader will find are embedded in the dialect, man-
ners, and customs of Cumberland. Ingenuity and
freedom from dogmatism are not the least notice-
able characteristics of a work which no intelligent
Englishman will take up and lay down entirely
unread.

American Slavery. Longman, Brown, Green,
Longmans and Robert.
f Aw
hrieephr ian
pt
oo
rf t
on
a wasrti article on
issued'‘
iin
Unclethe Tom's26th
nCuamb
bnec
of the Edinburgh Review, and of Mr. Sumner, the
American senator's celebrated speech, with a notice
of the event which followed that speech. The
appearance of this volume is quite opportune, and
those who have not read the terrible but righteous
philippic of the above right-minded and outspoken
senator will do well to avail themselves of it, in
order not only to be informed of the cause of the
above attack on him, but along with it what
American slavery is, and how it is regarded and
spoken of by the nobles of Nature in the United
States. A perusal of the notice of the events fol-
lowing on that speech may also be recommended,
as showing the lengths to which the slave party
will go and the attitude assumed by the opponents
of slavery, startled from their apathy by a brutal
and cowardly assault on one of their number,
which is without a parallel in Parliamentary his-
tory, and deserving of universal reprobation.

Photographic Portraits of Living Celebrities.
Executed and published by Maull and Poly-
blank, 55, Gracechurch-street.
The July issue of this admirable series presents
us with a life-like portrait, accompanied by a bio-
graphical notice, of Robert Stephenson, the worthy
son of the celebrated George Stephenson, and the
engineer of the marvellous tubular bridges over
the Conway at the Castle and the Menai at Bri-
tannia Rock. The August number introduces to
us a veritable likeness of not the least of our poli-
tical celebrities—J. A. Roebuck, M.P., who, if he
does not carry off the palm for superior wisdom and
political strategy, enjoys the reputation of being
second to none of living statesmen in integrity and
inflexibility of purpose. To the portrait will be
found appended a biographical notice by Herbert
Fry, to whom this department is confided by the
publishers, and who continues to present in brief,
and at the same time intelligibly,
able facts in connection with the originals of the
various portraits. the most notice-

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