The Sun.
London, England, 1835-04-13 00:00:00

THAUMATURGIA, OR ELUCIDATIONS OF

THE MARVELLOUS.
Br As OXONIAN. London, Churton. 1835.

The title of this book is a misnomer. It is a brief
history of the marvellous, not an elucidation of its ac-
credited wonders. The author's acquaintance with
the writings of some of
,the most celebrated men, who
have preceded him in the task which he proposed to
himself, appears extensive ; but he underrates the pe-
netration of the intelligent of the present generation,
if he imagines that a show of learning, accompanied
with an attempt at wit and satire, is all that is
wanted to banish the belief of the occasional inter-
positions of spiritual agency from the minds of
those most open to the evidences of truth. We are
ready to admit that there are some superstitions which
are most effectually eradicated by ridicule. We confess,
moreover, that it is extremely difficult to employ any
other weapon successfully, because all superstitions are
presumed to be based • on principles incomprehensible
to human understanding. But ridicule is a two-edged
sword, which once unsheathed in defence of religion
may be as forcibly directed against the assailant as the'
assailed. All who are acquainted with the literature of
France during the eighteenth century must admit this.
But notwithstanding these objections, the " Elucida-
tions of the Marvellous" is a very curious book
and displays throughout marvellous powers of re-
search. As a compilation of superstitions, it,
is, as far as we know, unequalled in the lan-
guage. The theological works of Hay, Campbell,
Clarke, Burkett, Paley, Browne, and other English
divines, are principally directed against infidelity gene-
rally, except the first and second authors above men-
tioned, who devoted their attention to miracles. But
our author goes very differently to work. Before con-
demning superstitions in the gross, he gives them all
in detail, beginning with the devil and ending with

quack doctOrs; His chapters on dreams, visions, and
spiritual appearances are- curious ; his elucidations of
the cabalistic mysteries of the Jews, and his exposition
of the superstitions prevalent in the West Indies, ex-
tremely interesting.

POEMS,
VT THE L4TE HONOURABLE WILLIAM R. SPENCER ; d NEW

EDITION, WITII A BIOGRAPHICAL ENGRAVING.
London—Cochrane and Co., 1835.

The Poems of the late Mr. Spencer are so well-
known to the public that it might appear imgertinence
in us to do more than announce their publication in a
neat. little volume, which may be purchased for the
trifling sum of seven-and-six-pence. To the poems is pre-
fixed a brief memoir of the justly lamented author, whoa
died at Paris in Oct. 1834, having attained the patriarchal
age of sixty-five.
,Mr. Spencer was the intimate friend
of the most celebrated literary men of his own time,
and although he wrote but little, was highly esteemed.
both as an accomplished scholar, and a man of wit andi
humour. His biographer Impetus that he did not apply
himself to the production of a longer work, instead of
contenting hitnself with writing verses for the amuse-
ment of his friends. We see no cause for such regret,
although we should have wished he had devoted more
of his leisure to ballad-writing. Our earliest recol—
lections of poetry are associated with the perusal of
his " Beth Gelert, or Grave of the Greyhound," over
which we remember dropping tears ; nor could we now
read it without emotion.

CAPTAIN SWORD AND CAPTAIN PEN,
A POOH, Br LEIGH HUNT.
Knight, London.

This book is dedicated to Lord Brougham. In the Pre-
fix we are told that " the poem is the result of a sense
of duty "—and we can readily believe that the sus-
taining moral consciousness of a good and high in-
tent has imparted a more than ordinary grace and ac-
tivity to the peculiar talents of the author. His pur-
pose is to pourtray war as it is—to show the horrors
of the field of battle--to strip the man-destroyer of the
factitious reputation with which a pernicious fallacy
has invested him, and to point out to all that path of
peace which leads to good will towards man, bringing
us, at the same time, nearer to the Almighty Benevo-
lent Creator. " Nothing," says a venerable philoso-
pher, " can be worse than the general feeling on the
subject of war." When men become more intelligent,
war will be deprecated as much for its mischievous
effects on the national interest, as it is now by good
and intelligent men denounced for its harrowing and
devastating horrors.

The Poem consists of six cantos (with illustrations)
written in a measure like that of " Chtistabel." 'We
are not of the number of those hypercritical detractors
who place Mr. Hunt with the miminee-pimminee pro-
fessors in a school of affectation, nor do we intend to
offer any remarks either against the mechanical struc-
ture of the verse, or the general execution of the work.
Mr. Hunt is unquestionably an original writer, and if

his productions have defects, they are sufficiently well
known, and need no farther advertance in this place.
The Poem opens with a description of how Captain
Sword marched to war—

" Captain Sword got up one day,
Over the hills to march away."
The Captain gains a victory, and this gives occasion
for a fearfully vivid description of the field of battle.
We soon after see the Captain at a ball, where the
Poet insinuates a moral to the ladies, which, we fear,
they will not appreciate, until the frivolities and fallacies
which have long been their only education shall give
place to a better culture of the mind.

The Sword's sway is in the end succeeded by that
Of the Pen, and our intellectual Captain is proclaimed
King of Peace. Here, of course, the poem ends.
Appended, however, is a postscript in prose, a ladies'
one, exceeding the antcscription both in length as well
as significancy. Its length, however, is with us rather
a recommendation, for whether it be that the gods
have not made us poetical—or whether it proceed from
some defect of judgment, or want of taste—we know
not ; but, in candour, we cannot 11.2 p confessing that
we prefer the prose-to the poetn. Taken as a whole,
however, poem and postscript, we can promise our
readers much profitable pleasure from its perusal.
Convinced that every word written promotive of Peace
deserves encouragement—knowing that much misap-'
prehension, much ignorance exists in connection with
the subject of war—and recollecting, too, that even
one of our best and most amiable poets, giving in,
perhaps unconsciously, to popular error, apostrophizes
Carnage as the daughter of the Deity2---with these
convictions, and that recollection, we think that the
man deserves well of his country,. who comes forward
to dispel the pernicious fallacies of confusion, which
lead to -death and human. suffering in its bloodiest form.
We need not, therefore, say • how heartily we recom-
mend the book.