New-York daily tribune., 1843-12-25
1ttsrarr Notices.


PREscorT's HisroKY OF TIE Conquest OF
| MEXICO, Vol. Ill.--This work, issued By the
tlarPers, IS now complete The praise which
has been iavIsllcd upon it IS deservcd buLit IS \,
mistaken notion to suppose that the class which
| purchase works ol this character viii be induced
to do 50 by dealing in extravagant supcrlatiyes
and lndlscnmnate praise. 1t is nat the mos,
brilliant thing that ever has been, or will be v;r
ten but 1t is Just what it should be--a spirited
sketch OF a spirited time, and the LANGUAGE ms,
such as one would use in writing history Of
chlvalry The Life of Ferdinand and Isabella,
and Mr. Prcscotts love OF Spanish literature have
given hm a style peculiarly fitted to record deeds
which none but romantic age could furnish.
The most interesting portion Of this volume is
the siege and conquest of Mexico We find
nothing peculiarly new to us in Mr.. prcscott's
account of it, except the beautiful style in which
| the events are related Mr.. Prescott seems 10
identify himself with the long marches and sud.
den retreats and fearful onsctS and pcrous crises
that marked the strange expedition of that STRANGE
man Cortes, and hence his descriptions hayea
that lend them a peculiar charm. This has
| naturally cd him into too great admiration of the
character of Cortcs, and 10 account for the dev..
| tatons he often made in the old obslete way by
saying "he did it not from pride, or hatc, or love
of plunder, but to make room to build more magni-
ficent cities" The truth is, Cortes was one of
the most renowned knights of the clnvalric age
in which he lived, and neither religion nor philan
tbropv had much to do with his actions Love of
rlorv lav at the bottom Of all his achievements
In his age, to be knight of the church, was the
surest road to fame. Yet the history of him and
his expedition is one of the most exciting in the
annals of man. and the uneyamped daring with
which he threw himself with small band into
| the heart of a vast country, the energy that
sustained him in the midst of defeats and
treacheres, and the genius that finally cleared all
obstacles are related in the volume before us with
clearness, elegance, and force. 1t is one OF those
works that give character to our literature, and
cannot but add lustre to Mr.. Prescott's fame
The subsequent career of Cortes down TO his
death is given, together with an essay on the
origin of Mexican civilization. The Harpers
have expanded the matter over large space Yet
the getting up of the work IN other respects is
worthy Of the commentator bestowed upon it.
Nrytco As IT WAS AND As 1T Is BY BRANr7 MAYER Sec
reary of Legation that Country 1871 aud 1872 j.
Winchester.
| This is beautiful octave OF some 400 pages
prolusely and handsomely illustrated by Engrav-
ngs 1t treats clearly Of the wondrous Ruins in
which Mexico abounds, but is by no means con-
fined to them, entering largely into the consider
alon of the Moral, Social and Religious state of
the People, while the resources physical condl-
,ion and capabilities of this vast country ale scan
ned with the eve Of keen observer. We be-
| eve there is no book attanable which exhibits
so fully and clearly what McScans ure, what
they possess, and what they necd.-But we have
| not time no~ For osonr analysts. The loilow-
ny extract may give hint to our sporlamen
:" Atter the shower had passed. we again sailed
FORTH and, reaching the marshy flat., amused our
| selves with watching the operations o lgnacio
| instead OF making ourselves upon the delicate
birds. After wandering about Tor some time with
ont starting game ignaclo al last perceived n lock
| alight hundred yards the north OF him. lie
dlsnounted immcdiate tey-waved his hand TO us to
remain onet-crouchcd behind the BULL and, put
! ting the animal in motion, III the direction OF the
birds, they both crcpt on together until within gun
! shot. Here, by a witch at his tai!, the beast
was stopped, and began nunchng the taste
| less erlss as eagerly il gratifying a rel
ishing appetite. gnacio then slowly raised nj;
head TO level with the bulls spine and surveyed
the field of battle while the birds padded about the
iens unconscious of danger. Although evidently
within good shooting distance, the ito discovered
that he had not precisely got a rahi"g range; and
therefore, again dodging behind his rampant put the
bull in motion for the required spot ! his attained,
he Ieveled his gun on the ANIMALS back and hred-
honest Snncho never stirring his head from the
grass Several birds fell while the rest OF the
| flock seeing nothing but unbellgerent pun,
scarcely flew more than dozen yards before they
alighted again; and thus the conspiring beast and
sportsman sneaked along, from shot to shot, until
nearly the whole flock was bogged
MEMOIR OF Mss CAruARIvE REYHoLDs Of PouGhksep-
sic, \. York; with Selections IRON lsf Diaiy ana L.
tiers: Edited b. Rev. GEo; CoLEs Up. 2i2 izmo) We
holist Book Room, 200 Mu!beuyst
This is a Religious Biography, and gooo
one. Works of this class have become so n'l-
mcrous, and are necessarily SO similar, that no
one expect wide popularity: but they must
continue to be read and to exert a most salutary
influence