Ways of Wisdom: Religion." Though these titles afford in reality no index to the character of the volume, they are such simple but comprehensive words that they will define the themes which the author thought of most vital importance as bearing upon the interests of young men. There is no ambitious writing in the volume, no straining after originality, which is so apt to result in mere conceit, but a solid, earnest, discreet, and kindly wisdom, now uttering itself in a plain statement of one of the commonplaces of truth, now breathing the tenderness of a most affectionate heart. It is a book to be given to young men who go abroad or to those who stay at home, as it is concerned with perils and duties which do not depend upon climate or latitude, but which are involved with human life under all circumstances.

A Selection from the Correspondence of the late THOMAS CHALMERS, D.D., LL.D. Edited by his Son-in-law, the Rev. WILLIAM HANNA, LL.D. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1853. 12mo. pp. 504.

THIS is a most appropriate and acceptable companion volume to the four which have already appeared, containing the Memoirs of Dr. Chalmers. A glance at the table of contents will show, by the variety of the names and the titles of the men and women to whom the letters of this honored divine are addressed, how large was the circle embraced by his heart or reached by his influence. The editor gives us no intimation of the principle on which he made his "Selection," and we conclude that it depended, in some measure at least, upon the facilities which he may have enjoyed through the courtesy extended towards him by those who happened to have in their possession more or less valuable materials from which he might choose. The Rev. Sydney Smith felt it to be his duty to destroy every letter that was sent to him. We rejoice that some consciences have not felt that obligation, for though the preservation and publication of such documents occasionally tends to mischief and involves a wrong, these are but exceptional cases, while some of the most precious volumes owe their charm and value to such contents. The volume before us will be heartily welcomed, and we should have been glad of its aid when we were reviewing the career of Dr. Chalmers in a recent number of this journal.

1853.]

Notices of Recent Publications.

479

The Homes of the New World; Impressions of America. By FREDRIKA BREMER. Translated by MARY HOWITT. New York: Harper & Brothers. 1853. Two volumes. 12mo. pp. 651, 652.

Ir has come to be a well-understood, if not an admitted fact, that the reports which travellers make of the regions which they visit depend chiefly upon the reception which they have met there. Miss Bremer came to this country hardly in the character of a stranger, and many hearts were at once opened to her. It is also evident from her pages, that many persons who entertained her made it a matter of conscience to caution her against some of the errors and misjudgments into which foreigners who had preceded her had been in most cases misled. We do not mean to imply that such cautions forestalled the exercise of her own faculties of observation and inquiry. On the contrary, Miss Bremer was at least as inquisitive as was Miss Martineau, and on every occasion showed a desire to be just and impartial. Whether any of her friends here will be annoyed at her personalities, or even at the misspelling of their names, depends somewhat upon the impression which she herself made upon their minds. The extracts from her lively pages which are going the rounds of the newspapers, are fair specimens of the gossiping and good-natured, though sometimes oracular, style of her remarks. A very large class of readers will find novelty, or amusement, or profitable suggestions on nearly every one of her pages.

16mo.

he British Poets. The Poetical Works of OLIVER GOLDSMITH. Edited, with a Life, by REV. JOHN MITFORD. pp. cxi. and 176. The Poetical Works of ALEXANDER POPE, with a Life, by REV. ALEXANDER DYCE. Three volumes. 16mo. pp. clxiii. and 168, 311, 363. Boston: Little, Brown, & Co.

1853.

WE have here four more of the series of exquisite volumes, beautifully and accurately printed, which the publishers have promised to issue as rapidly as their many undertakings will admit. All persons, whose standard of home comfort embraces more than one single book-shelf, must have "The British Poets" in some form, and they may be sure that they will never be able to procure them in a more convenient and economical form than that which these volumes wear. The lapse of years will but deepen and extend the pleasurable and improving influences from this department of our literature. Even when the memory has been stored during the season of its tenacity in youth with what

are then regarded as the gems of poetry, maturer years find a most delightful resource in reading them again on the fair page, and in searching for new gems in the old mines which may have been passed unheeded. If a hundred thousand copies of this edition of the poets could within the year be circulated through our towns and villages, there would doubtless be at least one member in each of that number of househelds who would hail them with a warm welcome, and would find their lives purified and elevated in the study of them.

The Hive and the Honey-Bee; a Bee-Keeper's Manual. By Rev. L. L. LANGSTROTH. 12mo. pp. 384. Northampton: Hopkins, Bridgman, & Co. 1853.

THIS treatise is of equal scientific and practical value and interest. It details all that is known of the natural history of the bee, including a multitude of the most wonderful facts. And it describes the practical processes of bee-keeping in the clearest manner, including an account of a newly invented hive, far surpassing any hitherto known in the great advantages it combines. We can strongly recommend the work to all who are in any way interested in the subject it treats.

Clouds and Sunshine. By the Author of "Musings of an Invalid," &c. pp. 258. New York: John S. Taylor.

1853.

12mo.

THIS Volume contains, in a series of six conversations by three interlocutors, a somewhat thorough examination of the modern doctrines and boasts of human progress. It is vigorously conceived and written. The author reveals the possession of no small share of learning, wit, and intellect. This present essay, though acceptable, very readable, and in some respects useful, does yet produce in our minds no other impression so strong as that of a desire to see him devoting his evident gifts and accomplishments to some more substantial and ambitious work.

1853.]

Literary Intelligence.

481

INTELLIGENCE.

LITERARY INTELLIGENCE.

"God with Men: or Footprints of Providential Leaders," is the felicitous title of a book on Scriptural themes, by the REV. SAMUEL OSGOOD, just published by Messrs. Crosby, Nichols, & Co. We regret that we are compelled to defer a more extended notice of this volume to our next Number. In the mean while, we would commend it to our readers, because of the ability, the richness of thought, and the fidelity to the principles of devout faith and to the uses of edification with which it treats subjects and characters of unexhausted instruction.

The Messrs. Harper have issued a new volume, by MR. RICHARD HILDRETH, the historian, entitled " Theory of Politics: an Inquiry into the Foundations of Governments, and the Causes and Progress of Political Revolutions." The whole mental organization and the recent researches of the author qualify him to treat this great theme with ability, and entitle him to a candid hearing, while the strength and the cast of some of his views will occasionally call forth the dissent of a reader of some other way of thinking. The "Theory" of the author is for the most part an elucidation of the historical and experimental causes of the course of events which has matured and resulted in the principles of government now admitted by free and progressive minds.

From the same firm we have a volume entitled "Men and Things as I saw them in Europe," by KIRWAN, the pseudonyme of a polemic divine of the Orthodox fold, who, after having followed up a Roman Catholic Archbishop with his caustic pen at home, has returned from a visit to Europe to give us some pungent and stinging remarks upon the priestly oppressions and superstitions which prevail in the Old World. The book is designed to serve the interests of civil and religious liberty; and it will do this in a way of its own, though not, as we think, in all respects the best way.

"A Manual of Greek Literature, from the earliest authentic Period to the Close of the Byzantine Era," by DR. ANTHON, published by the same firm, is another of the convenient compends by which the author has sought to facilitate the study of the classics and to open a smooth and pleasant way to pupils.

Messrs. Little, Brown, & Co. have issued, in two handsome volumes, the Second Part of a "History of Liberty," by SAMUEL ELIOT. This is a continuation of the design of the author, which has been already introduced to our readers in a review of the first work on this theme

from the same pen. "The Early Christians," is the general title given to this continuation. The cursory examination which is all that we have as yet made of the work, leads us to expect much instruction from the thorough scholarship and the earnest spirit which have produced it. We have in preparation for our next Number a review of the long expected Life of Dr. Judson, by PRESIDENT WAYLAND, which has just been published by Messrs. Phillips, Sampson, & Co. We have reason to believe that these two volumes will receive the tribute of a very wide circulation, and of a most hearty appreciation.

Though we generally keep at a wide distance from us all the books 42 4TH S. VOL. XX. NO. III.

VOL. LV. --

which profess to contain comments on the Song of Solomon, we mean to attempt the perusal of a good-sized volume on that subject by the REV. PROFESSOR BURROWES, of Lafayette College, just published by William S. Martien, of Philadelphia. If we find ourselves rewarded for our pains, we shall so inform our readers. In the mean while, we acquaint them that such a book is within their reach.

Uncle Sam's Palace, or the Reigning King, by EMMA WELLMONT," is the title of an elegantly printed volume, published by B. B. Mussey & Co. It contains a pleasantly written and very interesting story designed to serve the cause of temperance, and to uphold the "Maine Liquor Law." We assure our readers that, so far from being indebted to the romance of the past for any of its interest, it is fresh with all the actual life and agitations of the present day. Even the "spiritual rappings" and " table-tippings" are most ingeniously turned to a good use in its pages. We might specify some little imperfections in the story, but our approbation of its design, and of the way chosen to execute it, leads us rather to commend than to criticize.

Messrs. Leavitt & Allen, of New York, have published a new work from that popular and able commentator of Scripture, the REV. DR. BARNES, entitled "Notes, Critical, Illustrative, and Practical, on the Book of Daniel, with an Introductory Dissertation." Independently of the merely textual criticisms of this distinguished divine, we always find wisdom and edification in his incidental remarks and suggestions.

Had our limits permitted we should have been glad to have given to our readers an account of a most interesting volume, reprinted by Redfield, under the title of Lorenzo Benoni, or Passages in the Life of an Italian. Edited by a Friend." Under the disguise of fictitious names, we have in the book some admirable sketches of personal experience, illustrating life in the private home, in the places of education, and in the more public scenes of agitation and strife, in a land which will be threatened with revolutions until it is thoroughly revolutionized. The book will engage the closest attention and the warmest interest of the reader.

"The Mud Cabin, or the Character and Tendency of British Institutions, as illustrated in their Effect upon Human Character and Destiny, by WARREN ISHAM, "(New York, D. Appleton & Co.,) will convey through its expressive and significant title no unfair idea of the nature of its contents. The first part of the title is suggestive of Ireland. But though her " Woes are not neglected, it is of the sufferings and wrongs existing in England that the author treats most at length. We have no reason to question, but, on the contrary, we have many reasons for believing in his accuracy and fidelity, in the dark pictures which he has sketched from real life.

Messrs. Gould & Lincoln have republished a new volume by JAMES G. MIALL, entitled "Memorials of Early Christianity." In his former work, "Footsteps of our Forefathers," the author treated of the men and the times which effected the enfranchisement of mind and body from the yoke of the Roman and the British prelacies. In this, he sketches some earlier characters and scenes on the pages of Christian history. The materials from which he has drawn are, of course, our common ecclesiastical histories. But having a specific purpose in view, he has treated his themes with a distinct reference to the power and influence of deep religious conviction on those whom it moves.