PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

From June 20th to June 26th. BOOKS.

The Note-book of a Naturalist. By E. P. Thompson. The Despatches and Letters of Vice-Admiral Lord ViscountNelson. With Notes by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas, G.C.M.G. The third volume. January 1798 to August 1799.

The Negotiations for the Peace of the Dardanelles, in 1808-9, with De- tches and Official Documents. By the Right Honourable Sir Robert Adair, G.C.B. Being a Sequel to the Memoir of his Mission to Vienna in 1806. In two volumes.

Service, the youngest Member of the European Family; or a Residence in Belgrade, and Travels in the Highlands and Woodlands of the Interior, during the years 1843 and 1844 By Andrew Archibald Paton, Esq., Author of " The Modern Syrians."

Post-office Directory of the Six Home Counties, viz. Essex, Herts, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, and Sussex. With Maps, engraved expressly for the work.

[This is a marvellous work, whether we look to the immense and well-regulated machinery requisite to collect the information, the systematic manner in which it is arranged, or the degree of accuracy, so far as we have been able to test it. In mere bulk and form it may be said to differ little from the London Directory of the same proprietors. But that work has been the growth of half a century or upwards, stimulated for some years by competition; which also, if we are not mis- taken, offered hints and models. Something like the present work was indeed attempted on a smaller scale some years since, but with nothing like the system, completeness,. utility, or very considerable interest of The Directory of Six Home Counties. It contains upon a small scale a topographical and statistical account of almost every place in each county, and exhibits each inhabitant of the slightest pretension to social status with carious minuteness. The utility of such a work to all who have a professional or business connexion with the Six Counties is obvious: but it has a more general interest as combining the Directory and Court Guide. The strange attraction that is felt in turning over the pages of a Metropolitan list of this character in search of names, is of course considerably increased in the work before us, by the extensive ramifications of the subject, and the old country air of many of the occupations. Four of the Six Counties touch upon London,—Essex, Middlesex, Kent, and Surrey; the other two are Hertfordshire and Sussex. Each county is opened with a general description, and a neat map forming a double page; which, though very convenient as regards arrangement, renders its scale small. The different places are then presented in alphabetical order, except when some adjacent hamlet is included in its parish, or local situation renders it desirable to embrace adjoining places in one series—as Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Brompton, and Gillingham. The descriptions vary, of course, with the magnitude and features of the place; but they may all be said to contain their legal status, geographical position, and superficial area, with the population, and assessment to the Property-tax. Any points of natural scenery, particular customs, or antiquarian character, are also mentioned when such exist; and these particulars are followed by a list of the inhabitants, divided into "gentry" and "traders," with information relating to the Post office, the places of worship, public conveyances, and so forth. The names are then again presented in alphabetical order, classed according to the individual's pursuit, except the do-nothings, who stand by themselves in a Court Directory: so that any one knowing an individual's name and pursuit, or in the case of the gentry his name only, can at once discover his residence if in the Six Home Counties.]

A Treatise on the Law of Contracts and Parties to Actions ex Contractu. By C. G. Addison, Esq., of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-law.

[Some knowledge of the law of contracts, is necessary to all engaged in business; i not with a view to becoming their own lawyers, but in order to frame their agree- ments in such a way that they may avoid law, or at least not lose their right by deficiency of expression. An idea of the principles which govern the general law and its subdivisions will suffice for this purpose, better perhaps than a more extensive study, which might only induce an idle display of legal forms and phraseologr: and this acquaintance will be readily obtained by Mr. Addison's excellent Treatise on the Law of Contracts, without much expenditure of time or any great stress upon the attention: Written with great simplicity and plain- ness, the reality of the matter, the insight given into so many kinds of actual imsiness, and the nice reason of many of the cases, render it attractive reading. But it is not a mere popular law-book: on the contrary, it is a complete and elaborate treatise, adapted to form if not to finish the professional lawyer, and only deriving its popular character from an orderly arrangement, a concise and agreeable style, and the interest which all persons concerned in contracts naturally take in the subject.] Priests, Women, and Families. By J. iffichelet. Translated from the French third Aden with the Author's permission, by C. Cocks, Bachelier- es-Lettres, and Professor (Brevets) of the Living Languages in the Royal Colleges of France.

This is an attack upon the Jesuits, or rather upon the priestly principle as ta- li bited in France, by the celebrated Professor and historian Michelet: and, if its views be at all true, it develops a fearful working of the effects of the celibacy and general discipline of the Romish Church. The direct moral results are not so much dwelt upon by the historian as the intellectual and (looking to their wide-spread effects) more mischievous operation of the Romish institutions. A jealousy in- duced by their unnatural position, the practice of confession, and the power of education, throws into their hands the whole of the female minds of the country, not to speak of the males. The consequence is, the erection of an imperium us irnperio in every family. The mother, the wife, the daughters, are set against their male relations, aid are swayed not by the husband or the father, but by the priest. The enormous sale of this work in France, and the fury with which its author has been attacked by the priests, would lead one to infer that there is much substantial truth in Michelet's exposition, notwithstanding his striking, artistica], and almost dramatic mode of presenting it: and if so, the clergy will fare worse in the next French Revolution than they did in the first, unless the Papal Church should revolutionize itself in the interim.] The Life of Friedrich Schiller; comprehending an examination of his works. Second edition.

[In a quaint pleasing preface, the author, Mr. Carlyle, pronounces a less favour- able. judgment on this work than others may be inclined to do—" The excuse for reprinting this somewhat insignificant book is, that certain parties, of the pirate species, were.preparing to reprint it for me. There are books, as there are horses, which a judicious owner, on fair survey of them, might prefer to adjust by at once shooting through the bead: but in the case of books, owing to the pirate species, that is not possible. Remains, therefore, that at dirty paper and errors of the press be guarded against; that a poor book, which has still to walk this world, do walk in clean linen, so to speak, and pass its few and evil days with no blotches but its own adhering to it The secret of this depreciatory tone is explained in these words—" It was written twenty years ago." The Mr. Carlyle of 1845 is certainly a very different person from the Mr. Carlyle of 1825. Less conventional, (we will not say more natural,) he has added largely to his stores of knowledge—has attained to truer and more catholic views of human nature—than he had been able to form when this, we believe his first acknow- ledged work, appeared. Yet is the book one of which he has no reason to be ashamed. It is earnest and enthusiastic; and—no offence to Mr. Carlyle—it would be well if he would uniformly clothe his matured thoughts in as manly and simple an English style as he then cultivated. Though much has been added to our knowledge of some important passages in Schiller's life since his biography first appeared, it is still, take it as a whole, the most complete account we have of Schiller. ] Spinal Affections, and the Prone System of Treating them; being an In- quiry ina the nature, causes, and different methods of treating Diseases and Distortions of the Spinal Column, with a view to illustrate the great

advantages of the Prone System for the cure of those maladies. With numerous Cases. By James Coles, BLIt.C.S., &c. [The object of this little volume is to advocate the prone system, first practised by the late Dr. Verrill, in opposition to the recumbent; that is, the patient rests upon the stomach instead of upon the back. The alleged advantages are, equal rest to the diseased spine, the avoidance of irritation from constant pressure on the skin of the back, and greater facility in pursuing occupation or amusement. The exposition of the plan and its advantages constitutes the main novelty of the volume; though, as a medical point, Mr. Coles maintains that spinal diseases ori-

ginate in a stramous constitution—that their first cause is hereditary or consti- tutional. In one sense, few chronic disorders. perhaps arise without constitu-

tional derangement; but if spinal affections originate in a naturally vicious con- dition of the blood and " humours," we are at a loss to see how the prone sys- tem, or any other system, can be relied upon as a means of care, in the stage when such disorders are usually taken. They would be analogous to the last of consumption.

Beyond the points indicated, there is no novelty in this book; butthere is the usual anatomical account of the spine and its concomitants, with a review of the different plans that have been adopted for the cure of the disease.] The Mission-' or Scenes in Africa. Written for Young People. By Captain Marryat. In two volumes.

[An elderly gentleman whose last daughter has been shipwrecked on the coast of Africa and reported to have died, is roused in the decline of life by a " para- graph " that some of those who escaped the wreck are still living. His grand- nephew undertakes a mission into the interior of Caffreland to ascertain the truth of the report, and finds it false. Such is the framework of The Mission; which is made the vehicle for a good deal of information connected with the history of the Cape of Good Hope, a dramatic picture of the country, the manners of the settlers, and the wild sports of the interior—elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, and lion hunting, as the travelling party vary the main business of the journey by more stirring adventure. There is a display of Captain Marryat's usual skill in turning knowledge to account, contriving incident, and exhibiting character; but, compared with the original authorities especially, such as Major Harris, The Mit- sion is somewhat literal and slow.] Evenings in the Pyrenees; comprising the Stories of Wanderers from many Lands. Edited and arranged by Selina Banbury, Author of " Rides in the Pyrenees," &c. [Evenings m the Pyrenees consists of a series of half-a-dozen stories, set in a framework for which Miss Bunbury's tour furnished the hint. In her landlady's room at Bagneres several of the habitues of the place are supposed to assemble in the evemng, and each to tell a tale. From the circumstance of people of many nations being gathered together, the stories are various—French, Swedish, Irish, Pyrenean, and in Italy if not Italian. From the manner of several, and the foreign tone of the morality, we infer that some, as Miss Banbury intimates, are trans- lations. In most, indeed in all of them, is great dexterity of management, and great cleverness in the execution, though of an exotic kind, and not exactly of that wholesome character which we expect in juvenile literature; which this volume, however, resembles in form rather than in substance.]

Lady Mary; or Not of the World. By the Reverend Charles B. Taylee, M.A., Author of " The Records of a Good Man's Life," &c.

[Another of the well-known Charles Tayle.r's tales to exemplify and inculcate his views of religion; which are Evangelical, perhaps after Wilberforce and his school. The scenes and actors are chiefly among the higher classes—a religio- fashionable novel; but the particulars might not have a general attraction, and those who require them will surely read the tale itself.] The Edinburgh Tales. Conducted by Mrs. Johnstone. Volume I. [This work, which we noticed on its first appearance in parts, has now advanced to a goodly volume; containing eighteen tales by various authors, including Mrs. Gore, Thomas Carlyle, Miss Mitford, and others, besides the editor hersel£ It will form a capital volume for light reading, worth half-a-dozen common fic- tions, and at about half the price of one.] Chavenage; a Tale on the Cotswolds, 1648. By R. W. Huntley, MA., late Fellow of All Souls College. [The Cotswolds, an elevated region descending from Warwickshire through part of Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, terminating at Bath, are still uncontami- nated by manufactures. Hence they contain many traditions relative to the old families both gentry and yeomanry who yet live on from generation to generation in the houses which their forefathers built and on the lands which they tilled.

Three of these tales Mr. Huntley has collected and made the subjects of his muse

in the volume before us ; prefacing Chavenage, the longest, by an agreeable account of the family of Stephens, and of the supernatural occurrences which are said to

have befallen one of the family, who figures as the hero, for consenting, on the persuasion of Cromwell and Ireton, to the death of Charles the First. We must confess to a preference for Mr. Huntley's prose over his poetry. He tells an

old English family tale neatly and judiciously; but hisp i oem is somewhat flat in, the conception and prosaic in the execution.] Torrington Hall: being an Account of Two Days in the Autumn of the year 1844 passed at that magnificent and philosophically conducted Este blishment for the Insane. By Arthur Wallbridge, Author of " Jest and Earnest," &c. [A lively and interesting description of a self-supporting asylum near Bath, and the mode of life of the patients; who seem to pass their time more pleasantly and rationally than sane people in the world.] What to Observe; or the Traveller's Bemembrancer. By Colonel Jackson, F.R.S., Secretary to the Royal Geographical Society. Second edition.

[This is a very pleasing as well as instructive work. Under the form of direc- tions "what to observe in travelling," Colonel Jackson has traced such an outline of the existing form and substance of natural history in the widest acceptation of the phrase, as may serve all the purposes of a manual. Particularly vain- able—his suggestions respecting extempore instruments for giving greater accuracy to observations of natural phenomena; and the more systematic and definite terms which he recommends for describing the superficial configuration of a country.]

Rhymes and Recollections of a Hand-loom Weaver. By William Thom of Inverury. Second edition, with additions. (A new and handsomer edition ofpoor Thom's prose and verse, with something like a dozen additional productions.]

NEW SERIAL.

Sacred Pocket Classics. Volume I. A Summary of the Principal Evi- dences for the Truth and Divine Origin of the Christian Revelation. By Beilby Porteus, Lord Bishop of London.

[A very neat little publication; being the commencement of a series of religious classics, a volume of which is to appear once a month. It commences with the celebrated Evidences of Bishop Porteus, and will be followed by Hannah More'S Practical Christianity.]