The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-25 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

REGINALD HASTINGS, a Tale of the Civil
War. By Eliot Warburton, author o f " Prince
Rupert and the Cavaliers." 3 Vols.
Ali who, like ourselves, followed with delight the
vicissitudinous adventures of Prince Rupert, as re•
cently related by Mr. Warburton, will turn with in-
terest to a new work from the same pen on the same
subject. In the very numerous and laborious re-
searches necessary for the compilation of the materials
required for his former work, Mr. Warburton ne••
cessarily became possessed of much interesting infor-
mation not exactly appropriate to the history then
occupying his pen. The riches so obtained
were, however, not suffered to lie idle,
and accordingly we have, in another form, another
chapter of the History of the Cavaliers. The me-
moirs of Reginald Hastings, which are in an auto-
, biographical form, were (we are to suppose) dis-
covered in that state in some receptacle of " learned
lumber" examined by Mr. Warburton. They are the
memoirs of a Cavalier, written by himself during his
exile and imprisonment. However plausible the fic-
tion, its falsity is soon apparent. The descriptions of
the battle scenes, and some of the other more spirited
descriptions, easily betray their authorship. In such de-
scriptions Mr. W arburton iS inimitable. The character
of Sir Bifrons, the timid but wary time-server, is
depicted with a happy sarcasm, and the heroines in
their several and widely dissimilar ways, are both
beautifully and skilfully portrayed. Independent of
its interest as a story, "Reginald Hastings" has suffi-
cient attractions to render it worthy of perusal and
commendation.

EVENINGS AT SEA.
This very delightful volume appears without its
author's name, but rumour has assigned it to the
same hand as " Reginald Hastings" and "The
Crescent and the Cross." Few readers of " Evenings
at Sea" will be inclined to contradict the assertion. In
many of the scenes here described is easily recognised
the facile power of a practised pen. These tales,
which formed the pastime of some "Evenings" spent
"at Sea," are various in character, but are all in their
several ways very interesting. In the first story, The
Miner," there is related an incident of such fascinat-
ing interest, that it holds the reader for a moment in
breathless attention. The last history is the most
pleasing, and it " ends well." "Henry Meynell," on
the contrary, has a tragic termination, which, how-
ever, is only a deserved retribution. Although ori-
ginally intended to beguile "Evenings at Sea,"
these tales are admirably qualified to afford delightful
amusement for evenings on land, and as such we
very cordially recommend them.

NEW EDITION of PRESCOTT'S WORKS.
CONQUEST of PERU. Vol. 11.
Rarely has a romance possessed a greater power of
fascination than this history. The immortal pages of
the -" Arabian Nights" do not depict scenes more
gorgeous and amazing, and the early campaigns of
Napoleon scarcely reveal more marvellous general-
ship and wholesale conquests, than do these details of
the former splendours of the fallen . Incas of Peru,
and of the daring valour of the invading soldiers of
Spain. The character of Pizarro is the main feature
of this volume—a character which, at the same time,
irresistibly attracts our admiration while it excites
our abhorrence. As an instance of Pizarro's exqui-
site generalship, and also as a specimen of Mr. Pres-
cott's delightful style, we transcribe the following
passage :
" On the fifth day after leaving San Miguel, Pizarro
halted in one of those delicious vallies to give his troops
repose., and to make a more complete inspection of thew.
Their number amounted, in all, to 177, of which 67
were cavalry. He mustered only three arquebusiers in
the whole company, and a few crossbow-men, altogether
not exceeding twenty. The troops wore tolerably well
equipped and in good condition. But the watchful eye
of their commander noticed, with some uneasiness, that,
notwithstanding the general heartiness in the cause
manifested by his followers, there were some among
them whose countenances lowered with discontent, and
who, although they did not give vent to it in open mur-
murs, were far from moving with their wonted alacrity. He
was aware that, if this spirit became contagious, it
would be the ruin of the enterprise, and he thought it
best to exterminate the gangrene at once, and at what-
ever cost, than to wait until it had infected the whole
system. He came to an extraordinary resolution.
" Calling his men together, he told them that' a crisis
bad now arrived in their affairs, which -it demanded all
their courage to meet. No man should think of going for-
wardin the expedition whocould not do so with his whole
heart, or who had the- least misgiving as to its success.
If any repented of his_ share in it, it was not too late to
turn back. San Miguel was but poorly garrisoned, and
he should be glad to see it in greater strength. Those
who chose might return to this place, and they should
be entitled to the same proportion of lands and Indian
vassals as the present residents. With the rest, were
they few or many, who chose to take their chance with
him he should pursue the adventure to the end.
"It was certainly a remarkable proposal for a com-
mander who was ignorant of the amount of disaffection
in his ranks, and who could not safely spare a single
man from his force, already far too feeble for the un-
dertaking. Yet, by insisting on the wants of the little
colony of-San Miguel, he afforded a decent pretext for
the secession of the malcontents, and swept away the
barrier of shame which might have still held them in
the camp.
"Notwithstanding the fair opening thus afforded
there were but few, nine in all, who availed themselves
of the General's, permission. * * * * This stroke
of policy in their sagacious leader was attended with
the best effects. He nod winnowed out the few grains
of discontent which, if left to themselves' might have
fermented in secret till the whole mass had Bibbed into
mutiny."
" Pizarro,' like Cortes," we read in another place,
" possessed a good share of that frank and manly
eloquence, which touches the heart of the soldier,
more than the parade of rhetoric or the finest flow of
elocution. He was a soldier himself, and partook in
all -the feelings of the soldier, his joys, his hopes, and
his disappointments. He, was not raised by rank
' and education above sympathy with the humblest of
his followers. Every chord in their bosoms vibrated
with the same pulsations as his own, and the convic-
tion of this gave him a mastery over them."
Among the descriptions of the magnificent treasures
of Peru we And the following evidences of Peru-
vian ingenuity in an account of their gold and
silver imitations of plants and animals. "Among the
plants the most beautiful was the Indian corn, in
which the golden ear was sheathed in its broad leaves
of silver, from which hung a rich tassel of
threads of the same precious metal. A foun-
tain was also much admired, which sent up a
sparkling jet of gold, while birds and animals of the
same material played in the waters at its base. The
delicacy of the workmanship of some of these, and the
beauty and ingenuity of the design, attracted the ad-
miration of better judges than the rude conquerors of
Peru." The treasures obtained by these conquerors
were immense, the value of the gold amounting to
near three millions and a half of pounds sterling, be-
sides a large quantity of silver. " History," says
Mr. Prescott, " affords no parallel of such a booty—
and that too in the most convertible form—having
fallen to tbe lot of a little band of military adventu-
rers." "-It is equally worthy of remark," he very
judiciously adds, " that tbe wealth thus suddenly ac-
quired, by -diverting them from the slow .but surer
and more permanent sources of national prosperity,
has in the end glided from their grasp, and left them
among the poorest of the nations of Christendbm."

ON THE NATURE AND TREATMENT
OFDISEASES OF THE KIDNEY. By
G. Owen Rees, M.D., F.R.S., Fellow of the Royal
College of Physicians, Assistant Physician to, and
Lecturer on Materia Media: at Guy's Hospital ;
Principal Medical Officer to the Pentenville
Prison.
`This work is an elabdration and an extension of
Dr. Rees' valuable clinical lectures recently de-
livered at Guy a Hospital on that disease of the
kidneys which is named " Bright's disease," from
the circumstance of Dr. Bright having been
the first to discover it, and to point it
out to the profession. Prior to this time
diseases of the kidney were generally considered as
tbe mere consequences of other diseases, and as of
minor importance. Since the discovery of Dr.
Bright, however, it has been, proved by him-
self and the followers of his school, amongst
whom Dr. Owen Rees deservedly bolds the
foremost rank, that this disease is a primary disease, a
cause and not a consequence of other diseases, and
that dropsy in all its forms, and that many cases of
affections of the brain, the heart, the liver, and the
lungs are merely symptomatic of the existence
of "Bright's disease," and to be cured effectually
must he attacked in their primary seat. The work
before us puts all these things in a clear light, and
is one of the most lucid expositions of me-
dical facts we have ever perused. 'Dr. Rees
is also an admirable logician, and all his conclusions
are sound and undeniable deductions from his pre-
mises. We recommend this work to the attentive
study of the medical profession, as being, without
exception, the best treatise on the Morbus Brightii
that has yet appeared.