PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

From SeMembsr 51h. to September Ilth.

Bonita.

The Ocean Flower; a Poem. Preceded by an Historical and Descriptive Account of the Island of Madeira, a Summary of the Discoveries and - • Chivalrous History of Portugal, and an Essay on Portuguese Literature. By T. X Hughes, Anther of a Revelations of Spain." [Mr. T. M. H hg es, the author of Revelations of Spain, appears to have gone ta

Madeira for his , and to have whiled away-the tedium of a hopeless disorder in collecting particulars of the history- and legends of the island, as well as in ob- serving its natural beauties= and the state of its society. The materials thus collected are contained in the volume before us, some in prose, some in poetry. Besides a history of the island, a. review of the Portuguese expeditions under Prince Henry which led to its discovery, some sketches of Portuguese history, and s. notice of its literature, Mi. Hughes gives a very. good though brief description of this resent state of Madeira; with some advice km Invalids or others proceeding thither,. His poem, The Ocean Ftswer,- is rather a cent° or series of Independent piecet. strung together, than a continuous story in itself. The first two cantos contain a narrative of the alleged discovery of the island by the English lovers, whor Liying from an angry father, were thrown upon the island, and perished there.. , The actual discovery of Madeira by Zargo, under the patronage of Prince HenrA. is the next theme; after which come several historical incidents connected with the island; and many ballads relating to Portuguese hietory are introduced by interlocutory bards ; the whole being -wound up by entice of • the present state of " the Ocean Flower." The prose of Mr. Hu.0 :us is informing, his ballad vent, - pleasing but he .wants strength of pinion to sustain a flight of ten canton 56 that his inserted.poems are better than his continuous strain.]

The Spirit of the Vatican, lllustrated by Historical and Dramatic SketeheSs during the reign of Henry the Second. With an Appendix of Papal Bulls,

Doctrines,-Episcopal Letters, &c. By Joseph Turnley. [The S.:peril of the Vatican is Mr. Tutnliy's patriotic contribution to the defence of Protestantism against. "the Mother of Harlots and- the abominations of the, earth." It consist& of a prose review of the " spirit of the Vatican," or a critical estimate of Popery, eseecuilly during the time of Henry the Second. This is fol. lowed by some dramatic sketches, designed to exhibit the character of Henry, the? ambition and profligacy Of•the clergy during his reign, the King's .contest whir A'Beeket; and- the legend of love and jealousy connected-with Fair Rosamond and Queen Eleanor. A collection of prose-notes, illustrative of the views presented or' the facts stated in the poetry; form a third.part. The brief quotation contained in our first sentence will indicate the specriee of mind Mr. Turnley.brings to his task of inquiry and estimate. His dramatic sketches are probate in.. spirit and exaggerated in form; Conveying about as tree a picture of the clergy of the age.' even in his cramped and literal mode of .presenting it, as if a future poetaster, - should take up any scandalous trial in which a. clergyman of these throw taar hat concerned, and fill up the °mishear fiom his own idea..]'

Trene ; a Poem. By Alexander Comyne.

[The story of Acne bears some resemblance to the Lord 1311in's Daughter"' of Campbell:. Irene, the-heroine, Loving a youth of humble birth; flying with_hins, to avoid a hateful marriage desigmd by her father; and being drowned at sea in • a tempest, in the .presence of Lord Ronald, her distracted parent. With this- - general resemblance in the subject the likeness ends. Campbell only tells' the.," pith of his story, and presents it in the most striking form. Mr. Comyne hunts doWn the whole of Irene in detail" and expands his narrative by the introduction of numerous reveries and digressions; such as Byron used is his wilder and frog.. : mentary tales. Byron indeed, in his Giaour and Pas is Mr, .Cmytt

model, but whom he rather-apes than imitates.] •

Dryburgh Abbey, and other. Pbenui By the Reverend Thomas Agar LW..

land, M.A., Rector of Greatham,Hants. New editions

[Dryburgh Abbey, and moat of the other poems in Mr. Ibilands littlit

were originally published in 1826. The author has new revised them, and. a few fugitive verses from various periodicals, rather for his friends thim_theS public.] • •

Big Abel'and the Eittle.Manhatian. By-Cornelius Mathews. • s • AThis is an American tale, whose drift, if it has one, we do not comprehend. Big bel and the Little Manhattanaretwo half-erazy claimants of the whole of New York; Abel through; his alleged deseent from Hodson, the Little Manhattan through the Red Indians. Under this may lnrk some-local wit,' if We -.had then clue to it but as the book-appears- to ns now, the story seerps,a mere framework for carrying the: reader through the city and presen to him various street, pictures of New York life. The objects of Cornelius bfathew9 appear akin to those of' Dickens—to deduce humanizing lessons from the- characters of fiction; and Big. Abel and the Little Manhattan occasionally suggest a reference to The- Chimes of Dickens, though. possibly written before it. Big A bel, however, wants the purpose and distinctness Bar; and, wild as was the plan of Thh- Chimes, that of Big Abel is still wilder. But perhaps the likeness to Dickerta acCidentair the model life. Mathews most essentially resembles is Wilson in his rhapsodies, where words, sentiments, and sentimental description, predominate over plan, purpose, and solid matter.] New Prince-phis for the Poor. By Henry Hardinge, Rector of Theberton.

[This is. a. well-intentioned hook, not devoid of sense and observation, but odd..

from its mixture of contrarieties. In his chapter on Locality, or the mischievous effects which arise to the poor from clinging to their .parish, as well as in his re- marks on the evils of the Poor-law and hasty marriages, Mr. Hardinge appears like a Somerset House Commissioner. In his chapter on Manners, and his praise of the Scotehman who rose by booing, he might be taken for a Chesterfield of the poor. In his remarks on Education, he broaches the doctrine that the attempt to connect religion with schools for the poor is mischievous to both, by setting up the different denominations as rival dealers, whilst the poor fancy themselves articles of competition, and "have taken advantage of the zeal of party for their own ends." On some points the Rector reminds us of the tracts which recom- mend submission to the powers that be. " The poor we shall have always with us" is the text of Mr. Hardinge: he does not consider that giving to the poor is of much utility as regards assisting them, but of great benefit to the character of the giver; and although he addresses his remarks to the many, he expects that only the few will benefit by them.]

Exercises in Orthography, on an improved plan. Sixth edition. By Henry Hopkins, A.M. Exercises in Composition, on an improved plan. Fourth edition. By Henry Hopkins, A.M. The Pupils Manual of Exercises in Mental Arithmetic. By Henry Hop- kins, A.M. The leacher's Manual of Exercises in Mental .Arithin;tic. By Henry Hopkins, A.M. [For the first two little books in this list, the successful sale bears testimony; the last two are substantially the same work—one being designed for pupils, the other for teachers. The mental arithmetic taught by Mr. Hopkins appears to differ from that of others we have met with, by the extent to which he pushes it. The general methods proceed by abbreviation and quickness: the question when proposed is taken in the shortest way, and calculated by a rapidity acquired by long and continual exercise. The plan of Mr. Hopkins appears to us more diffi- cult, and leading to more wonderful results; differing from the usual modes just as the mechanical tours de farce of a modern pianists differ from the difficulties essential to fine playing. Thus, in multiplying 479 by 20 the common process would disregard the cipher in working, and multiply the 479 by 2: Mr. Hopkins would have the pupil begin to work on the 4 as soon as it was given out by the feather, working the sum and attending at the same time to the question pro- posed by the master; the operation standing thus-8,000, 1,400, 9,409, 180,9,580, total spoken out by the pupil. In simple questions, the plan of Mr. Hopkins seems the longest and most difficult; in complicated questions, the reverse, when once acquired. This acquisition, he says, may be gained in time. Whether it is worth the time, considering that "life is short and art is long," may be a question. His books are well adapted to the end proposed.] The Bromsgrove Greek Grammar. New edition.

The Bromsgrove Greek Grammar Abridged for Beginners. This is on the whole a distinct and compact grammar. The most questionable feature is the adoption of what the author terms the " crude-form system " of inflections,—a phrase which appears to call for glossarial explanation. This

innovation appears obj iectionable, inasmuch as it is not, in the first place, based upon any philosophical view of the structure of language; and is not, in the second place, better adapted than the old system technically, to assist the memory. The Abridgment of the Grammar is a useful collection of tables to put into the hands of boys while familiarizing themselves with the inflections of Greek nouns and verbs.]

A History of England, from the first. Invasion by the Romans to the Acces- sion of Queen Victoria. By the Reverend George Ayliffe Poole, M.A., • Vicar of Welford. In two volumes. Volume II.

[We noted on its first appearance the main object of Mr. Poole's compilation; which is to give what the writer thinks a due prominence to the affairs of the Church. Thepresent volume completes the work; coming down to the accession of Queen Victoria. The later portions of the history, however, are treated curtly.]

NEW SERIAL.

Mesmerism : Cases and Disclosures. By James Arnett. Parts L, H., and III.

[This publication is calculated to bring mesmerism into greater discredit than anything that has been before said or done by its advocates. The hallucinations of Dlr. Arnett and two females whom he " spritualized " would be ridiculous if they were not profane: the girls fancy they are visited by angels and the spirit of the operator's deceased wife; and pretend to hold converse with the visible pre- sence o!' Jesus Christ!]

ILLUSTRATED WORKS.

Pictorial Penny Shakspere. Part I. Pictorial Penny Balladist. Part I. [The commencement of a series of neat and cheap illustrated reprints of standard works of imagination in prose and poetry; to include the Arabian Nights, Robin- son Crusoe, and other popular books. The editing appears to be careful; and the old spelling is preserved. The Plays and Ballads are each one prefaced by an introductory notice of its history; but there are neither notes nor glossary, only the old customs alluded to in Shak- spere are illustrated by explanatory cuts. The designs are new and spirited, and very nicely executed; and a separate set of cuts, intended to form a Pictorial Biography of Shakspere," will be given with the monthly parts; the first being a wood-engraving of the five different portraits of the poet.] We thank our correspondent CELIA for calling our attention to a dis- play of had Latin and worse temper in a late publication. Without the context, however, we can scarcely tell what the old lady means, either in the vernacular or the classical tongue; and we have not seen the fiction in question; the publisher, like the author, being somewhat capricious and foolish. We are always disposed to make allowances for the outbreaks of the genus irritabile; and this is an extreme case. Exhaustion is as fatal as apoplexy in literature; and since the writer cannot, like the Archbishop in Gil Bios, take us by the shoulders and thrust us out, railing is doubtless a relief.