The New York herald., 1869-03-31
LITERATURE.
Reviews Of New Hooks.

Reviews Of New Books.
MANUAL or THE CORPORATION or THE CRY or
NEW YORK FOR lS6s By Joseph Shannon, Clerk
Tho municipal authorities of tins city having
soemnly resolved that Corporation Manual" ~
necessary adjunct to their dignity and importance,
1t naturally became necessary to prepare book In
every way worthy OF this great metropolis OF the
American Continent. Mr.. Shannon, who modestly
admits In the preface that this is his first attempt at
"book making,n need have no fears that adverse
critcism VIII pursue his compilation The volume
before us Is cxcelently complied, the subject mat
ter arranged with skill ana care, the typographical
execution fautess. the Illustrations, excepting
few OF the coored ones, artistcally finished the pa
per good, ana the binding and gliding on the cover
elegant, though somewhat heavy. On the whole,
the Manual is In point OF mechanical execution the
best that has yet appeared and If the taxpayers are
to be yearly compelled to pay for like work, we
trust their money Will always be as satisfactorily
expended as appears to be the case here.
Referring TO the contents OF the Manual. we dis
cover but little to condemn and much to praise The
maps faithfully drawn enabling one to ascertain
at glance any particular locality In the city
he may wish to discover. The original charters Of
the city, granted in 1886 and 1870 pongan
ana Montg0merie), and all the amendments
from the last named year to August 81, 1865. are
count OF the city government during last year with
portraits Of the leading members, names OF all the
ustrations Of the sCham6er OF tho Board OF Alder
men, 'Unamber OF the Board OF Counclmen" ana
ana @ management M It Of the more % prominent and use.
ful institutions in the city, Details OF the
progress and working Of the varioas s,a Stat state
| The illustrations Of all the noted public
buildings and Institutions Of charity srs
chaste and elegant. WITH each Is given list OF the
officers and brief but interesting sketca OF its his
rnfu Ina
Tor Information or reference that cannot be found
IN these pages. The election statistics Will be found
"REMINISCENCES covering one hundred pages COM
plcte the contents OF the book and VIII be found val,l-
nm matter T6eS NV Wl n derat sose old Citizens Of
I the metropolis who recall to memory New YORK
as she existed in lslo with something OF bewilder-
men and doubt as to the reality OF her present mag
Under Mr. shannon the work began by his prcde-
cessor, the late Mr. Valentine. promises an able con-
tauance; anu we fee assured that the Corporation
Manual" VIII lose nothing OF its ''enviabio repnta-
tion" and importance with the present Clerk Of the
| Common Councl as compiler. We might question
the taste exhibited OF introducing the proceedings
many Hall on the 4th OF July last, did we not con
| slider the event OF Sufficient importance IN the
history of our city to warrant the introduction;
| besides which, where almost everything ID so
wei Gone 1t Is hardly fair to cavil over q small
matter. We must not omit stating that the present
volume Is considerably larger than any Of It's pre-
decessors, being octave ana not duodecimo pages
Is the size OF all former editions The type is also
4
| printed" The volume contains over 40 pages and
| has '.nearly double the amount Of matter em-
braced in any former compilation"
| MY RECOLLECTION or LORD BYRON; AND THOSE OF
| WITNESSES OF HIS LIFE. New York: Harper
| Brothers, publishers.
| Unless Mr.. birmingham, the translator, has sup
| pressed parts OF this book-something scarcely
| possible when the circumstances OF the case are
! considered-we must confess to feeling of agree
aoe surprise on reading It's contents. We had been
fnr
newspapers that the celebrated Countess Guiccioli
had furnished the materials relating to her inter-
with Lord Byron to the Late III. de Lamartinc.
who had given to the world work at once sensual
| and suggestive OF many improper subjects. which,
| however legitimate In French literature. rigdly
! excluded from the literature OF England whose
pious natives moral souls think 1t bad enough to
indulge in forbidden pleasures without illustrating
or depicting them In books. These censors Of "My
| Recollections Of Lord Byron" had evidently not
taken the trouble OF reading the book before pro
| nounclng Judgment. We have given 1t o careful
perusa, from the first to the last page, without dis
| covering anything that could bring blush to the
| checks Of an angel.
The most that can be said OF this recoectons Is thai
| they endow Lord Byron with attributes which few
| mortal men ever pos ssessed. To claim for him
| the possession OF every cardinal virtue Is an alb
surdty. There were many thousands OF better men
than The poet contemporaleous with him. and there
| were better men before ana have been better men
/ since. But we can readily excuse these exaggera-
tions when we reflect that between tue ostensible
author and the subject there existed at one time
| an affection which, II not halowed BY religion,
Was yet possessed OF great strengtn-a bond,
/ upon the heart OF tho Countess Gulccoli
long after Byron was dead. and even long alter age
Ignoring the enthusiasm Win whIch the great poet G
Is made unuaturay perfect, we look upon this work
solely as literary production, we cannot fairly deny
Il mp Or rain IN AZ inaf
deserves II IL graphic brilliant defence OF Lord
Byron. As a literary composition 1t is written with
| tine. Everything that relates TO the amours OF the
poet Is referred to with great decacy, while no op
every good or virtuous act he performed II
| VIII doubtless disappolnt many TO lind but little
and that little merely introduced in connection wlp
| certain traits OF character claimed for Byron. II
must be stated, however, that the book broadly
hints, with that comca but not unnatural display OF
self appreciation characterisuc OF many women, and
perhaps OF large majority Of the SEX that the poet
| never truly loved woman unsil he met Madame
c.. There IL something chrrmlngy refreshing
IN this concert, for wo know by Byrons letters 20
Moore ana others that there nothing In his love
/ for the Countess Giucclo OF q warmer nature than
he felt for half dozen other women durinx hs iife
capable OF coIstancy In hs alectons ior the rentler
sex, and we are not surprised mt this fault IN his
character. The man that heard women OF standing
IN society virtually offer to become the slave OF
his pleasurcs-women ready 10 sacrifice their honors
and regulations for verse or for smile from hun
his mind filled with those tender, fai.hful delicate
IDEAS OF the winch ali OF us entertain.
We have spent several very pleasant hours In the
perusa OF "My RecolectI0Ds OF Lord Byron.n There
| " much IN the book that we do not beeve--the
story Of there being In existence fve unpublished
cantos OF "Dou Juan.n for instance. But on the
whole IL IL work OF marked merit, and IL valu-
abe contribution TO the number OF volumes written
on the same subject, whether considered
agreeable romance as q de'cnrc OF the great poet
BY one whose present was linked to the past by the
tcnderest Of rccoileciions.
AMERICAN INTERESTS IN ASIA. by Celso Cesare
Moreno. New York: G. $. wcstcott Co.
The author OF this highly interesting and sug.
gcstlvc brochure has given us more valuable ,nfor-
nation about Asia, the interests OF America in that
part Of the world, and the policy the United States
ought 70 pursue with regard TO II, In forty pages
than DO found In volumes Of superficial travc-
lns or theorists. lie writes from experience having
been fifteen years In India, China siam and other