The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-01 00:00:00

Practical Swiss Guide.

By An Englishman

Abroad. Loneuan.
A simple and practical guide to the favourite re-
sort of the continental exeursionii,, will be a very
acceptable travelling compinion to meat English
adventurer', who, with the characteristic impe-
tuosity of their nation, generally clesire to proceed
as fast as possible without very cleir ideas of the
language, the route, the coinage, the passport sys-
tem, or any of the mulifarious impediments that
obstruct the tn.:relict's ptogess. The little volume
before us will help him over many of his difficul-
ties; it professes to he a complete itinerary of
Swilzeland, Savoy, Piedmont, and North Italy ;
with Vie introductory roues from London by
France, Belgium, liol!aud, and the Rhine ;
with advica on the important topics of
hote's, post, steamers, tariff=, and rails ; t.um-
ming up with the assurance of being a guide
to see all that ought to te seen, in the shortest
period, and at the lost expense. This sligirly un-
romantic method is admirably adapted to a nu-
merous class of travellers who require to be told
what to admire, and to whom the dignity of hav-
ing been abroad is far more important than the
gratification of seeing the greatest marvels of art
and na+ure. To those who aro compelled by the
pressure of business or a limited income to restrict
themselves to a careful expenditure of two of the
great necessaries for comfortable travelling, time
and money, this li Ve volume will be a mot valu-
able auxiliary, and most travellers unacquainted
with the localities wi 1 find ita clear and concise
information of great service.

Cosmos. Vul. IV. Part 1. By Alex,nder von
Humboldt. A. Longman and Co., and John
Murray, Albemarle-street.
The announcement of the publication of this
work in its present form must have been a source
of the greatest satisfaction to all who aro already
famil'ar with the earlier portions of it. The fame
of Baron Humboldt's work has already extended
over the civilised world, it is the delight of
the man of science, and a treasury of instruc-
tion to the young student in physical know-
ledge. The marvels of 'lattice, examine tby him,
ca,,t into Ilia shade the arts of the mechanician and
the ancient wonders of the necromancer. Those
mysterious springs of action, those unknown fo:ccs
which, in all ages, have stricken ihe wise with awe
and overwhelmed the ignorant with frantic
terror, are shown as parts of a mighty system,
guided by laws, affected by surrounding
agencies, not always, indeed, to ,be .influenced
by human power, but giving another proof that
" Order is Heaven's first law," although Man,
from his station at the foot of the hill of
Knowledge may not catch the full proportion of the
the view to be seen from its mountain top. It was,
as the reader is probably aware, the author's inten-
tion that the fourth and concluding volume of the
" Cosmos," should contain a not:ce of the speci-
alities of the different b•atiches of science
the mutual connection of which had been treated
of in the " General View cf Nature " at the
commencement. It has been found impossible to
aompress into one volume the treatment of both
the organie and inorganic departments ; and con-
seqw ntly the fourth volume will appear in two
parts—the first, which was published in the ori-
ginal at the commencement of the present year,
being now of to the English publie. It was
translated under the superintendence of Major-
General E. Sabine, R.A., D.C.L., be , who was
in personal communication with the author, and
who has been reques•ed by him to alter and amend
some portions relating to terrestrial magnetism,
in which recent discoveries have produced
seine alterations. The edition is handsome and
compact, and we should imagine that few
libraries would be without so valuable a testimony
to the scientific and philosophical capabilities of
our geuerati.w.

Aspects of Paris. By E lward Copping. Long-

man.

Here we have a very entertaining and agre --
able volume, which, avoiding all political
questions and strictures, gives a picture of
Parisian life in its social and literary aspects.
The writer is evidently animated by a cordial
and friendly feeling towards our continental
neighbours, though ho is quick to perceive the
hidden dangers of their social system. His remarks
on the character of the "Paris penny-a-lining" are
sound and just. The dangerous tendency of those
melo-dramatic pictures of disappointed lovers, who
forthwith console themselves with carbonic gas or a
cord in a cellrr, is unquestionable, on uninformed
and-illregulated minds, though readers of a higher
class and larger experience would only smile at