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    8M THE LE ° M - FN6. 489. Aira^ 9i io.o

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    THE NORTH BRITISH REVIEW. The North Brit...

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    THE ILLUSTRIOUS HENRIES

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    Stanford' s Pans Guide , with Three Maps...

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    8m The Le ° M - Fn6. 489. Aira^ 9i Io.O

    8 M THE LE ° - FN 6 . 489 . Aira ^ 9 i io . o

    The North British Review. The North Brit...

    THE NORTH BRITISH REVIEW . The North British Rerieto , No . LVII . Edinburgh : Kennedy . A -welcome contribution from " modern Athens , " naitl well calculated to ieep up her literaiy reputation . The majority of the articles is evidently from practised pens , and some of them are of much interest and ability . The Life , Writings , and Influence on his Time qfM . Chateanbriaiul , by M . Villeniain , is exceedingly well and impartially reviewed . The critic lias finely discriminated between the egotism and the genius of the writerand lias given

    , sound reasons for his thorough condemnation of the immoral influence of Chateaubriand ' s earlier . writings ; bat -we think he attributes too much power to liim when he asserts that his Eene was the foundation of that array of immoral worlcs represented ia the productions of the Dudevant school . We incline to think it was to Jean Jacques Rousseau that this school owes its foundation , and that the Rene of Chateaubriand was derived from the same source . Gladstone's Homer is reviewed in a more candid spirit , and , to our mind , with a clearer appreciation of the merits both of Homer and his "

    commentator Gladstone titan the majority- of contemporary critics have evinced . " State Papers" are the r-esult of researches into the buried treasures of the Eecord-office , and every true lover of antiquity and history will feel himself under a debt of gratitude to the Master of the Rolls for giving to the public , in a classified form , these valuable State papers and national archives . " Biblical Interpretations" is an elaborate article on certain religious publications , but , like preceding interpretations , they leave the disputed points in the same condition as Sir Roger de Coverley ' s portrait , namely , that much may be said on both sides .

    Modern British drama verges on the dull , and is too ^ limited in scope . Surely the judgment of the reviewer is not indisputable when he claims Shakspcarean lonours for the author of Said .: a Drama in Three Acts , published anonymously at -Montreal . Putting aside such minor blemishes as the anachronism of making Malzah—Saul ' s evil genius and double , and pronounced a creation equalled only by Caliban and Ariel—swear such modern oaths as " Zounds 1 " what will the reader think of the following asserted Shakspearean effusion of this Montreal Shakspeare ?—Malzali singing— .- .

    There was a devil , and his name was I ; From De Pr ofundua he did cry ; He changed his note as be changed his coat , And his coat was of a varying dye : It had many a hue : in bell ' twas blue , 'Twas green i ' th' sea , and white iW Bky . Oh , do not « sk me , ask me why , 1 Twas green i ' th' sea and white i ' th' sky , Why from Profundus he did cry . Suffice that he wailed with a chirruping note ; And quaintly cat was his motley coat . The words " From Zte Profundus" are certainly a queer poetical license ; but , passing that over , we are prepared to maintain that Porson's portrait of the Devil ' s dress—His coat was red , And his breeches blue , With a hole behind Where his tail came throughis ten times more original and Shakspearean thau the imitative doggrel we have quoted . "Egypt and Syria" we make a separate article of , and refer the reader to another part of our columns . ' « Researches on Light" is written in an agreeable , informing , and philosophic spirit . " Our Army in India" contains much sound matter .

    The Illustrious Henries

    THE ILLUSTRIOUS HENRIES . The Book qf ih * IUuttrimu Henries . By John Capgravo . Translated from the Latin by the Rev . Francis Charles Hingeston , M . A . Longman and Co . This is a translation of Johannia Capgrctve Liber de Illustribua Henricia , and both the original and tins version form a portion of the series now issuing by the Government under the superintendence of the Master of the Rolls . The vapid , handsome , complete , and cheap manner in which these valuable illustrations of English history arc being published reflects credit on all connected , and goes far to redeem the old dilatory and extravagant way in which the former works of the Record Commission were put forth . At present we have only to do with the translation , the original not having reached us . Cnpgmve , it appears , was an Augustine friar , and . lived a

    King ' s Lynn ., in Norfolk . He passed his life in writing Commentaries and Chronicles , and in the management of his monastery , he being provincial of his older in England . He was born in 1393 , and flourished during the reigns of Henrys IV ., V ., and VI ., living to his seventieth year—J . 4 G 4 . The account of a contemporary , however vaguely written , must hare interest , and must in some ° way elucidate the history of the time ; yet we must say that Tather Capgiave has much of the tediousness and all the fantastic quaintness of his period . He writes the history of the Illustrious Henries because his own king and patron is named Henry . Of Ms pedantic style the following is a specimen : —

    Let not this preamble , my lord , aggrieve thy modesty . For I dared not approach such a wort without some little preface , lest , drawing near irreverently , I might be repelled from such honour . For thus it is written : "He ¦ who scans majesty narrowly will be overwhelmed with glory , " However , as a brief annotation , those things herein to he treated of I lave distinguished thus : — The First Part treats of those famous men who , beariug this name , have flourished in the Empira . The Second of those who , with like name , have shone in regal honour in this Realm . The Third of others following here and elsewhere , whose names were worthy of remembrance .

    Therefore my lord the king will possess in his acts the best rules ; in his faith the most firm assurance ; and in judgment tlie safest guidance , from those men , of kindred to himself both in name and blood , who have gone before him . Tlie second book , treating of the six kings of England of the name of Henry , " men of renown and worthy , of all honour , " of course is more interesting than the romantic account of the German emperors ' . It is curious to find the Sunday question , cropping up at the early date of 1171 ; and the following may 'furnish the present petitioning clergy with a precedent :- — In the eighteenth year of his reign , certain revelations / began to be made to him , warning him especially to correct his life . "

    First of all , by a . certain old man at Cardiff' Castle , in Wales , on the Sunday in the octave of Easter , where , after hearing mass , while the king -was hastening to mount his horse , there suddenly appeared to him a certain old man with 3 'ellow hair and a round tonsure : thin he was , and tall , clad in a white garment , and barefooted , and he addressed the king in the Teutonic tongue , as follows : " Good holde knyth : Christ salutes thee , and so do his blessed Mother , and John Baptist , and Peter who wields the keys , charging thee that throughout all thy dominions there be no traffic carried on , or any servile work done on Sundays , those labours only excepted which pertain to the use of food . This , if .. thou shalt do , whatsoever thou shalt take in hand thou » halt bring to a prosperous issue .

    Then said the ling in French to the knight who held bis reins , " Ask the rustic whether he dreamed that . " And while the knight was interpreting this in English , the other added in the language he had used before , " Whether I have dreamed it or not , remember what day it is to-day , for unless thou shalt do these things and Hhalt amend thy life , thou shalt hear such tidings within this present yea r that thenceforth thou shalt grieve even to the end of thy days . " And when he had thus spoken ,

    the man disappeared . And within that year the king ' s three sons , Henry , Aeoffrey , and John , took the part of the King of France against their-father ; the King of Scotland also , and , the Earl of Chester , revolted against the king . And many other warnings -were sent to him from Heaven , but nil these had but little effect . The character of this king ( Heury II . ) is given by the downright old monk iu no very flattering style , but with apparent marks of truth : —

    King Henry was a man of somewhat rml ^ y complexion , with a large head , and a broad chest , grey eyes , a broken voice , and a stout body , though he was moderate both in eating and drinking , and in order to keep down his corpulency ho wore down his body with violent exercise , such as long standing , and continual walking about . In stature ho -was of the middle height ; he was eloquent also , and a man of letters . In war he was brave , in private life provident , in battle dreading only treacherous deeds . Ho was always kinder to a slain soldier than to one who survived the combat , rather grieving for the dead than loving tho living .

    In stress of ovil circumstances no one could be kinder ; when fortune smiled again , no one more unbending . He was cruel towards those whom he could not conquer , and often gentle to the conquered . In domestic matters he was hard to deal with , in things external profuso ; liberal iu public , frugal in private . If once he entertained hatred or love for any ono , he could scarcely ever bo brought to another mind . He readily broke his word , answered roughly on every occasion ; l oved quiet , but oppressed tho nobles . Ho was a seller and a hindorer of justice , a breaker of

    promises , changeful and crafty in his speech- an « , "" ungrS . P erSeCUt ° ° ^ Chur <*; to Go / ah ^ He did continually all he could to footer aamong hi * sons , his only hope bei " g that peacetTn result to himself from their quarrels . P woul ( The most valuable part of the book , of course i < that portion which treats of the time wherein 1 was contemporary There is , however , but lit £ that adds to out- knowledge , his Chronicle of ^ Z W being much fuller than these meaere bi < Wa ~ pines , which are , after all , little better than h ?«» "

    gyrics . it is well to have everything printed C cause then it is in the safe custody of mver'Z print and many copies ; but otherwise there is but little of new elucidation of English history It is most carefully edited and translated by Mr Hinges ton ; being copiously supplied with notes ana a capital index ; and tlie volume is in every wav worthy of the . admirable national series qf which it forms a part .

    Stanford' S Pans Guide , With Three Maps...

    Stanford ' s Pans Guide , with Three Maps , and a View of the Champs-Elyse ' es . New edition , revised and improved - — It is a great advantage in a guide-book , aa indeed in every other commodity ( except money , some will say ) , not to have too much of it . hi the hurry and excitement of travelling , we merely want the prominent facts relatnW to any place . Mr . Stanford hits the medium very welf and consequently his little volume is neither bewildering nor tedious . It is divided into tTiree parts—Preliminary containing the necessary information as to the mode of travelling , passports , & c . ; Historical , a brief view of the most notable circumstances connected-with the various localities ; Topography and Itineraries , dividing Paris into districts , so that the traveller may see as much as possible , according to the time he has " to spend in this sight-seeing capital . Three ' -excellent maps accompany tie convenient little work , which , moreover , is moderate

    pnee . A Guide to Jersey , Guernsey , Aldemey , tjre . By F . F . Dally . Witli a Map . ( K . Stanford . )—This is a compilation by one evidently well acquainted with these pleasant islands . The features are the excursions in each island , which are sketched from practical knowledge . The account of tlie fortifications and Ireakwatet at Alderney are specially interesting just now that so much is said of Cherbourg on the opposite coast . Upwards of a million and a quarter are being expended by our Government , yet we hear nothing about it in tlie French journals . The effect of these military works has been to double the number of houses and treble tlie population . An excellent map of the island is appended .

    A Guide to the Cathedrals of England and Wales . By Mackenzie Walcott , M . A . . . ' ( E . Stanford . )—Tins 13 an account of all our cathedrals arranged alphabetically . The descriptions are succinct , but point oat the historical events and traditions connected with the buildings , as well as' the architecture , dimensions , and principal objects of interest . Jt is a very useful pocket manual for those -who prefer spending the vacation iu examining their own country , now that the Continent is no longer rendered so agreeable as formerly to English tourists .

    The Ophthalmoscope : its mode of application , explained , < ind its value shown , in the cxjrforution of Internal Diseases of the Eye . By Jabez Hogg . ( John Churchill . )—The invention of the ophthalmoscope for surgical purposes ranks nex . t to that of the stethoscope for the discrimination of diseases of the chest , or of the stereoscope , to speak more popularly , in optical science . It ia gratifying to find how much opthalmic science has been advanced by this simple instrument , which is

    merely a combination of a mirror and convex lens , by means of which the light , reflected from tho back of tlio eye , makes visible to tlie observer the nature of tho injury going on in its deepest structures . Mr . Hogg describes tho various diseases which ho has detected by the aid of this instrument , but as our readers would scarcely understand the technical terms , we forbear to enter upon this part of tho subject . It is evident that the progress of science ia giving now helps to meclkino aa well as to other branches of philosophical inquiry .

    Descriptions of Victoria , South Australia , New Sent Wales , Wellington , Tasmania , Nelson , Canterbury , raid New Zealand , tho first six by tho Editor of tho .- !«« - tralian and New Zealand Gazettes . ( Algar and Street . ) In issuing this series of cheap publications , Messrs . Algar and Street have well earned tlie gratitude of nil intending emigrants . These little works aro not got up in tho catchpenny style of the dayj they contnin , in a small compass , solid and reliable information , and will save not only timo and disappointment to tho emi grant who studies them carefully , but money nlso . Tho price of theso pamphlets varios from 8 d . to 5 d ., and for this insignificant sum a fund of useful information is furnished relative to tho history , tho climate , tho political institutions , tlio revenue , tl » o population , tho society , the productions and exports , « nd the land aale regulations of the various colonies .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 21, 1858, page 844, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/ldr_21081858/page/20/