The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-13 00:00:00

LITERAT URE.

OLIVER AND BOYD'S- NEY EDINBURGH
ALMANAC, 184').
Simphin, Marshall, and Co., London.

The publishers commenced a new series of the
Edinburgh Alnianac in 1837 ; from year to year
they made improvements and additions, which
the public, as the extensive sale of the work
proves, duly appreciated, and we are glad to find
that success has not weakened, hut, on the con-
trary, "given additional impulse to their exer-

,ons, as the present number contains more no

velty and displays betterarrangement than any
which has preceded it. This arises partly from
circumstances of which they have judiciously
taken advantage. The Census of 1841, the New
Ministry, and the New Parliament, with all the
consequent changes in appointments at home and
abroad, the late Promotions in the Army and
Navy, and the vast and increasing extension of
railroads have afforded scope for a publication of
this kind which very rarely occurs. An opportu-
nity has thus been afforded of compiling a valu:
able Repertory of political, • ecclesiastical, legal,
commercial, and statistical knowledge. The in-
formation respecting almost every Subject con-
nected with-Scotland is remarkably copious, per-
haps more so than the general reception of an
Almanac not intended to be local would justify:
For instance, the account of the numerous in-
stitutions, Societies, and companies of the
'city of Edinburgh might, without any incon-
venience be considerably abridged, and room
made for, more ample, historicaL'and personal de-
tails of the English and Irish peerage. This
and other general
to many intelligence would be accept-
able English and Irish readers as well
as to great numbers in Scotland who take little in-
terest in minute particulars, which have reference
chiefly to the inhabitants of the northern capital.
When so much is given, however, it wodld be
unjust to raise any serious objection to the plan
which the compilers have judged proper; and we
have merely thrown out the hint for their consi-
deration. The more remarkable features of this
number we have already adverted to. The digest
of the Census for Scotland, which must have been
procured with much labour and expense, de-
serves especial 'notice.- Besides the official re-
turns for the English and Welsh counties in
1841, we have the population of the counties,
cities, and burghs of Scotland, with the popula-
tion of every parish given separately, and lists
of the clergy of the Established Church, and of
Dissenting bodies of every. sect. As usual, there i 5
a complete Army and Navy List, with the respec-
tive stations of the regiments and vessels, accord-
ing to the latest accounts. The work is printed
in a beautiful clear type, and published at a
moderate price.

DE MONT.POR7'. 3 Vol,. Bentley, London, 1842
The author of this tale states in his preface
that it was commenced several years ago, when
he was very young and had little literary expe-
rience. He mentions this fact, of course, by way
of apology for, what he calls, the meagreness of
design visible throughout the narrative; but we
think he need not have been so scrupulous, for
t by no means
tion, or riou
eirnagrhka'b' Dleef
oArl fcoi
tryt'
o' ifs c certainlyonstrue
adroit-
ness in the working out of incident, yet there is
no want'of entertaining matter in it; the scenes
shift as often as those in a pantomime ; and the
diction is unifbrmly spirited, concise, and collo-
-1 without being too homely.
quia , The narrative
assumes the form of a biography—,
and is related
in the first person by the hero, De Montfort, an
English nobleman, who was born in the year 1742
—so that, of course, the leading events are laid in
the last century_and details the particulars of
his somewhat chequered career, in a piquant style
of mingled earnestness and vivacity. The cold, sel:
fish habits engendered in boyhood by the aristo-
cratic system of exclusiveness are forcibly pointed
out in the earlier chapters of the work, and show
how closely allied in some natures pride is
with meanness. As the story progresses, and the
young nobleman's character developes itself, the
interest increases in proportion : and there is 4
scene where, after the death of his mother, the
Countess, De Montfort makes dishonourable over.
tures to a young country girl, named Cecily, the
dependant and favourite, of his deceased parent,
which is of a very eaVileSt and exciting character.
There are also several graphic sketches of the
political state of England about the period, or
shortly after, of the accession of George the
Third to the crown; and, in particular, a spirited
sketch of the famous mob-leader, Wilkes, who
was not, however, "born and bred in the
ITT hot-b 4 9,f aristocracy" —as the