The Sun.
London, England, 1857-06-05 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Collections, &c. By the Very Rev. Geo. Oliver,
D.D. 8 vo. Dolman.
Robert Southey, who himself projected a "His-
tory of the Monastic Orders"—an intention the
ncn-realisation of which we remember to have been
feelingly lamented some few years since in the
Edinburgh by Sir James Stephens, in the course of
a learned' and genial biographical criticism upon
"St. Francis of Aseisi"—Robert Southey would
have welcomed with unaffected delight Dr. Oliver's
goodly book of Collections. It would have been a
volume after his own heart—truthful, earnest, new,
scholarly, gossipping, discursive, and anecdotal. A
repertory of curious and out-of-the-way fragments
of archaeological information. Not a lumber- room
so much as a cabinet—a cabinet carefully pigeon-
holed and exquisitely arranged. Robert Southey's
chief attraction in the Look would, however,
without doubt have been the Supplementary No-
tices appended to it " otices of the Do-
minican, Benedictine, and Franciscan Orders
in England." For these Notices would have
furnished the literary antiquary of Keswick
with an inestimable score of materiel for the build-
ing up of that beautiful " Castle in the Air" already
particularised as among the number of poor Sou-
they's manifold and diversified day-dreams. Not
by any means, however, 'that those supplement try
notices constitute the only or the chief part of the
attraction to be found in Dr. Oliver's strangely inte-
seating tome of " Collections." Those caections
themselves the learned and ingenious author has
divided into two distinct parts, one illustrating
historically, the other biographically, particular por-
tions of ecclesiastical hint, ry in the six western
counties, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset,
Wilts, and Gloucester. As an ecclesiastical historian,
antiquary, and archueologist, Dr. Oliver has long
enjoyed throughout a considerable portion of those
six counties, a very high and a deservedly high
reputation. It is no less than thirty .even yeirs
since the date of his publication at Exeter
(namely, in 1820), of his remarkable " Historic
Collections relating to the Monasteries of Devon."
It was between the years 1839 and 1842 that be
gave to the world his'three remarkable volumes en-
titled " Ecclesiastical Antiquities in'Devonshire."
It was subsequently, in 1846, that our venerable
author produced his noble folio vol ume" Monasticon
Diceoesis Exoniensis" —a worthy continuation of
Dugdale, and as such already recognised as authori-
tative. Other hardly less laborious compositions
from the same pen, works displaying an extraordi-
naryamomit of research, sagacity, and perseverance,
have also at intervals made their appearance. Con-
spicuous among these, his popular volume entitled
" Cliffordiana, of which we are not surprised to
observe that another and enlarged edition is an-
nounced to ba in preparation. 'lhe " Collections"
now before us will not fail—we rest perfectly assured
of this, after carefully scrutinising the contents—
will not fail materially to confirm, and at the
same time to extend very considerably Dr.
Oliver's reputation as an ecclesiastical antiquary
and archaeologist. We accept the volume as a fresh
earnest of the advent at last to the world of letters
of his long anticipated and carefully-prepared work—
very soon, let us hope, to see the light—" The His-
tory of Exeter Cathedral." A work which tie late
John Britton would have welcomed as eagcr:y as
we have already remarked the late Robert Southey
would assuredly have hailed this interesting and
alluring octavo of "Collec:ions." Dr. Oliver's foot-
no' es—we may illustrate the value ofthis latest of his
literary productions thus succinctly ex pede Mrculern
—are very often a great deal more interesting than
many another wriier's text. Ex. gr. his little
anecdotal " aside"—commemorative of a character-
istic incident in the annals of the " Bet edictine
Dames," here spoken of as the Ladies of Canning-
ton. In the course of Dr. Oliver's sketch of them,
having mentioned their temporary reception at
Marnhull House, in - the county of Dorset, our
learned author allows his pen to jot clown in the
margin of his narrative this amu,ing little foot-
no'e

" During their twelve years' residence there, a credulous
magistrate, of the name of Frampton, waited upon these
religious ladies, and informed them that ho must search
their premisas for Napol_on Buonaparte, who he was
credibly instructed lay concealed there,—that he had a
painful duty to perform,-4bat resistance was unavailing,
as he bad abundant force to back him, and demanded their
keys and aid to apprehend the king's enemy. The search
was rigorously made, but proved abortive. On quitting,
the prioress assured him she was not surprised at the „re-
sult, —that her convent at Paris had been as strictly
searched for William Pitt by the French authorities, and
with similar success !"
Speaking of even these footnotes, we may say
ex Imo disco omnes—each fragmentary por-
tion has its value and its interest. Much more,
therefore, may we say the same, of the text which those
notes merely serve, of course, either to embellish
or to explain. It is this blending cf value and inte-
rest which constitutes the charm of Dr. Oliv.r's
" Collections"—as, indeed, of all his various
works, antiquarian and archaa logical.?

Rosa of Tannenberg. By Christopher Von
Schmidt. Pp. 181. Dolman.

A translation from the German of an exquisite
story reland by an exquisite tale-teller—" Rosa
of Taunenburg"—can never fail in any version,
English, French, Spanish, Italian, whatever fo-
reign tongue it may be rendered into, it can never
fail, we say, to increase Canon Schnaidt's beau-
tiful and enviable reputation. Eveiybody who
read& a novelette by Canon Schmidt is -the
better for it. And the dear old canon of Augs-
burg does us good, thus, so delightfully! He never
sermonizes. He tells all that he has to tell so
simply—we hang upon Lin every word while he is
talking. And the lovely unler-meaning of the
:whole narrative, whatever it may be, only comes
fully and distinctly upon us when we have reached
the conclusion. While we are reading one of these
charming tales by Cbriktopber Von Schmidt,
Canon of Abgsburg, we are thinking only of the
tale itself. it has -always such a sweet and alluring
fascination. It is only in the remembrance of it
that the moral of the story presents itself vividly
and distinctly to the judgment. And by that time
it has found its way tenderly, irresis ibly, int) out
heart's core—and is not then t.) be sh.tken out of
it. For what is that versa of Keats?—inscribed
the other day over the porch of the Manchester
Art Exhibition—the first line of th 3 first poem
poor John Keats ever published—

"A thing of beauty is a j for ever ?" '
A delicious thought, thus continud—
" Its loveliness flerervop, it will never
Pass into notlangness, etc."
We cannot forget these little stories, toll by the
tongue of genius, even if we had the heart to wish
that we could ! Wh o that has onceread erum can ever
forget Defoe's "Robni,:on Crusoe," or Goldsmith's
" Vicar of Wakefield," or Voltaire's " Zadig," or
Dicken's " Christmas Carol," or St. Pierre's
" Paul and Virginia?" And Canon Schmidt's
beautiful little tales, in their way, though not quite
of the same world-wide fame, come (for such at
they are), prettyimuch within the same category.
Welcome, therefore, to all English readers of dis-
ceroment will be this good Christopher Von
Schmidt's story of " Rosa of Tanuenbuig," trans-
lated from the German into our own verriacular—
this dear little " Tale of the Olden Time," written
by the bright-eyed, warm-hearted Canon of Augs-
burg, at once for parents and for children.

Edith Mortimer. By Mrs. Parsons. Pp. 168.

Dolman.

The authoress of this thoroughly readable narra-
tive is already favourably known to a rather large
circle of readers by her former historiette of
" Thornberry Aliby." Mrs. Parsons, we doubt
not, will find her reputation enhanced, and her
influence extended, by "Edith At.,rtinter, or The
Trials of Life at Mortimer Manor." It is an
improvement upon " Thornberry Abbey," as that
again was an improvement upon her earlier produc-
tions. It relates as pleasantly and alluringly as
need be "The Trials of Lite" to Edith Mortimer
herself—the wayward heroine of the story, whose
self-will is ultimately, under the chastening influ-
ence of those trials, transmuted into sweetness of
temper, and all but absolut,ly perfected resignation.
The narrative, which is divided into thirteen chap-
ters, introduces us to " Fr:ends" and " Neigh-
bours ;" to the "House of Mortimer"—both
Manor and Family ; to "The Rich Widow" and
to "Those who Work ;" to " Hard Truths"
and to "Love S'....enes ;" to " S tan grove
Park,' and, among other individuals wh se
characters are admirably well drawn, to one of the
' most clearly defined characters in the story (always
excepting, of course, Edith herself) Lady Sarah
Tregenna. Our authoress, we may observe, dedi-
cates her little story in graceful terms to " Lady
Charles Thynne," intimating, while she does so,
that it was written at Lady Chat les Thynno's sug-
gestion for the entert.tinment of her Daughter.

The Irish in .Eng7ancl. By William L. Todd, D.D.,
• Pp. 40. Dolman.
An impressive article, originally published in the
Dublin Review, and now reprinted in a separate
form " with additions." It may be regarded, to a
certain extant, as a running c•-.rnmentary on an im-
portant section of klet,ry Mayhew's "London
Lour and the London Poor." Dr. Todd in quently
takes occasion to quote Mr. Mayhew, and one of
not the least effeAlve extracts made in tin se p:-)gei
in reference to " The Irish in London ''—
one of not the least . effectlvo extracts from
the pages of that Historian of our Street Sellers, is
certainly the following. It is the confessitn of a
poor lrial servant girl, made to Mr. Mayhew jut.