PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.
Mabel's Cross. By E. M. P. In two volumes. London : Tinsley.— This is a story of which the chief scenes are laid in the Highlands of Scotland, aud all the personages are either Scotch or Irish. The prin- cipal contrast lies between the Laird of Menteith, an Episcopalian, a Tory, and a Jacobite, and Mr. Balfour, who is exactly the reverse of all these. When Mr. Balfour's daughter elopes with the laird's son, the cup of misery is supposed to be full. This is the catastrophe of the story; and all the plot which it has relates to this particular event. But the two volumes are made out by the loves, jealousies, and recon- ciliations of some three or four other couples, whose wooings, however, are described in the most stereotyped conventional style ;—the mantling blush, the arch glance, and the pouting lip of the lady being quite as old acquaintances with us as the moody brow, the flashing eye, and the abrupt gestures of the gentleman. A part of the story takes place in France and a part in Switzerland ; and the scenery and costume of thesepassages seem drawn from actual experience and not from ima- gination. There is a fair amount of good writing in the book ; and it is only just to say that the dialogue and behaviour of the actors are in keeping with real life, and if generally common-place, are never vulgar. The authoress evidently belongs to that class of persons more numerous, we believe, in Scotland than in England, to whom blood and beauty are more than brains and vigour. All the girls are lovely; all the men are cavaliers. But in spite of these defects, we cannot say the book is uninteresting, while by a certain section of the public it will probably be pronounced "very nice." Mabel is the other daughter of Mr. Balfour—the one, that is, who does not elope—and. her "cross" consists merely in being to some extent a femme incomprise, as her father prefers Lilts who treats him with ingratitude, and neglects Mabel who anticipates his every wish. But the cross is a very light one after all, and as she is helped to carry it by a very handsome young clergyman, whom she finally marries, there is not much cause for commiseration.
Hats and Plains : a very Old Story. In two volumes. London : Smith and Elder.—This is a story of Indian life, which presents us certainly with the least attractive aspect of Indian society. Scheming, cold-blooded young ladies, penniless and profligate subalterns, selfish and hard-hearted civilians, pervaded by a mingled odour of impecu- niosity, brandy, and tobacco, are the principal features of it which remain stamped upon our memory. We have read pictures of Indian life to some extent resembling this in the works of Mr. John Lang; but oh, how unlike the stories which used to charm us twenty years ago ! Then it was all tiger-hunting, pig-sticking, love-making, and genial joviality—a picture into which the dun was never allowed to intrude his visage, where all the youths were brave and all the maidens were virtuous. Now we have stale representations of barrack life as it is led by impoverished and ill-educated men, combined with glimpses of civilian society, impressing us very differently from those in winch money was a drug, and life alternated between field sports, tap, and dancing. Whether the more gay and easy or the more squalid and sordid picture of Indian life be the truer one, old Indians must deter- mine; but we know which is the pleasantest to read; and we must own that we have gone steadily through Hills and Plains from be- ginning to end without experiencing a single agreeable sensation. There is, properly speaking, no story in it. It relates the adventures of a variety of individuals drawn with more or less skill, and types probably of well-known characters in India. But the whole tenor of the book is so dispiriting, and invests all Indian life with so dull and leaden a hue, that we can only say of ourselves what the Jesuits say of mankind, Volumus decipi, et decipiamur. The First Step in French. By Leon Contanseau. Longman and Co. —As it is only the first step that is said to cost much trouble, M. Contanseau has rendered a notable service to all persons desirous of acquiring the French language by removing all preliminary difficulties. The grammatical rules he lays down are so simple and lucid, that the most obtuse can scarcely fail to understand their application. His
exercises, too, are well chosen, and for the most part correctly idiomatic, with the exception of such phrases as "Where do you
conduct me r make you my compliments," "I will take a new laid egg with some toasts (sic) and a few radishes," and two or three similar instances that savour rather of a Gallic than of an English origin. Again, at page 123, "he began to speak" does not give the true rendering of it prit la parole. Viewed. with reference, to the context the meaning would have been better given by "he spoke for her." But these are very trifling blemishes, and will doubtless dis- appear in future editions, through many of which this useful little work is likely to run. There exists no better elementary guide within our knowledge. Bibliotheca Piscatoria. By T. Westwood. Field Office. — Old Izaak Walton has, in truth, much to answer for. Here is a cal alogue of 650 distinct works upon Angling, of which by far the greater part would never have been written but for the great popularity and success of the " Compleat Angler." As might be expected, the -United King- dom furnishes beyond all comparison the largest portion of this pisca- torial literature. While America has supplied 14 works, Denmark 3 Holland 6, France 56, Germany 75 Italy 9, Norway 1, Spain 2, and Sweden 3, our own country has spawned forth no fewer than 477. It must not be supposed that Mr. Westwood has confined himself to a bare enumeration of the names of all these numerous publications. To many of them he has appended notes full of much curious informa- tion, and occasionally remarks rather candid than complimentary. For
instance, i
we find subjoined to one book the notice that it " pilfered in tato from Barker and Walton ;" to another, that it is " coarse and Cockney, and to a third, that it is "an impudent appropriation of Gervase Markham's work on the same subject." It is quite delightful in these smooth-spoken days to come upon such slashing criticism. The skunk is slam with a single shot, and nailed up is terrorem for ever. Few genuine anglers, we imagine, will omit to possess them- selves of this excellent and compendious guide to all that has ever been written upon the "gentle craft," from the time of Claudius Elianus down to that of Arthur Smith. It may also be mentioned here, parenthetically, that the Salmon ,Fisheries Act passed in the last session of Parliament is now procurable at the office of the Field newspaper, and that it is printed in a very convenient form.
Newton's Anglo-Italian Elements of. Singing. J. A. Novello.—Mr. Newton tells us in his preface that notwithstanding the numerous elementary works which already exist for the use of English vocal students, there still remained an "obvious void" which he has endea- voured to supply without discourtesy to his predecessors. He has, therefore, so arranged his text, exercises, and examples, as gradually to conduct the student from the first elements of Song to the highest branches of a vocalist's education. It is, perhaps, beside the question to ask if
" When Music, heavenly maid, was young,"
she had to labour through these formidable tables of scales, or how long she took to master the " consonous, homogeneous, vowel, and diphthongal alphabet" ? It is probably more to the purpose to express our belief that Mr. Newton has distanced all competitors, and that his Elements of Singing are really all they profess to be.
The English Cyclopedia of Arts and Sciences. Conducted by Charles Knight. Parts XXXI. and XXXIL Bradbury and Evans.—The completion of any undertaking, whether of a material or mental nature, must always be a source of natural exultation to those who are respon- sible for its merits and deficiencies. It is, therefore, with pardonable self-complacency that the publishers of this voluminous work claim for it the praise due to the only complete Cyclopedia of reference in the English language. The fact is indisputable, and the proper reward of the great labour and vast expenditure incurred in the elaboration of a perfect dictionary of reference. The entire work is divided into the four departments of Geography, Biography, Natural History, and of the Arts and Sciences, each of which may be separately purchased. We should like, however, to learn the difference between the editor and the conductor of a Cyclopedia. The "Penny Cyclopedia," upon which the present one is avowedly founded, rejoiced in a bond fide editor, whereas the more perfect work is obliged to content itself with appearing under the modest auspices of a conductor. However this may be, it must be admitted that Mr. Charles Knight has conducted his cohort of contributors with as much skill and tact as maid be dis- played by an Alfred Mellon or a Da Costa in training and leading a musical orchestra. It may be questioned, indeed, if the present demand for books of reference is altogether a healthy sign. Does it not rather proceed from a feverish desire to know something about everything, coupled with impatience of research? A superficial ac- quaintance with every branch of human learning is regarded as indis- pensable, and the most shallow-pated individuals now-a-days speak with confidence on subjects that have baffled for ages the penetration of the subtlest philosophers. This is in reality one of the worst shams of the times, for profound thinkers arc thereby discouraged, while a "monstrous growth" of pretenders to knowledge springs up on all aides. In the same spirit that lozenges were lately advertised—one for a lunch and three for a dinner—are encycloptedie works now mul- tiplied in every direction, and probably the publishers of each are pre- pared to adopt the formula of the Khalif Omar, and to pronounce as erroneous or superfluous every book but their own. The English Orfopmelia, however, certainly does not belong to this ephemeral class. It is a work that may safely be consulted by the most advanced students, and is likely to hold its own as the most complete work of reference in the language, until some great revolution in science has taught us how blindly our wisest philosophers are still groping in the dark Some Some Amount of the Buildings, _Designed by Captain Awoke, R.E., fir the International Exhibition of 1862. Chapman and Hall.—These buildings, which have to be completed within twelve months, will cover a superficial area of twenty-one acres, and are intended to pro- vide for four objects : 1. Picture-galleries, which require to be solid structures, lighted from the top. $1. Ample spaces for the exhibition• of works of ludustrv, arranged in courts and galleries. 3. Platforms and wide passages for ceremonials, and processions. 4. Accommoda- tion for refreshments—d very useful and popular department. The
picture-galleries will occupy three sides of a quadrangle, the longe-st being 1150 feet in length, 50 feet in width, and the same in height; the walls are to be lined with wood, and pictures may be hung 30 feet above the floor if it is thought desirable to place them out of sight. The auxiliary galleries will be only 25 feet wide by 30 high, but will jointly extend to a length of 1200 feet. The Industrial Buildings will be constructed chiefly of iron, timber, and glass, and will consist mainly of two enormous domes, each 160 feet in diameter and 250 in height, and of a connecting nave 800 feet in length and 100 feet hi,h, with a width of 85 feet. The transepts will be of the same height and width as the nave, but only 635 feet long, including the domes. The upper galleries will extend upwards of a mile and a half. It is diffi- cult, however, to confine one's self to simple prose in speaking of the refreshment halls, which, for the blessing of bachelors, are to be per_ manent buildings. "They overlook, with a north aspect, the whole of the Royal Horticultural Gardens, with its cascades, fountains, &e. They will be cool, but with a sunny view. The halls will be 300 feet long and 75 feet wide ; the two arcades will have about 1500 feet in length and 25 feet in width. All kinds of refreshments, both light and solid, will be supplied. The visitor will be able to obtain"—(how artistic is that pause !)—" in the morning, a dejedner a lafourchette ; at luncheon, Neapolitan ices or Bass's ale, and bread-and-cheese; at dinner, English roast beef and plum-pudding, or the latest inventions in cookery font Paris, with samples of the wines of all nations (in- cluding M fr Mr. Gladstone's sound St. Emilion, at 14s. a-dozen ?). At the
close of the Exhibition, they will become the most delightful dining. halls in the metropolis, supplying a great public want in this respect:' After that, "roll up the map of Europe." Who now will care to en- counter the fatigue and annoyances of foreign travel when he can obtain all that he really enjoys in foreign parts by merely taking a cab to Kensington ? No diner-out at his own expense will grudge Captain Fowke the cheque for 50001. which the committee is said to have pre- sented to him. He is, indeed, a public benefactor, and worthy of all reverence- " Namque erit ille mini semper dens: illius aram Stepe tuner nostris ab ovilibu§ imbuet agnus." Government Reform in England and America. By A. Alison, Esq. London : George H. Nichols.—It may not be generally known to the British public that a society exists in London of winch the avowed object is neither more nor less than the reformation of the world. It is now engaged in issuing a series of pamphlets of which the one be- fore us is the fourth, and a more amusing mixture of simplicity, auda- city, and occasional good sense we never met with. The whole continent of Europe, as well as America, is embraced by the paternal solicitude of Mr. Alison; and his remedies for the ills which he observes are sufficiently bold and original, if occasionally a trifle unpractical. In Englaud we require a more centralized administration ; and accordingly a Board of Public Bills is to be established, of which the Premier is to be the head. But we confess we don't see how either his power or his responsibility—Mr. Alison's two desiderata—would be increased by this device. The Church is to be reformed in accordance with the views of Lord Eburv, or else we are threatened with a repe- tition of the Plague and the Fire of Loudon, which followed the Act of Conformity of 1662. The dispute between Austria and Hungary is descrikd as one between Aristocracy and Democracy (an original idea with a vengeance). Russia is directed to relinquish Poland; Prussia to abandon scholarship, which "can interest no man ;" and Italy to reform the Pope. On the subject of religion, the Reformation Society invite the attention of the public to their invaluable collection of " articles," originally designed for the Church of England, but "suit- able to all other churches," and under the distinguished patronage of an American minister and two Parisian journalists, whose testimonials are appended as though to an advertisement of pills. To the North States of America, Mr. Alison says frankly, Give up the South, choose a sovereign in Europe, and -establish an hereditary monarchy. France is the only nation which lie doesn't lecture; on the contrary? he showers compliments upon the head of Napoleon 111., and maledictions upon his British traducers.
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