The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-30 00:00:00

A graduated course of French Studies. By A.

Aigre de Charente. Longman.
M. de Charente is already kuown to French
students by his educational works. He proves
himself a valuable assistant to those desirous of
becoming practically acquaintei with the French
language, not merely of attaining a superficial
knowledge of its rules, but of acquiring a thorough
familiarity with its idioms and peculiarities. His
p. sition as French master in the Royal Military
Acalemy has, d,-;ubtle,,s, enabled him to discover
the difficulties met with by those who put their
knowledge of a foreign language to the test by con-
vening with a nAive, and he has endeavoured t
remove some of the obstacles. His work is divided
;nto four parts ; the first treating of pronunciation
and aiiciilence ; the second c )mparing the French
arid English syntax ; the third part being devoted
to Gallicisms and Anglicisms, and the last, written
in French, teaches the more elaborate portion of
the syntax. The three first parts he int -nds to im-
part to the English student about the same amount
of grammatical knowledge acquired by a French
collegian at the age of sixteen, and the remaining
part to serve him as a grammar similar to that
which the same student would use in France. Per-
haps the most retrial kable and commendable feature
of the work is the long treatise on Gallicisms; little
idioms, phrases and expret,sioni that can scarcely
be translated, but widen give a national and cha-
racteristic turn to the sentence. Ti ese often pre-
sent a succession of apparently hopeless difficulties
to the learner, who will find this part of the
present course of great assistance. We are pro-
mised a boilc of exercises and a French reading
book by the author at a future period. He merits
encouragement from bothteacher; and pupils by his
laborious undertak.st; which contains upwards of
( 5,000 examples, all of 2 them entirely

Religues of Ancient English Poetry. By Thomas
Percy, Lord Bishop of Dromore. Edited by the
Rev. Robert Ads Wilmott. Rout'edge.
Percy's R liqu. s are too well known to need
criticism. They are the delight of the antiquarian,
and have a large claim on the gratitude of all
lovers of the old ballads for collecting and pre-
serving them. It is, tht refire, with much pleasure
that we see this volume added to Mr. Routledge's
cheap and compendious edition of the English
Poets ; set'ing these old friends within the reach
Of all who are stirred by the martial music of
" Chevy Chase" and "The Battle of Otterbourne,"
or who can mourn over the pitiful tales of true
lovers, or who can delight in the tricks of Robin
Hood, or the more stately feats of King Arthur.
We must not omit to In, ntion that the editor has
prefixed a memoir of Thomas Percy, and an essay
on the ancient minstrels, to the volume, and that
he has been careful to add to each ballad some
Account of its origin and preservation.

China. By Sir Oscar Oliphant. J. Blackwood.
As China and the Chinese are dividing public
attention with Indian affairs, the present little
work is very appropriate. It describes China of the
past and present, the old war and the new war,
the charatt,r and customs of the people, the laws,
the religion, the trade, the literature, tllis principal
prodnct,i, the chief national works, and adds a chro-
nological account of the most remarkable events
which have occurred in Chinese history from the
earliest records to the present day. When so much
information is offered in a concise form at a low
price there is little doubt that its circulation will
be extensive.

Proverbial and Moral Thoughts. In a series of
Essays. By C. H. Hanger. T. Cornish.
This little volume contains much sense and good
advice, but it is conveyed in a somewhat eccentric
manner. The essa s are written in a metre very
similar to that of Evangeline, but it is scarcely
suited to the character of the work. They offer
many valuable and elevating suggestions, which
may, perhaps, be more striking to some under their
present guise than in a simpler form. They show
reflection and observation, and may lay claim to
some degree of originality.

The Forfeit Hand. By T. Colley Grattan.
The Hussar. By the Rev. G. Gleig.
The Buccaneer. By Mrs. S. C. Hall. Thomas
Hodgson, Paternoster-row.
These three romances have recently appeared in
the Parlour Library, and maintain the character
of that series. It consists chiefly of reprints from
the works of standard authors, and though occa-
sionally some indifferent works are admitted, as a
general rule, the romances, whether historical or
sentimental, are of a superior character.

The Rifle and the Round in Ceylon. By S. W. I
Baker, Esq. Second Edition. Longman.
This is a new edition of a popular work, by
the author of " Eight Years' Wanderings in o:4_
lon." It is reprinted in a cheaper fort , ,and nar- ,
rates the adventures of a sportsman ir _
Tlie island of
cinnamon groves. 'This bemktif"l, itata, which is

so eagerly hailed by travellers to the. Ea 4 after
their monotonous journey, pos4esses many natural
attractions, and offers Mau exciting prizes to the
sportsman. The illustrations represent some start-
ling adventures, and the narrative relates many
more. What with elephants and crocodiles' boars
and buffaloes, a day's sporting seems lather formid-
able, and many readers will prefer in become ae7
quainted with jungle hunting in the authoi's
milt pages to a more personal knowledge.