Star.
London, England, 1824-04-02 00:00:00


The Universal Becht') ; or, Chronicle Vale Li:efatzue of
all Nations, No. I. Svo. pp. 19).
We have tea.] over this first Number c f a new Re-
view with some care; and it is but justice to say, that
we have been much gratified with the impartiality, the
• acumen, the discrimination, and good taste, that per-
vade its pages. Notwithstanding the numerous Reviews
already in circulation, and the ability with which many
of them are conducted, there was certainly room
left for one on the plan which the Unit:et-ail Review
proposes to follow. The Editors, in a short preamble,
offer the following remarks :
" No man can doubt that the principal Reviews
have utterly failed in those essential points; that half a
dozen Eisays every three Months, are usetlual to give
any idea of the prig' ess of Literature; that the ambitious
authorship, whose object is simply to display the poweis
of the Reviewer, must defeat the purpose of the reader,
who desires to be acquainted with the book ; that the
tone of sneering and pert personality, which makes the
study and 'heti iumph of modern criticism, goes directly
to offend correct taste, and to insult and repel the pro-
gress of all honourable and sensitive minis ; and that,
in addition, the notorious bondage and instrumentality
of those Reviews, as' tools of Government and Oppo-
sition, totally extinguishes the hope of right judgment in
matters of the first importance to us as individuals, as
subjects of a free State, and as lovers of literature.
" In those Journals too, Foreign Publication has found
but the most trivial and occasional notice. • Yet, on thc
Continent, a new and brilliant period has opened, that
almost ret:embles the fifteenth century, in the sudden-,
ness, masculine strength, and original splendour, of its
intellectual exertion. I❑ France, in Germany, through-
Out the North and East of Europe, fro:n Siberia to
Hungary, great acquisitions have been made in every
region of mental and physical discovery, into which
powerful and accomplished minds could break their
way. Of these labours the English leader has been
kept in general ignorance; an ignorance which it is not
withib the scope of the principal Journals to enlighten."
The Foreign is 'a wide ft. ld, but it is also a desultory
one, and will- tequire•no common degree of judgment
and industuy'il executed in a proper manner; but if
swell done cannot fail to• prove highly useful.
The Editors profess to be altogether free from the.in-
fiuence of Party or Publishers. In Pourres, honouring
the wisdom of their ancestors, they engage to be the abet-
tors neither of clian:!e nor of corruption—their principles
being Constitutional and National. " In Rectorosr, not
less honouring the holiness and sincerity of the Founders
of the Established Church, they will respect conscien-
tious differences of opinion." And in Cntrictsst—the re-
verse, of course of what they condemn in others ; but
"General views and abstracts of the more important
classes of- knowledge will be given from time to time;
an original feature, which they contemplate as of pecu-
liar utility to the student."

Before concluding, we beg to be allowed to press on
the- constant rc.culiecLion of the Editors a great de-
si:leratum, which by adding to the utility will serve
to maintain the character of their Review ; namely, to
alai at giving a fair ana'ysis of the works they examine.
01 course the analysis can only be brief, and in some
cases the nature of the work will prohibit it ; but in.ge.
neral it may be done, so as to convey to the reader a tole.
table idea of the book. Ll one woj-d—if the book is not
worth this trouble it can deserve but a very short notice,
Journal of a Second Voyagefi2r the Discovery ofa North-
West Passage ft om the Atlantic to the Pacc ; per-
formed in the Years 1821-22-23, "in the Fury and
Hecla, under the Command of Captain WILLIAM ED•
WA nn PAnRY, R.N. P.R.S. Published 6y authority of
the Lords Coabnissioners of the Admiralty. 4w. Lon-,
don, 1824. _ _

Although Captain Parry's second voyage was not so
fertile in discover y as his preceding one, yet it has not
been altogether unproductive, since it has enabled our
enter," ising countryman to make more correct frydro.
graphical surve?•s (f tile creeks, harbows, &c. in the
vicinity of Hudson's Straits. It appears also that the
last voyage ha; given Captain I'arry increased hopes of
ultimate success, and he entertains no doubt of the ex-
istence of a North-West.Pa,.sage, which he thinks is to
be found by coasting along the Northern shore of Ame-
rica. Tne great difficulty, ho vever, is to -get a vessel
there; the attempt to reach it by Repulse Bay and Wa-
ger River having failed, it is proposed to try in the next
voyage. through Prince Regent's Inlet, which Captain
Parry discovered, but 'clid•not explore, in his first voyage.
Captain Parry's Work contains a very interesting ac-
count of a tribe of Esquimaux which he.met with, and
from the frequent intercourse, our sailors were able
pretty win to understand them, and make themselves
under,tood. _ _

Were we merely to receive a descriptint of the coun-
try of the E,quim lux, their habitations, the remorseless
severity of their climate, the extreme difficulty of pro-
curing food, and the nauseating kind and condition of
it when procured, we should conclude tha, no inhabi-
t Anti of the earth could well be mote wretched—that
t!•ey would be so beset with miseries, that a smile would
never be seen among them ; yet we find that this is far
from being the case, and that lIHAVEN, in its benefi-
cence, is as mindful of these poor creatures, and fur-
nishes to them, however inexplicable it may appear,
soul ces of pleasure and contentment, %%Lich supply, ac-
•eording to their mode and measure of enjoyment,
.enotrr.,,h of happiness to keep them always cheerful. This
will appear abundantly in the following narrative :__
• " Early in the morning the E,,quimaux had been ob-
served in motion at the huts, and several sledws drawn
- by dogs and heavily laden wenf off to the westward.
On going out to the village, we found one-hall of the
people had quitted their late habitations, taking with
then. every aiticle of their property, and had gone over
the ice, we knew not where, in quest of more abundant
food. The wretched appearance which the interior of
the huts 11QW pre.:ented baffles all description. In each
ofrthc larger ones, some of the apaitments wete either
wholly or in putt deserted the very snow which com-
posed the beds fire:p!aces having be6i willed up,
that no article might be left behind. 'Even the bate
is ails, wr.ose original colour was scarcely perceptible for
lamp-black, blood, and other filth, were not left perfect,
'large holes having been made in the sides and roofs for
the convenience of handing out the-goods and chattels.
The sight of a deserted habitation all time; calcu-
lated to excite in the mind a sensation of ch eat iness and
especialiy when we have lately seen it filled
with cheerful inhabitants ;.but the feeling is even Leigh
eacd, iather than dimini,led, whCii a small portion of
iahabitauts tculain behind t 9 endure the wretched-

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