CURRENT LITERATURE.
Biographical Sketches. 1852-1868. By Harriet Martineau. Second Edition. (Macmillan.) 1869.—We noticed so recently and so fully those characteristic and admirable sketches of character, that we need only now call attention to the fact that their popularity has so soon led the public to ask for a second edition. This is as good a sign of the character of the popular taste of the day as it is of the graphic veracity of Miss Martineau's delineations. To this edition of her essays Miss Martineau has added a few words of earnest and almost pathetic appeal in favour of that freshness and sincerity in writing about the public character of the dead, of which sho has herself set so impressive an example. "What say those," she concludes, "who are looking back on life from its further boundary.? In old age, and on the borders of the grave, what do distinguished persons desire for themselves ? 'How do they like the prospect of sickly praises, of the magnifying of the trifles of their day, of any playing fast and loose with right and wrong for the sake of their repute, of any cheating of society of its rights in their experience of mistake and failure, as well as of gain and achievement? Do they not claim to be measured with the same measure with which they mete their fellows,—to leave the world not under any sort of disguise, but delivering over their lives, if at all, in their genuine aspect and condition, to be known hereafter, if known at all, for what they are ?" In other words, Miss Martineau, looking forward to the end, hopes to be dealt with as she has dealt with those of her countrymen and countrywomen of whom she has attempted an estimate. Can she give a moro remarkable guarantee of the earnest impartiality and fidelity which we have all recognized as characteristics of her own work ?
The Satires of Juvenal, with Prologemena and English Notes. By T. H. S. Escott, MA. (Virtue.)—Many persons will find this is a useful book. It has the merit of giving in a small compass a good deal of help,—help, too, that is on the whole trustworthy ; but it might have been made much better. The prolegomena are weak. The somewhat large subject of the hexameter in the hands of Juvenal" is discussed in an essay which does not fill a page altogether, and of which fivo lines only aro devoted to the subject. We can find room for them all, and the reader shall judge for himself, "Juvenal did not merely imitate ; ho created. There were ono or two fresh features which he introduced into the rhythm. At times, he employs the art of alliteration with eminent success, and the system of pauses by which his style is marked greatly enhances the general effect." The "Survey of Roman Satire and Satirists "is scarcely more satisfactory. What can Mr. Escott moan whoa ho quotes with approval in one sentence the assertion that Persius was "the beau ideal of a languid and conceited boy," and speaks of him in the next as being "full of the generous extravagance and hazy enthusiasm of youth The notes are not without faults. To translate "expende Ilannibalem" by "weigh the 42330 Of " or "consider Hannibal," is entirely to mistake the moaning of the original, which certainly is "weigh the ashes of Hannibal" in the spirit of "dead Cmsar stopping a bung-hole." On "calve Neroni" we have "'a bald edition of Nero.' Domitian was bald, and Nero had been his predecessor," which certainly suggests quite a novel order of Roman Emperors. Quotations are given again and again without references, and misprints are too common. So we have Virginiva Rapes for Virginius Rufus; Prianfs son, Antilochus, and Priam's wife, Polyxena (though for these the printer can scarcely be responsible), and in one quotation from Snetonius oxstraxit for exstruxit and "nave quo" for "nave qua." There is no index of any kind.
The Doctrine of the Church of England. (Rivingtone.)—The compiler of this volume puts together a number of what he calls "authoritative documents," put forth between 1536 and 1632, which, he tells us, are to furnish "an answer to the frequently-recurring question, " What is the real, authoritative doctrine of the Church of England ?" These documents are "The Articles of 1536," "The Institution of a Christian Man," "The Erudition of a Christian Men," "The Book of Common Prayor," "The Thirty-Nino Articles," "The Canons of 1603." We cannot imagine what "authority" the first three of those can be said to have. They have been entirely superseded by later summaries. We conceive that, putting aside the Canons of 1603, there is no authority in matters of doctrine which the Church of England recognizes besides tiro ThirtyNine Articles as they have been interpreted by the Supreme Court, and, in a subsidiary sense, the Book of Common Payer. To rank with these any earlier documents, however historically interesting they may be, is as monstrous as it would be to assert that the civil statutes of Henry though they may have been modified and even repealed by later legislation, are still as binding upon Englishmen as are the statutes of Victoria. The object of all thie assumption is evident enough ; it is, as far 08 possible, to undo the real doctrinal work of the Reformation. The sophistry which such commentators on the Articles as Bishop Forbes of Brechin employ is a scandal oven to the Romanizers, and they evidently think it eater to try this device of raising to the same level documents which are manifestly Roman in tone. We give an instance. The 25th Article says, "The five commonly called Sacraments . . . . are not to be Counted for Sacraments, being such as have grown partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles, partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures," S:c. The phrase "corrupt following of the Apostles" is manifestly levelled against extreme unction. The "Institution of a Christian Man" declares that matrimony, confirmation, holy crosses, and extreme unction 'have the name and dignity of Sacraments ;" but that there " is a difference in dignity and necessity between thorn and tho other three," Baptism, Penance, and the Altar. Which is the doctrine of the Church of England? The compiler does not doubt, it would seem, for the last thing in his book is an "Office for Administration of Extreme Unction."
Every Day: a Story of CW11111011 Life. By the Author of Ismael and Cassandra, &a. (Provost.)—The writer shows a power of which she might have learnt by this time (sho mentions on the title-page more than one previous work) to make a snore effective use. There is decision of outliue in the drawing of her characters and vigour in her style. The dialogue is always easy and often brilliant. There are iudications of wide reading and no little culture. Altogether, the book has merits to which its unattractive form does groat injustice. A little snore skill of construction would have made a really good novel of it. 'Ilk, for instance, is well put:—" Most girls are capable of any cruelty that does
not draw blood. Blood makes them sick, you sae." And this :—" Dora had an idea of gentlernauhood as a thing that covered the entire surface of the character, going two or three layers deep in tine specimens, but rarely, indeed, to the core." There is, indeed, abundance of good writing in the volume ; we should naturally havo thought more of it bad it been a first work ; as it is, we hope to see the writer yet achieve a success.
The Truth and the Church. Essays by the Rev. W. A. O'Connor, B.A. (Simpkin and Marshall.)—This work displays a very considerable advance in power and originality on the author's Faith and Works, itself a treatise of considerable ability. We may notice as especially deserving of praise the expositions of two of the Beatitudes, " Blessed are the poor in spirit" and "Blessed are the meek." From the essey on "Virtue and Prudence" we quote an explanation of another difficult passage which will servo as a good specimen of Mr. O'Connor'e style, "Yo shall
sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel Tho thrones of the Apostles wore the places they wero to have in the world's government, the power of their toils and sufferings in swaying men's hearts and consciences. From the time when the kingdom of Christ commenced, the apostles under Christ have been judging the tribes of mon.
They aro throned in the Gospels, in our books of prayer, in our houses of worship, in the works of our painters and sculptors, in the truths and principles by which we profess to live. Wherever the throne of Christ is, there are the thrones of the twelve." The essay on "Christ not the Son of David" is a bold and striking refutation of a number of fallacies which commentators, in deference to some fancied necessity of discovering the fulfilment of prophecies, are contented to repeat after one another. Altogether, the volume, taken together with its predecessor, leaves on us the impression that the author may yet make some considerable mark on the world.
Sunshine and Shade. 2 vols. (Bentley.)—We can find little to praise about this book except the elegance of the binding. "Sunshine" appears in gold and " Shade" in black, each in a pretty border like an Oxford picture-frame. Within we find a harmless story of two young people who get engaged to each other when their united years number thirtythree. The heroine is of the faultless pattern ; the hero shows something of the inconstancy and weakness of the inferior sex. It might spoil whatever iuterest the tale may excite to let the reader know whether they are made happy at the end ; failing this, we can find nothing else to say.
A Treatise on Optics. By E. Nugent. (Virtue and Co.)—Mr. Nugent appeals to a sufficiently largo public. Painters, house decorators, milliners, dressmakers, dx., are invited to study it ; ho even hopes,— determined to make the sweep of his net as wide as may be,—" that all persons who may be engaged in any department of human industry will find it worthy of careful study." We fool painfully conscious that we Can do but little to bring about this result, but we may say that the book appears to be carefully put together, and no written as to be intelligible to ordinary minds. The reader will understand that the treatise may be generally described as "Optics without Mathematics." We notice that the author attempts to account for the curious phenomenon of the rectification of the inverted imago cast upon the retina by the "law of visible direction," by which "all lines perpendicular to the surface of the retina mast all pass through one single point, namely, the centre of its spherical surface." We feel much inclined to question the explanation, and to prefer the old theory that the correction is duo to the unconscious action of the brain.
Street's Indian and Colonial Mercantile Directory. (Street.)—This very useful directory has boon issued in a handier form, but with more information than before. In addition to the names and addresses of all persons engaged in business in India, Ceylon, China, Japan, and the Colonies, it contains the various steam routes to and from all places mentioned, with times of departure and rates of faro, the home agencies to each foreign or colonial bank, and a mass of matter about products, tariffs, and trade returns, weights and measures, coinage, and other things useful to exporter.. Where we can test it, it seems accurate, great pains having boon taken to obtain names and facts, but some of the statistical information needs revisal. The Principles of Harmony and A Treatise on Counterpoint, Canon, and Fugue, by the Rev. Sir F. A. Gore Ouseley, Bart., M.A. (Clarendon Press), are two elaborate treatises (the latter being based on the work of Cherubini), on the science and art of music, which it does not fall within our province to criticize in detail. We can do nothing more than notify the fact of their appearance, and express our satisfaction that they are sent forth under such auspices. The University recognizes music as part of the wide culture which it undertakes to impart, and in recognizing it imparts and receives an equal benefit. A "Professor of Music" is too often nothing more than a person who possesses and has a knack of imparting to others a certain mechanical skill, and it is no small gain to the world when the title assumes a real significance in the person of so learned and accomplished a writer as the author of these two treatises.
The Fight of Faith. By Mrs. S. C. Hall. 2 vols. (Chapman and Hall.)—Mrs. Hall tells us in the preface to this novel that she bids the public farewell ; it would be ungracious to part with a lady who has written so well without a word of appreciation. For this particular tale we care little, though one sketch certainly, the Irish girl, Nolly Furlong, recalls Mrs. Hall's old power. These are the characters which she has always drawn with peculiar force, and characteristically she excels in them to the last. But the subject of tho book, the sufferings of the Huguenots and the Irish campaign of 1689, is not attractive. Mrs. Hall has, however, better claims to remembrance than this. Marian, a novel which we rotnember to have read, not once only, nearly a quarter of a century ago, has left a most pleasing impression on us. We have been very much charmed since then with a fairy tale, called Eva, we think, which first appeared in the Art Journal. Other works will doubtless occur to our readers. Mrs. Hall has written of many things gracefully and well, and of things Irish with a genuine fervour of affection which has had something of the inspiration of genius.
Another England. By E. Carton Booth. (Virtue.)—Mr. Booth, who holds an appointment under the Government of Victoria, gives us here a volume full of very interesting and valuable information about the history, present condition, and prospects of that colony. The story of the gold discoveries is told, of course, with especial fullness of detail. We like nothing better in the book than the story with which the writer illustrates his subject, the adventures of Tom Townsend, a London joiner, who, after trying his fortunes with doubtful success at the diggings, finally made his way to wealth and position as a farmer. This, indeed, that cattle and corn are more profitable than gold, is the moral of Mr. Booth's book, and doubtless it is a sound one. There Is, besides, much discussion of vexed questions of colonial politics, which we prefer to leave alone. Altogether the book is well worth reading.
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