The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-09 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

LE MIROIR FRANCAIS ; ou, Repertoire de la Lit-
terature Francaise Contenaparaine. Pat tI.
This is a new monthly publication, intended
to present to English readers of French litera-
ture the cream of the productions of the mower❑
authors of France as they appear in the reviews
and journals of Paris. The plan is a good one,
and if care and taste are exhibited in the selec-

tion, the work has a good chalice of succeeding.
The preface states, with great truth, that the
view given by English periodicals of the current
literature of France is a very unsatisfactory one ;
but to the great mass of English readers, though
they may be well acquainted with the French
language, any other is only to be attained with
considerable difficulty. Not a tenth part
of the names that are popular in France,
are at all known as writers to the
English public. Beranger, Delavigne, La-
rnartine, Thiers,
,Scribe, Alexandre Dumas, Vic-
tor Hugo, Balzac, Paul de Kock, George Sand,
all these are known in England, by translation
or reputation; but there is a long list of writers
whose works have not yet crossed the Chan-
nel. To quote only the names of one So-
ciety—that of the Deus de Lettres de Paris
—we find it includes Audibrand, Bar-
bier, Bignon, Alphonse Karr, Leon Gozlan,
Cauchois, Lemaire, Lacroix, Touchard Lafosse,
Souvestre (Emile), Viardot, Gay (Sophie),
Masson, and a great number of others, which are
almost " names unkniwn." The Mipoir is to
be the means of introducing them more closely
to an English circle of readers. The publication
is of course only a compilation, and the chief
merit of the conductors Avill be that of selecting
with care and good taste. The present number
contains a sketch of the " Life and Writings of
Vanini," by M. Victor Cousin, " Georges et
Cecile," by G. De Moieties, "La foppatelle,"
by Masset ; and the commencement of a tale by
Alexandre Dumas, intitled " Fernande." To the
English student of French literature the Aliroir
will be a most welcome publication, and to the
support of this large and increasing circle we can
strongly recommend it.

REPORT ON THE PRACTICE OF INTER-
MENT IN TO WNS. Clowes, London, 1844.
The reader who is at all curious in such mat-
ters, will find within the boards of this octavo
volume an immense mass of singular information,
collected from an infinite variety of sources, on
the subject of the present practice of interment
in towns. The subject is one that deeply con-
cerns the welfare of the community, and will, we
suppose, engage the attention of Parliament
during the approaching session. For the present
Report on it we are indebted to Mr. Chadwick,
Secretary to the Poor-law Commission, who has
drawn it up with much minuteness and ability,
weighing carefully conflicting evidence—which,
in one or two cases that we could mention, is of
an exceedingly contradictory character—and
coming to a decision which few of his readers
will be inclined to impugn. After giving, in
detail, the statement, pro and con., of a host of
physicians, undertakers, butchers, &c., provincial
as well as metropolitan, Mr. Chadwick comes to
the conclusion that all interments in churches or
in towns are essentially of an injurious, and even
dangerous tendency. Some of the statements
which he adduces in corroboration of this deci-
sion are of the most sickening and loathsome cha-
racter possible, and none can read them without
wondering that a remedy of the evils complained
of has been so long delayed. But decidedly the
most impressive and important portions of the
Report are those which refer to the habits of the
poorer classes in London, Manchester, and many
of our great manufacturing towns, who, it seems,
are too often in possession of but one room,
where the whole family sleep and take their
meals; so that on the occasion of a death occur-
ing among them, the corpse hastily thrust into a
slight wooden coffin is compelled to remain in
the solitary apartment till the day of interment,
which Is often protracted till the process of de-
composition has commenced. As if this was not
revolting enough, the coffin has, not seldom,
been known to do duty as a table, on which the
day's meal is eaten, and sometimes it has even
been made to answer the purpose of a cup-board,
in which gin, candles, bread, and other articles
have been deposited. We can imagine nothing
so demoralising as habits of this sort—the result
of those reckless desperations and utter disregard
of decency which poverty so often engenders—
and we think Mr. Chadwick is deserving of the
highest praise for having, in the valuable prac-
tical Report before us, directed public attention
to the subject.