The Sun.
London, England, 1835-05-05 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

TRANSFUSION;
Er rills LATE WILLIAM GODWIN, .11IN.
IFlra
A AfRIIOIR OF HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS BY HIS Y.ITHISR.
In 3 Vols. London : Macrons. 1835.
We are anxious to say as little as we can—consis-
tently with a conscientious discharge of our duty to
the public—about the literary merits of this novel.
The extreme youthfulness of the author, who fell a
victim to cholera in his 29th year, will be received in
palliation of many errors both of judgment and of
taste; whilst his active duties as a Reporter must be
allowed to stand in the way of any accusations which
ulaY be brought against him for mistakes which could
tlinly have been provided against by habits of deep
°ught, and the silent mysterious process of diving,
nno the hearts of others, while they are under the in-
fluence of the stronger passions. But there are
some who will take none of these considerations
Into account—readers who think that every
nauthor who writes a book is morally bound to
repay the public, either in amusement or instruction,
Ithe time which it devotes to the fondling of his
t,rer ary offspring. Now this class of readers—and
are neither few nor deficient in intelligence—
h7l not greatly admire the story of the " Orphans of
uwalden." The idea was doubtless suggested by
e Popularity of " St. Leon"—a work which will
be
read as long as the portraiture of the sternest pas-
sl°lls, and the deepest speculations in moral philo-
?lV have one admirer : but the son, in contem-
ating the success of his father in a track which
c
filne but a giant in intellect could tread successfully,
-rPt 'flat the groundwork of his own fictitious nar-
ra4we Would touch no chord—awaken no dormant feel-
lings—aPpeal to no early and kindred association in the
irau mind. The transfusion of souls is no new
ea; but yet the heart bounds not when it is named,
ast it ever does when we pause for a moment to eon-
erulPlate the idea of a co-existence with the universe,
(like insensible to the touch of time, the presence of
Sease, and the existence of physical infirmity. The
"Ile awakens a deep innate feeling ; the other depends
1113°4 a fancy—.a passing whim, which even while
i iuulg ed in, we know to be based on a curiosity which
ha,s for its principal aim a culpable violation of a duty
°MI we owe to others.
i But
the choice of a subject was not the only error
thywhich a wish to produce a striking novel betrayed
authorer of Transfusion." His agents are moral
m_ot e
olist
s--creatures who neither think nor act QS any
her persons would do if similarly circumstanced.
a
heroine, Madeline, is a puling wayward girl, with
fouhalg more original in her character than is to be
among all children spoilt by over-indulgence.
little wholesome correction, properly administered,
would have made her a notable housewife. Albert—
th e discoverer of the grand secret—is not a whit more
inte.eresting or more natural than his sister. The court-
-131) between Count De Mara and Madeline could only
e imagined by a person ignorant of the deep silent
workings
of the female heart. Surely women have
much to complain of from this kind of gross caricature
of their
their feelings.
,/, ,We pass over the main incidents of this novel.
rirY are too far-fetched to be entertaining—too pue-
to offer any great moral lesson. Mr. Godwin
isftetimes moralizes in the course of his story, but it
easy to perceive that he was a superficial reader, and
a thinker, possessed none of the high reflective
1' °we" of the author of " Political Justice.

CABINET CYCLOPEDIA.—No. 66.

Longman. London, 1835.
This volume is the production of Mr. Swainson,
and is devoted to a treatise on the geography and
elassification of animals. The subject is gone into at
considerable length, and shows evidences, in every
chapter, of more than ordinary pains-taking and re-
search. Many of the pages are illustrated with wood-
cuts of birds ; and, by way of frontispiece, there is a
Portrait of the great Swedish naturalist, Linnaaus.

%BURN' S MODERN NOVELIST S.—Vol. 5.

H. Colburn. London, 1835.
, Mr. Ward's well-known tale of " Tremaine" is con-
etuded in this Number. The embellishments are two
i2l number, one of which represents a sallow and sen-
sitive young man, looking pensively up to the Heavens
with a very Minerva-Library-like expression of coun-
„4"ce• The other is a sketch of the heroine of the
-"°rY, and is remarkable for its ease and simplicity.