CURRENT LITERATURE.
ORBISTIddS BOOKS.
Military and Religious Life in Me Middle Ages and at the Period of the Renaissance. By Paul Lacroix. (Chapman and Hall.) In point of time, this volume, which has been already for some weeks in our hands, does not properly come under the denomination of "Christmas Books." Still, having regard to its general character, we may class it with them, and rank it at the same time among the very best of its kind. Its appearance is tasteful and handsome ; it is richly and most appropriately illustrated ; but it has more than these, so to speak, external qualities. It is a work of genuine antiquarian learning, the result of a profound study of the subject. M. Lacroix, who is Curator of the Imperial Library at Paris, is already known by two important works, "The Arts of the Middle Ages," and "Manners, Customs, and Dress during the Middle Ages." The latter of these two dealt with the civil, as the volume before us deals with the military and ecclesiastical life of the period. The chief illustrations are fourteen chromolithographs, remarkable not only for the excel- lence of the drawing, but for the sobriety and mellowness of the colouring. No better adaptation of colour for the purposes of illus- tration has come under our notice. Among the specially interesting subjects which these represent are " Chitteau Life, starting for the Promenade," taken from the Breviary of Cardinal Grimani ; Charles the Bold, surrounded by his Barons," "The Trial of John, Duke of Aleneon," at a "Bed of Justice" held by Charles VII. at Vendinne in 1458, ece. The engravings on wood are more than four hundred in number, and are many of them of full-page size. In point of execution they are good, some of them reaching a high point of excellence ; to their variety and interest it is difficult to do adequate justice. Perhaps we may fairly question the discretion and good taste of M. Lacroix in selecting the excesses of the Huguenots as the subjects of the horrors which be has thought it needful to include in the ecclesiastical portion of his subject. But we do not hesitate to say that the volume is one of the very best of its kind that we have ever seen.—Beautiful Pictures by British Artists. With Notices, 4-c. New series. By Sydney Armytage. (Chatto and Windt's.) This is a collection of engravings on etsel after -pictures of English artists. The pictures are, without exception, well known works on which it is unnecessary to pass an opinion. The en- gravings are excellent, after the modern manner of excellence. Nothing, for instance, could be better, in its way, than Mr. Lnmb Storks's rendering of the "Last Toilet of Charlotte Corday." Very different, certainly, it is from the masterpieces of former days, and yet an effective rendering of its "The Star in the East," by Mr. Brandard, after Mr. Warne, is another good example. Of the rest, we may mention "My Lady's Page in Distress," after Mr. Marks, and "The Justice of the King," after Mr. Faed.—Travels in South America, by Paul Marcoy, two vols. (Blackie), is a second and cheaper edition of a work which has already been very favourably received both by critics and the public. M. Marcey passed across the continent of South America, visiting a vast -number of places, the names of most of which are, we regret to say, un- known to us. We may describe it, however., generally by saying that he started from Bay, it port of Peru, and that he made his way thence to the upper waters of the Amazon, and so descended on the other side to the Atlantic. He is one of the most entertaining of travellers. Anything more vivid and amusing than his descriptions of life and manners could not easily be found. As his descriptions are photo- graphically exact, while the life and manners are South-American, his narrative is not always precisely edifying. Still, any one who wants to see things as they are, without the very doubt- ful pleasure of a visit, cannot do better than read M. Marcoy. Some admirably executed itinerary maps and an abundance of vigorous illustrations complete the work, which is about as sub- stantial an addition to the library of entertainment as late years have produced.—The Fables of Esop and others, translated into Human Nature. By Charles H. Bennett. (Ghetto and Windus.) These are well drawn and amusing examples of the human satire -which de- picts the foibles of man by the peculiarities of animals. "The Fox and the Crow," for instance, where we have the mercenary suitor flattering a fond and foolish old woman, is excellent ; so is "The Dog and the Wolf," where the dog is a sleek and well-dressed spaniel—his ears are admirably adapted into whiskers—and the wolf an independent gentle- men of the costermonger class; and "The Hare and the Tortoise," the hare representing a restless inventor who is too fond of novelty ever to prosper, and the tortoise a stolid, steady-going man of business, who makes his way slowly but safely to fortune. The colouring of the illustrations, which are designed and drawn on wood by Mr. Bennett, is excellent.—" These Holy Fields :" Palestine Illustrated by Pen and Pencil. By the Rev. S. Manning, LL.D. (Religious Tract Society.)—This is in every way a creditably-executed volume, possess- ing, besides its more evident attractions, a real, solid value which makes it worth giving and worth keeping. For "Sunday reading," in which we are still superstitious enough to believe, nothing could be better. Dr. Manning relates his own experiences as a traveller, and these are as recent as the early part of last year. In addition to the knowledge thus personally acquired, he has, it is evident, studied carefully the best authorities. His special object was, he tells us in his preface, "by an examination of the topography of Palestine to illustrate the histories of Scripture," and he has carried it out with excellent effect. If he has not contributed anything positively new to the vexed question of the Holy Places, he, anyhow, states the last case lucidly and candidly. The personal narrative of travel is agreeably told, and the illustrations are copious and attractive. A volume of little more thah 200 pages is adorned with nearly an equal number of illustrations, many of them of lull-page size. Photographs are especially valuable where the chief interest of the place lies in its identity, and these have been largely used. The maps are enlarged from Messrs. W. and A. Keith Johnston's atlas.
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