We are afraid that we have already dwelt too long on these subjects, and we perceive with regret that our remarks and extracts have already occupied so much space as to preclude us from attempting to carry out the plan we had designed for our article; yet we must return for a short while to the implacable hostility of Rabelais to Monkery and the vicious Papacy of his day, and strengthen what has been said above by a reference to the titles of the Books in Rabelais' fictitious catalogue of the Library of St. Victor at Paris. This will show, at the same time, the leaning of Rabelais towards the party of the Reformers, to which we have several times alluded before. We shall not attempt to translate that which is untranslateable, without a sacrifice of all its humour. Moreover, those who might require an English version, would require a long commentary on the history of the Reformation, the peculiarities of the age, the characters, the names, and the works of the polemics, both among Protestants and Catholics, before they could appreciate the point and sarcasm of Rabelais. But by the time we might have accomplished our exposition, the whole of the humour would have evaporated. We shall therefore transcribe simply a few titles from this catalogue, and leave their interpretation and application as a pleasing exercise for the ingenuity of our readers: "Decretum universitatis Parisiensis super gorgiositate muliercularum, ad placitum. De Brodiorum usu, et honestate dropinandi per Siluestrem Preeratem, (Sylvester Prierias,) iacospinum. Les Fanfares de Romme. Pasquilli, doctoris marmorei, de capreolis cum chardoneta comedendis, tempore papali ab ecclesia interdictis. Les Lunettes des Romipetes. La Proficterolle des indulgences. Jabolenus, de cosmographia purgatoria. Questio subtilissima, utrum Chimera, in vacus bombinans, possit comedere secundas intentiones: et fuit debatuta per decem hebdomadas in concilio Constantiensi. La Retepenade des Cardinaulx. Bondarini, episcopi, de emulgentiarum (i. e., indulgentiarum) profectibus euneades novem, cum priuilegio papali ad triennium, et pos tea non. La Coqueluche des moynes. Les Brimborious des padres celestins. La Ratouere des theologiens. Le Faguenat des Hespaignolz, supercoquelicantiqué par Fra Inigo: (Ignatius Loyola.) Callibistratorium caffardie, actore M. Jacobo Hocstraten (Hochstraten) hereticometra. Maneries ramonandi fournellos, par M. Eccium, (Eck.) Les Ayses de vie monachale. La Gualimauffree des biguotz. Les Potingues des euesques potalifz. Tarraballationes doctorum Coloniensium aduersus Reuchlin. Les Henilles de Gaietan, (Thomas De Vio, Cardinal Cajetan.) Sutoris, (Hans Sach ?) adversus quendam qui vocauerat eum fripponnatorem, et quod fripponnatores non sunt damnati ab ecclesia." With this list we must close our labours for the present. We have, it is true, barely entered upon the execution of our design, but the necessary references to the language of Rabelais have so filled up our sheets, that the further continuance of our essay would expand our article into most unreasonable proportions. We have barely illustrated the position of Rabelais with respect to the great theological parties of his day. We must leave, for another opportunity, the examination of his further remarks on Protestantism, and the proof of his being far in advance of his age, drawn from his observations on law, theology, government, morals, philosophy and astrology. We shall feel, however, that we have done some good, if this sketch, meagre, defective and unfinished as we know it to be, shall have the effect of exciting the curiosity of any hitherto unacquainted with the writings of Rabelais, to consult and study his pages with sober impartiality. We break off here, most abruptly, but it is with the hope of being able to resume the subject at some indefinite future period. H. ART. V.-La Havane. Par Madame la Comtesse MERLIN. 3 vols., 8vo. Paris. 1844. THESE elegant volumes are by far the most agreeable, and,-with all their inaccuracies,-we may perhaps say, the most valuable work that has yet appeared upon the Island of Cuba. There is, in fact, rather a scarcity of books upon this subject at least, of such as combine, to any considerable extent, the useful and the pleasant. Humboldt and Ramon de la Sagra deal entirely in statistics, and the former is getting to be a little antiquated. Beside these, we have met with nothing but the work of Turnbull, and two or three hasty collections of letters by writers of our own country, which hardly make pretensions to supply the deficiency. The Countess Merlin possessed great advantages for writing upon Cuba. She is a native of the island, and belongs to one of the most distinguished families, being a daughter of the Count de Jaruco. At the age of twelve she went to Spain, where she married the Count Merlin, one of the Generals of Napoleon. In 1810, she accompanied her husband on his return to France, and has resided ever since at Paris, where her beauty, wit, elegance of manners, and personal accomplishments, especially in music, gave her at once a conspicuous position in the highest circles, and rendered her saloon one of the favorite resorts of the élite of the fashionable literary and political world. The Countess had, previously to the present publication, made herself known as a writer by a few works of a lighter cast, but exhibiting the same elegant French style. Three or four years ago, she had occasion to visit Cuba for the purpose of transacting some business; and since her return, has published these volumes as the fruits of her observations during her stay. The letters are addressed to a number of different persons, whose names sufficiently evince the elevated position of the fair writer in the aristocracy of Europe. In the first volume, for example, besides her immediate family connexions, we find upon the list of her correspondents the Marquis de Pastoret, Madame Delphine de Girardin, and the well-known ideologist, Count de Tracy. In the second, we meet with the Count de St. Aulaire, now Ambassador at London; Baron Charles Dupin, the Brougham of France; M. Berryer, and the Viscount Siméon; to say nothing of the rather more equivocal, but perhaps not less piquant, name of George Sand. In the third, we come into the still higher company of the Duke Decases, Baron J. Rothschild, the Viscount de Châteaubriand, Don Francisco Martinez de la Rosa, the illustrious poet and statesman of Spain, a few years ago an exile from his country, since restored by successive revolutions of the wheel of fortune to a position better suited to his merit, as Ambassador at the Court of France; and very recently, as we are most happy to learn, Prime Minister at Madrid;-finally, and though last not lowest in rank, H. R. H. Prince Frederic of Prussia. If any conclusion can be drawn in regard to the interest of a letter, from the character of the person to whom it is addressed, this is certainly a correspondence of great promise. It is introduced by a dedication to General O'Donnel, now governor of the island, and an address to the inhabitants, both replete with noble and patriotic sentiments: "Permit me, General," she says to the former, "to place under your protection, a work inspired by an ardent desire for the welfare of my native island. I have revealed to the mother country the evils under which it is suffering, and indicated the proper remedies. I appeal to your generosity to lend your aid in applying them. The supreme power which you hold, may be made the sheet-anchor of her safety. Condescend to be a citizen, as well as Governor and Captain-General of Cuba. Obtain a national representation for the island; reform the laws; temper, by a just and humane administration, the arbitrary character of your own office; and you will add new laurels to those which you have already won on the field of battle. The civic virtues, General, are not less honorable than those which are required in war; and the glory of having given prosperity and moral life to a suffering community, may well be compared with that of the most difficult exploits of the greatest conquerors. We live, not merely for the fleeting present, but for the permanent future. To leave behind us traces of the good that we have done, during our earthly pilgrimage, is to achieve a real immortality. As for me, I can only, as a woman, suggest what I think should be attempted: the execution must belong to you; and I confidently trust to your high reputation for goodness, courage and honor, that I shall receive, in the results of your administration, an ample reward for the pains that I have taken in preparing this work." It will be seen from this specimen of her style, that the fair author belongs to the De Stael, rather than the Edgeworth, class of female writers, and that she combines the generosity and vigor of the manly mind, with the elegance and vivacity which are the more usual and appropriate gifts of her own sex. It is understood, that in collecting and preparing her materials, she has been aided by some of the persons best informed upon the subject, and particularly by her distinguished countryman, Don José Antonio Saco, to whose high literary reputation she has paid a well-merited tribute, and who, we trust, is not destined to remain much longer an exile from the island, which he has done so much to adorn and improve. The co-operation of these persons, while it detracts in no way from the peculiar merits of the fair traveller, gives to her work a stamp of authenticity, which increases its substantial value. In accomplishing her object of returning to Cuba, the Countess proceeded to Bristol, where she embarked for New-York. She remained a few weeks in this country, and found time for an excursion up the North River and another to Washington, before she sailed for the Havana, A few of the earlier letters contain the results of her observations during her short residence in the United States. These were evidently made in the most cursory manner, and might, we think, be suppressed, without disadvantage to the general character of the work. Indeed, they contain some errors of so extraordinary a kind, that we hardly know how to account, in any way, for their occurrence. In letter fifth, for example, we find the following singular statement in regard to the Sabbath Schools of the city of New-York. แ "Yesterday I witnessed a moving spectacle. More than sixteen thousand children, arranged into companies, traversed the streets, with banners displayed, to celebrate the anniversary of the establishment of the Sabbath Schools. This popular institution is one of the most truly philanthropic in the United States. More than ten thousand free schools, each containing from six to seven thousand pupils, are instructed by ninety thousand teachers of both sexes, belonging to the most respectable families, voluntarily and gratuitously devoting themselves to this arduous service." Ten thousand schools, each containing from six to seven thousand pupils, give, on the lowest calculation, a total of sixty million pupils,-a rather large allowance for a city, the population of which, is incorrectly estimated by the author herself in another passage at 200,000, and which, does not yet amount to fully twice that number. The Countess elsewhere intimates, in a rather reproachful tone, that the Americans are too much addicted to arithmetical combinations; in which, as she says, they find their only amusement. she were often led into such mistakes as this, we should be If |