Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-02-13
REVIEWS.

REVIEWS.
HAPs AND MIsHAPs OF Tour In EUROPE BY
Grace Greenwood Boston Ticknor, Reed, 4
Fields
The charm of this volume-and everything
from the pen Of Grace Greenwood has o
charm--is sprightliness and a DGiUete that
disarm criticism, like the laughsome glse Of Q
child, to whom the falling snow the early
spring. the Crystal Palace, the Christmas tree,
everything in the world Of nature, the world
of art, and the little world of home, is nov
city mystery, or poem, yielding some fresh
inspiration to eyes that never weary, and to :
heart that never aches. Among all the chaps
and mishaps Of this year Of absence, there
was nothing marvellous in the way Of adven-
ture, or new in the way Of sightseeing; but to
her all was new and marvellous, and the most
phlegmatic natures will feel the pulses of that
warm, gladstone, womanly heart and the gush-
ings Of its joy though even its spiritual mag
netism may fail to convey to others those
shocks of intense pleasure that made our
author reel in her saddle with the intoxica-
ton of sight" as she rode over the "wondrous
Campagna and gazed upon the exquisite
tints, and infinite shades, and uncomfortable
brightness of the asky Of skies.'
We like Grace amazingly for her downright
honesty; because having heart, she shows it
without restraint andyet with true womanly
delicacy. We can bear with her ecstatics be-
cause they are natural and honest, and there
fore meet q response in all true natures. To
be sure she "piles up the agony !" in presence
of the Apollo Belvidere and the Dying Gladi
ator, and tries the full 6prce of that part Of
speech known as the adjective; but it is always
natural emotion, even when wrought to its
highest ecstacy, and is never put on for effect
To be sure she tells us how she felt, rather
than what she SAVIOR she describes objects
through her own emotions but then it is pleas
ant and stimulating to know how such mind
was affected by nature, society, art, and reli-
gion, in the Old World-a pleasure next to
that Of seeing with ones own eyes, It is like
listening to music from an invisible band on
the still night air.
A downright honesty Of opinion, too, she has,
and utters it with the strength and feeling of q
woman's heart We would give more for one
page Of her instructive repulsion at the Papal
system, as an imposition upon the chaste SIM
plicity Of q true devotion, than for . whole
volume of invective from Kirwan.
Most heartily do we commend the book to
all lovers of genuine sentiment Of refined aud
poetic feeling, Of genial, sprightly narrative,
and Of pure religious principle,
The above appreciative notice we find in the
New York Independent 1t is, we presume,
from the pen Of Henry Ward Beecher We
heartily concur in It's encomium Of An exceed.
ingly pleasant volume Of Travels, than which
nothing more racy and readable has been
issued from the press this season. IL the au-
thor's record Of impressions abroad is not al
ways as grave, classic, and we'll considered as
that of billiards. "Six Months in Italy, il is
fresher, freer, ,warmer-nay, more earnest
individuality
II bears on every page ample evidence that
she has been true to her own convictions; that
she saw with her own eyes, and uttered her
own thoughts. It is very pleasant and exhila-
rating to read book Of European travel, which
is not mere intellectual survey Of life, art and
and nature, but hearty, honest transcript Of
all the author saw, felt, and enjoyed in her
wanderings. A warm, earnest happy, hopeful
human heart, beats audbly along its pages.
She manifests, without any disguise, her quick,
generous, womanly instincts, impulses, and en-
thusiasms-loves strongly, and hates deeply
despises shows and pretences, and looks through
the guady pomp and tinsel splendors of reli-
gious despotism, to the wrongs and expressions
underlying them-and amidst all the seductive
influences of life at Rome, retains her Protest
antism and Democracy, Her representations
Of religious theatricals, and the way in which
Christianity is caritatured and common sense
outraged thereby, are very spirited and effect
ive Her contempt for mocklings is as hearty
and emphatic as that Of the stout German Re-
former himself
The book has the tone and coloring Of ia
miliar letter; its careless abandon and unre-
serve only make it the more readable. Its
faults lie on its surface, quite too manifest to
offend any tolerable sport to the critical hunt
or after blemishes We can readily forgive
them, in view Of the generous and freedom
loving spirit which pervades the volume, and
which, we are sure, will commend it TO the
hearts Of its readers. j. G.. w.
. IcoRRRsroNpENcE or THR BALTIMORE SUM-
WASHINGTON, Feb. IL, 1854
The message communicating the Gadsdeu
Mexican treaty to the Senate recommends