learning to read in childhood, when the voice was necessarily clothed with unmeaningness and monotony as with a garment.

Now we apprehend that the art of reading would be very easily and perfectly acquired, were the method adopted which is set forth in our author's several prefaces, whether his books be used or not; and we believe that there have been no books yet published, which, as a course, are so well calculated to carry into successful effect the true method. Preceding the reading exercises there are tables of Lexicography, in which the words subsequently used are defined. The pupil is required to become familiar with these before he has to do with them in composition-so that, when he comes to them there, his tones cannot but be as natural as in conversation. Let it be observed that the topics, language, and style of each book are so chosen, that the pupil is prepared by what precedes, to understand and be instructed by what comes after.

There or two three characteristics deserving of particular notice. In the second book of the series there are several chapters containing explanations of important words and phrases, in supposed conversations between a parent and child. In these, the scholar not only acquires much information necessary to reading understandingly and well, but he has also an exercise in the art in that familiar style, which is admirably calculated to give him a naturalness of tone and manner. The author has, moreover, taken particular pains to explain many terms generally used in the places of instruction and devotion. This we think of no small importance, inasmuch as for the lack of such explanations thousands of the young are liable to slumber, or to be obliged to compel themselves to wakefulness, on the Sabbath, against the drowsy hum of an unknown tongue. It is the last of the series that we had intended should be the particular subject of review. But in noting its predecessors we have done honor to this; for it is compiled on the same important principle. This principle is, it will be recollected, that the scholar shall not read in composition till he understands, at least, most of the terms he finds in his lesson; and, certainly, that he shall not pass from any one lesson to another till he shall thoroughly understand the meaning of all the words he has been over.

We now ask attention to some brief extracts from the preface of the Popular Reader, in which the author's plan is presented by himself:

"On a review of these three books, it is believed that the principle design would be more fully accomplished by subjoining another volume in which the learner may be made acquainted with about fifteen hundred additional words, of frequent occurrence in some of our best authors.

"It is the peculiar object of these several books, to make the pupil at an early age so thoroughly acquainted with the meaning as well as orthography and pronunciation of popular language, that he may feel an interest in the moral and religious discourses on which he may be called to attend, and be able, without the help of a dictionary, to read with intelligence and a natural grace any common book which is composed in a good style. Another object in perfect accordance with this has been to furnish him with a greater variety of moral sentiments and a greater amount of valuable information than is to be found in most other books intended to occupy the same place in our schools. The present volume will be read with the greatest facility and advantage by those who are familiar with the preceding parts of the series. Still it is so far disconnected that, as the author flatters himself, it may be separately used with advantages equal if not superior to those of any other book of the kind.

"One of the peculiarities of this book will be found in the number of dialogues, amounting to twenty, which have been collected with great pains, and which, it is believed, will increase the value of the work, affording as they will the best discipline of the voice in reading, while they will give to the same thoughts a livelier interest than if they were delivered in a didactic manner."

There is one very important characteristic which the preface does not particularly set forth. Our author's books do not contain a single sentiment which inculcates or breathes the baneful spirit of war. We rejoice at this. In most of the Readers and Class-books, quite too many of the pieces, historical, parliamentary, and poetical, are about war, conquest, and military glory. It may be argued that they tend to instill a necessary patriotism into the youthful mind. This may possibly be, but it seems to us quite too bloody a patriotism for an age in which a thousand Peace Societies are at their heavenly work, and a Congress of Nations is impatiently waited for to lift up and sustain the balance of international justice and the banner of universal peace. The fiery radiance of Wars should not be reflected from pages, whenee the mind receives its earliest and deepest impressions. The paths of education should all lie beneath the gentle, but full and clear light of the Sun of Righteousness.

We commenced our remarks somewhat jocosely, but we would close them with impressive seriousness. We commend the whole series, but the Popular Reader most especially, to the attention of parents and teachers, and the public guardians of education. We assure them that this last is no hasty and careless compilation. It is the fruit of long and laborious research, guided by exceeding delicacy of taste, and the nicest moral sensibility. Nothing can be better calculated to breathe a taste for pure and elevated literature into the minds of our common youth; we desire and hope, therefore, that it will be the Popular Reader and Complete Scholar not only in name, but in fact and in truth, by coming into general use.

W. B.

Mr. Gardiner's Address to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, on American Education in, Classical Learning and Eloquence.

For just thought, high eloquence, and the graces of an elegant style, this discourse stands among the foremost productions of the day. It will not, perhaps, be received with popular applause. It is too high, too learned, too true for that. But it will find its way into thinking minds, and leave there a deep impression of its reasonings and its striking power. It will awaken many a thoughtless dreamer of the perfections of the present age, to some just notions of what that age really is, and what it really wants. It will join in with the daily increasing number of voices, now calling for a higher education, and a fuller unfolding of the powers, tastes, and sentiments of the soul. It will help vigorously forward that delicate refinement of social life, that accuracy of taste in letters and art, that depth of beautiful learning, which charm the spirit of the scholar, when he reads the finished works of the masters in European literature.

The discourse opens with some remarks on the tendency of the profession to which the writer belongs. These are followed by a series of striking views of the practical spirit which our age has shown and is still showing in manifold forms. The orator enumerates the extraordinary improvement in mechanical science, which our day has given birth to, and shows how the same influences have wrought upon the literary character, in bringing it down to what is popularly called utility. Then he considers the revolutionary turn which poetry and art have taken, dealing out, by the way, a just severity of criticism on the exaggerated, flashy style which has grown into a fashion and a passion with Bulwer, and Blackwood, and a whole herd of weakly imitators. He points out, clearly and forcibly, the dangers to which our country is peculiarly exposed, of neglecting

the elegancies of learning and art, and of failing to appreciate the value of these pursuits, on which a high intellectual character mainly depends. The antidote to this peril is education,-not popular, merely,—but the loftiest education of which the human soul is capable. The speaker warns his countrymen, in the most impressive manner, against the downward progress of all leveling schemes, and strongly advocates an "accomplished education-liberal, enlightened, thorough, classical education."

The low state of classical learning among us, he describes in strong colors. Some of his statements we do not fully agree to; but the theme is one which we have no space, within the limits of a brief notice, to enlarge upon. He then goes into a practical argument in favor of the accurate study of the learned languages, the several topics of which he handles in a masterly manner. The argument is clear, intelligible, and conclusive. The remarks on the influence of classical learning upon American eloquence-on the kind and occasions of that eloquence, and its wide-spread power over the public mind-are exceedingly pointed and seasonable. This statement of the general neglect of the art of speaking, in a correct and elegant style, is startling, and his suggestions in regard to improving the condition of eloquence, are weighty. He shows clearly enough that powers, opportunity, and calls for the loftiest oratory, exist in our country, to an extent never surpassed,-that our institutions require it, and our Anglo-Saxon blood may be warmed by it, as well as the blood of Greeks and Romans. This is followed up by a beautiful analysis of Cicero's celebrated address to Cæsar, and a discussion of the enlarged circle of themes, motives, and arguments, which Christianity brings within the reach of the modern orator. He shows, by an ingenious comparison of facts, that, in essential points, the present age opens occasions for the same kinds of eloquence as that of Cicero or Demosthenes, and brings the discussion irresistibly to this brilliant point :-" But, after all, the distinction seems to be rather in the greater difficulty of satisfying the reason, than the greater difficulty of moving the affections, of a modern auditory. The reason must first be satisfied. This was the precept and practice of antiquity; but with us the reason is a faculty more cultivated, more critical, more captious, than it was in Athens or in Rome. Greater refinement of argument is required, therefore, to reach this point; but that being done, the heart is as liable to be moved now, as it was two thousand years ago, by those powers and sympathies which God has created purposely to move it. Greater art, greater skill, not more native power, is requisite to produce the same effect. A modern audience demands better eloquence. Is that a reason why that which they have should be really inferior? or why eloquence as an art should be less cultivated than it was?" The orator then proceeds to show that the forensic eloquence of Cicero bore a much stronger likeness in substance and sources to modern forensic eloquence, than has usually been thought. His observations on the defence of Milo, are marked by a tone of elegant criticism, and just discrimination; and the general conclusion is, that modern oratory may be greatly improved by the study of the masters of ancient eloquence. This is accompanied by a description of ancient education, and the training through which the orator was required to pass, before he was held to be qualified for entering the Senate or the courts. In the contrasting of this picture with the general neglect of preparatory discipline, in modern schemes of literary education, the orator finds a sufficient cause for the alleged inferiority of modern eloquence. He then urges the study of classical learning, and sustains his arguments by the examples of those great men, who have approached nearest the mighty minds of antiquity, and who have uniformly been 53

VOL. VII.

distinguished by the depth of their classical lore. The discourse closes with an animated and eloquent appeal to those who are entrusted with the education of New-England youth, to lead the minds of the rising generation up to the fountains of wisdom, truth, taste, and beauty, which were laid open in the best ages of Greece and Rome.

This oration is full of learning, taste, and deep thought. The argument is close; but the orator opens many side views, which show that he has ranged far and wide beyond the walks of professional life, into the world of art and letters.

The Atlantic Club Book, by various authors. In two volumes.

These little volumes are made up of pieces taken from the New-York Mirror. We find the names of most of our best writers, both in prose and poetry, adorning the pages of the collection. There is a great variety in the characters, and an equal variety in the merit of these gathered leaves. Several poems of Bryant's are in his highest and best vein. "The Robber" has more spirit, more power, more imagination, than any other of his poems, we have ever read. "August" is marked with his unrivaled richness of description and melody of language. Mr. Paulding inimitable Paulding-has here told some of his capital stories. We were delighted to find "Jonathan's visit to the Celestial Empire" treasured up in this work. It is a gem, in its way, and deserves a more abiding fame than belongs to the columns of a weekly paper. The humor of it is irresistible. It is free from the exaggeration and study for effect, that displease us in some of his writings. It is true, racy, pointed, and original. Another piece of his-Knickerbocker Hall-is in a little different vein. Here the author gets among his favorite old Dutchmen, and draws his usual admirable picture of that singular race. Irving himself scarcely goes beyond Paulding in graphic delineation of these amusing personages, whom the busy, bustling, hustling generations of this extraordinary age, are fast driving out of New-York into the regions of tradition. "Halleck" has afforded matter for some dozen pages. He is the drollest mixture of splendid poetry and mad-cap buffoonery we have ever had the honor to encounter in the walks of literature. He has written one or two of the best things to be found in American poetry, and might, perhaps, soar above the flight of any singer among us. His serious style is full of vigor, and towers into sublimity. His language is choice, nervous, bold, and wrought into verse of majestic harmony; but in the very midst of some of his finest passages, he does not hesitate to sacrifice a glorious effect for a treacherous joke. His wit is good in its place; his pathos is excellent by itself; but the two, mingled together, form a most incongruous compound. The reader must laugh, to be sure; but is Halleck satisfied with that? When he can move the heart with solemn music-raise the mind to high contemplation by magnificent imagery in noble diction-in short, when he can sway the whole soul with the full power of a "heaven-directed" bard, is he content with the fleeting fame of a jester?

Mr. T. S. Fay is a great writer in a small way. We fancy he writes in a little study, on little paper, with a little pen,-for his style is little, his stories are little, his thoughts are little, his images are little, and his sentences and subjects are little. Yet he writes agreeably. His productions are excellent things to while away an idle hour with, if one wishes to occupy his mind in soothing meditations of pleasing nothingness. Mr. Willis-but he is so notorious that it would be absurd to say much on so stale a celebrity-has thrown in a few pretty affairs, to be

scattered, "like orient pearl," over these pages. The little girl he “knew at Rome" gives him an opportunity of stringing together a page or two of sparkling fancies, with a sprinkling of classical allusions and famous names. But a gentleman who aspires to use this kind of lore ought to know enough about it not to make the second syllable of Egina short, as in the line,

"Of Salamis and Egina long hung;"

nor the second syllable of Pactolus short, as in the line,

"Of golden Pactolus where bathe his waters."

There are too many writers and scribblers jumbled together, in these volumes, to be particularly mentioned. Some of the things they have perpetrated are execrable trash enough, but do not merit any special damnation; but there are excellencies more than sufficiently numerous to save the book from sinking into the "receptacle of things lost upon earth," that Mr. Adams speaks of, or from being shoved out of sight, behind the rubbish, on the booksellers' upper shelves.

It is strange that New-York should have such a bad name for lack of literature, and yet should have been the nursing mother of some-of many of the best geniuses among us. In fiction, in poetry, in every department of elegant letters, where has she-Babel as she is, Mammon-loving as she is said to be—where, we ask, has she been surpassed?

Eulogy on Lafayette, delivered in Faneuil Hall, at the request of the Young Men of Boston, September 6, 1834. By Edward Everett. The occasion on which this eulogy was spoken, is not likely soon to be forgotten by the young men of Boston. The death of a great and good man had spread a gloom over the lovers of freedom throughout the world, and his name was to receive the honors due to it, in her consecrated Hall. The anniversary of his birth was the chosen time; he who had welcomed the thrice illustrious hero in tones of thrilling eloquence ten years before, within the walls of Harvard, was the chosen man. The day was beautiful, as if the heavens looked down benignantly on the heartfelt offering paid to the shade of the great departed. Throughout the city the hum of business was stilled; and throngs of men, gathered from country and city, decked with appropriate badges, joined, in solemn procession, to go down to Faneuil Hall, under martial escort, and listen to the praises of the lamented dead.

What a scene struck the eye, on entering that vast Hall! Its arches were hung with the simplest drapery of mourning. Its galleries were filled with the selected beauty of the metropolis, waiting, with high-wrought expectation, the well-known eloquence of a favorite orator. Below, a crowded multitude of men, all expressing in their countenances the serious reflections naturally belonging to the occasion, fixed their eyes upon a raised platform, occupied by the speaker, the clergyman, and many of our most distinguished gentlemen, with strangers from various parts of the country. On the front of the stage, stood a bust of Lafayette; on the side of the Hall, behind and towards the left of the orator, was hung the wellknown portrait of Washington, by Stuart. Solemn music, a requiem, followed by prayer, was the opening of the simple ceremonies.

Mr. Everett has most extraordinary powers to move an audience on such an occasion. His personal appearance wins the attention and respect of his hearers,