The Sun.
London, England, 1842-08-01 00:00:00

F.R.ISER'S MAGAZINE.

I The author of an essay on the "Characters of celebrated
• Authors, Ancient and '2lodern," which stands first in the
present Number, while discussing the qualities of Poly-
, bins as a historian, alludes incidentally to Xenophon, of
whom he remarks that . "we always seem to taste the
honey of the Attic bee in his flowery page. Vehemence
and passion are unsuited to his gentle nature ; there is
sweetness even in his fire. It is the lightning qin the
aromatic shade ; perfume and flame intermingled." We
do not exactly understand the meaning of this last sen-
tence, or how it applies to the style of the " An, basis" and
" Cyropeedia," but we suppose the essayist means to Say
that Xenephen is deficient in strength, and that his man
tier is uniformly placid and equable. Vigour is certainly
not his chief characteristic ; but he has occasional pas-
sages of uncommon spirit, as all must acknowledge who
have the slightest recollt•etion of his episode of Panthea,
which is quite-as remarkable. for its vigorous, as for its
pathetic qualities. There are twine spirited touches,
too, in his account of the death tjr Cyrus ; and his well-
known allegory of the " Choice of lieri;:iles," is as manly
in its style as in its sentiment. With 3,,.ting,schhlars
Xenophon is always a favourite, far the ease, toe cleu
Hess, and the unaffected simplicity of his sty e,
as Quintilian justly observes, " seems as though it han
been fashioned by the Graces themselves." (Jr Polybius,
whom the Essayist praises with much animation, we can
say nothing, for we do not happen to be acquainted with
his history. In the ." Ittustraions of Mirtibeitu,"
there is a eulogistic memoir of the father of the
famous leader of
_the French Revolution. The author
makes out his case with great ingenuity, and dis-
creetly deals in generalities, when alluding to the elder
Mirabeaa's persecution of his scape-grace son, being well
aware, apparently, that tha subjeet will not admit of a
close investigation. The lett-e-de-eaehet which th-
father can-eel to he issued against the sun, is a Freof of
his vindictive nature, the force of which no special Foolid
ing can diminish. The " Two Victories "is a tale
fitunded on the first civil ivar in La Vendee, of which
Madame de la Rochejaquelin •has written such an inte-
resting account. The %%titer has not made so much of
his theme us might have [wen expected, considering. the
materials he had to work with. " British Popular Vuga-
ries" describes in an arch, sarcastic manner, some of the
recent foliies of which John Bull has been guilty—such
fur instance, as his sudden admiration of the late Rev.
Mr Irving, without a why or a a herelbre ; and his pre-
sent part-image of the hydr-pathic system and its pro-
fessors. Hen st John generally makes an ass of him-
sell; once every four or.tite years. Sometimes his folly
takes a moral tutu, and theta a .1.3) ron must be sacri-
ficed to it ; another time, nothing will catch his atten-
tion but some astounding quackery, and the n a St.
John Long must'be his idol. Now .he is a Methodist,
and now a Puseyite ; to-day a Whig, to morrow a Tory;
but it is remarkable that he never fails, in his lucid inter-
vals, to abuse all whom ha has petted during his halluci-
nation. We (pinto from Nitnrod's " Life and Times" a
graphic portrait of the late Bishop Butler, Head-master
ut Shrewsbury. School, and who was a conteMporaD
with Nimrod, at Rugby
" But a word touching Bishop Butler. I slept four years
in the same room with this learned,man, when he was in the
upper school and I in the lower; but how he became so learned
I am unable to s•,y. te,l-ss it were that h.., was OINCI a
i‘up:lay 14eileVe teas the
case, read very hard at Cambridge, where he carried all before
him. I can only say this, that as far as school-reading or