The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-23 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The Journal of Public Health. Edited by B. W.
Richardson, M.D. Thomas Richards.
Among the contents of the present number of
this ably conducted quarterly may be noticed, as
of general interest, an article on the " Preservation
of Food in Ancient and Modern Times," an essay
on the " Protective Power of Vaccination,' and
the continuation of a paper on " Nursery Govern-
ment in its Sanitary Aspects." The statistics ad-
duced in connection with the subject of vaccination
are conclusive as to the wonderful preventive
effects of the process, and the assertion that of the
annual aggregate of deaths from smallpox " the
immense majority aro amongst those in whom vac-
cination has never been performed," supported as
it is by strong presumptive evidence, lends weight
to, as well as receives countenance from, the sta-
tistics. The " Transactions nsactions of the Epidemological
Society of London"include a long and interesting
" Report on the Cholera, which visited her Ma-
jesty's Black Sea Fleet in the autumn of 1854," by
Dr. Babington, the president of the society. The
Journal of Public Health will henceforth appear
as The Sanitary Review—the next number com-
mencing a new volume. The staff of local epi-
demological observers, we are told, is greatly in•
creased, so that the editor has now the whole length
of Great Britain under observation.

Guilo Branchi. The Story of a Tuscan. A. Elweg.

Addey and Co.
How far Mr. Elwes is accountable for this story
we will not undertake to determine. What is of
more importance to the public is its quality ; and
we may safely say of it the elements of popularity
have been so mixed up as to insure its success. A.
beggarly childhood, a youth of vagabondage, a
manhood of promise, and a maturity of content in
Italy are suggestive of the pathetic, the romantic,
the picturesque, and the entertaining. Under each
of these heads, the story of a Tuscan will be found.
to gratify expectation. The romantic and the pi -
turesque elements are, however, in the ascendancy,
and those who delight in storms and shipwrecks,
and thrilling adventure with and among banditti,
set off with vivid suggestions, rather than over-
drawn descriptions of picturesque natural objects,
will read the story with avidity. The scams of the
most stirring events described are the coast and Isle
of Sardinia, of which but little is known by the
general public. The pictures given of Italian life
are not, however, without their charm, and street
assassination, masques, and illicit passion, are con-
trasted with domestic quiet and the course of
honourable love.

Alfieri and Goldoni, their Lives and Adventures.
By Edward Copping. Addey and Co.
Mr. Copping has succeeded in presenting in a
succinct and popular manner the lives and adven-
tures of these distinguished dramatists, to whom
whatever vitality there may be in the existing
Italian drama is mainly owing. The difference
between the two dramatists is almost as great as
that between the respective muses to which their
devotion was paid, yet the lives and characters of
each are well portrayed, indeed stand out in
better relief from their juxtaposition. No new
facts tending materially to affect the reader s im
pression of Alfieri are given, but there is some de-
tail which adds interest to his career, noticeable
among which is that connected with the Countess
of Albany. The life of Goldoni is a condensation cf
of that light hearted and exceedingly prolific comic
writer's own memoirs and is very entertaining.
At the conclusion are some able and just remarks,
with illustrations, on the system of adaptation
from the French now in vogue at our theatres.
Altogether the work is one which, with the weight
and value of truth, bears many of the charms of
fiction, and will be read almost with equal interest
by the intelligent mechanic fresh from toil, and
the more favoured who can indulge as they will in
lettered ease.