The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-16 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Recollections. By Samuel Rogers. Longman.
The volume before us will probably be produc-
tive of some disappointment. It does not fulfil the
expectations excited by the recollections of the
thoughts and conversations of such men as Fox,
Burke, Grattan, Talley-rand, Lord Erskine, Sir
Walter Scott, and the Duke of Wellington—re-
corded by one of whom a friend and brother pot
has said that he was—
" doubly blessed
in life, as in his perfect strain,
By that pure, mellowing power of Taste,
Without which Fancy ines in vain."
The recollections are often mere phrases, which lose
all their value or interest by their isolated position.
If we had the notes of a conversation, the assertio!
and its answer, the criticism and discussion, it
would be very different ; but the extreme brevity_
of the quotations is frequently, to say the least or
it, perplexing. Who, for instance, can learn
much from such disconnected sentences as the
following, from the chapter on Fox :
"Alps—Swiss lakes lovely—ltalian lakes much
more busy. Returned from Italy very fast---Was
there with Windham.
"Preferred Box-hill to Leith-hill.
"Lock must do everything with taste.
"A distance essential to a house,
" Green Park the best situation in London?
We cannot but regret that one who had so 00/
opportunities of gathering the opinions and Eat':
ments of the great men of his time, should have
arranged them in a manner so laconic as to le
scarcely suggestive. Those of the Duke of ti~r ef.
lington are the most connected and intertir: g'
There are, however, passages of interest and 10-luo
among the collection, which may serve to gTatitflo
the reader, and afford him an insight into We
characters and tastes of the eminent men NclOs
words are thus quoted.

Tobacco ; its History and Associations. By W.
Fairholt, F.S.A., Author of " Costume in Ob.-
land," &c. Chapman and Hall.
This volume will attract the attention of tilos:
who entertain a predilection for smoking ; rt Int
sesses advantages in the way of information, as.
furnishes them with an account of the plant alld end
1
manufacture, with its modes of use in all ages ars
countries. It is strange that the author is no
smoker himself, although his earliest recollection,
are of a tobacco warehouse, where he says he
in the tobacco leaf as country children would
in
hay-field. It will be seen that this book is vaittenf
by one who has had experience of the subject tio
which he treats, having been for some time blCb
mately associated with his father's business,
he afterwards left, however, for it was not sustaisr,
to his taste. Without being anything poitiall' se
this volume can furnish a subject of perusal to tint
desirous of informing themselves on the topic• s 8
exhibits great skill in research, and has nuirter°
quotations. r 0111

Luxima, the Prophetess. By Sydney, Lady •51u'
gan. Westerton. • e
The great interest which has been excited le the
details of Indian life, and the recent death of
authoress of this work, will probably induce 08',"
readers to receive it with cordiality. Unless" 11„°,";
ever, they are very romantic in their tastes, t'ol
will most likely be disappointed, since the pl°t 01
the story is by no means pleasing, and the gelleTch
style of the work displays little of the ability Yoillt
won for Lady Morgan her high reputation•rot
is due to the authoress to state, that it was
published upwards of 40 years ago, when
,iitpfire
peared in three volumes under the title of .t
Missionary." Hilarion, the hero, is a Jesuit Pr to
of a noble Portuguese family, who proceed ter.
India as a missionary of the most fervent chara"ro,
He accidently meets with Luxima, 2, to
phetess of the Brahmins, whom he endeavoured,
convert. They end by becoming mutually att41c7.,:01
but their union is impossible, and their affee'" ig
brings them nothing but trouble. Hilariel 4
'
seized by the Inquisition, but finally escapees. i'io-
Luxima accidentally falls a victim to a silt' a
tended for him. Those who are attracted ,
romance of this character may derive some grate an
cation from its pages, but the subject is I)°'
de-
agreeable one, and the nature of the character-
prives it of much interest.

The Wild _Hebrides. By Walter Cooper Den

Longman.
This little book presents a sketch of the seefle
It
at once grand and picturesque of the Hebrides._in
is, therefore, a desirable study, and it is writtelle is
a pleasing manner ; as may be imagined, thcr tbo
much that merits attention in the places acillc
traveller passes, and the book is illustrated
map and sketches taken on the spot by the en'',ig
The account of Staffa, the Isle of Columns' der
peculiarly attractive. It is there that the v70:4 i 5
exists of the temple not made with hands, "-
here remarked—

" Nature itself, it seemed, would raise
A minster to her Master's praise." 11ea
The author observes, " as we close on its 13,"rile
cliffs, however, w;lether in a bright holiday eLas
elements when the sunbeam lights up its eoltio,l,lo,
with varied streaks of colour, or when the 'the
mental fury of a storm deepens its beauty with
sublime, we gaze on it with especial admiratiou;o
The scenery of Loch Cornish in Skye seems to 115 ig
impressed the traveller the most. " Cornishby '
majestically beautiful in noontide light, but,hi4
oneself benighted in a storm at midnight in
desert, it is awful even to think of the associati-to
that would crowd into the mind," he goes o°,o
say, " would produce a high-wrought enthus`°-or
akin to the sublime, but it might end in fatal terclio
to the mind." There is enough of interest inAtose
little volume to render it a suitable study to
who like to form a collection of works of tr3tbe
and among 'the many that appear concerning
able
wonders of foreign lands, it is certainly desiT:ted
to look at home and become a little acqua'
with the scenes of Great Britain.

The Warden By Anthony Trollope. New
Edition. Longman.
•dori
This clever but somewhat unsatisfactory
has just bean issued in a cheap and comill°ulls-ea
form. Mr. Anthony Trollope is now recogoa
as one of the regular band of novel writers, a°l°Nria
whom his ability and vigorous style promise t° uch
him distinction if he will not write with too To of
rapidity and too little care. Though it is not 111,,30-
years since " The Warden" was first published, sh-ofe
ral three-volume novels, bearing his name' have
since appeared, and those who have been attr3cree
by the originality and talent of " The
Clerks," or "The Bertrams," will be ready'. t 0 +l/13eif
themselves of this opportunity of perusing
author's earliest work.

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