Swansea and Glamorgan Herald, and South Wales Free Press. — 1860-10-24 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

STANNING.  • Vatiag of gnu Vahliratiatus. "lALY By William Arthur, A.M. 11360: London : Hamilton, Adams, and Co. . The Caine of the Rev. William Arthur, the Secretary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, is one not unknown .-Ite; the literary world. The "Mission to the Mysore" . itnd. "The Tongue of Fire" are books which entitle their **hoe to a cordial reception when he comes before publia, with any subsequent production. "The Sueeeseful Merchant" is perhaps a work by which Mr. • ltithufhas become better known than by either of the ' others we have named, but charity would lead us to be silent respecting it. "The Succesaful Merchant" is, however; named among other books by the same author on the title-page of "Italy in Transition," and, thus reminded of the Wesleyan magnate of Bristol and his eulogistic biography, our fingtrs itch to write the thought which crosses our mind whenever we meet with the title of the book. If Mr. Arthur was as well acquainted with the man whom he lauds and magnifies in "The Successful Merchant" as persons whom we have met, his book, not to be too nice about words, would be a disgraceful epecieosii of blinded sectarian toadyism. We do not for a moment believe be was; but still there is enough evidence of the character and principles of Mr. Budgett in the book itself to totally unfit the man for being upheld as a pattern to Christian tradesmen. God save us from the day when a dry legal rectitude—inspired by such utterly selfish motives that it would sanction the dunning of a widow in penury for five shillings while the dun was parading • gift, no sacrifice to him, of a hundred pounds to a religious object—shall be generally considered the acme of perfection in the character of the Chriatian.trader. Passing to the book before us, "Italy in Transition" is chiefly • record of a trip into Italy made by Mr. Arthur in the spring of the present year. The rev, gentleman happened to reach many point, of interest at stirring times. At Turin "during the voting upon annexation," at Milan "during the rejoicings for the annexation," at Bologna during the general elections, and at Florence at the reception of Victor Emmanuel, Mr. Arthur was in the way of hearing and seeing much of peculiar interest at the present time, and none but a very unobservant end incapable man could have been in such scenes without being able to tell something worth listening to about "Italy in Transition." Mr. Arthur's story does not show the facility and piquancy combined of a Times special correspondent. It bears the trace of being hastily written, and sometimes is made up of accounts of what seem very unimportant circumstances and conversations. Were the book likely to be one of permanent interest or ,yalue, we might take exception also, on the score of taste, -to the author's frequent references to hie travels in various parts of the %I orld, which do not always come in .rr as it naturally suggested by the context. The work is, however, one which will be read deservedly with a good deal of interest. It gives an instruc21' ' tire view of the popular feeling in different parts of Italy on both political and religions subjects. Mr. Arthur details at some length his argumentative conversations with Italians on the points of difference between the Rotnish and Protestant churches, and, sc as a passing traveller is able to apprehend the feeling of the people, something may be le.irnt therefrom as to the susceptibility of the Italians to Protestant teaching at the present conjuncture. Mr. Arthur met with uniform expressions of hatred to the political government of the Church. At a hotel at Piacenza, for instance, in a large company he was regaled with stories of the Papal Government that "were horrible, and, to us, beyond belief" "They were tales of lines and imprisonment without any reason given; of hundreds kept in dungeons untried and unaondernned; of mulcts laid upon whole classes of persons in a day; of plunder concerted between officials and robbers, and prey divided share and share alike; murderers petted and thinkers put to death; arid Priests and Biethops, Archbishops, and Cardinals, and Legates, nll fingering and dividing the spoil. It was something very fearful to bear those tales, and to see the hatred of Priests .and Church and Pe... ^nd