The Sun.
London, England, 1835-04-09 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

-.......,_
TZTE LIFE AND WORKS OF COWPER.
BP VIZ Rh•. J. S. GRIMSHISM A.M.

Saunders and Otley, 1835.
The two first volumes of this work have been published
and we have pleasure in stating that a handsomer edition
°f Cowper's life and poems has never yet appeared. The
illUstrations are really beautiful—worthy of the artist,
/'loden. The subject of these volumes is the biography of
the Poet, chiefly drawn from his letters, some of which have
never before been published. We believe it is generally
ftirnitted that among religious people, Cowper's Letters
are the most popular in the language ; nor is it possible to
Peruse them without being imbued with increased venera-
tion for a faith which could render a human being so amia-
ble in every relation of life. The occasional gloom which
overshadowed the mind of Cowper is not reflected in his
letters.
Their general tone is cheerfulness, and a full
and Perfect reliance on the mercy and goodness of God.
Ita bag been stated very frequently that Cowper's gloom
:se out of religious doubts and fears. This is wholly
4: rt, e• The poet's gloominess originated in causes en-
mrei f
y PnYsical. His organization was defective, and hence
"° nil habitual gravity of character was added, the constant
recurrence
Aol of impressions drawn from acute bodily suffering.
°ng his friends he was one of the most amiable
tisk human beings. His benevolence was unbounded, and
of social cheerfulness the emanation of a heart incapable
wrong• He was, indeed, a man in whom there was no
~,,,
°""e• It is, therefore, with the sincerest pleasure that we
a
n
n
o
pe ,unce aperfect edition of the whole works of this ex-
,,1—h, 1541r3* Christian poet. The editor is decidedly one of the
jil°,Bt competent persons that could be selected'; whether we
g 'le from his religious character, his high literary reputa-
won
Zion the excellent manner in which he has prepared the
nnles now before us. That the sale of this work
exceed that of any mclern publication, we can
have no doubt. The poet is one of the most popular
the language, and the cost is comparatively nothing, if
;ea take into consideration the elegant way in which the
m,
,„ is got up. The ensuing volumes will be published
00,1
"41Y, so as to be ready for delivery with the maga-
ti
g la a word, this edition of Cowper's works ought to
1'7,11t1e54)4 way into every drawing-room and every cottage
the United Kingdom.
7'1144S of the BORDERS.—Parts 1., 11., 111., IV.

J. M. WasoN. Tweedmouth, 1835.
These tales are an embodying of many of the historical,
tzltio nal, and imaginative anecdotes that still linger
ki the recesses of the Border counties of the North,
bareJ been collected and arranged in suitable form by
(1.„, 0110 Mackay Wilson, with whom the task has evi-
‘47l): been a labour of love. The style is rough, bold,
tllg°r(als, as best accords with the subject, without the
il.atest attempt at ornament. Some of the tales we have
tqlul recollection of having met with in the Berwick Ad-
v,Ziler, but the majority are original ; and even those
Ad-
v);
are not so, will bear republication.

77i
-E MUSICAL LIBRARY, PAM' XIIL
Wo h With Supplement.—C. Knight.
the have so frequently recommended this publication to
farol).atrons of musical taste, and more especially to musical
h, files of limited income, that we consider further com-
,emat'
ton,on as quite unnecessary. The part just published
L 7113 Handel's celebrated choruses " Worthy of the
sevah:'," and the " Amen " from " The Messiah," with
In '4'4l other admired pieces from the most celebrated
ti4snte,". The general character of the music of the
"nt°l7 Part for April is plaintiveness.

jTI 7,7:11E WORKS OF ALEXANDER POPE,
4-2famont AND NOTES, By THE REV. G. CSOLY, LL.D.
W Valpy, 1835.
e have received the first volume of Valpy's new and
NtlZt edition of Pope's works, illustrated with two en-
-11 ID by Warren, from designs by Wetherington ; and
kattn,claerne portrait of the poet himself, executed in Free-
0411:best manner. The left hand, the forehead, and the
of ' are carefully finished ; and the general expression
tre, e face is that of great intelligence, combined with ex-
tair worldliness. The learned editor has enriched this
exviaa With an abundance of ingenious notes, critical and
e7l,atarY• A memoir of Pope offers no scope for the
to, of more than a sound judgment and a proper
depreciation of poetic feeling ; and we leave the public to
qtlritliae whether or not Dr. Croly has brought these re-
te
iait„
tvi to the execution of his task as a biographer. Our
:irleiPinion is the most favourable.
kot.e work is intended to range with the latest editions of
BYron, Burns, and Crabbe.

408COE'S WANDERINGS THROUGH
NORTH WALES. Part I.
C. Tilt, London, 1835.
lle.atthe idea of this work is a good one ; and, from the pre-
eat. teeimen, we augur that it will be worthily worked
perha here is no country in Europe—with the exception,
no bap of Spain—that can furnish the antiquarian, the
eisevust, and the artist, with richer materials for the exer-
:f their talents than Wales. In picturesque beauty it
the massed only by Switzerland, and in traditional lore
It% border counties are peculiarly fertile. Innumerable
tray be legends that may be picked up by the inquisitive
t:er--some of a humorous, others of a wild, stern,
the re character—respecting Llewellyn, Glendower, and
Aob.aracus outlaw Twm Sion Catti, the rival of England's
4in Hood and Scotland's Rob Roy. Mr. Roscoe,
VV‘itrUst, will not confine his Wanderings to North
NA el. but cross the Cardigan boundary, and
eb,e Ilia way among the secluded recesses of the
—"althenshire Black Mountains, where he will be sure,
tii,verY step, to find abundant subjects for the pencil and
pf3e,.Pen.--old, ruined castles " covered", to use Burke's
(147 expression, "with the awful hoar of innumerable
'sylvan landscapes, quiet, cheerful, and picturesque
everdept Claude painted—savage glens, from whose profound
ls, and walls of frowning perpendicular crags, Salvator
espB Would have drawn inspiration—and green, sunny
p,roes, such as that which clothes the cheerful summit of
th,engar Hill. The illustrations of the part before us, are
e in number. The first is a view of the Vale of
114gollen ; the second, of Caunant Mawr, near Dol-
0r,1.41 and the third, a sketch of the Death of Llewellyn.
13t ``'elle the first is the best, though were we disposed to
y ever-critical, we might object, perhaps, to the artificial
Ili,e of the trees that crown the stately terrace of Wynn-
Te literary explanations are penned in an easy, un-
"ling—" h
style.
too,
NER'S CABINET CYCLOPCEDIA. No. 65.
Th Longman. London. 183:..
Ols Number forms the first volume of a history of Ire-
tt from the pen of Mr. Thomas Moore. It is carefully
tb
en ; shows more research into dry, recondite chronicles
:4 We should have expected from the author ; and in
tieerYs Page exhibits an imposing parade of learned authori-
vA We congratulate Mr. Moore on his having so com-
lehrid himself of that highly ornamented language
be used so profusely in his " Memoirs of Sheridan."
hi, IN can be more simple and familiar than the style of
(it present history. We can scarcely, however, say, that
it has afforded us much entertainment or instruction,
tuirt !t treats only of Ireland in its primitive state of bar-
ssin, and nothing can well be more useless or uninviting
tfgn the half historical, half fabulous traditions of a king-
:lll in such a condition. It is not till a people have made
:e advances in civilization that their history becomes of,
it 1?* Till then, though it may serve to " adorn a tale,'
ice never point a moral." We care nothing for the
e traditions of savages, whether in the old world or the
eW• They are all equally worthless, exhibiting but so
tn lanY distinctions without a difference. Mr. Moore's ta-
kes, as an historian cannot be fairly tested by this volume.
nits not yet got character to deal with—motives to
'--or actions to speculate on. He is here simply a
Pain
s-taking, elaborate chronicler of events, half fabulous,
l‘isgieh have nothing but mystery to give them piquancy. He
161411. ing abroad on a sea, apparently without shore or
t,f-I,it, with neither rudder nor compass, in a leaky vessel,
.1'44 he can with difficulty keep afloat. When he comes
to the tirzcs of Henry the Second of England, about
‘ ‘lleli Period Irish hisLery begins to assume something like
Lori.
at:l substance, and chili...l:7f or, we eball then be better
415 discus -1 his qualificdtions for tlle new task he has
41Iteposen.' on lacnise;it'. We glean from. his presc-of introduc-
IY volu le little moreenthusiast all
introduc-
e than that lie is an
Iris' iis full of fait.t.:' her antiquity as a great