The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-02-15 00:00:00

Cocks's Musical Almanack.

A very neat little pocket almanack has just been
published, for gratuitous distribution, by Messrs.
Robert Cocks and Co., the eminent music pub-
lishers. In addition to the ordinary information, it
contains some interesting notices of famous
musicians, and a long list of recently published
music.

The Pharsalia of Lucan. London: H. G. Bohn.
This is the first translation into English prose of
the Pharsalia, of which two poetical versions in
English are extant—one executed by Thomas May
in 1627, the other by Nicholas Rowe. The present
translation, on the same principle as the others in
Bohn's Classical Library, is strictly literal, and is
intended to be "a faithful reflex, not only of the
author's meaning, but, as nearly as possible, of his
actual modes of expression." Mr. Riley, the
accomplished translator, has adopted the text of
Weise, save in a few instances, where the readings
of Weber and other commentators appeared pre-
ferable ; and to enhance the historical value of the
work, the narrative has been illustrated by a com-
parison with parallel passages in the Commentaries
of Cxsar, and the works of the other ancient
historians who have treated of the wars between
Pompey and Caesar. The mechanical, as well as
the literary, getting-up of the book is exceedingly
creditable to Mr. Bohn, especially considering the
low price of the volume.

The Boyhood of Great Men intended as an Example

to Youth

London : David Bogue.

To place before the reader brief sketches of the
early career of those who have fought their way to
eminence in the various walks of life is the design
of this pretty little volume. For the young this is
the most attractive, and certainly not the least
useful, department of biography. The ambitious
boy loves to linger over the story of the mighty
spirits whose names stand high in the annals of
fame, and it is well that he should ponder the
lesson they afford, for in every case he must learn
that—

The heights by great men reached ard kept,
Were not attainei by sudden flight ;
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upwards in the night !
Nature does much for man, but without a

plication

and study—without a stern, even dogged, adhe-
rence to well-planned purpose in our early years—
success can never be achieved. Inspiration may
have given to the world the poetry of Robert
Burns, but to well-regulated perseverance do we
owe the deathless works of Walter Scott and Dr.
Johnson, whose minds—though perhaps inferior
by nature, certainly not superior to that of the
Scottish bard—were nevertheless by resolution and
fixedness of purpose capable, in the long run, of
achieving more for humanity. A glance at the
gallery of great names cannot fail to prove that
patient study has frequently distanced great natural
endowments, and gained a more enduring fame in the
future. What a melancholy spectacle was the life of
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, whose early promise was
blighted by a desultory manhood ; and, on the other
band, what a hopeful contrast is presented to the
eye of perseverance in the career of William
Wordsworth, the plodding student of Nature, who,
with a less auspicious dawn, left his most brilliant
contemporary immeasurably in his rear, and is now
wielding a far more weighty influence upon the
age. Pleasing stories that seek to enforce such
wholesome facts upon the mind of youth, as that
success is granted only after sore toil and trial, and
that uncultivated gifts must prove a curse instead
of a blessing, merit a cordial welcome from all who
wish to see youth incited to industry and goodness.
And Mr. Bogue's little volume calls for especial
commendation ; for the execution is scarcely infe-
rior to the design. The incidents in the youthful
careers of many distinguished men of the past are
well chosen ; the language in which these are re-
lated is simple, clear, and forcible ; many charming
woodcuts by Birket Foster lend variety to the
volume ; and altogether a more appropriate gift-
book it would be impossible to conceive. We com-
mend it to the patronage of kind uncles and aunts
who wish to have honour reflected on the family
name—who wish to see hopeful nephews rising up
to assert success and respectability in the world, as
well as to evince mental endowments above their
fellows.
The Dodd Family Abroad. London : Chapman