PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

Glances at Life in City and Suburb. By Cornelius Webbe, Author of "Posthumous Papers of a Person lately about Town," &c. [After ill health and other hinderances, Cornelius Webbe is again in the field of literature with a second series of Glances at Life; a pleasant miscellany of town ssetches2—short characters and little tales of daily life-fictions, satirizing exist- ing abuses that press upon the poor, with a moral story laid in foreign parts, or a bit of criticism. rite manner of description is somewhat minute, but truthful in its delineation, and not guilty of the fault of substituting mere words for the i of things. The spirit also is healthful and the tone cheerful, with topics,ctEcn suggestive of days gone by. Glances at Life is a volume that will be perused with interest by the bulk of readers; whilst those who are too critical to be easily pleased, will find an agreeable employment in tracing the peculiar qualities of Mr. Webbe, through what at first may appear diffuseness, but is in reality closeness of painting.]

Verses on Various Subjects.

[This little volume contains two kinds of poems: one, paraphrases of Scriptural passages from the more philosophical books of- the Old 1 estament—as Eccle- siastes; the other, occasional verses. The model of the author is Byron, not merely in the tone and style of his verse, but in the choice of melancholy or moody subjects and sentiments. When such complete and 'common' imitation us the case, criticism is merely concerned with the degree; and the writer before us is among the better class of Byron's copyists: he has smoothness and fluency, but is somewhat verbose, and deficient in strength. His versions from Solomon and Esdras are merely pretty. There is a curious prose prefaceon the subject of predestination; the truth of which view the author supports in-an orthodox way; but he promulgates mine opinions on belief and fate, that will not be popular, unless he can convert his readers to this Calvinism of his own.] Justices' Justice; a Satire. By Robert James Ball, B.A. • [A satire against the Magistrates, of a not very fcireible character, apparently sharpened by some grievance that Mr. Ball has suffered at the hands • of Me. Jardine of Bow Street. The notes, longer than the text, embrace a selection of bad decisions by the Police Magistrates, includi ,ft. the authdr's own; and they are the most interesting part of the publication. The judgments of these Jus- tices, for the most part based neither on common sense nor law, are a legitimate subject for the satirist; but Mr. Ball has mistaken-his vocation.] Norris Castle; or Recent Tramps in the Isle of' Wight. By John Gwilliam, Author of "Rambles in the Isle of Wight," &c.- [This publication is a sort of ippendii or continuation .to Mr. Gwilliam's Rank. bles in the Isle of Wight. It consists of a -mixture • of-Prose and verse; the prose, sometimes original, sometimes selected; 'describing in detail particular places, which the author also makes the themes of hia rhymes. These are much as we formerly described them,—curious from the ferceand fluency of the words, the man possessing a poetical " gift of the gab"; butperhaps there is'an im- provement, owing to a dash of. tartness. He falli foul Of everybody, except ber tain cronies, from the critics, with whom he is very wrath, to the " Attlee° of Newport, who have overcharged him.] _ . - Feasts and Fasts; an Essay on the Rise,' Progress; and Present State of the Laws relating-to Sundays and other Holydays and days of Fasting; with notices of the origin of those days, and of the sittings and vacations of tido Courts. By Edward Vansittart Neale, Esq., of Lincoln's Inn, Barrister-at- law.

[ This volume is a mixture of arebmology and law on the curious subject of enforced religions observances, either in attending worship, abstinence from business pulahe or private, mortification by fasting, or enjoyment by feasting. Mr. Neale 's re- searches not only extend to the canon law, the. Romish practice, and the laws or England before the Reforniation, but embrace the laws of Rome under the.Pagaa period; whence, indeed,. many of the Christian principles on this question seem to be derived. The book IS a learned and even an agreeable exposition of a very curious subject, which possesses additional interest just now from the religioup movement that is abroad. It may also be useful to those who will be at the by study, to separate that which is obsolete from that which is actual law; a poin that, judging from ourown inspection, is not always very easy. Such, however, may be the ease with the law itself, which admits a Iiirge margin of judge-interr pretation.] A System of English Grammar. By Charles Walker Connon, M.A. English Master of the Western Academy, Glasgow, &e.

[Mr. Comion's little volume on English grammar exhibits great ability, combining practical skill with philosophical views, and imbuing the pupil with the prin.. oples of the rules as well as presenting the dogmatic rule for him to get by heart. By this method more space is doubtless occupied. A page and a half is taken up in arriving at the rule respecting number—" the singular denotes one of a class, * * • while the plural signifies more than one "; but the pupil is acquainted with the practical, scientific, and philosophical reasons which form the law of number; and after the conclusions have been impressed upon him, the rule merely expresses is scientific form the result he has already reached. Notwithstanding this apparent elaboration, the volume is small, and the views are as simply expressed as consists with the character of the subject. Whether it may not be found too critical, and the exercises occasionally too difficult for the younger pupils, we will not undertake to say. It will be very useful for advanced scholars, or for self- improvement on the rationale of English grammar.]

Dr. M. Luther's Geistliche Lieder. Nene ansgabe. A Practical Guide to the Study and Grammar of the German Language; with an appendix, containing a new and copious collection of idiomatic phrases. By C. A. Felling, German Master at the Royal Military AcademY, Woolwich, &c.

[In any form, the Hymns of Luther must retain some of the power and deep kindly feeling of the author's mind; but we regret that, the very prettily-pint& volume that we have named first should have been wasted upon a translation of them into the modern fine language of Berlin. Mr. Fe hang's Graimnar is thirty years behind the present improved philology of Germany; and the author in his preface makes a boast of this.] Treatise on the Knowledge necessarff to Amateurs in Pictures. Translated and abridged from the French of K Francois-Xavier Do Bustin, First Stipendiary Member of the Royal Academy of Brussels in the class of Sciences, &c. By Robert White, Esq. [Though the knowledge and judgment necessary to form an enlightened connois- seur of pictures can only be acquired by long experience (often dearly bought) and close research, there is much information that can be conveyed which will be ser- viceable to guide the inexperienced amateur in forming an opinion as to the merits and value of pictures. Of this kind is the information contained in the treatise of M. De Bustin; whose whole life has been devoted to the studyand acquisition of works of art, and whose practical knowledge of everything connected with the subjectis equal to his enthusiasm. He treats of the several qualities that go to make up a good picture, of the characteristics of the different schools and leading

From April 25th to May 1st.

BOOKS.

Scenes and Adventures in Spain from 1835 to 1840. By Poco Mas. In Ma volumes.

Richard the Third; a Poem. By Sharon Turner, F.A.S. and R.A.S.L. The Fortunes of Roger De Flor; or the Almugavars. In three volumee. masters, and the signatures and prices of. their pictures ; pointing out the way to judr of their quality, condition, and originality; and describing the best methods of caning and preserving them. He also gives a glance at the principal public galleries, and useful hints towards forming and arranging private collections_ M. De Burtin's opinions are somewhat crotchety, and his dissertation is strongly tinctured with the cant of connoisseurship: he does not always succeed in con- veying in a clear and satisfactory manner the knowledge he possesses; so that a person wholly unacquainted with the subject would not find in this treatise all that he required to know. But the. general advice—especially that to judge of every work by its own intrinsic merit, without regard to name, reputation, pedigree, or price—is good and serviceable. More information about the second- rate painters, whose works are commonly passed off for those of the great masters whose style they.imitated, would have been desirable. The translator has exe- cuted his task with judicious fidelity, and has added some sensible notes.] The Tree Rose: Practical Instructions for its Formation and Culture. By A. H. B. Illustrated by twenty-four wood-cuts. CThis little volume is the reprint of a series of articles from The Gardener:: hronicle. It appears to be by an amateur who conjoined theory with practice; testing the directions of his books by experiment, and when he had learned all he could, giving the world at large the benefit of his knowledge. The directions seem both plain and practical: but as he goes upon the proper elan of supposing the reader to know nothing, it would have been well had he laid down the broad principles of his subject at starting; by which means he would have been followed with more satisfaction, as the student would have known what he was at, and Seen the philosophy of the directions.]

"Seleeta e adage), in usumjuventntis: Notas quasdam Anglice scriptas ad- jecit Gnlielmus Gifford Cookesley, M.A., Regke Scholw Etonensis e Magis- ' tars Adjutoribus. [Sixty pages of well-chosen selections from Catullus, followed by as many more of notes, designed to smooth the difficulties and explain the allusions of the text, as well as to point out the general drift of the author by stating the occasion on which the poem was written.] Time Works Wonders ; a Comedy, in five acts. By Douglas Jerrold, Author of " The Rent Day," &c.

The week has been rather prolific in new editions of books, in which cheapness 'enjoined with an appearance of standard value, either literary or learned, is the chief feature. No fewer than six such publications are before us.

1:- The Novels and Romances of Anna Eliza Bray. In ten volumes. Volume 1. "The White Hoods.' [MM. Bray, if not first afield, has the most extensive speculation; for she is re- printing a revised and uniform edition of her fictions, in ten volumes. For rea- sons that are not stated, she commences with her second romance, White Hoods; which is introduced by a general preface, giving an interesting account of the circumstances that turned her attention to romance-writing, in the lifetime of her first husband, and of the private facts, or local particulars and traditions, on

i which every tale is founded. The work is very neatly printed and bound; and is embellished with a handsome portrait of the fair authoress, which, if taken of late, entitles her to Master Shallow's greeting—"By my troth, you look well, and bear your years very well: welcome."] 2. Bracebridge Hall; or the Humorists. By Geoffrey Crayon Gent. [Included by Mr. Murray in his Colonial Library, and to be completed in another part; giving us the whole of Geoffrey Crayon's elegant production for five shillings.] 8. The Subaltern. A new edition.

[Here we have Messrs. Blackwood treading on the heels of Mr. Murray, or rather advancing pari passes They have compressed the far-famed Subaltern, the original of so many military reminiscences, into a nice little pocket volume, for half-a-crown.]

4. Cecil; or the Adventures of a Coxcomb.

(Mr. Bentley, too, is not behind the fashion. Taking advantage of the probable attraction of Self to Cecil, what does he do but bring out that once much-talked- of piece of coxcombry, in a single volume, for his Standard Novels.] 5. A Popular History of Priestcraft. By William Howitt. {In like manner, Mr. Hewitt takes advantage of the irritation in the religions world caused by Tractarianism, and brought to a head by the grant to Maynooth, to send forth a seventh edition of his History of Priestcraft; with a new chapter on the state of religion in Wales, large additions in other parts, and a preface, in which the writer crows over the alleged failure of establishments, and the shock they are receiving. The volume is not in the sober purple usual for such grave themes, but in gold and scarlet,—a type, perhaps, of something unmentionable to oars polite.] 6. The Book of Family Crests; comprising nearly every family-bearing, properly blazoned and explained. Seventh edition. 1No wonder this book sells; for it appeals direct to the genteel feelings of man- kind, perhaps the most potent of any. The some four thousand crests which it contains are evidently just enough to carry off four editions, leaving the collateral branches of the heads of houses, or those who call themselves such and take the crest, as patrons of the present and future reprints. The book has been revised since our last notice, but the most conspicuous alteration is its extension into two volumes. The plates of crests and the historical matter are now in the first vo- lume; the alphabetical list of the names of crest-bearers is in the second, and forms quite a guide to family honour.]

PICTORIAL ILLUSTRATIONS.

• Illustrations to " Adventure in New Zealand," by Edward Jerningham Wakefield_ , Esg. Lithographed from Original Drawings taken on the spot, by Mrs. Wicksteed, Miss Ring, Mrs. Fox, Mr. John Saxton, Mr. Charles Heaphy, Mr. S. C. Brees, and Captain W. Mein Smith, R.N. [These illustrations of Mr. Jerningham Wakefield's Adventure in New Zealand present to the eye pictures similar to those that the graphic descriptions in the volumes convey to the mind. The general features of the country, and the par- ticular aspect of those parts where the work of colonization is (or at least was) going on, have been delineated by the colonists themselves. Extensive plains gully covered with dense forests showing wide openings of grass, fern, and brusb-2 watered by noble rivers and bounded by lofty ranges of hills—the shores indented by bays forming natural harbours of great extent—offer a tempting field to the spirit of enterprise. Panoramic views of the settlements of Wellington and Nelson,

they appeared in 1842, show these intended cities in their infancy; wooden cottages, the temporary dwellings and stores of the first settlers, skirting the beach or wood, or scattered over the plain ie the lines of streets marked out for the future town. Here a low roof with a fence round it is referred to as "the bank"; there the frame of a building denotes an embryo Faintin:g-office,• and houses of a very humble character bear the imposing appelhItion of c' hOtel." In thaforeground may be seen the settlers cutting timber, building, cooking, wash- ing, or enjoying the exciting sport of hunting the wild hog among the fern that covers the plains. A view of a "sawyers clearing " in a forest of kanri trees con- veys a striking idea of this labour: the dense mass of trees forms a vast roof of foliage supported by myriads of column-like stems. The settlement of New Plymouth, in 1843, exhibits a pleasing picture of a young colony in a more ad- vanced stage of infancy: the undulating ground is picturesquely broken by hills and trees, and dotted with well-built, comfortable-190411g farm-Moores—some might be called villas—standing in fenced gardens, beside good broad roads; the white cone of Mount Egmont towering grandly in the distance. The town of Petre, on the Wan- ganui river as it appeared in 1841, is little more than a village of thatched cottages. The New i.ealand chiefs, for all their tattooed faces, have a noble and classic an— with their "mats" thrown round them like a cloak, leaving the right shoulder bare to wield the spear or club; and the carving of their huts and canoes is elabo- rately grotesque. In point of artistic merit, the drawings, some of them by ama- teurs will bear comparison with works of much greater pretensions. Mrs. Wick- steed's view of New Plymouth and Miss King's coloured drawings of plants are among the most attractive. But the interest consists in the lively and faithful impressions of the scenery of New Zealand, and the change so quickly wrought bj British industry.] Over-land Sketches. By Lieutenant C. B. Young, Bengal Engineers. [Fourteen views of remarkable scenes and objects in Egypt, that meet the eye of the traveller on the over-land journey from India. Though slightly and imper- fectly drawn, in their coloured dress they have an air of truth : but the vast scale of desert scenery and Egyptian structures defies the pencil of the amateur, and even baffles the artist's Ain to represent on a small scale. The Sphinx and Great Pyramid, Pompey's Pillar and Cleopatra's Needle, the Memnonium and

are familiar objects ; the Palace of Ibrahim Pasha, the Cataracts of the Nile, and that curious phenomenon the "mirage of the desert," are new in pictures. Lieutenant Young's sketch of the optical effect of the mirage may be true, bat the sense of illusion is not impressively conveyed: perhaps it requires imaginative power to do this.]

Finder's Beauties of the Poets—Moore. Part I.

[The elegance of the ornamental frame-borders that enclose these paintere beauties gives a novel effect to a hacknied idea; and the handsome style in which the publication is got up will recommend it to those who have a taste for the sentimental bijouterie of art. Messrs. Frith, J. Wright, and O'Neil, have pictured four "beauties" to illustrate Moores poetry; and Sir Thomas Lawrence's portrait of the poet, set in a fanciful framework designed by J. Merchant, forms a superb frontispiece. The figures are graceful and picturesque; but the laughing.and speaking eyes, sung of by the poet, are not so expressively depicted as they might be. The bride at her mirror is pretty and coquettish, but the sentiment of the incident is not conveyed. "St. Jerome's Love, by O'Neil, is a poetical idea ex- quisitely designed: the dark swimming eyes are eloquent of sorrow and suffering— though regretful rather than penitential.]

The Book of Common Prayer /Ruminated. Part I.

[The first part of this unique Church of England Prayer-book discloses a variety of ornamental devices and effects of typography and lithography in colours, that is quite bewildering; portions of the Morning and Evening Service and of the Lessons and Psalms, each embellished in different styles, being included. The publication will proceed in parts, but the volume is to appear complete next month; and we prefer waiting its appearance entire, the better to judge of this superb specimen of decorative printing as a whole.]