THE Tower Menagerie* is a work of luxury : it
is a collection of the portraits of the King's Wild Beasts, drawn by Mr. HARVEY and engraved in a curious style of excellence in wood by Messrs. BRANSTON and WRIGHT. The life and adventures of the animals are not narrated by the chief Beefeater himself, but by Mr. BEN- NETT, F.L.S.,; who, in lofty language, worthy of any showman we ever heard;inthrms the world respecting the habits of the creatures, where they were caught, whether they will lick their keeper, how much beef satisfies them, and whether they grumble before or after meat.
The animals are drawn with great spirit ; but, since we are not acquainted with the individuals in the Tower—the state beasts, it
*The Tower Menagerie comprising the Natural History of the Animals con tamed in that Establishment, with Anecdotes of their Characters and History By William Harvey. Jennings,I82ti. is impossible to say whether the likenesses are flattering or other- wise. Judging from those we have seen, we do not perceive any extraordinary felicity in seizing the character of the different species of animals. Mr. Cops, however, the principal keeper, is the authority to decide this point. We hear a great deal of Mr. NPS, and we confess that we should not have been sorry had Mr. COPS written the whole book, or at least put his mark on it.
Mr. BENNETT is too scientific for a popular book, and not scien- tific enough for the Zoological Society. He wants the art of putting his information in a familiar form. The " Portraits of the Animals in the Tower," would have made the most fitting head for a book of anecdotes ; and, if it be not profane to say so, we should have read a Percy Anecdote book of stories of the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air, with more delight than we have
perused the stately prose of Mr. BENNETT, F.L.S. •
We can speak with pleasure of Mr. HARVEY'S fanciful vignettes at the tails of the chapters—they are often pretty, and generally beautifully executed. On the whole, the book is a nice book for wealthy people.
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