66 comes "The Historie and Life of King James the Sext, It is time that we now turn to the "Memorials of George Bannatyne" himself, a work which must be to the members of the Club one of the most interesting they have yet published. Old George, a beatified collector of black-letter and ancient MSS., is the patron saint of the Club, and, that all honour might be done him, his Life has been written by Sir Walter Scott himself, the founder and Grand Master of the Order of St Bannatyne. The book is composed in that grave sportive style, which we have ventured to set down as the characteristic of all the transactions of the Club; and shows old George to have been well worthy of the honour which his antiquarian successors have done him. afford of his poetical powers. The verses are a string of extravagant conceits, setting forth his lady's beauties and his own despair in a tone of frigid extravagance, which must have astonished Isobel Mawchan, (his wife,) if to her they are addressed. We are somewhat startled to hear that the lady's locks altogether resembled a bush burning in red flames, but without smoke; and scarcely less so, at finding our Patriarch demanding for himself, as dead, an instant and hasty funeral, because Acteon had been slain by his own fell dogs;' since the position that George Bannatyne should forthwith be buried, because Acteon was dead, seems to approach to what the learned Partridge called a non sePatron's head, for we find him next remonstrating with the quitur. Acteon, we suppose, brought Adonis into our boar for not slaying him, and calling as loudly for death as he had done for burial in the preceding stanza: O, thundering Boar, in thy most awful rage, Why wilt thou not me with thy tuskis rive?" But our Members will probably themselves apprehend an invasion of the thundering boar, if we proceed any farther in this subject." Bannatyne's claim to our respect, and the worship of his sons, does not, however, rest upon his own productions, but upon his manuscript collection of Scottish poetry -a work, to which we owe the preservation of much valuable matter that must otherwise have perished. It contains upwards of eight hundred folio pages, neatly and closely written, and is said to have occupied the transcriber only three months; an assertion," Sir Walter justly observes, "which we should have scrupled to receive upon any other authority than his own." plete index of its contents is appended to the Narrative, and portions of them continue to be printed at intervals by the Club. Sir Walter Scott thus speaks concerning it : 66 A com "The labour of compiling so rich a collection was undertaken by the author during the time of pestilence in the year 1568, when the dread of infection compelled men to forsake their usual employments, which could not be conducted without admitting the ordinary promiscuous intercourse between man and his fellow-men. In this dreadful period, when hundreds, finding themselves surrounded by danger and death, renounced all care for their safety, and all thoughts save apprehensions of infection, George Bannatyne had the courageous energy to form and execute the plan of saving the literature of a whole nation; and, undisturbed by the universal mourning for the dead, and general fears of the living, to devote himself to recording the triGeorge Bannatyne, who is ascertained to have been umphs of human genius;—thus, amid the wreck of all that was mortal, employing himself in preserving the lays by somehow or other connected with the ancient family of Ben- which immortality is at once given to others, and obtained nauchtyne of Camys, in the Isle of Bute, was the seventh for the writer himself. His task, he informs us, had its diffichild of his parents, and was born on the 22d day of Fe-culties; for he complains that he had, even in his time, to bruary, 1545. He does not seem to have entered upon contend with the disadvantage of copies, old, maimed, and active business before his twenty-seventh year. Sir Wal-mutilated, and which, long before our day, must, but for ter is shrewdly inclined to suspect that his hero acquired a fortune by usurious practices, and labours hard to prove, that, in the circumstances of the times, this infers nothing against his character. But surely this was a work of supererogation, for is it not established by a thousand legends, that every saint worth a farthing must have been a rogue at one period of his life? Be this as it may, George Bannatyne died sometime between August, 1606, and December, 1608. Money-broker as he was, however, there were yet some softer points in old George's character. In illustration of this, we find the following passage in Sir Walter's narrative: "That which we love we usually strive to imitate; and we are not surprised to find that George Bannatyne, the preserver of so many valuable poems, was himself acquainted with the art of poetry. Amid the various examples which he has compiled of the talents of others, he has obliged the reader with two poems of his own. They are ballads, ⚫ tuned to his mistress's eyebrow;' but even we, his children, cannot claim for them a high rank amongst the productions of the Scottish muse, for the power of loving and admiring, with discrimination, the poetry of others, is very far from implying the higher faculties necessary to produce it. The reader will, however, find these two specimens of our father George's amatory poetry in the Appendix; and may probably be of opinion, that our Patron showed himself merciful in the sparing and moderate example which they | labour of procuring the originals of the works which he this faithful transcriber, have perished entirely. The very transcribed must have been attended with much trouble and some risk, at a time when all the usual intercourse of life was suspended; and when we can conceive that even so simple a circumstance as the borrowing or lending a book of ballads was accompanied with some doubt and apprehension, fumigation, and the precautions practised in quarantine. and that probably the suspected volume was subjected to As, therefore, from the contents of the work in general, we may conclude our Patron to have been both a good judge and an energetic admirer of literature, we will not, perhaps, be too fanciful in deeming him a man of calm courage and undaunted perseverance, since he could achieve so heavy a labour at so inauspicious a period." We trust that these extracts are sufficient to give some idea of the character of George Bannatyne, and to show his peculiar claims to reverence at the hands of the members of an institution which we regard as one of the most valuable gems in the literary coronal of Edinburgh. books that has fallen under our notice, since the commencement of our critical career. Every one is acquainted with the Dialogues on Natural Religion, written by the acute, but cold-hearted Hume; the effect of which was to excite in the mind of his readers the most painful doubts in regard to the moral attributes, and hence, in regard to the existence, of the Divine Mind. Dr Morehead has resumed the subject, with the more pious view of reducing the religion of nature to the principles of revelation, and of establishing the important fact, that all true philosophy must be founded on the belief and confidence which result from an enlightened theism. With this intention, he has replaced on the stage the dramatis persona of his predecessor; and we are accordingly once more delighted with the ingenuity of Philo, no longer a reckless sceptic; with the calm philosophical temper of Cleanthes; and with the conclusive reasoning of Pamphilus, whose knowledge and reflection have been much improved by a long residence in foreign countries. The subjects upon which Dr Morehead has employed the heroes of his Dialogues are sufficiently profound; relating to the very elements and basis of human knowledge; to the origin of all belief as it respects this world and the next; and to the ultimate authority for those perceptions and reasonings upon which mankind have agreed to rest all the practical maxims of life. In the discussions which ensue, we frequently meet with the eloquence of Hume, combined with his ingenuity; while we enjoy throughout the purer satisfaction which arises from the exposure of sophistry, and from the developement of the most important truths. We think the author is particularly happy in the application of a principle which has been too much overlooked by mere aspiring philosophers; namely, the conviction under which all meu begin to examine the material world, that it is a system bearing the marks of design, and consequently the work of an intelligent Being who continues to superintend its movements. On this ground, he explains most satisfactorily the confidence which the human being feels in reference to the constitution of nature, and the unbroken regularity of its procedure. There is not, he justly maintains, a nation so savage, as not to form a conception of the world as being one thing, and constructed upon one great and infinite scheme; nor even a child that has made any observations upon the scene of nature, who has not got the habit of tying together in his mind the scattered appearances of the universe, and of contemplating them as one connected whole. The principles then, which conduct to the most perfect conclusions of religion, are not recondite truths which it requires meditation and study to discover, but are such that it is impossible for a rational being to miss them. The same sound views enable Dr Morehead to throw much valuable light upon what are called the fundamental laws of human belief. It has been usual among philosophers to ascribe such impressions to instinct, to custom, or to an experience of which the commencement cannot be traced in the history of the human mind. But Dr Morehead, with much less pretension of research, accounts for the trust or belief in question, by a reference to that perception of design in the works of creation which every sane mind necessarily forms: "If the term instinct," says he, "is to be applied to this belief, may not much object to the expression, if it is admitted to be an instinct of reason, but I see no necessity for having recourse to the term instinct at all: it is simpler to suppose that the conception of a plan or design in nature, is followed by an instantaneous belief that the plan will continue." but in the efforts of genius, and which, if it has seemed for a season, indeed, to be under a heavy eclipse, is again happily breaking forth into its genuine station, although it may that can be collected on this highest of all enquiries, and to still be travelling through clouds. To throw all the light point out its bearings on every other branch of knowledge, and on all human improvement,-is surely an honourable attempt, at least, and bids fair to be useful; nor are you to suppose that it is one entirely forestalled, or on which new observations may not every day be produced. Here, in truth, is the fountain of all meditation. It is only when Man, that we find them prolific of truly ennobling concepwe look with the eye of Religion upon Nature or upon tions; when we permit ourselves to be fettered under material chains, we are then within limits which are for ever baffling and depressing us, and throwing a chill upon our most vigorous exertions. "There is not, either, any great difficulty in this enquiry, nor does it presuppose any high gifts or endowments, although none can be exercised well, if deprived of its influence. It presupposes only simplicity of thought and great good faith-a mind that opens to the impressions of truth, when they rise before it, and that uses no ingenuity to stifle them. This is all which is required; and, even in fallen man, this may, in a certain degree, be found, although, no doubt, the consciousness of the illusions which are, in his present state, so constantly perverting him, ought to make tion by which alone his spirit may be restored to a pervahim cling eagerly to that high source of light and purificading sense of the Divine presence. Simple, however, and sublime as this glorious theme must be confessed to be, are you not aware, my friend, that there is none less steadily present to the soul of man?—and do you not think that, in whatever way the sentiments of religion can be rendered profitable and lovely, it is certainly the current of the world, and, in the weak apprehension of not the part of her friends timidly to resign themselves to seeming obtrusive or austere, to suffer opportunities to pass which might awaken the careless to reflection, or might moderate the passions of worldly minds? "There are views of Christianity, too, which might be inculcated without offence to any one. Its happy influence on society, the beautiful simplicity of its origin, the pure character of its author and of its first preachers, are topics which might be rendered very delightful and interesting, even in the social hour; at least I can conceive this, and I have sometimes regretted that there is no such character, now and then, in the world, as a Christian Socrates-a man who, with a full persuasion of religion in his own mind, should lay himself out to make it agreeable in society, by showing its connexion with 'every virtue and every praise.' misapprehensions, even a playful and good-humoured irony, There is surely a method of softening prejudices, removing which might be brought to play upon this fine subject, in the Socratic method, amidst the familiarity of conversation; and, till something of this kind be done, I doubt whether religion will ever make a suitable progress among the freer order of spirits. At present, it comes before men under the dogmatical form of doctrine, because they seldom hear of it but from the pulpit; and, of course, it becomes a part of because people do not like to be reminded of their catechism. good breeding to keep it in the background in conversation, In the meantime, how many are there, of good and virtuous men too, at least as man may be judged of by man, who are really almost unprovided with any ideas or sentiments of a religious nature, and who go through life amidst, perhaps, much external decency, and not without many good qualities and feelings, with yet scarcely a thought beyond the pursuits or enjoyments of the passing hour; and is nothing to be done for these men? are they to be left unenlightened on that noblest of all subjects, which, in many cases, too, may be precluded from entering their minds by some slight prejudice of no very difficult removal?" The reader will find in the Dialogues, much learned discussion on the Being of God; on the existence of the Material World; on the Relation of Cause and Effect; on the Principles of Morality; and on the source and authority of Natural Religion, as distinguished from the doctrines of revelation. Such colloquies admit not of abridgement or extract. On the contrary, they must be read with the utmost care, as the chain of reasoning is "The subject matter of it is, in one word, RELIGION-that so closely and ingeniously constructed, that no link can be inspiring theme, which, in happier times, was at the foun-left out without destroying the connexion between the dation of all that was elevated and pure, not only in morals, premises and the conclusion.-The ninth and tenth Dia The object of this instructive and captivating work is well explained by the author in his dedication to Mr Jeffrey, his distinguished friend and relative : logues which turn on the history and spirit of the Christian religion, are interesting in a very high degree; in proof of which we beg attention to the following fine passage: "I will own to you, then, that my faith in the divine origin of the gospel is never so strong as when I happen to look at a map of the world, and recollect very casually the history of the human race. I put my finger upon the small district of Judea; I recollect that eighteen hundred years ago, in that little region, there inhabited a singular, retired, morose sort of a people if you will, but still a nation which, by some means or other, were not idolaters. I cast my eye round upon every other corner of the earth; I see superstitions of the most hateful and degrading kind darkening all the prospects of man, and corrupting his moral nature in its source; I see some of these nations far advanced in many accomplishments of understanding, and many virtues of character, yet unable to shake off the tremendous load of error by which they were pressed down, and irregular accordingly, and capricious, both in the management of their reason, and in the direction of their affections. I see this little spot of Palestine, despised and scorned by those proud nations who could not for a moment have conjectured that any thing which it could offer them, would have had the slightest influence on their condition. I now see, in that despised country, a teacher arise from the lower orders of the people, who was himself no less disregarded by his countrymen, than his country was contemned by the rest of the world. No matter; his instructions made their way, and though he himself perished in the cause, yet his followers, men, too, of no remarkable powers of mind, carried his doctrines into other nations; and in no long period all the splendid apparatus of superstition fell before them. What do I see now? The little pin-point of Judea swelling out to embrace one half-of the globe-by what means? not by force of arms, but by the progress of opinion. All the nations of Europe, one after the other, Greek, Roman, Barbarian, glory in the name of this humble Galilean, armies greater than those which Xerxes led to the subjugation of Greece, swarming into Asia only to get possession of his sepulchre,-a new world added to his dominion; and at this hour, the east and the west, the north and the south, throwing down their treasures before his manger! How is all this?-are the whole human race gone mad?-or is it only a few philosophers, who will not see with the eyes of other men, to whom that epithet is more justly due? At least, Cleanthes, (for if I gain this, I gain almost all that I am concerned about,) is there not something in this representation to make the philosophers be a little modest in their criticisms, and to exercise a little of that suspense of judgment which they are so much given in other cases to recommend? Is it fit that they should treat with contempt those whose minds are swayed with this remarkable and unprecedented view of things, supposing Christianity had no other proof in its support? If the opinions of Socrates had made so great a progress, and had so lasting an effect, would not you have been ready to contend that there was some kind of Divinity about Socrates? "In vain will you tell me that the history of the Mahometan religion is equally wonderful! Mahomet was a conqueror, and in that particular is not more remarkable than Alexander. The means by which his influence was extended were, therefore, sufficiently obvious. The influence of his religion itself I cannot but impute, chiefly, to the previous influence of Christianity. The great blow had been already struck against idolatry and superstition,-men were prepared to believe that there might be a teacher from heaven, and it was not, therefore, a great stretch of belief, to suppose there might be a second as well as a first, -or to suppose him the minister of God, who came with the vengeance of an invincible arm. The marvel in Christianity is, that it went on step by step without much effort of human ability, and without any previous attempt of the same kind. Moses gave a religion to a single nation. What a new idea to give a religion to the whole world! How unaccountable that this plan should have been carried into effect, without almost any thing being done for it except declaring that it should be done! God said, Let there be light, and there was light.' The author of Christianity said, 'Let my religion be spread over the world, and it was spread.' P. 242-6. Besides the Preliminary Enquiry and the Dialogues on Natural and Revealed Religion, there is an Appendix of ary. two hundred pages, containing ten excellent Sermons, illustrative of the subjects handled in the former part of the volume. These discourses were well worthy of a separate publication, and hence we regret to see them occupying a place comparatively so subordinate and secondThat, however, is a consideration which does not properly belong to the critic, whose strictures do not extend to the sacred mysteries which regulate the intercourse between author and bookseller. We, therefore, conclude our remarks, by reminding the reader that, in perusing these Dialogues, he must not ascribe to the writer, as his own sentiments, the opinions and reasoning which he puts into the mouth of his sceptical collocutors. Both Philo and Cleanthes, though moderate men upon the whole, support certain doctrines, and advance various hypotheses which Dr Morehead must not be supposed to countenance for a single moment. In fact, he mentions these only for the purpose of confuting them, and of recommending in their place the adoption of a sounder faith, built upon the foundation of Christian principles; and yet, such is the stupidity of some folk, and the malignity of others, that we should not be greatly surprised to see our valued correspondent held up as a scorner more bitter than Voltaire, and as an unbeliever more insidious than Hume. Let such readers have recourse to the Minute Philosophy of the celebrated Bishop Berkeley, a publication universally regarded as one of the ablest defences of Christianity, and they will see at once a mod e and a warrant for the eloquent work which we now recommend to their attention. Legendary Ballads, by Thomas Moore, Esq., arranged with Symphonies and Accompaniments, by Henry R. Bishop. London. J. Power. Pp. 81. WE have been favoured with one of the earliest copies of this elegant work which has yet reached Scotland. It contains twelve new songs by the best song-writer this country has ever produced. The airs, all of which are good, and some extremely beautiful, are selected from various sources, with the exception of one by Bishop, and another by Mrs Robert Arkwright. The volume is farther enriched by a set of very spirited drawings in illustration of the ballads. The work has reached us too late in the week to permit of our entering into a very minute account of its contents; but we have much pleasure in extracting several of the songs, which, like every thing that comes from Moore's pen, must be highly interesting to our readers. ballad, entitled, We begin with the following beautiful CUPID AND PSYCHE. "They told her, that he to whose sweet voice she listen'd, "When next in thy chamber the bridegroom reclineth, Bring near him thy lamp when in slumber he lies, And there, as the light o'er his dark features shineth, Thou'lt see what a demon hath won all thy sighs.' "A youth but just passing from childhood's sweet morning, "His brow had a grace more than mortal around it, But, ah-in her tremor that fatal lamp raising- "All's lost-with a start from his rosy sleep waking, "Farewell-what a dream thy suspicion hath broken! More playful, but not less delightful, is THE MAGIC MIRROR. "Come, if thy magic glass have power To call up forms we sigh to see; Show me my love in that rosy bower, Where last she pledged her truth to me.' "The wizard show'd his lady bright, Where lone and pale in her bower she lay; True-hearted maid,' said the happy knight, 'She's thinking of one who is far away.' "But lo! a page, with looks of joy, Brings tidings to the lady's ear; "Tis,' said the knight, 'the same bright boy Who used to guide me to my dear.' "The lady now, from her favourite tree, Hath, smiling, pluck'd a rosy flower; 'Such,' he exclaimed, was the gift that she Each morning sent me from that bower!' "She gives her page that blooming rose, With looks that say, Like lightning fly!' "But the page returns, and-oh! what a sight "Such,' quoth the youth, is woman's love!' And strew'd it all in fragments round. MORAL. "Such ill would never have come to pass, Had he ne'er sought that fatal view; The wizard still would have kept his glass, And the knight still thought his lady true." There is something particularly chivalric and wild in the following ballad: THE HIGH-BORN LADYE. "In vain all the knights of the Underwald woo'd her, Though brightest of maidens, the proudest was she; Brave chieftains they sought, and young minstrels they sued her, But none was found worthy of the high-born Ladye. "Whomsoever I wed,' said this maid so excelling, That knight must the conqueror of conquerors be; He must place me in halls fit for monarchs to dwell in, None else shall be bridegroom of the high-torn Ladye!' "Thus spoke the proud damsel, with scorn looking round her, On knights and on nobles of highest degree; Who humbly and hopelessly left as they found her, And sigh'd, at a distance, for the high-born Ladye. "At length came a knight, from a far land to woo her, With plumes on his helm, like the foam of the sea; His vizor was down-but with voice that thrill'd through her, He whisper'd his greeting to the high-born Ladye. "Proud maiden! I come with high spousals to grace thee, In me the great conqueror of conquerors see; Enthroned in a hall fit for monarchs I'll place thee, And mine thou'rt for ever, thou high-born Ladye!' "Come, list while I tell of the heart-wounded stranger, "None e'er knew the home of that heart-stricken lady, "Twas one summer night, when the village lay sleeping, A soft strain of melody came o'er our ears; So sweet, but so mournful, half-song and half-weeping; "We thought 'twas an anthem some angel had sung us "Nor long did her life for this sphere seem intended, "Then her eyes when she sung,-oh! but once to have seen them, Left thoughts in the soul that can never depart; While her looks, and her voice, made a language between them, That spoke more than holiest words to the heart. "But she pass'd like a day-dream-no skill could restore .her Whate'er was her sorrow, its ruin was fast; "Nor even in the grave is her sad heart reposing,- The Manners of the Day. In 3 vols. 8vo. London, Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. 1830. THIS is a work by an author of considerable power, but stained with all the worst affectations of the class to which it belongs. It is scarcely worth our while to be angry with these books now; for their career is nearly over. Instead, therefore, of immolating" The Manners of the Day," as we at one time intended, we content ourselves by remarking, that its author is a clever workman, in a vein that has been opened up by another,—one who, though not endowed with much wit of his own, can catch up what is flying, and retail it in his own way, for the benefit of those who have not already heard it. Towards the end of the first volume, the author indulges in a sneer at the "gentlemen of the press." Of this, from him, we cannot approve. If the word be taken term " all those merry who are sad: very delightful to read, for to make laughter in long winters' nights, but more pleasant on summer dayes." Not having, at this moment, however, access to the University of Cambridge, we cannot enjoy the full benefit of Mr Hartshorne's labours; but we can easily see that he has produced a work which, to the Cambridge student, must be of the highest utility, as well as to all those who have ever an opportunity of visiting that University. He treats, first, of the Public Library,—of the early copies of the Classics it contains,-of the books printed by the Alduses, by Asulanus, by Manutius, by William Caxton, by Wynkyn de Worde, and by various other printers. He then takes, in succession, the King's Library, the Pepysian, Trinity Library, St John's Library, and concludes with a catalogue of the paintings and drawings bequeathed to the University, in 1818, by the late Lord Viscount Fitzwilliam. The work contains much curious and important antiquarian information. Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country. No. II. March, 1830. London. James Fraser. in its widest acceptation, he is himself one of the class he attacks, a person who tries to amuse the public, through the medium of the press, in hopes of obtaining some remuneration. If it be restricted, as it sometimes is, to designate the furnishers of newspaper intelligence, he adds the sin of ingratitude to that of bad taste, seeing that he has derived from them the whole materials of his work, --for all he knows of fashionable life, is gathered from the fragmentary pieces of knowledge, picked up by that industrious part of the community, as they stand huddled up among chairs and coaches, to catch a glimpse of the beau monde leaving a route. The truth is, that the gentlemen of the press," is used with a degree of undue latitude; but this fate is common to it, with the uncompounded word "gentleman," which is now-a-days applied with scarcely less liberality. It is indeed difficult to determine what line of conduct, and what kind of external appearance, incapacitate a person from being termed "a gentleman." The race course is proverbially privileged. We once heard "a gentleman" of good birth and breeding, and a clergyman to the bargain, coolly exclaim," Oh! in a horse, you know, a man would cheat his own father." It has also recently been established by the most satisfactory experiments, that one gentleman" may cheat at cards, and that another may commence an expensive establishment, purchase houses and lands, and lead the fashion with HAD we been subscribers to Fraser's Magazine, we an empty pocket, and when he finds the bubble about to should have stopped our subscription as soon as we reburst, borrow a few thousands, and march off with them. ceived No. II. It contains several articles most vulgar If such persons are gentlemen, we should like to know and despicable, written apparently by the toad-eaters and who is not a "gentleman." We were one night return- underlings of Leigh Hunt, if it be possible for Leigh ing along Prince's Street, to our bachelor domicile, and Hunt to have any underlings. In particular, the first seeing a crowd collected at a crossing, our innate thirst for article, upon Moore's Life of Byron, inspires us with knowledge prompted us to stop and enquire the cause. unqualified disgust. It is composed in the very worst "Och," replied a figure, with something on his head spirit of Cockney malevolence and low-bred envy. Neiwhich had once been a hat, and a coat which, though it ther is the review of Bowring's Poetry of the Magyars might have been black in days long past, exhibited now a much better; and all the other articles, which are not predominant hue of reddish brown, probably from the ope- positively objectionable in point of sentiment, are insufration of the hod-" Och! sir, it's only the police carry-ferably dull in point of execution. We spoke leniently ing off a fellow, that attacked me and another gentleman!" We invite our contemporaries, and also Mr Stone, the celebrated anti-phrenologist, to join in the curious enquiry, to whom this appellation is or is not applicable. A large induction alone can settle what class precisely is comprehended under it. The London University Magazine, from October, 1829 to January, 1830. Volume I. London. Hurst, Chance, and Co. Pp. 384. of this new periodical on its first appearance; but we now see that it has a taint of vulgarity, and, we fear, something worse, which inevitably dooms it to perpetual obscurity. The London University Magazine is conducted by some young men attending that seminary. It is respectable, but rather heavy. Though scholar-like, it is not quite Il-theless, we doubt not that some of its contributors are so redolent of genius as we could have wished. Neverdestined, ere many years elapse, to distinguish themselves The Book Rarities in the University of Cambridge. lustrated by Original Letters and Notes, Biographical, Literary, and Antiquarian. By the Rev. C. H. Hartshorne, M. A. London. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green. 1830. Royal 8vo. Pp. 559. in a wider arena. The Young Cook's Assistant; or, Guide to inexperienced Housewives and Servants; upon an Economical Plan; containing Directions and Receipts, adapted for a Family in the Middle Rank of Life. Edinburgh. Waugh and Innes. 1830. 18mo. Pp. 127. "THE author of this small unpretending volume," says the Preface, "found a great want, at the beginning of her married life, of some simple directions to give to a young THE ink of the learned, says the Koran, is more precious than the blood of martyrs; and the mass of learning which reposes on the dusty shelves of the University of Cambridge, exceeds all computation. We have here, however, a costly and elegant volume, illustrated by a number of finely-executed engravings, devoted exclusively to the object of bringing to light biblical curiosities, which might otherways never more have been heard of, but which both the scholar and the antiquarian will now delight to ex-inexperienced servant;-that want, as far as she knows, has amine. Although we confess there is not to us the same charms in the hieroglyphical mark of three R's, denoting rarissime, that there was to Dominie Sampson, and still is to many worthy gentlemen now living,-yet we are fully prepared to appreciate the important labours of those "qui ante nos nostra dixerunt." When, therefore, we light upon an old folio, such as "The Prouffytable Boke for Manes Soule, and right comfortable to the Body, and specyally in adversite and tribulacyon, which Boke is called the Chastysing of Goddes Chyldren," we invariably peruse it with that veneration which its antiquity demands. Nor are we less pleased suddenly to pick up, in some unexpected corner, a racy and most Methusalem-like duodecimo, such as, 66 A Merry Dialogue between Andrew and his sweet heart Joan, written to make never been supplied. Although there are many excellent books of cookery, they are all more adapted to those in the higher ranks of life, with servants that have some experience in the art; but, as far as her knowledge extends, nothing has appeared that can be materially useful to the young mistress of a family, who has had little opportunities of observation under the parental roof, and with a young inexperienced country servant, who has never seen any thing but the simplest fare, sent up in the most homely manner. To the young wife, therefore, in the middle rank of life, this book is respectfully dedicated by the author." There is something feasible and good in this idea; and we have already received the assurances of several elderly ladies, that they have experienced much comfort in the perusal of this little volume. Its instructions, they |