The Sun.
London, England, 1832-04-02 00:00:00

MONTHLY MAGAZINE.

The improvement in this magazine has not
been confined (as is too often the case) to one,
two, or three, numbers; but is progressive—de-
cided. With its change of politics has come
also '' a change in the spirit of its dream" con-
siderably for the better. The old, musty, com-
monplaces, about the inimitable, the immaculate,
Constitution, the glorious sixteen hundred and
eighty-eight, and so forth, have been very wisely
thrown abroad, to make room for a fresher and
more valuable cargo. " The Church put in the
True Light" is a well written piece of irony, and
reminds us—a great compliment to the writer—
of Swift's ironical '' Proposal for abolishing
Christianity." We subjoin a passage by way of
sample:—

" Nothing, in short, can be plainer than that a radical
reform of the church is necessary, if it be true, that its
design is to benefit the community by the advancement of
religion. But let us throw that idea boldly overboard,
and stata the design of the establishment to be simply the
temporal comfort and good estate of the clergy, and see
how intelligible and harmonious the whole system at once
becoo es ! Before the true theory. as by the touch of some
wizard's wand, every difficulty vanishes; the crooked be-
comes straight ; deformity is turned into loveliness; what
seemed at om.tlous .roves to he in the most exquisite Imo-
pm thm ; ecclesiastical practice with ecclesiastical prin.
cip e to Ices sweet musk ; all is regular. consistent, na-
tural ; the splendour of ►he church is no more her shame;
with one hand upon her coffers replenished with gull, and
pointing with the other to her vast domains, she turns to
any who assail her, and exclaims—

" You vulgar cynic! how can Ibe wrong?"
How Wm n.us. upon the gulden hypott esi., is the Right
Reverend 8.-nch ; how comely the Deans, each in himself
a • orporation ; how seemly the Archdeacons, Prehen-
dat its, and Canons ; and on ! how goodly a thing it is to
traver,e, even with the mind's eye, the florid files of the
Re. tors, and see in every round and rosy form the profit
of that godliness which maketh fat ! Where now is the
abomination of non-residence and the crying sin of plu-
rality ? where the scandal of fox-hunting ? what has be •
come of the unseemiiness of bolding the commission of the
peace, or the extortion of taking the pow man's tenth
sheaf, ur tenth goose? Even the starveling curate, in this
view of the establishment, is justly to be numbered amon,lst
its beauties : he makes the fatness of the Rector more fat
by contrast. The money theory makes every thing square."
" Don Pedro and his Adherents" contains
some severe strictures on the public and private
characters of these would-be regenerators of
Portugal. The writer is of opinion that there
is not a pin to choose between Dort Pedro and
Don Miguel : both being " black sheep," both
equally despots at heart. " A Winter Evening
with the Poets" is remarkable for some eloquent
criticisms on the character of Milton's genius.
The subject is a hacknied one, but it it surprising
what freshness of observation the writer brings to
bear upon it. Not a few of his remarks are
worthy of Dr. Chinning. " The Prentice Boys
of Derry" is a lively squib, part of which we
gave in the 57171 of Saturday, and is embellished
with a quizzical likeness of that paragon of Peers,
the Marquis of Londonderry. " Dreary Wit
and his Friends" is well described in its title
dreary wit. It is long and dreary to a degree.