The only circumstance which renders the Inquisitor readable, is its
variety and its superficial character. The author's letters—for he writes in the form of letters—touch upon many subjects ; so that he rarely wearies with sameness; and although feeble and self-sufficient enough, he never tasks the attention. Now we have opinions on Dawn:, now on Fraser's Magazine. Then we are favoured with his notions on the popular literature of the day, the perils of authorship, and many more topics of a similar nature. A commonplace, but brisk, personal narrative of a tour in Spain, is intermingled with these sub- jects; and some indifferent sketches complete the contents. The book tells little, and teaches nothing; its matter is flimsy, its style verbose : but there tire holyday times of' the mind, when we are tired of conver- sation and external impressions, and have not it newspaper at hand, in which the Inquisitor might be better than Nature's abhorence—a vacuum. Perhaps the best thing in the volume is the outline Of DANTE'S Coat- media.
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