perfectly under its influence. He recovered immediately after the
couching needle had been withdrawn from the second eye, and walked
pretty steadily to his sleeping apartment, where he received the
condolences of his brethren, rather ungraciously it must be confessed,
but his head was far from clear, and his temper ruffled. When the
cataracts have been absorbed the animals will have sight.

The wooded districts of the American continent were tenanted before
civilization had made such gigantic strides, by large numbers of the
well known black bear, _Ursus Americanus_. Some years ago, black bears'
skins were greatly in vogue for carriage hammer-cloths, &c.; and an idea
of the animals destroyed, may be formed from the fact, that in 1783,
10,500 skins were imported, and the numbers gradually rose to 25,000 in
1803, since which time there has been a gradual decline. In those days,
a fine skin was worth from twenty to forty guineas, but may now be
obtained for five guineas.

The chase of this bear is the most solemn action of the Laplander; and
the successful hunter may be known by the number of tufts of bears' hair
he wears in his bonnet. When the retreat of a bear is discovered, the
ablest sorcerer of the tribe beats the _runic_ drum to discover the
event of the chase, and on which side the animal ought to be assailed.
During the attack, the hunters join in a prescribed chorus, and beg
earnestly of the bear that he will do them no mischief. When dead, the
body is carried home on a sledge, and the rein-deer employed to draw it,
is exempt from labor during the remainder of the year. A new hut is
constructed for the express purpose of cooking the flesh, and the
huntsmen, joined by their wives, sing again their songs of joy and of
gratitude to the animal, for permitting them to return in safety. They
never presume to speak of the bear with levity, but always allude to him
with profound respect, as "the old man in the fur cloak." The Indians,
too, treat him with much deference. An old Indian, named Keskarrah, was
seated at the door of his tent, by a small stream, not far from Fort
Enterprise, when a large bear came to the opposite bank, and remained
for some time apparently surveying him. Keskarrah, considering himself
to be in great danger, and having no one to assist him but his aged
wife, made a solemn speech, to the following effect: "Oh, bear! I never
did you any harm; I have always had the highest respect for you and your
relations, and never killed any of them except through necessity. Pray,
go away, good bear, and let me alone, and I promise not to molest you."
The bear (probably regarding the old gentleman as rather a tough morsel)
walked off, and the old man, fancying that he owed his safety to his
eloquence, favored Sir John Richardson with his speech at length. The
bear in question, however, was of a different species to, and more
sanguinary than the black bear, so that the escape of the old couple was
regarded as remarkable.

The _Ursus Americanus_ almost invariably hybernates; and about a
thousand skins have been annually imported by the Hudson's Bay Company,
from these black bears destroyed in their winter retreats. A spot under
a fallen tree is selected for its den, and having scratched away a
portion of the soil, the bear retires thither at the commencement of a
snow-storm, and the snow soon furnishes a close warm covering. When
taken young, these bears are easily tamed; and the following incident
occurred to a gentleman of our acquaintance: a fine young bear had been
brought up by him with an antelope of the elegant species called
_Furcifer_, the two feeding out of the same dish, and being often seen
eating the same cabbage. He was in the habit of taking these pets out
with him, leading the bear by a string. On one occasion he was thus
proceeding, a friend leading the antelope, when a large fierce dog flew
at the latter. The gentleman, embarrassed by his charge, called out for
assistance to my informant, who ran hastily up, and in doing so
accidentally let the bear loose. He seemed to be perfectly aware that
his little companion was in difficulty, and rushing forward, knocked the
dog over and over with a blow of his paw, and sent him off howling. The
same bear would also play for hours with a Bison calf, and when tired
with his romps, jumped into a tub to rest; having recovered, he would
spring out and resume his gambols with his boisterous playfellow, who
seemed to rejoice when the bear was out of breath, and could be taken at
a disadvantage, at which time he was sure to be pressed doubly hard.
There was a fine bear of this description in the old Tower Menagerie,
which long shared his den with a hyena, with whom he was on good terms
except at meal-times, when they would quarrel in a very ludicrous
manner, for a piece of beef, or whatever else might happen to form a
bone of contention between them. The hyena, though by far the smaller
was generally master, and the bear would moan most piteously in a tone
resembling the bleating of a sheep, while the hyena quietly consumed the
remainder of the dinner.

The following is an account of an adventure which occurred to Frank
Forester, in America. A large bear was traced to a cavern in the Round
Mountain, and every effort made for three days without success to smoke
or burn him out. At length a bold hunter, familiar with the spot,
volunteered to beard the bear in his den. The well-like aperture, which,
alone could be seen from without, descended for about eight feet, then
turned sharp off at right angles, running nearly horizontally for about
six feet, beyond which it opened into a small circular chamber, where
the bear had taken up his quarters. The man determined to descend, to
worm himself, feet forward, on his back, and to shoot at the eyes of the
bear, as they would be visible in the dark. Two narrow laths of pine
wood were accordingly procured, and pierced with holes, in which candles
were placed and lighted. A rope was next made fast about his chest, a
butcher's knife disposed in readiness for his grasp, and his musket
loaded with two good ounce bullets, well wrapped in greased buckskin.
Gradually he disappeared, thrusting the lights before him with his feet,
and holding the musket ready cocked in his hand. A few anxious
moments--a low stifled growl was heard--then a loud, bellowing, crashing
report, followed by a wild and fearful howl, half anguish, half furious
rage. The men above wildly and eagerly hauled up the rope, and the
sturdy hunter was whirled into the air uninjured, and retaining in his
grasp his good weapon; while the fierce brute rushed tearing after him
even to the cavern's mouth. As soon as the man had entered the small
chamber, he perceived the glaring eyeballs of the bear, had taken steady
aim at them, and had, he believed, lodged his bullets fairly. Painful
moanings were soon heard from within, and then all was still! Again the
bold man determined to seek the monster; again he vanished, and his
musket shot roared from the recesses of the rock. Up he was whirled; but
this time, the bear, streaming with gore, and furious with pain, rushed
after him, and with a mighty bound, cleared the confines of the cavern!
A hasty and harmless volley was fired, while the bear glared round as if
undecided upon which of the group to wreak his vengeance. Tom, the
hunter, coolly raised his piece, but snap! no spark followed the blow of
the hammer! With a curse Tom threw down the musket, and, drawing his
knife, rushed forward to encounter the bear single handed. What would
have been his fate had the bear folded him in his deadly hug, we may be
pretty sure; but ere this could happen, the four bullets did their work,
and he fell; a convulsive shudder passed through his frame, and all was
still. Six hundred and odd pounds did he weigh, and great were the
rejoicings at his destruction.

The wild pine forests of Scandinavia yet contain bears in considerable
numbers. The general color of these European bears is dark brown, and to
a great degree they are vegetable feeders, although exceedingly fond of
ants and honey. Their favorite food is berries and succulent plants; and
in autumn, when the berries are ripe, they become exceedingly fat.
Toward the end of November the bear retires to his den, and passes the
winter months in profound repose. About the middle of April he leaves
his den, and roams about the forest ravenous for food. These bears
attain a large size, often weighing above four hundred pounds; and an
instance is on record of one having weighed nearly seven hundred and
fifty pounds. The best information relative to the habits and pursuits
of these Scandinavian bears is to be found in Mr. Lloyd's "Field Sports
of the North of Europe," from which entertaining work we shall draw
largely.

When a district in Sweden is infested with bears, public notice is given
from the pulpit during divine service, that a sk[)a]ll or battue is to
take place, and specifying the number of people required, the time and
place of rendezvous, and other particulars. Sometimes as many as 1500
men are employed, and these are regularly organized in parties and
divisions. They then extend themselves in such a manner that a cordon is
formed, embracing a large district, and all simultaneously move forward.
By this means the wild animals are gradually driven into a limited
space, and destroyed as circumstances admit. These sk[)a]lls are always
highly exciting, and it not unfrequently happens that accidents arise,
from the bears turning upon and attacking their pursuers. A bear which
had been badly wounded, and was hard pressed, rushed upon a peasant
whose gun had missed fire, and seized him by the shoulders with his fore
paws. The peasant, for his part, grasped the bear's ears. Twice did they
fall, and twice get up, without loosening their holds, during which time
the bear had bitten through the sinews of both arms, from the wrists
upward, and was approaching the exhausted peasant's throat, when Mr.
Falk, "öfwer jäg mästare," or head ranger of the Wermeland forests,
arrived, and with one shot ended the fearful conflict.

Jan Svenson was a Dalecarlian hunter of great repute, having been
accessory to the death of sixty or seventy bears, most of which he had
himself killed. On one occasion he had the following desperate
encounter: having, with several other peasants, surrounded a very large
bear, he advanced with his dog to rouse him from his lair; the dog
dashed toward the bear, who was immediately after fired at and wounded
by one of the peasants. This man was prostrated by the infuriated
animal, and severely lacerated. The beast now retraced his steps, and
came full on Jan Svenson, a shot from whose rifle knocked him over.
Svenson, thinking the bear was killed, coolly commenced re-loading his
rifle. He had only poured in the powder, when the bear sprung up and
seized him by the arm. The dog, seeing the jeopardy in which his master
was placed, gallantly fixed on the bear's hind quarters. To get rid of
this annoyance, the bear threw himself on his back, making with one paw
a blow at the dog, with the other holding Svenson fast in his embraces.
This he repeated three several times, handling the man as a cat would a
mouse, and in the intervals he was biting him in different parts of the
body, or standing still as if stupefied. In this dreadful situation
Svenson remained nearly half an hour; and during all this time the noble
dog never ceased for a moment his attacks on the bear. At last the brute
quitted his hold, and moving slowly to a small tree at a few paces'
distance, seized it with his teeth; he was in his last agonies, and
presently fell dead to the ground. On this occasion Svenson was wounded
in thirty-one different places, principally in the arms and legs. This
forest monster had, in the early part of the winter, mortally wounded
another man, who was pursuing him, and from his great size was an object
of general dread.

Lieutenant Oldenburg, when in Torp in Norrland, saw a chasseur brought
down from the forest, who had been desperately mangled by a bear. The
man was some distance in advance of his party, and wounded the animal
with a ball. The bear immediately turned on him; they grappled, and both
soon came to the ground. Here a most desperate struggle took place,
which lasted a considerable time. Sometimes the man, who was a powerful
fellow, being uppermost, at other times the bear. At length, exhausted
with fatigue and loss of blood, the chasseur gave up the contest, and
turning on his face in the snow, pretended to be dead. Bruin, on this,
quietly seated himself on his body, where he remained for near half an
hour. At length the chasseur's companions came up, and relieved their
companion by shooting the bear through the heart. Though terribly
lacerated, the man eventually recovered.

Captain Eurenius related to Mr. Lloyd an incident which he witnessed in
Wenersborg, in 1790: A bear-hunt or sk[)a]ll was in progress, and an old
soldier placed himself in a situation where he thought the bear would
pass. He was right in his conjecture, for the animal soon made his
appearance, and charged directly at him. He leveled his musket, but the
piece missed fire. The bear was now close, and he attempted to drive the
muzzle of the gun down the animal's throat. This attack the bear parried
like a fencing master, wrested the gun from the man, and quickly laid
him prostrate. Had he been prudent all might have ended well, for the
bear, after smelling, fancied him dead, and left him almost unhurt. The
animal then began to handle the musket, and knock it about with his
paws. The soldier seeing this, could not resist stretching out his hand
and laying hold of the muzzle, the bear having the stock firmly in his
grasp. Finding his antagonist alive, the bear seized the back of his
head with his teeth, and tore off the whole of his scalp, from the nape
of the neck upward, so that it merely hung to the forehead by a strip of
skin. Great as was his agony, the poor fellow kept quiet, and the bear
laid himself along his body. While this was going forward, Captain
Eurenius and others approached the spot, and on coming within sixteen
paces, beheld the bear licking the blood from the bare skull, and eying
the people, who were afraid to fire lest they should injure their
comrade. Captain Eurenius asserted, that in this position the soldier
and bear remained for a considerable time, until at last the latter
quitted his victim, and slowly began to retire, when a tremendous fire
being opened, he fell dead. On hearing the shots, the wretched sufferer
jumped up, his scalp hanging over his face, so as to completely blind
him. Throwing it back with his hand, he ran toward his comrades like a
madman, frantically exclaiming, "The bear! the bear!" the scalp was
separated, and the captain described it as exactly resembling a peruke.
In one respect the catastrophe was fortunate for the poor soldier; it
was in the old days of pipe-clay and pomatum, and every one in the army
was obliged to wear his hair of a certain form, and this man being, for
satisfactory reasons, unable to comply with the regulation, and a tow
wig not being admissible, he immediately received his discharge.

A curious circumstance is related by Mr. Lloyd, showing the boldness of
wolves when pressed by hunger. A party were in chase of a bear, who was
tracked by a dog. They were some distance behind the bear, when a drove
of five wolves attacked and devoured the dog. Their appetites being thus
whetted, they forthwith made after the bear, and coming up with him, a
severe conflict ensued, as was apparent from the quantity of hair, both
of the bear and wolves, that was scattered about the spot. Bruin was
victorious, but was killed a few days afterward by the hunters. The
wolves, however, had made so free with his fur, that his skin was of
little value. On another occasion, a drove of wolves attacked a bear,
who, posting himself with his back against a tree, defended himself for
some time with success; but at length his opponents contrived to get
under the tree, and wounded him desperately in the flank. Just then some
men coming up, the wolves retreated, and the wounded bear became an easy
prey.

It occasionally happens that cattle are attacked by bears, but the
latter are not always victorious. A powerful bull was charged in the
forest by a bear, when, striking his horns into his assailant, he pinned
him to a tree. In this situation they were both found dead--the bull
from starvation, the bear from wounds. So says the author above quoted.

The hybernation of bears gives rise to a curious confusion of cause and
effect in the minds of the Swiss peasantry. They believe that bears
which have passed the winter in the mountain caverns, always come out to
reconnoitre on the 2d of February; and that they if the weather be then
cold and winterly, return, like the dove to the ark, for another
fortnight; at the end of which time they find the season sufficiently
advanced to enable them to quit their quarters without inconvenience;
but that, if the weather be fine and warm on the 2d, they sally forth,
thinking the winter past. But on the cold returning after sunset, they
discover their mistake, and return in a most sulky state of mind,
without making a second attempt until after the expiration of six weeks,
during which time man is doomed to suffer all the inclemencies
consequent on their want of urbanity. Thus, instead of attributing the
retirement of the bears to the effects of the cold, the myth makes the
cold to depend on the seclusion of the bears!

The fat of bears has, from time immemorial, enjoyed a high reputation
for promoting the growth of hair; but not a thousandth part of the
bear's grease sold in shops comes from the animal whose name it carries.
In Scandinavia, the only part used for the hair is the fat found about
the intestines. The great bulk of the fat, which in a large bear may
weigh from sixty to eighty pounds, is used for culinary purposes. Bears'
hams, when smoked, are great delicacies, as are also the paws; and the
flesh of bears is not inferior to our excellent beef.

On a certain memorable day, in 1847, a large hamper reached Oxford, per
Great Western Railway, and was in due time delivered according to its
direction, at Christchurch, consigned to Francis Buckland, Esq., a
gentleman well known in the University for his fondness for natural
history. He opened the hamper, and the moment the lid was removed out
jumped a creature about the size of an English sheep dog, covered with
long shaggy hair, of a brownish color. This was a young bear, born on
Mount Lebanon, in Syria, a few months before, who had now arrived to
receive his education at our learned University. The moment that he was
released from his irksome attitude in the hamper, he made the most of
his liberty, and the door of the room being open, he rushed off down the
cloisters. Service was going on in the chapel, and, attracted by the
pealing organ, or some other motive, he made at once for the chapel.
Just as he arrived at the door, the stout verger happened to come
thither from within, and the moment he saw the impish looking creature
that was rushing into his domain, he made a tremendous flourish with his
silver wand, and, darting into the chapel, ensconced himself in a tall
pew, the door of which he bolted. Tiglath-pe-leser (as the bear was
called), being scared by the silver wand, turned from the chapel, and
scampered frantically about the large quadrangle, putting to flight the
numerous parties of dogs, who in those days made that spot their
afternoon rendezvous. After a sharp chase, a gown was thrown over Tig,
and he was with difficulty secured. During the struggle, he got one of
the fingers of his new master into his mouth, and--did he bite it off?
No, poor thing! but began vigorously sucking it, with that peculiar
mumbling noise for which bears are remarkable. Thus was he led back to
Mr. B.'s rooms, walking all the way on his hind legs, and sucking the
finger with all his might. A collar was put round his neck, and Tig
became a prisoner. His good-nature and amusing tricks soon made him a
prime favorite with the undergraduates; a cap and gown were made,
attired in which (to the great scandal of the _dons_) he accompanied his
master to breakfasts and wine parties, where he contributed greatly to
the amusement of the company, and partook of good things, his favorite
viands being muffins and ices. He was in general of an amiable
disposition, but subject to fits of rage, during which his violence was
extreme; but a kind word, and a finger to suck, soon brought him round.
He was most impatient of solitude, and would cry for hours when left
alone, particularly if it was dark. It was this unfortunate propensity
which brought him into especial disfavor with the Dean of Christchurch,
whose Greek quantities and hours of rest were sadly disturbed by Tig's
lamentations.

On one occasion he was kept in college till after the gates had been
shut, and there was no possibility of getting him out without the porter
seeing him, when there would have been a fine of ten shillings to pay
the next morning; for during this term an edict had gone forth against
dogs, and the authorities not being learned in zoology, could not be
persuaded that a bear was not a dog. Tig was, therefore, tied in a
court-yard near his master's rooms, but that gentleman was soon brought
out by his piteous cries, and could not pacify him in any other way than
by bringing him into his rooms, and at bed time Tig was chained to the
post at the bottom of the bed, where he remained quiet till day-light,
and then shuffling on to the bed, awoke his master by licking his
face--he took no notice, and presently Tig deliberately put his hind
legs under the blankets and covered himself up; there he remained till
chapel time, when his master left him, and on his return found that the
young gentleman had been amusing himself during his solitude by
overturning every thing he could get at in the room, and, apparently,
had had a quarrel and fight with the looking-glass, which was broken to
pieces and the wood work bitten all over. The perpetrator of all this
havoc sat on the bed, looking exceedingly innocent, but rocking backward
and forward as if conscious of guilt and doubtful of the consequences.
Near to Tig's house there was a little monkey tied to a tree, and
Jacko's great amusement was to make grimaces at Tig; and when the latter
composed himself to sleep in the warm sunshine, Jacko would cautiously
descend from the tree, and, twisting his fingers in Tig's long hair,
would give him a sharp pull and in a moment was up the tree again,
chattering and clattering his chain. Tig's anger was most amusing--he
would run backward and forward on his hind legs sucking his paws, and
with his eyes fixed on Jacko, uttering all sorts of threats and
imprecations, to the great delight of the monkey. He would then again
endeavor to take a nap, only to be again disturbed by his little
tormentor. However, these two animals established a truce, became
excellent friends, and would sit for half-an-hour together confronting
each other, apparently holding a conversation. At the commencement of
the long vacation, Tig, with the other members of the University,
retired into the country, and was daily taken out for a walk round the
village, to the great astonishment of the bumpkins. There was a little
shop, kept by an old dame who sold whipcord, sugar-candy, and other
matters, and here, on one occasion, Tig was treated to sugar-candy. Soon
afterward he got loose, and at once made off for the shop, into which
he burst to the unutterable terror of the spectacled and high capped old
lady, who was knitting stockings behind the counter; the moment she saw
his shaggy head and heard the appalling clatter of his chain, she rushed
up stairs in a delirium of terror. When assistance arrived the offender
was discovered, seated on the counter, helping himself most liberally to
brown sugar; and it was with some difficulty, and after much resistance,
that he was dragged away.

Mr. Buckland had made a promise that Tig should pay a visit to a village
about six miles distant, and determined that he should proceed thither
on horseback. As the horse shied whenever the bear came near him, there
was some difficulty in getting him mounted; but at last his master
managed to pull him up by the chain while the horse was held quiet. Tig
at first took up his position in front, but soon walked round and stood
up on his hind legs, resting his fore paws on his master's shoulders. To
him this was exceedingly pleasant, but not so to the horse, who not
being accustomed to carry two, and feeling Tig's claws, kicked and
plunged to rid himself of the extra passenger. Tig held on like grim
death, and stuck in his claws most successfully; for in spite of all the
efforts of the horse he was not thrown. In this way the journey was
performed, the country folks opening their eyes at the apparition.

This reminds us of an anecdote mentioned by Mr. Lloyd: a peasant had
reared a bear which became so tame that he used occasionally to cause
him to stand at the back of his sledge when on a journey; but the bear
kept so good a balance that it was next to impossible to upset him. One
day, however, the peasant amused himself by driving over the very worst
ground he could find, with the intention, if possible, of throwing Bruin
off his equilibrium. This went on for some time, till the animal became
so irritated that he gave his master, who was in front of him, a
tremendous thump on the shoulder with his paw, which frightened the man
so much that he caused the bear to be killed immediately; this, as he
richly deserved the thump, was a shabby retaliation.

When term recommenced, Tiglath-pe-leser returned to the University, much
altered in appearance, for being of the family of silver bears of Syria,
his coat had become almost white; he was much bigger and stronger, and
his teeth had made their appearance, so that he was rather more
difficult to manage; the only way to restrain him when in a rage, was to
hold him by the ears; but on one occasion having lost his temper, he
tore his cap and gown to pieces. About this time the British Association
paid a visit to Oxford, and Tig was an object of much interest. The
writer was present on several occasions when he was introduced to
breakfast parties of eminent savants, and much amusement was created by
his tricks, albeit they were a little rough. In more than one instance
he made sad havoc with book-muslins and other fragile articles of
female attire; on the whole, however, he conducted himself with great
propriety, especially at an evening meeting at Dr. Daubeny's, where he
was much noticed, to his evident pleasure.

Still, however, the authorities at Christchurch, not being zoologists,
had peculiar notions respecting bears; and at length, after numerous
threats and pecuniary penalties, the fatal day arrived, and Tig's master
was informed that either "he or the bear must leave Oxford the next
morning." There was no resisting this, and poor dear Tig was,
accordingly, put into a box--a much larger one than that in which he had
arrived--and sent off to the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park; here he
was placed in a comfortable den by himself; but, alas! he missed the
society to which he had been accustomed, the excitement of a college
life, and the numerous charms by which the University was endeared to
him; he refused his food; he ran perpetually up and down his den in the
vain hope to escape, and was one morning found dead, a victim to a
broken heart!

FOOTNOTES:

[6] See "A History of British Fossil Mammals," by our great Zoologist,
Professor Owen.

[7] The number of visitors to the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park,
during the past year, was very nearly 400,000.

NOT ALL ALONE.

BY ALARIC A. WATTS.

    Not all alone; for thou canst hold
      Communion sweet with saint and sage;
    And gather gems, of price untold,
      From many a consecrated page:
    Youth's dreams, the golden lights of age,
      The poet's lore, are still thine own;
    Then, while such themes thy thoughts engage,
      Oh, how canst thou be all alone?

    Not all alone; the lark's rich note,
      As mounting up to heaven, she sings;
    The thousand silvery sounds that float
      Above, below, on morning's wings;
    The softer murmurs twilight brings--
      The cricket's chirp, cicada's glee;
    All earth, that lyre of myriad strings,
      Is jubilant with life for thee!

    Not all alone; the whispering trees,
      The rippling brook, the starry sky,
    Have each peculiar harmonies
      To soothe, subdue, and sanctify:
    The low, sweet breath of evening's sigh,
      For thee hath oft a friendly tone,
    To lift thy grateful thoughts on high,
      And say--thou art not all alone!

    Not all alone; a watchful Eye,
      That notes the wandering sparrow's fall,
    A saving Hand is ever nigh,
      A gracious Power attends thy call--
    When sadness holds the heart in thrall,
      Oft is His tenderest mercy shown;
    Seek, then, the balm vouchsafed to all,
      And thou canst never be alone!

Monthly Record of Current Events.

POLITICAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

THE UNITED STATES.

The public mind has been almost wholly absorbed, during the past month,
in anxiety for the safety of the American steamer _Atlantic_. She was
known to have left Liverpool on the 28th of December, and was seen four
days out by a packet which afterward reached New York. From that time
until the 16th of February an interval of _fifty days_, nothing whatever
was known of her fate. The anxiety of the public mind was becoming
intense, when, on the evening of February 16th, the _Africa_ arrived
with news of her safety. It seems that on the 6th of January the main
shaft of her engine was broken, which rendered the engine completely
unmanageable. She stood for Halifax until the 11th, against strong head
winds, when it became evident that she could not reach that port before
her provisions would give out, and she accordingly put back for Cork,
where she arrived on the 22d of January. Her mails and passengers came
in the Africa. The Cambria had been chartered to bring her cargo, and
was to sail February 4th. The Atlantic was to be taken to Liverpool for
repairs, which would probably occupy three months. Few events within our
recollection have caused more general joy than the intelligence of her
safety.

CONGRESS, during the past month, has done but little of permanent
interest to any section of the country. Various important subjects have
been extensively discussed, but upon none of them has any favorable or
decisive action been taken. Several attempts have been made, by the
friends of a protective tariff in the House of Representatives, to
insert some provisions in the deficiency and appropriation bills which
would secure an amendment of the existing tariff favorable to their
views. None of these efforts, however, have been successful. A zealous
discussion has also been had upon a bill to establish a branch of the
United States Mint in the city of New York; it met with strong
opposition--especially from the city of Philadelphia and was finally
defeated. A bill concerning the land titles in California has also been
largely discussed in the Senate, and finally passed. A resolution has
been adopted in that body authorizing the President of the United States
to confer the brevet rank of Lieutenant General; it is of course
designed for application to General Scott. A bill further reducing the
rates of postage has passed the House of Representatives. Three cents
was by it adopted as the uniform rate of letter postage. The bill was
very greatly changed in the Senate, and its fate is still doubtful. The
French Spoliation Bill, the project for establishing a line of steamers
on the coast of Africa, and other bills have been before Congress but no
action has been had upon them. The Senate has passed a bill
appropriating ten millions of acres of public lands (equal to twelve
millions five hundred thousand dollars) to be apportioned among the
several States in an equitable ratio, for the endowment of Hospitals for
the indigent insane. This act is one of the most philanthropic and
beneficent ever passed by any legislative body. It has been ably and
zealously pressed upon the attention of Congress by Miss Dix, whose
devotion to the cause of humanity has already won for her a world-wide
reputation.

Elections of United States Senators have been held in several of the
States with various results. In FLORIDA, on the 15th of January, Mr.
MALLORY, Democrat, was elected over Mr. YULEE. In MISSOURI, after a
protracted effort, HENRY S. GEYER, Whig, was elected on the fortieth
ballot, receiving 80 votes against 55 for Mr. BENTON, and 20 scattering.
Mr. GEYER is a German by birth, but came to this country when he was
about three years old. He is now one of the ablest lawyers and most
upright men in the State which he is hereafter in part to represent. In
PENNSYLVANIA, Mr. BROADHEAD, Democrat, was elected without serious
difficulty. In NEW YORK both branches of the Legislature proceeded to
nominate a Senator in accordance with the law upon the subject, on the
4th day of February. In the Assembly HAMILTON FISH was nominated,
receiving 79 votes against 48 for other candidates. In the Senate he had
16 votes, while 16 Senators voted each for a separate candidate, one of
them, Senator BEEKMAN from New York City, being a Whig. After two
ballotings, on Mr. Beekman's motion, the Senate adjourned. No nomination
has been made, nor can the attempt be renewed, except by the passage of
a special law. In MASSACHUSETTS repeated efforts to elect a Senator have
proved unsuccessful. CHARLES SUMNER, Free Soil, has several times lacked
but three or four votes of an election, Mr. WINTHROP being his principal
opponent. The vacancy occasioned by Mr. Webster's resignation has been
filled by the election of Hon. ROBERT RANTOUL. Mr. BOUTWELL was elected
Governor of the State by the Legislature. The effort to elect a Senator
for the next term will be renewed from time to time. In RHODE ISLAND,
after several ballotings, in which two Whigs and one Democrat received
about an equal number of votes each, CHARLES T. JAMES, Esq., Democrat,
was elected, having received a large number of Whig votes. In OHIO, an
attempt to elect a Senator to succeed Mr. EWING, proved ineffectual. Ten
ballots were had, after which the Legislature adjourned, thus abandoning
the effort. In MICHIGAN General CASS has been re-elected United States
Senator by the Legislature.

The Legislature of NORTH CAROLINA has closed its session.
Notwithstanding the strenuous efforts that have been made to excite
among the people of this State serious disaffection toward the Union,
the action of the Legislature has been exceedingly moderate. Resolutions
upon the subject, calculated to inflame the public mind, were laid upon
the table by a very decisive vote. A bill has been passed authorizing an
agricultural, mineralogical, and botanical survey of the State. The
Governor is to make the appointment, and the Surveyor is required
personally, or by his assistants, "to visit every county in the State,
and examine every thing of interest or value in either of the above
departments, to ascertain the nature and character of its products, and
the nature and character of its soil, as well as to give an account of
its minerals."

Gen. Quitman, Governor of Mississippi, has been indicted at New Orleans
on charge of having participated in the unlawful expedition from the
United States against Cuba. He has resigned his office, and given bail
for his appearance in Court, asking for a speedy trial. A number of
others have also been indicted, one of whom, Gen. Henderson, has been
tried. The trial lasted several days, and was conducted on both sides
with great ability. The connection of the accused with the expedition
seemed to have been clearly proved: the jury, however, were not able to
agree on a verdict, four of them, it is said, taking the ground that the
expedition was justifiable and proper.

Intelligence to December 19th has been received from the Commission to
survey the boundary line between Mexico and the United States. The
Mexican Commissioner, Gen. Conde, had joined the American Commissioners
at El Paso. Several conferences were had before a starting point could
be agreed upon for the survey, as the maps of that region were very
inconsistent and imperfect. Throughout New Mexico, according to the most
recent advices, great inconvenience is sustained from Indian
depredations, made in spite of treaty stipulations.

The Arkansas Legislature adjourned January 14, after a session of
seventy-one days, which has been fruitful in acts of local importance.

The Governor of Texas has designated the first Thursday in March as a
day of public thanksgiving. The fact is worthy of record here as an
evidence that this New England custom is steadily making its way into
the new States.

Accidents to steamboats on our Western waters continue to challenge
public attention. The steamer _John Adams_ on the Ohio, on the 27th of
January, struck a snag and sunk in two minutes. One hundred and
twenty-three lives were lost--mostly of emigrants.

Hon. GEORGE F. FORT was installed into office as Governor of New Jersey
on the 21st of January. His inaugural address recommends the
establishment of free schools, the enactment of general incorporation
laws, homestead exemption, &c., and urges a full assent to the
Compromise measures of the last session of Congress.

Some attention has been attracted to a letter from Gen. HOUSTON to Hon.
John Letcher of Virginia, rebuking very severely the attempt made by
South Carolina to induce Virginia to take the lead in a scheme of
secession. Gen. Houston speaks of the Constitution as the most perfect
of human instruments, and refuses to countenance any attempt to alter or
amend its provisions. He says that every intelligent and disinterested
observer must concede that agitation at the North is dying out, that the
laws are obeyed, and that no necessity exists for resisting or
dissolving the Union. The letter exerts a marked influence on the
political movements of the day.

The House of Representatives in Delaware on the 5th of February adopted
a series of resolutions very warmly approving the Compromise measures of
the last session of Congress, and especially the law for the more
effectual enforcement of the provisions of the Constitution requiring
the surrender of fugitive slaves.

Hon. D.S. KAUFMAN, member of Congress from Texas, died very suddenly on
the 31st of January. His decease was ascribed to an affliction of the
heart, but it is supposed by those who knew him most intimately to have
resulted from a wound received by a pistol shot some years since in a
rencontre in the Texas Legislature. The ball had never been extracted.
He was a gentleman of ability and of a very amiable disposition.

A large "Union meeting" was held at Westchester, N.Y., on the 30th of
January. A letter was received from Daniel Webster, regretting his
inability to attend the meeting, and warmly approving its objects. Mr.
Clay also wrote a letter which was read at the meeting, in which he said
that "two classes of disunionists threaten our country: one is that
which is open and undisguised in favor of separation--the other is that
which, disowning a desire of dissolution of the Union, adopts a course
and contends for measures and principles which must inevitably lead to
that calamitous result." He considered the latter the "more dangerous,
because it is deceptive and insidious."

A correspondence between Mr. MATHEW, a British consul, and the Governor
of South Carolina, has excited some attention. Mr. Mathew represents the
very great inconvenience occasioned by the law of South Carolina
requiring the imprisonment of every colored person arriving in her ports
until the departure of the vessel, and the payment of expenses by her
captain. The correspondence is friendly, and the subject has been
referred to a committee in the South Carolina Legislature. The fact of a
correspondence between the representative of a foreign power and one of
the States of the Union, in its separate capacity, excites remark and
censure.

From CALIFORNIA our advices are to the 15th of January. The cholera had
entirely disappeared. The result of the late State election had been
definitely ascertained. In the Senate there is a Whig majority of two,
and in the Assembly a Whig majority of nine. This result is deemed
important on account of the pending election of U.S. Senator in place of
Mr. Frémont. Gov. Burnett has resigned, and Lieut.-Gov. McDougal been
installed in his place. Hon. David C. Broderick, formerly of New York,
was chosen President of the Senate. Renewed difficulties have occurred
with the Indians, and the general impression seemed to be that no
friendly arrangement could be made with them. They demand the free use
of their old hunting-grounds, and will listen to no proposition which
involves their surrender. The settlers, especially on the Trinity and
Klamath rivers, suffer grievously from their marauding incursions, and
have been compelled to raise and arm companies to repel them. A serious
and protracted war is apprehended.

The latest arrival brings the report of a discovery of gold exceeding in
magnitude any before made. Twenty-seven miles beyond the Trinity River,
it is said, is a beach seven miles in extent, bounded by a high bluff. A
heavy sea, breaking upon the shore washes away the lighter sand, and
that which remains is rich to an unparalleled extent. A company has been
formed to proceed to this locality, and the Secretary estimates the sum
which each member will secure, at many millions.

The whole amount of gold dust shipped at San Francisco during the year
1850, is officially stated at $29,441,583. At least twenty millions are
supposed to have gone forward, in addition, in private hands, so that
the total product of the mines during the year is estimated at nearly
fifty millions. The mines in all quarters continued to yield abundant
returns.

MEXICO.

We have intelligence from Mexico to the 25th of January. Congress
assembled on the 1st. The President opened the session by a speech about
an hour in length. He says that the stipulations of the treaty of peace
with the United States have been faithfully observed, and have proved
highly advantageous for Mexico. Three treaties have been concluded
during his administration--one with the United States in regard to the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec, another with the same power concerning the
extradition of criminals, and another with Guatemala on the same
subject. Domestic tranquillity has been preserved throughout the
country; complaint, however, is made that the States transcend their
rightful authority, and thus weaken the General Government; and the
necessity of providing a remedy for this abuse, in order to maintain the
integrity of the Federal Constitution, is strongly urged. Commerce and
manufactures are said to have flourished, and the mining business, which
is the chief resource of Mexico, has been peculiarly good. Their entire
returns during the last year are estimated at thirty millions. The
President urges the propriety of making laws to restrain the
licentiousness of the press. The army has been thoroughly reformed,
consisting now of only 6246 men, all of whom are characterized as "true
soldiers," stationed in places where their services will be most useful
to the Republic. On the 15th, Gen. Arista was inaugurated President of
Mexico. His opening address was brief, pertinent, and patriotic. He
spoke of peace as the first necessity of the Republic, and promised that
it should be "maintained at any cost, as the only manner in which the
happiness and prosperity of the people can be secured." He says that
"every thing will be done by the central authorities to enable the
States to equalize the expenses and their revenues; to multiply their
ways of communication; to augment their agricultural and commercial
industry; in short, to make them great and powerful, attracting to their
bosoms the intelligent, industrious and enlightened population which
they so much need." The address was received with great satisfaction.
The ceremony of the inauguration was extremely brilliant, and was
witnessed by an immense concourse of people. After it was over, the
President and his ministers repaired to the cathedral, where a _Te Deum_
was sung, and prayers offered up for the happiness of the nation. The
personal popularity of Gen. Arista is very great, and the best hopes are
indulged of his administration.

Mr. Letcher, the American Minister, left for the United States, on the
26th, and reached New Orleans Feb. 4th. It was supposed that he brought
the Tehuantepec treaty ratified with him. A revolt against the central
government has occurred in Guanajuato, but it was soon put down by the
troops. A number of the ringleaders in it have been executed. The
Mexican Government has granted to a company styled Rubio, Barron, Garay,
Torre & Co., the whole of the public lands in the State of Sonora,
comprising one of the most valuable tracts in the whole country.

The Yucatan papers complain loudly of the encroachments of the English
in fortifying Belize, and in otherwise interfering in the affairs of the
Peninsula. The American Hydrographic Party was busily engaged in
surveying the route across the Isthmus.

CENTRAL AMERICA.

From NICARAGUA we have intelligence to the 13th of January. A rich
placer of gold is said to have been discovered about eight miles from
Realejo. The crops throughout the country have been seriously threatened
by immense flocks of locusts. In consequence of the alarm created by
this menaced destruction, the Government has thrown open all the ports
of the country to the free admission of all kinds of grain. Don Jose
Sacasa has been elected Director of Nicaragua--the term of the present
incumbent expiring on the 1st of May. The difficulties between the
Government of San Salvador and the British Charge, Mr. Frederick
Chatfield, have led to the blockade by the latter, on behalf of his
Government, of all the ports of San Salvador. Mr. Chatfield resorted to
this extreme measure because the Government refused to comply with his
demands, that they should countermand certain instructions they had
given to their agents, and contradict, officially, certain statements
concerning the British Government made in the public prints of San
Salvador. The cause of this blockade was certainly somewhat singular;
but the form of it was still more so; for by its terms, British vessels
were excluded from its operation. Mr. Chatfield has also written a
letter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua, complaining of
the unwillingness of that Government to negotiate with Great Britain,
acting on behalf of the King of Mosquito, for a boundary between the
territories of Mosquito and those of Nicaragua; and saying that, "as a
proof of the conciliatory spirit of the British Government," it had
determined to prescribe and maintain a certain boundary line, which is
designated. He adds that the British government is still willing to
treat on the subject, and urges the importance of "coming to a friendly
understanding with the Mosquito government, since _no canal_, or any
other improved mode of transit across the Isthmus, can well be
established before the difficulty, raised by Nicaragua on this point, is
put an end to." In a subsequent letter, enforcing the necessity of
arranging the claims of a British house for damages, Mr. Chatfield makes
a singular but evident allusion to the hopes entertained by the
Government of Nicaragua of aid from the United States. He says that,
"Whatever assurances Nicaragua may receive that the conduct of its
Government, however irregular it may be toward another, will at all
times find support from third parties, still the Government of Nicaragua
must feel that no reliance should be placed on such assurances, as no
foreign Government will compromise political and commercial interests on
the behalf of a country whose rulers reject the ordinary means of
settling matters open to dispute, by argument, and negotiation."

From VALPARAISO we have intelligence to January 2d. The U.S. Corvette
Vincennes had been at that port, and took the American Minister, Hon.
Bailie Peyton, on a visit to the province of Conception. A very
destructive fire had occurred at Valparaiso, at which property to the
value of a quarter of a million of dollars was consumed. Congress met
December 16th, in extra session. A law had been passed authorizing the
Executive to reform the Custom-House regulations. A law is under
discussion making an appropriation of $36,000 annually to the Pacific
Steam Navy. By an existing law of the country, eight acres of land are
given to each foreign colonist: a new law is proposed, largely
increasing the grant. The sum of $2244 has been voted to afford
temporary residences for a colony of German emigrants. These facts are
important indications of the efforts made to invite foreigners into the
country. HENRI HERZ, the pianist, was at Valparaiso on the 1st of
January. On the 5th, there was an eruption of the volcano of Portillo,
near Santiago.

GREAT BRITAIN.

It is decided that Parliament is to be opened by the Queen in person, on
the 4th of February. Speculation is rife as to the course of Government
upon the subject of the "Papal Aggressions," of which though there are
many rumors, nothing authentic has transpired. The excitement upon this
subject, though the mode of manifestation is changed, seems not to have
died away. It occupies less space in the newspapers, and fewer public
meetings are held; the discussion now being carried on in books and
pamphlets, of which the last month has produced about one hundred, in
addition to nearly two hundred before published. In the address of the
English prelates to the Queen, which was noticed in our last Number, no
mention was made of the Irish Church. The bishops of that country have
taken the matter up, and have protested both to her Majesty and to their
English brethren, against any proceedings which shall imply that the two
branches of the Episcopal Church have separate rights and interests. The
Church question, in various aspects, can not well fail of being the
prominent one in the ensuing session of Parliament. A movement has been
set on foot, by the High Church Party with a view to a _convocation_ for
the settlement of various questions in debate within the Church; at a
public meeting for this object speeches marked by peculiar acrimony were
made. Secessions to the Roman Church, among the higher classes and the
clergy, are more frequent than at any former period.

The unwonted prospect of a surplus in the revenue, has occasioned
propositions for the abolition of many of the most onerous and odious
taxes. Among those spoken of are the window tax, the tax on paper, that
on tea, and the malt tax. The paper tax seems to be the favorite of the
press; but the probability is that the reduction will be made upon the
window tax. The question threatens to be an embarrassing one for the
Ministry, who will find it difficult to decide among so many conflicting
claims.

The Austrian government has officially demanded that punishment should
be inflicted upon those persons who committed the assault upon General
Haynau. After a somewhat prolonged correspondence the British Home
Secretary declined to make any inquiry into the matter, on the plea that
"it could not be attended with any satisfactory result." The refusal of
General Haynau to enter any complaint before the authorities is assigned
as the ground for this conclusion. Prince Schwartzenberg, in his closing
dispatch, hints that the Austrian government may consider it "befitting
to exercise reciprocity with regard to British subjects who may happen
to be in Austria."

In the colonies, the process of "annexation" goes on steadily. In India
one or two extensive districts are in course of absorption. At the Cape
of Good Hope, the Governor has deposed the most powerful of the Kaffir
chiefs, and appointed a British officer to assume the control of his
people. In Australia vehement opposition has sprung up against the
transportation system; and there is reason to suppose that this outlet
for the criminal population of Great Britain will soon be closed.

The "Crystal Palace," is so far completed that it has been made over
into the hands of the Commissioners. Severe storms have luckily
occurred, which have proved the entire stability of the edifice, not a
pane of glass, even, of which has been broken by them. Mr. Paxton has
written a letter to Lord John Russell, strenuously urging that after the
first fortnight, and with the exception of one day in each week,
admission to the Exhibition be gratis.

FRANCE.

From France the political intelligence is of considerable importance,
not so much on its own account, as showing a deep and increasing
hostility between the President and the National Assembly. This feeling
has been manifested by several incidents, and has caused within three
weeks three separate Ministries, besides an interregnum of a week. The
personal adherents of the President in the Assembly have never
constituted more than a third of that body; but he has always succeeded
in carrying his measures by dexterously pitting one party against the
other: each party preferring him to their opponents. But when the
President's designs for the perpetuation of his power became apparent,
all parties began to look upon General Changarnier as in some sort a
counterpoise. A collision having arisen between the General and the
Ministers, the Assembly took part with the former, whereupon the
Ministry resigned. The President, despite the remonstrances of the
leaders of the Assembly, made the dismissal of Changarnier a _sine quâ
non_ in the appointment of a new Ministry. He at length succeeded in
forming one that would take this step; and the General was dismissed,
and the enormous military functions he had exercised were divided among
a number of officers. A fierce opposition at once sprang up against the
new Ministry. A singular coalition was formed, mainly through the
tactics of M. Thiers, of Conservatives, Cavaignac Republicans, and ultra
Democrats, so that a vote declaring want of confidence in the Ministry
passed by 417 to 278; whereupon this Ministry resigned. No man of all
the majority could be found who would undertake to form a Ministry from
its discordant elements; a like attempt to form one from the minority in
the Assembly was unsuccessful. At last, the President formed one of
which not an individual was a member of the Assembly. Throughout the
whole of these transactions, Louis Napoleon has shown a political skill
and dexterity scarcely inferior to that manifested in the field by the
Great Emperor. With vastly inferior forces at his command, he has gained
every point: he has got rid of his most formidable rival, Changarnier;
he has convinced, apparently, the middle classes that the only hope of
peace and stability lies in his possession of power; and the Assembly
have been driven into acts of opposition which can bear no other
interpretation than that of a factious struggle for power. The position
of the President is considerably strengthened by the late occurrences.

GERMANY.

The Dresden Free Conference is still in session, and matters seem as
impracticable as the Genius of Mysticism could desire. Enough has
transpired to show that the minor Powers have not been alarmed without
good reason. The cordial understanding between Austria and Prussia is
displayed perhaps too ostentatiously to be altogether sincere; but there
can be no doubt that the two governments have combined to aggrandize
themselves at the expense of the others. It seems to be determined that
the new Executive Committee will be composed of eleven votes, of which
Austria and Prussia are each to have two. The Committee of the old
Confederation consisted of seventeen votes, of which those Powers had
one each, and even then it was complained that their influence was
excessive. It is admitted on all hands that any approach to a nearer
union is impracticable at present; that the Dresden Conference is quite
as incapable of improvising a German Nation, as was that assembly of
pedants and pettifoggers that called itself the Frankfort
Parliament.----Hostilities have ceased in Schleswig-Holstein, the
stadtholderate of which have yielded their functions to the
commissioners of the Confederation.----The first trial by jury at
Vienna, took place, under the new Austrian Constitution, on the 15th of
January.

LITERATURE, SCIENCE, ART, PERSONAL MOVEMENTS, ETC.

UNITED STATES.

The literary incidents of the month have not been very noteworthy.
JAMES, the English novelist, has been lecturing at Albany to large and
interested audiences. He has bought a residence at Stockbridge, Mass.,
where he will reside, in the immediate neighborhood of Longfellow, the
Sedgwicks, and other literary celebrities. A series of valuable lectures
upon Art have been delivered before the Artists of New York, in
pursuance of a very excellent plan adopted by their Association. The
first of the series was delivered by HENRY JAMES, Esq., and was an
excellent critical exposition of the nature and characteristics of Art.
He was followed by GEORGE W. CURTIS, Esq., in a fine sketch of the
condition and prospects of Art on the Continent. The leading idea of his
lecture was that Art never promised more abundant results than now.

Congress at its last session appropriated two thousand dollars to
commence the purchase of a library for the use of the President of the
United States. It is a little singular that a project so eminently
useful should have been so long neglected. Its execution has been now
undertaken with spirit, under the direction of Mr. Charles Lanman.

The birth-day of BURNS was celebrated by a public dinner on the 25th of
January at the Astor House, in New York. The poet BRYANT was present as
a guest, and made a very happy speech, in which he said that the fact
that Burns had taken a local dialect, and made it classical and given it
a character of universality, was of itself sufficient to stamp him as a
man of the highest order of genius.

Mr. HOE, celebrated for his printing presses, has just completed a new
one, having eight cylinders, and thus throwing off eight sheets at each
revolution, for the use of the _Sun_ newspaper in New York. He was the
recipient lately of a public dinner given to him by the proprietors of
the paper, at which several of the most eminent literary celebrities in
the country were present as guests. The occasion was one of interest: we
hope it may be deemed indicative of a growing disposition to tender
public honors to the benefactors, as well as to the destroyers, of their
race.

The literary productions of the month will be found noticed in another
department of this Magazine. Several works of interest are promised by
the leading publishers. The Harpers have in press a volume of traveling
sketches, entitled _Nile Notes_, by an American, which will be found to
be one of the best of its kind. It is written with great vivacity and
with very marked ability. Many of its chapters are fully equal to
_Eothen_, and the work in its general characteristics is not at all
inferior to that spirited and admirable book. The Harpers have also in
press a work by Mr. H.M. FIELD, giving a succinct history of the _Great
Irish Rebellion_ with biographical sketches of the most prominent of the
Irish Confederates. It will find a wide circle of readers. The Harpers
are also about to publish MAYHEW'S _London Labor and the London Poor in
the Nineteenth Century_, made up of his Letters in the London _Morning
Chronicle_ upon that subject, revised and extended. These papers reveal
a state of things not at all creditable to the English people or to the
age in which we live. As originally published in London they excited
great attention and have done much toward arousing the public sense of
justice to the poor.

COOPER, the novelist, has a work in preparation upon the Social History
of this country. It will probably, however, not be published until fall.
Mr. Putnam has in progress a new and very elegantly printed uniform
edition of his novels. Another New York house promise a complete edition
of Joanna Baillie's poems, with a new edition of Elizabeth Barret
Browning.

Prof. AGASSIZ, the celebrated Naturalist, is making a survey of the
Florida reefs and keys, in the hope that he may throw some light upon
their formation and growth. He is nominally attached to the Coast
Survey.

American scholars still continue their valuable contributions to
classical learning. Prof. DRISLER, of Columbia College, one of the most
thorough and accurate linguists in the country, is engaged upon an
_English-Greek Lexicon_, which will be a most valuable aid to the
classical student, in connection with similar works by the same author
hitherto issued.

In the departments of religious and theological literature, we find
indications of renewed activity among the divines of our country. Prof.
J. ADDISON ALEXANDER, of Princeton, has a new critical and exegetical
work in the course of preparation. Rev. Dr. SPRING will soon publish,
through M.W. Dodd, a volume under the title of _First Things_, a series
of lectures designed to set forth and illustrate some of the facts and
moral duties earliest revealed to mankind. From Rev. Dr. CONDIT, of
Newark, we are to have a work entitled _The Christian Home_, setting
forth the relations, duties, and benefits of the domestic institution.
Rev. H.A. ROWLAND, author of a work on the Common Maxims of Infidelity,
has in press a volume under the title of _The Path of Life_.

The late EDMOND CHARLES GENET, Embassador from the Republic of France to
this country at the close of the last century, left behind him, at his
decease, a vast amount of papers, consisting of journals of his life,
letters from the prominent statesmen and politicians of this country,
and correspondence with his sister, the celebrated Madame Campan. It is
understood that members of his family are arranging them with a view to
publication. From the close social and political relations which M.
Genet, after his dismissal from the embassy, bore to the prominent
politicians of the Democratic party, there can be no doubt that these
papers, if judiciously edited, will throw much light upon the political
history of the period preceding the war of 1812.

It is known by those familiar with current Continental literature, that
the wife of Prof. EDWARD ROBINSON published, some time since, in
Germany, under her usual pseudonym, TALVI, a very full and excellent
history of the early Colonization of New England. This work has lately
been translated from German into English by William Hazlitt, and
published in London. It was published originally at Leipsic in 1847. We
presume it will be reprinted here.

Rev. H.T. CHEEVER's _Whale and his Captors_ has been reprinted in
London, with a preface by Dr. SCORESBY, who commends it very highly.

EUROPEAN.

The London _Leader_ destroys the romance of Lamartine's visit to
England. It seems, according to that paper, that he did not go for the
philosophic purpose of studying the country, but to make bargains for
the publication of his _History of the Directory_, which he offered for
five thousand pounds. The publishers, he urged, could issue it
simultaneously in England, France, and Germany, and so secure an
enormous profit. "Our countrymen," says the _Leader_, "with an
indifference to Mammon worthy of a philosopher, declined the magnificent
proposal: and Lamartine returned to France and sold his work to an
association of publishers for 12,000 francs, which he hopes to get." He
is also to publish a new novel in the _feuilleton_ of the _Siècle_.

EDMOND TEXIER, a French journalist, has published a very lively history
of French journals and journalists. It is a small and unelaborate book,
but is exceedingly readable. Political writers in France, it will be
remembered, are required to sign their names to their articles. The
_Vote Universel_ recently contained a strong essay signed by GILLAND.
The Attorney-general prosecuted the paper, alleging that the article was
written by GEORGE SAND, and citing the bad spelling of Gilland's private
letters as a proof that he could not have been the writer. Madame George
Sand peremptorily denies having written a line of the article, and avers
that Rousseau himself, in a single letter in her possession, makes three
mistakes in spelling three lines, owing to the difficult and capricious
rules of the French language.

Lady MORGAN has published a pamphlet on the Roman Catholic Controversy.
It is in the form of a letter to Cardinal WISEMAN, and is a defense of
herself against an attack upon a passage in her book on Italy. In that
book she had related a curious anecdote. She said that when Bonaparte
entered Italy the enthroned chair of St. Peter, contained in the
magnificent shrine of bronze which closes the view of the nave in St.
Peter's Cathedral, was brought into a better light and the cobwebs
brushed off. Certain curious letters were discovered on the surface,
which were deciphered and found to contain the Arabian formula, "There
is but one God, and Mahomet is his prophet." Cardinal Wiseman branded
this story as "false, foolish, slanderous, and profligate." Lady Morgan
gives as her authority for it the eminent _savans_ Denon and
Champollion, who saw the inscription, deciphered it, and told its
meaning in her presence. Her letter is ably written, and excites
attention.--Lady Morgan is said to be the oldest living writer who
continues to write: for though Miss Joanna Baillie is some five years,
and Rogers perhaps ten years her senior, neither of the latter has
touched a pen in the way of authorship for a long time; whereas Lady
Morgan, for all her blindness, has, according to the Liverpool Albion,
for a good while back, been a regular contributor to one of the London
morning journals.

The British government has bestowed a pension of £100 a year upon the
widow of the celebrated Belzoni, who died fifteen years ago. The public
satisfaction at this announcement is tempered with surprise that the
pension was not bestowed fifteen years ago. Mr. Poole, the author of
"Paul Pry," and other literary works of a light character, has received
a retiring pension of the same amount. Similar pensions have been
granted to George Petrie, LL.D., author of "The Round Towers of
Ireland," and other antiquarian works; and to Dr. KITTO, editor of the
"Pictorial Bible," "Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature," and other works
in that department of letters. Dr. Kitto, although deaf from an early
age, in consequence of an accident, has traveled over many lands in
connection with the Missionary Society.

Letters from Rome announce the death in that city of Mr. Ritchie, the
sculptor, of Edinburgh. The circumstances are peculiarly melancholy. It
had been the dream of Mr. Ritchie's life to go to Rome; this year he was
able to travel, and he arrived in that city in September last, with some
friends as little acquainted with the nature of the malaria as himself.
With these friends it appears that he made a visit to Ostia; the season
was dangerous; the party took no precautions, and they all caught the
malaria fever. He died after a few days' illness, and was followed to
the grave by most of the English and American artists in Rome.

AUSTEN HENRY LAYARD, whose enterprise has opened a new field for
historical research, was born in Paris, March 5, 1817. His father, who
was Dean of Bristol, filled a high civil office in Ceylon, between the
years 1820 and 1830. The early years of the future explorer of Nineveh
were spent in Florence, where he early acquired his artistic tastes and
skill as a draughtsman. On returning to England, young Layard commenced
the study of law, but his love of adventure rendered this profession
distasteful to him, and he abandoned it. In 1839 he left England, with
no very definite object in view, visited Russia and the North of Europe,
and spent some time in Germany. Thence he took his course toward the
Danube, and visited the semi-barbarous provinces on the Turkish
frontier, which form the debatable ground between the Orient and the
Occident. In Montenegro he passed some time, aiding an active young
Chief in his efforts to ameliorate the condition of his subjects. From
hence he passed into the East, where he led the life of an Arab of the
desert, and acquired a thorough knowledge of the languages of Arabia and
Turkey. We next find him in Persia, Asia Minor, and Syria, where he
visited almost every spot made memorable by history or tradition. He now
felt an irresistible desire to penetrate to the regions beyond the
Euphrates, to which history and tradition point as the birth-place of
the wisdom of the West. At Constantinople, he fell in with the English
Embassador, Sir Stratford Canning, by whom he was encouraged to
undertake and carry on those excavations amid the Assyrian and
Babylonian ruins, which have conclusively demonstrated that a gigantic
civilization had passed away before what we are accustomed to call
ancient civilization dawned, a civilization stretching back almost to
the days when the ark rested upon Ararat; a civilization which was old
when the pyramids were young. And, what is still more remarkable, the
relics of this civilization are more perfect and beautiful in proportion
to the remoteness of their date, the earlier of these ancient sculptures
being invariably the noblest in design, and the most exquisite and
elaborate in execution.

In 1848, Mr. Layard visited England for a few months, where,
notwithstanding the monthly attacks of an aguish fever contracted in the
damp apartments which he was obliged to inhabit while prosecuting his
excavations at Nimroud, he prepared for the press the two volumes of his
Nineveh and its Remains, executed the drawings for the hundred plates,
and a volume of inscriptions in the cuneiform character for the British
Museum.

The last survivor of Cook's voyage, a sailor named John Wade, is said to
be now begging his bread at Kingston-on-Thames. He is within a few
months of completing his hundredth year, having been born in New York in
May, 1751. He was with Cook when he was killed on the Island of Hawaii;
and is said to have served at the battles of Cape St. Vincent,
Teneriffe, the Nile, Copenhagen, Camperdown, and Trafalgar.

An interesting collection of sketches, by members of the Sketching
Society has been opened to the public. This society numbers among its
members the two Chalons, Bone, Christall, Partridge, Stump, Leslie,
Stanfield, and Uwins. What gives to the present collection a unique
interest is that they are entirely impromptu productions, three hours
being the limit allowed for their completion. At each meeting of the
society the president announces a subject, and the drawings are made on
the spot.

Sir Roger de Coverley's chaplain is familiar to the recollection of all.
He has lately found an imitator. The Vicar of Selby announced a few
weeks since, that he should that day commence reading the sermons of
others, as there were many productions of the ablest divines which were
altogether unknown to his parishioners; and he thought the time spent in
writing so many new sermons might be more usefully employed in other
matters connected with his profession. He then proceeded to read a
sermon which he said he had heard preached at the University with great
effect.

Professor OWEN, in 1840, had submitted to him for examination, a fossil
body, which he was enabled to identify as the tooth of some species of
whale. It was subsequently discovered that certain crags upon the coast
of Suffolk, especially one at Felixstow, contained an immense quantity
of fossils of a similar character, which examinations, undertaken by
Owen and Henslow, showed to be rolled and water-worn fragments of the
skeletons of extinct species of mammals, mostly of the whale kind. This
discovery has been shown by a recent trial in the English courts, to be
of immense pecuniary value. A Mr. Lawes took out a patent for the
manufacture of super-phosphate of lime, as a substitute for bone-dust,
for agricultural purposes, by applying sulphuric acid to any mineral
whatever, known or unknown, which might contain the phosphate of lime.
It was found that these fossil remains contained of this from 50 to 60
per cent., and Mr. Lawes undertook to extend his patent so as to include
the production of the super-phosphate from them. In this he was
unsuccessful, the court deciding that he could not claim a monopoly of
all the fossil remains in the country. It was shown on the trial, that
an income of more than $50,000 a year has been derived from the use of
this phosphate.

A number of classical works of decided interest have recently been
published; among them are: _Platonis Opera Omnia_. This new edition of
Plato is edited by Stallbaum, whose name is a sufficient guarantee for
the faithful editorial care bestowed upon it. It is in one volume, small
folio, uniform with the edition of Aristotle by Weisse, and that of
Cicero by Nobbe.--Lachmann's edition of _Lucretius_ supplies a want
which has been long felt of a good critical edition of the philosophical
poet. The volume of the text is accompanied by a critical commentary in
a separate volume.--The second part of the second volume of Professor
Ritschl's edition of _Plautus_ containing the "Pseudulus," has appeared.
The editor has the reputation of being the best Plautinian scholar in
Germany. He has spent years in the preparation of this edition, having
undertaken an entirely new recension of the works of the great dramatic
poet.--_Corpus Inscriptionum Græcarum._ This important work, under the
editorial charge of the veteran Böckh, with whom is associated Franz, is
rapidly approaching completion. The third part of the third volume is
published. A fourth part, which will complete the work, is promised
speedily.

From the press of the Imperial Academy at St. Petersburgh has appeared
the first volume of a collection of _Mohammedan Sources for the History
of the Southern Coasts of the Caspian Sea_. The volume contains 643
pages of the Persian text of the history of Tabaristan, Rujan, and
Massanderan, by Seher-Eddin, edited, with a German introduction, by
Bernhard Dorn, Librarian of the Imperial Library. It gives a history,
commencing with the mythical ages and ending with the year 1476, of the
various dynasties which have ruled those regions, which have scarcely
been brought within the light of authentic history, but to which we must
look for the solution of many interesting problems in relation to the
progress and development of the race. The editor promises forthwith a
translation of the history, with annotations.

Professor HEINRICH EWALD, of Göttingen, has just put forth a translation
of and commentary upon the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, marked by
that free dealing with the sacred text characteristic of the
Rationalistic school. He proposes to himself the task of separating what
he supposes to be the original substance of the evangelical narrative
from subsequent additions and interpolations--"to free the kernel from
the Mosaic husk." The author had intended to delay the publication of
this commentary until after the publication of his History of the Jews;
but he thought he perceived in the present state of religion in Germany,
and especially in the alarming decline of the religious element among
the masses of the people, a call upon him to furnish an antidote--such
as it is. In the preface he takes occasion to make some severe
criticisms upon the politics of the day, and in particular those of
Prussia.

OBITUARIES.

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON, the Ornithologist, died at his residence a few miles
from New York, on the 27th of January. He was born in Louisiana, about
1775, of French parentage, traces of which were apparent through life in
the foreign intonation with which he spoke the English language,
although he wrote it with great vigor and correctness. He early
manifested that enthusiastic love of nature, which subsequently became
his ruling passion, and the mainspring of all his endeavors through
life. In the preface to his "Ornithological Biography," he gives a vivid
sketch of the growth of his fondness for the winged creation. "None but
aerial companions," says he, "suited my fancy; no roof seemed so secure
to me as that formed of the dense foliage under which the feathered
tribes were seen to resort, or the caves and fissures of the massy rocks
to which the dark-winged cormorant and the curlew retired to rest, or to
protect themselves from the fury of the tempest." With increasing years,
a desire for the actual possession of his favorites grew up in his
mind. But this longing was nowise satiated by the possession of them
dead: with their life their charms were gone. At this period his father
showed him a book of illustrations--of no very high artistic excellence,
we may well believe. A bush thrown into certain solutions, in a
particular state, will cause crystalization. The young enthusiast's mind
was in such a state--the vague desires, the indefinite longings
crystalized around that Book of Illustrations. He longed to be a
creator. To imitate by lines and colors the beings he loved, became the
passion of his life. But like all true artists, he was at first doomed
to experience the disappointment of being unable to realize his ideal:
his drawings so far from truly representing the originals, were even
inferior to the engravings in his book. Every year he made hundreds,
which he regularly burned upon every succeeding birthday.

In his sixteenth year he was sent to Paris to pursue his education.
There he studied drawing under the revolutionary painter David. But his
heart was ever in his native woods, and after a stay of eighteen months
he gladly returned. His father now gave him a farm near Philadelphia, at
the junction of the Pekioming Creek and the Schuylkill. Here he married,
and entered into mercantile transactions, apparently with ill success.
He was in the forests when he should have been in the counting-house, if
he would succeed in business. His friends looked askance at him, as one
who only made drawings when he might have made money. They were
doubtless correct in their estimate of his capacity. That indomitable
spirit which bore him thousands of miles through the untrodden
wilderness, softened the earth or the branch of a tree for his bed;
"bore bravely up his chin" when he swam the swollen stream, with his
rifle and painting materials lashed above his head--was doubtless
adequate, if directed to that end, to have gained any given amount of
money. Pegasus made an indifferent plow-horse; and Audubon but a poor
trader. So after ten years of this divided pursuit, one bright October
morning found him floating down the Ohio in a skiff in which were his
wife and child, his scanty wares, and a couple of negro rowers. He set
up his household gods at Henderson, Kentucky, where he resided for some
years, and engaged again, with a partner, in trade. Still he was
accustomed to make long excursions, with no companion but his dog and
rifle, a tin box strapped to his side containing his brushes and paints.
All this while his collection of drawings, which was subsequently to
constitute the "Birds of America," grew under his hand; yet strange to
say, the thought of publishing never entered his mind.

One spring day in 1810, a stranger entered the counting-room of Audubon,
presented specimens of a book he was preparing, and requested his
patronage. The stranger was Alexander Wilson, and the book was his
"American Ornithology." Audubon was about to subscribe for it, when his
partner asked him, in French, why he did so, assuring him that his own
drawings were far better, and that he must be as well acquainted with
the habits of American birds as the stranger could be. Wilson asked if
Audubon had any drawings of birds. A large portfolio was exhibited: and
the veteran ornithologist could not avoid the conclusion that his own
efforts were far surpassed. He became sad, and though Audubon showed him
every attention, loaned him drawings, and accompanied him through the
neighboring woods, the thought of being excelled was more than he could
bear. He departed, shaking the dust from his feet, and entered in his
diary that "literature or art had not a friend in the place."

The year following, we find Audubon far down among the bayous of
Florida, still engaged in collecting materials for his work; yet still,
apparently, with no definite purpose of publication. Of the next ten or
twelve years of his life, we have no particular accounts. But we
understand that he has left behind him an autobiography, which will
doubtless be made public, and which we venture to predict, will exceed
in interest and adventure the lion-king Cumming's African exploits,
springing as Audubon's did from high devotion to science, instead of the
mere animal instinct of destruction. All this while his great work was
growing. But in a single night the result of the labor of years was
destroyed by a pair of rats, who selected a box containing two hundred
drawings, with more than a thousand figures, as a place in which to rear
their plundering brood. "The burning heat," says he, "which rushed
through my brain was too great to be endured without affecting the whole
of my nervous system. I slept not for several nights, and the days
passed like days of oblivion, until the dormant powers being aroused
into action through the strength of my constitution, I took up my gun,
my note-book, and my pencils, and went forward to the woods as gayly as
though nothing had happened." In three years his portfolios were again
full.

In 1824, Audubon found himself at Philadelphia, on his way to the great
lakes. Here he was introduced to Lucien Bonaparte, who seems to have
induced him to determine upon the publication of his work. A year and a
half of happy toil ensued, enlivened by a new object. He had loved and
wooed Nature for her own dear self; but now he began to feel
presentiments that his bride would raise him to a throne among the
immortals. In 1826 he set sail for England. His first feeling was that
of despondency. What was he, whose acquirements had been won by the
solitary wanderings of more than a quarter of a century, amid lonely
forest solitudes; what could he be in comparison with those who had been
trained and taught by intercourse with civilized life? But these
feelings were of brief duration. The wonderful backwoodsman was warmly
welcomed by the best and wisest men of Europe. Cuvier was his admirer,
Alexander von Humboldt became his cherished friend and correspondent.
"The hearts of all," wrote Wilson, "warmed toward Audubon, who were
capable of conceiving the difficulties, dangers, and sacrifices that
must have been encountered, endured, and overcome, before genius could
have embodied these, the glory of its innumerable triumphs."

And so Audubon was encouraged to publish his work. It was a vast
undertaking. It would take sixteen years to accomplish it; he was now
somewhat declined into the vale of years, and would be an old man when
it was completed; and when the first drawings were put into the hands of
the engraver he had not a single subscriber. But his heart was upborne
by reliance on that Power, on whom depends success. After three years
spent in Europe, he returned to America in 1829, leaving his work in
process of execution in Edinburgh. Toward the close of 1830 his first
volume, containing one hundred plates, every figure of the size and
colors of life, was issued. It was hailed with universal applause; royal
names headed his subscription list, which, at one thousand dollars each,
reached the number of 175, of whom eighty were Americans. His name was
enrolled among the members of the learned Societies of Great Britain
and the Continent, and the world claimed him among her great men.

In the Autumn of 1831, Audubon visited Washington, where he received
from Government letters of protection and assistance, to be used at all
national ports, revenue, and naval stations. Having been delayed by
sickness, he proceeded upon his expedition toward the close of the
following summer. He tracked the forests of Maine, explored the shores
of the British provinces, bringing back rich spoils; and returned to
Charleston, to spend the winter in the preparation of his drawings and
the accompanying descriptions. In 1834 he published his second volume.
The three following years were passed in exploring expeditions, mostly
to the South, one of which was to Florida, another to Texas, in a vessel
placed at his disposal by Government, and in the preparation of his
drawings and descriptions. At the close of this period he published the
fourth and last volume of plates, and the fifth of descriptions. The
whole work contained 435 plates, comprising more than a thousand figures
of birds, all drawn of the size of life, in their natural attitudes and
circumstances, and colored from nature.

In 1839 Audubon commenced in this country the republication of the
"Birds of America," in seven large octavo volumes, which were issued
during the succeeding five years. Before the expiration of this period,
however, he commenced the preparation of the "Quadrupeds of America," of
which he had materials for five large volumes: in the literary
department of which he was assisted by Dr. Bachman, of Charleston. This
has recently been concluded, and forms a monument to his memory hardly
less imposing than his earlier work. In the meanwhile, though more than
sixty winters had passed over his head, he projected an expedition to
the Rocky Mountains, with all the adventurous spirit of his youth. But
he perhaps over-rated his physical capabilities; at least the expedition
was not made. The concluding years of his life were passed on the
beautiful estate of Minniesland, upon the Hudson, some ten miles from
New York. For several years his health had been giving way, until the
time when he passed from earth to the still land of the immortals. His
was a happy life. He had found his vocation, and pursued it for long
years, earnestly, faithfully, and triumphantly. The forms of beauty
which won his early love, and drew him into the broad forests, he
brought back to cheer us who can not follow his footsteps. He has linked
himself with the undying loveliness of Nature; and, therefore, his works
are a possession to all men forevermore.

JOSEPH BEM, the famous Polish General in the late Hungarian war, died at
Aleppo in the early part of December. It is somewhat singular that
during the whole course of hostilities he declared his conviction that
he should survive until the year 1850. Bem was born in 1795 at Tarnow in
Gallicia. Having completed his education at the Military School in
Warsaw, he entered the army, and served as lieutenant of artillery in
the divisions of Davoust and Macdonald. On the conclusion of peace, he
remained with the Polish army, who were now in the Russian service,
where he attained the rank of captain and adjutant, and was finally
appointed teacher in the Artillery School at Warsaw. Dissatisfied with
his position, he applied for a discharge, which was granted; but for
some unexplained cause he was summoned before a court-martial, and
sentenced to an imprisonment of two months. From 1825 to the outbreak of
the Polish insurrection in 1830, he resided at Lemberg, where he busied
himself with mechanical and mathematical studies. When the rising of the
Poles took place, he hastened to Warsaw, was appointed major, and
obtained the command of a regiment of flying artillery. For his
distinguished services at the battles of Igania and Ostrolenka he was
raised successively to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and colonel, and
received the command of the Polish artillery. At Ostrolenka he was
wounded, but as he lay upon the ground, he directed the movements of his
guns. When the cause of Poland was lost, he headed the first emigration
to France, where the greater portion of the next eighteen years was
spent. In 1833 he entered into negotiations with Don Pedro of Portugal
to raise a Polish regiment for his service; but the project was
unsuccessful; and Bem incurred the suspicions of his fellow exiles, by
one of whom an attempt was made to assassinate him. The following years
he passed in France and England, where we trace him by several treatises
which he published upon the organization of artillery, the manufacture
of powder, the distillation of brandy, the modes of working in wood and
metal, and a system of mnemonics. He also taught languages, for a time,
for very scanty pay, at London and Oxford, but was obliged to abandon
this occupation in consequence of a surgical operation for the
extraction of a bullet; for a time he was in receipt of the few
shillings weekly which the Polish Association were able to bestow upon
destitute exiles. The bread of exile which Dante found so bitter, was
sweet compared with that which Bem, for long years, was forced to taste.
He made an attempt to establish a Polytechnic Company, near Paris, which
failed from the want of adequate funds.

Upon the breaking out of the revolutions of 1848, we find Bem in the
thick of the conflict. On the 14th of October he made his appearance at
Vienna, where he endeavored to organize the revolt in the Austrian
capital. Here he could never have anticipated success; but he was aware
that resistance in Vienna would give the Hungarians time to arm. Finding
the cause hopeless in Vienna, he betook himself to Kossuth, at Comorn.
Here he had some difficulty in proving his identity; but at length Bem
succeeded in winning the confidence of the Hungarian ruler. At Pesth,
where he concerted future operations with Kossuth, another attempt was
made to assassinate Bem by a young Pole who had conceived the idea that
he had betrayed the popular cause at Vienna. From Pesth Bem was
dispatched by Kossuth to Transylvania, in order to organize the revolt
against Austria. The transactions in Transylvania formed perhaps the
most brilliant portion of the whole Hungarian war. In the course of ten
weeks, with a newly raised army, always inferior in force to the enemy,
by a series of hard fighting and skillful manoeuvres, he placed
Transylvania in the hands of the Hungarians. The accession of Russia to
the side of Austria was decisive of the contest. Bem, sorely pressed in
Transylvania, was summoned by Kossuth to assume the command in chief;
and at Temesvar, on the 10th of August 1849, he lost the last battle of
Hungary; though he here displayed the highest qualities of the soldier
and the general. The Austrians were repulsed at all points, mowed down
by the terrible fire from the Hungarian artillery, which Bem had posted
with his accustomed skill; but his troops were exhausted, and a fresh
body of Austrians under Prince Lichtenstein, decided the day. "A single
draught of wine to each hussar," said Guyon, "would have saved the
battle." In the rout which ensued, Bem, who was weakened by his wounds,
was thrown from his horse, and broke his collar bone. The day following
the disastrous battle of Temesvar, Kossuth resigned the dictatorship
into the hands of Görgey, who two days after, on the 13th of August,
surrendered his whole army, consisting of 24,000 men with 144 pieces of
cannon, to the Russians.

Bem at first made some efforts to prolong the hopeless contest; but it
was in vain, and on the 17th of the month he bade farewell to the
country from which he had hoped so much. Kossuth, Dembinski, Bem, and
some others took refuge in Turkey, where their residence or extradition
was made a political question by the powers of Europe. In the
anticipation of being given up, Bem embraced Mohammedanism, and entered
the Turkish service, under the name of Murad Bey. There is nothing to
wonder at in this procedure. His one principle through life had been
hatred to Russia, and to this he would not hesitate to sacrifice any and
every other consideration; his only religion was to avenge his country
upon the Czar; if that could be done, it mattered little to him whether
it was effected under the banner of the cross or the crescent. He
persisted to the last in his profession of Mohammedanism, and was buried
with military honors, greatly lamented by the Ottoman government, into
whose military organization he had introduced many beneficial reforms.
Bem possessed military genius of a high order; he was bold and rapid in
his decisions, fertile in resources, whether to take advantage of a
victory or to retrieve a defeat. He clearly perceived that the most
effective arm in modern warfare is artillery, the service of which he
always superintended in person. Previous to a battle he appointed the
positions his guns were to assume, examined and leveled them in person,
whence he was nicknamed, by his German legion, "the Piano-forte player."
At the time of his death, he had reached his fifty-sixth year, but the
severe exposures which he had undergone, and his numerous wounds, gave
him the appearance of a still greater age. As a man, all who knew Bem
were enthusiastic in his praise. Generous in disposition, gentle and
modest in demeanor, he inspired deep personal attachment in all with
whom he came in contact.

VISCOUNT ALFORD (John Hume Cust) died on the 2d of January. In 1849 he
succeeded to the vast Bridgewater estates, and assumed, by royal
license, the name of Egerton, in place of that of Cust. He was a member
of the House of Commons from 1836 to 1847. He inherited an estate from
the late Earl of Bridgewater, under a will of very singular character.
By this document it was provided that unless Lord Alford should, within
five years, succeed in gaining a rank in the peerage higher than that of
earl, the estate should go to his brother, with a like condition, which
also failing, it was to pass to another branch of the family.

THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE (Henry Pelham Fiennes Pelham Clinton) died Jan.
12, at the age of 66. He was one of the most consistent and unbending of
the Tory conservative nobility of England, and a most strenuous opponent
of every measure of reform. He said of himself that "on looking back to
the past, I can honestly assert that I repent of nothing that I have
done. _Vestigia nulla retrorsum._ Such has been the cradle of my
opinions: time may have matured them, and given them something like
authority; at all events, the sentiments that might have been doubtful,
are now rootedly confirmed." Thus incapable of learning by experience,
of becoming wiser as a man than he was when a boy, his political career
was thoroughly consistent. He was alike opposed to Catholic
emancipation, the repeal of the Test Act, and any modification of the
Corn Laws. When Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, he refused, in spite
of the positive demand of Government, to insert in the commission of the
peace the names of two gentlemen who were not members of the Established
Church. When the Reform Bill was in agitation, he stood up manfully for
the rotten boroughs which enabled him to return six members to the House
of Commons, the disfranchisement of which cost him a large sum which he
had invested in property of which the franchise constituted the main
value. His hereditary possessions were very large, and by his wife he
obtained estates to the value of £12,000 per annum, besides personal
property to the amount of £200,000; yet, owing to extensive purchases of
unproductive estates, he was embarrassed in pecuniary matters. Apart
from his narrow and bigoted politics, his character was marked by many
noble and excellent traits.

FREDERICK BASTIAT, the leader of the free-trade party in France, died at
Rome, on the 24th of December. He was a member of the National Assembly;
and his death was hastened by his severe and protracted labors during
the last session. His essays, bearing the general title of _Sophismes
Economiques_, originally published in a periodical, the _Journal des
Economistes_, of which he was editor, have been made known to the
American public through the columns of the _Evening Post_, which is a
sufficient guarantee of their authority with the upholders of that
policy.

W.H. MAXWELL, the Irish novelist, died at Musselburg, near Edinburgh,
December 29. In early life he was a captain in the British army, and
noted for his social qualities. He subsequently entered the Church, and
obtained the benefice of prebendary of Balla, a wild district in
Connaught, with an income, but no congregation or official duties. Among
his works we recollect "Hector O'Halloran," "Story of My Life," "Wild
Sports of the West," and many humorous sketches in the periodical
literature of the day.

PROFESSOR SCHUMACHER, the Astronomer of the Observatory at Altona, died
on the 28th of December, in his 71st year. For many years he conducted
the _Astronomische Nachrichten_, in which capacity he was well known in
the scientific world. He had been successively Professor of Astronomy at
the University of Copenhagen, and Director of the Observatory at
Manheim, in Baden. From 1817 to 1821 he measured the length of the
degree of longitude from Copenhagen to the western coast of Jutland, and
that of the degree of latitude from the northern extremity of Jutland to
the frontiers of Hanover. He subsequently executed for the English
Government the measure of the difference of longitude between the
observatories of Greenwich and Altona.

Literary Notices.

_The Howadji; or, Nile Notes_ (published by Harper and Brothers), is a
new volume of Oriental travels, by a young New-Yorker, describing a
voyage on the Nile and the marvels of Egypt, with a freshness and
originality that give it all the fascination of a romance. Speaking in
the character of the Howadji, which is the name given by the Egyptians
to foreign travelers, the author describes a succession of rare
incidents, revealing the very heart of Eastern life, and transporting us
into the midst of its dim, cloud-like scenes, so as to impress us with
the strongest sense of reality. He does not claim the possession of any
antiquarian lore; he has no ambition to win the fame of a discoverer;
nor in the slightest degree is he a collector of statistical facts. He
leaves aside all erudite speculations, allowing the moot points of
geography and history to settle themselves, and gives himself up to the
dreamy fancies and romantic musings which cluster round the imagination
in the purple atmosphere of the East. His work is, in fact, a gorgeous
prose-poem, inspired by his recollections of strange and vivid
experiences, and clothed in the quaint, picturesque costume which
harmonizes with his glowing Oriental visions. No previous traveler has
been so richly imbued with the peculiar spirit of the East. His language
is pervaded with its luxurious charm. Bathed in the golden light of that
sunny clime, his words breathe a delicious enchantment, and lull the
soul in softest reveries. The descriptive portions of the book are often
diversified with a vein of profound and tender reflection, and with
incidental critical allusions to Art, which have the merit both of
acuteness and originality. From the uncommon force and freedom of mind,
exhibited in this volume, with its genuine poetic inspirations, we
foresee that a brilliant career in letters is opened to the author, if
his ambition or tastes impel him to that sphere of activity.

_Crumbs from the Land o' Cakes_, by JOHN KNOX (published by Gould and
Lincoln), is a rapid sketch of a tour in Scotland, by an enthusiastic
admirer and native of that country. It makes no pretensions to
originality or literary skill, but written without affectation, and from
recent actual experience, it makes a very readable volume. The title is
quaintly explained in the preface. "Crumbs are but trifles, though a
morsel of manchineel may poison a man, and the same quantity of
gingerbread may tickle his palate; but the crumbs here presented do not
belong to either class. All Scotchmen know that the cakes for which
their native land is celebrated are made of oatmeal (baked hard); which,
though substantial, are very dry: this consideration will show the
propriety of the title. It is also appropriate in another respect, for
the writer is conscious that these fragmentary notes of travel in his
native country are, in comparison to the richness of the materials and
the subject, but as the crumbs to the loaf."

Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Boston, have published a third volume of DE
QUINCY's _Writings_, comprising his _Miscellaneous Essays_ on sacred
subjects, of which the quaint peculiarity of the title is suggestive of
the bold, fanciful genius of the author. Among them, we find "Murder,
considered as one of the Fine Arts;" "The Vision of Sudden Death;"
"Dinner, Real and Reputed," and others, all redolent of the strange
imaginative conceits, the playful toying with language, and the
startling intensity of description which characterize the Visions of the
English Opium Eater.

The same house have issued a neat duodecimo edition of GOETHE's _Faust_,
translated by HAYWARD, of which the curious aesthetic and philological
merits are well known to every German scholar. It is an almost literal
transcript of the original into English prose, but executed with such a
profound appreciation of its spirit, such nice verbal accuracy, and such
exquisite handling of the delicate mechanism of language, as to present
a more faithful idea of the wild and marvelous beauty of the great
German poem, than the most successful translation in verse. According to
Mr. Hayward's theory of translation, "If the English reader, not knowing
German, be made to stand in the same relation to Faust as the English
reader, thoroughly acquainted with German stands in toward it--that is,
if the same impressions be conveyed through the same sort of medium,
whether bright or dusky, coarse or fine--the very extreme point of a
translator's duty has been attained." The loudly-expressed verdict of
competent literary judges (so far as we know without a dissenting
voice), and the numerous editions it has gone through on both sides of
the Atlantic, are ample proofs of the felicitous and effective manner in
which the translator has completed the task thus imposed upon himself.
The Preface and Notes attached to this volume, show the vivacity of his
genius, and his rich stores of choice learning.

_Lavengro: The Scholar--The Gipsy--The Priest_, by GEORGE BORROW
(published by Harper and Brothers, and George P. Putnam), is the title
of certain portions of the unique autobiography of the erratic author of
"The Bible in Spain." Among the many things which he professes to have
aimed at in this book, is the encouragement of charity, and free and
genial manners, as well as the exposure of humbug in various forms. The
incidents related are in accordance with this design. Borrow's early
life was filled with strange and startling adventures. With a taste from
the cradle for savage freedom, he never became subject to social
conventionalisms. His soul expanded in the free air, by the side of
running streams, and in the mountain regions of liberty. He received the
strongest impressions from all the influences of nature. He was led by a
strange magnetism to intimacy with the most eccentric characters. An
ample fund of material for an interesting narrative was thus provided.
He has made use of them in his own peculiar and audacious manner. A more
self-reliant writer is not to be found in English literature. He has no
view to the effect of his words on the reader, but aims only to tell the
story with which his mind teems. Hence his pages are as fresh as morning
dew, and often run riot with a certain gipsy wildness. His narrative has
little continuity. He piles up isolated incidents, which remain in his
memory, but with no regard to regular sequence or completeness. On this
account he is sometimes not a little provoking. He shuts off the stream
at the moment your curiosity is most strongly excited. But the joyous
freedom of his spirit, his consummate skill as a story teller, and the
startling eccentricities of his life, so little in accordance with the
tameness and dull proprieties of English society, give an elastic
vitality to his book, and make it of more interest to the reader than
almost any recent issue of the English press.

Harper and Brothers have commenced the publication of a new series of
juvenile tales by JACOB ABBOTT, entitled _The Franconia Stories_. The
first volume, called _Malleville_, is a very agreeable narrative of life
in New Hampshire, abounding in attractive incidents, and related in the
fresh and natural style for which the author is justly celebrated. This
series is intended by the author to exert a kindly moral influence on
the hearts and dispositions of the readers, although it will contain
little formal exhortation and instruction. He has no doubt hit upon the
true philosophy, in this respect, nothing being so distasteful to a
young reader as the interruption of the narrative by the statement of a
moral, unless he can contrive to swallow the sugar, while he rejects the
medicine. Mr. Abbott relies on his quiet and peaceful pictures of happy
domestic life, and the expression of such sentiments and feelings as it
is desirable to exhibit in the presence of children. He is far more sure
of the effect aimed at by this method, than by any insipid dilutions of
Solomon or Seneca.

_The Practical Cook-Book_ (published by Lippincott, Grambo, and Co.) is
the title of a new work on gastronomic science, by a Lady of Boston,
which brings the taste and philosophy of that renowned seat of the Muses
to the elucidation of the mysteries of the cuisine. The young
housekeeper will be saved from many perplexities by consulting its lucid
oracles.

Edward H. Fletcher has published a new edition of the celebrated
_Discourse on Missions_, by JOHN FOSTER, delivered in 1818, before the
London Baptist Missionary Society, with a Preliminary Essay on the
Skepticism of the Church, by Rev. Joseph P. Thompson, of the Broadway
Tabernacle. It is republished in this country with a view to counteract
the impression since made by the extraordinary writer, in his critique
on Rev. Dr. Harris's popular work, "The Great Commission," in which
Foster alludes to the missionary enterprise in terms of disparagement,
giving the opposers of evangelical missions and evangelical religion the
sanction of his great name, and the authority of his latest opinions. In
the opinion of the Editor, no better refutation of his argument can be
given than is contained in the Missionary Discourse from Mr. Foster's
own pen. Being written in the maturity of his intellect, and regarded by
himself as one of his most successful efforts, it may be taken as a more
authentic expression of his opinions than the letter to Dr. Harris,
which was written in his old age: an old age rendered gloomy and morose
by seclusion from the world, and by the failure of the schemes which he
had fondly cherished in more ardent years. The character of the
Discourse is tersely summed up in a short paragraph by Mr. Thompson. "In
the thoroughness of its discussion and the comprehensiveness of its
view; in the clearness and strength of its reasoning, and the force and
beauty of its diction; in the glow of its sentiment, and the sublimity
of its faith, this discourse stands at the head of productions of its
class, as an exhibition of the grandeur of the work of missions, and of
the imperative claims of that work upon the Church of Christ. There is
nothing in it local or temporary, but it comes to Christians of this
generation with all the freshness and power which thirty years ago
attended its delivery." The Preliminary Essay by the Editor is a
vigorous and uncompromising attack on the prevalent skepticism of the
Church in respect to the obligations of the Missionary Enterprise.

J.S. Redfield has issued a work on _The Restoration of the Jews_, by
SETH LEWIS, in which the author maintains the doctrine of a literal
return of the Jews to Palestine, and the second coming of Christ in
connection with that event. Mr. Lewis, whose death took place one or two
years since, at an advanced old age, was one of the District Judges of
the State of Louisiana, and highly respected for his learning and
ability, as well as his exemplary private character. He was devoted to
the study of the Scriptures, and presents the fruits of his research
with modesty and earnestness, though hardly in a manner adapted to
produce a general conviction of the correctness of his views.

The same publisher has issued _A Practical System of Modern Geography_,
by JOHN F. ANDERSON, a successful teacher of one of the Public Schools
in this city. The leading features of this little work are brevity,
clearness, and simplicity. The author has aimed to present a practical
system of Geography, unconnected with subjects not pertaining to the
science, in a manner adapted to facilitate the rapid progress of the
pupil. We think that he has met with great success in the accomplishment
of his plan.

Tallis, Willoughby, and Co. continue the serial publication of _The Life
of Christ_, by JOHN FLEETWOOD, which beautiful work is now brought down
to the Twelfth Number. It is embellished with exquisite engravings, and
in all respects is worthy of a place in every family.

The same house are bringing out _Scripture Illustrations for the Young_,
by FREDERICK BAMBRIDGE, in a style of peculiar beauty--a work every way
adapted to charm the taste and inform the mind of the juvenile reader.

_The Dove and the Eagle_ (published by Ticknor, Reed, and Fields,
Boston) is a slight satirical poem, with some clever hits at
transcendentalism, socialism, teetotalism, woman's-rights-ism, and other
rampant hobbies of the day.

Among the latest republications of Robert Carter and Brothers, we find a
neat edition of _Young's Night Thoughts_, printed on excellent white
paper, in a convenient, portable form; _The Principles of Geology
Explained_, by Rev. DAVID KING, showing the relations of that science to
natural and revealed religion; _The Listener_, by CAROLINE FRY; the able
and elaborate work on _The Method of the Divine Government_, by JAMES
M'COSH; and _Daily Bible Illustrations_, by JOHN KITTO, in three
volumes. This last work has gained an extensive popularity in England,
and has the rare merit of presenting the scenes of Sacred History in a
vivid and picturesque light, with a rare freedom from bombast on the one
hand, and from weak common-place on the other.

The Carters have recently published a new edition of Mrs. L.H.
SIGOURNEY's popular contribution to the cause of Temperance, entitled
_Water Drops_, consisting of an original collection of stories, essays,
and short poems, illustrative of the benefits of total abstinence. The
Eighth Edition of Dr. G.B. CHEEVER's _Lectures on the Pilgrim's
Progress_, is also just issued by the same house.

_The History of the United States_, by RICHARD HILDRETH, Vol. IV.
(published by Harper and Brothers), commences a new series of his great
historical work, embracing the period subsequent to the adoption of the
Federal Constitution in 1789, and reaching to the close of Mr. Monroe's
first Presidential term in 1821. The volume now issued is devoted to the
administration of Washington, and gives a condensed and intelligible
view of the early development of American legislation, of the gradual
formation of the parties which have since borne the most conspicuous
part in our national politics, and of the character and influence of the
statesmen who presided over the first operations of the Federal
Government.

With a greater vivacity of style than is shown in the preceding volumes,
the present exhibits the results of no less extensive research, and a
more profound spirit of reflection. Mr. Hildreth evidently aims at a
rigid impartiality in his narrative of political events, although he
never affects an indifference toward the pretensions of conflicting
parties. His sympathies are strongly on the side of Washington,
Hamilton, and Jay, with regard to the questions that soon embarrassed
the first administration. While he presents a lucid statement of the
principles at issue, he takes no pains to conceal his own predilections,
always avoiding, however, the tone of a heated partisan. This portion of
his work, accordingly, is more open to criticism, than his account of
the earlier epochs of American history. The political devotee may be
shocked at the uncompromising treatment of some of his favorites, while
he can not fail to admit the ability which is evinced in the estimate of
their characters.

Among the topics which occupy an important place in this volume, are the
Inauguration of the Federal Government, the establishment of the Revenue
System, the Financial Policy of Hamilton, the Growth of Party Divisions,
the Insurrection in Pennsylvania, Mr. Jay's Treaty with England, and Mr.
Monroe's Mission to France. These are handled with great fullness and
clearness of detail, with a sound and discriminating judgment, and in a
style which, though seldom graphic and never impassioned, has the
genuine historical merits of precision, energy, and point. We rejoice to
welcome this series as an admirable introduction to the political
history of our Republic, and shall look for its completion with
impatience.

LOSSING's _Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution_ (published by Harper
and Brothers) has now reached the close of the First Volume. Its
interest has continued without diminution through the successive
Numbers. The liveliness of the narrative, as well as the beauty of the
embellishments, has given this work a wide popularity, which we have no
doubt it will fully sustain by the character of the subsequent volumes.
The union of history, biographical incidents, and personal anecdotes is
one of its most attractive features, and in the varied intercourse of
Mr. Lossing with the survivors of the Revolutionary struggle, and the
descendants of those who have deceased, he has collected an almost
exhaustless store of material for this purpose, which he has shown
himself able to work up with admirable effect.

_The United States: Its Power and Progress_ (published by Lippincott,
Grambo, and Co.) is a translation by EDMUND L. DU BARRY of the Third
Paris edition of a work by M. POUSSIN, late Minister of France to the
United States. It presents a systematic historical view of the early
colonization of the country, with an elaborate description of the means
of national defense, and of agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and
education in the United States. M. Poussin had some excellent
qualifications for the performance of this task. Residing in this
country for many years, he was able to speak from experience of the
practical working of republican institutions. Connected with the Board
of Engineers appointed by the American Government for topographical
surveys in reference to future military operations, he had attained an
exact knowledge of our geographical position, and the whole organization
of our internal improvements. A decided republican in feeling, his
warmest sympathies were with the cause of political progress in this
country. Free from the aristocratic prejudices of the Old World, the
rapid development of social prosperity in the United States was a
spectacle which he could not contemplate with indifference. Hence his
volume is characterized not only by breadth of information, but by
fairness of judgment. If he sometimes indulges a French taste for
speculative theories, he is, in general, precise and accurate in his
statements of facts. His description of our organization for the defense
of the coast and the frontiers is quite complete, and drawn to a great
degree from personal observation, may be relied on as authentic. We can
freely commend this work to the European who would attain a correct view
of the social condition, political arrangements, and industrial
resources of the United States, as well as to our own citizens who are
often so absorbed in the practical operations of our institutions as to
lose sight of their history and actual development.

_Salander and the Dragon_, by FREDERIC WILLIAM SHELTON (published by
George P. Putnam and Samuel Hueston), is a more than commonly successful
attempt in a difficult species of composition, and one in which the
disgrace of failure is too imminent to present a strong temptation to
any but aspirants of the most comfortable self-complacency. Mr. Shelton,
however, has little to fear from the usual perils that beset this path
of literary effort. He has a genius for the vocation. With such a fair
fruitage, from the first experiment, we hope he will allow no rust to
gather on his implements.

Salander is a black, or rather greenish monster of a dwarf, without
bones, capable of being doubled into all shapes, like a strip of India
Rubber, and stretching himself out like the same. He was committed for
safe-keeping to the jailer of an important fortress, called the Hartz
Prison. The jailer, whose name was Goodman, held the place under the
Lord of Conscienza, a noble of the purest blood, and very strict toward
his vassals. After suffering no slight annoyance from the pranks of the
horrid imp, the jailer applied to the lord of the castle for relief, who
told him that the rascally prisoner had been imposed upon him by forged
orders, but now that he had him in possession, he must guard him with
the strictest vigilance, and subject him to the most severe treatment.
The adventures of the jailer with the infernal monster compose the
materials of the allegory, which is conducted with no small skill, and
with uncommon beauty of expression. The upshot of the story is to
illustrate the detestable effects of slander, a vice which the author
treats with a wholesome bitterness of invective, regarding it as one of
the most diabolical forms of the unpardonable sin. It could not be
incarnated in a more loathsome body than that of the hideous Salander.
We can only tolerate his presence on account of the exceeding beauty of
the environment in which he is placed.

Geo. P. Putnam has published the Fifth Volume of COOPER's
_Leather-Stocking Tales_, containing _The Prairie_, with an original
Introduction and Notes by the author. In this volume we have the last
scenes in the exciting career of Leather-Stocking, who has been driven
from the forest by the sound of the ax, and forced to seek a desperate
refuge in the bleak plains that skirt the Rocky Mountains. The new
generation of readers, that have not yet become acquainted with this
noble creation, have a pleasure in store that the veteran novel-reader
may well envy.

_An Address_ by HENRY B. STANTON, and _Poem_ by ALFRED B. STREET
pronounced before the Literary Societies of Hamilton College, are issued
in a neat pamphlet by Rogers and Sherman Utica. Mr. Stanton's Address
presents a comparative estimate of Ultraists, Conservatives, and
Reformers, as mingled in the conflicting classes of American Society,
using the terms to designate forces now in operation rather than parties
and with no special reference to combinations of men which have been
thus denominated. His views are brought forward with vigor and
discrimination, and free from the offensive tone which discussions of
this nature are apt to produce. In applying the principles of his
Address to the subject of American literature, he forcibly maintains the
absurdity of an abject dependence on the ancient classics. "I would not
speak disparagingly of the languages of Greece and Rome. As mere
inventions, pieces of mechanism, they are as perfect as human lip ever
uttered, as exquisite as mortal pen ever wrote; and the study of the
literature they embalm refines the taste and strengthens the mind. But
while the writers of Greece and Rome are retained in our academic halls,
they should not be allowed to exclude those authors whose researches
have enlarged the boundaries of knowledge, and whose genius has added
new beauties to the Anglo-Saxon tongue. Let Homer and Shakspeare, Virgil
and Milton, Plato and Bacon, Herodotus and Macaulay, Livy and Bancroft,
Xenophon and Prescott, Demosthenes and Webster, Cicero and Brougham,
stand on the same shelves, and be studied by the same classes."

Mr. STREET's Poem is a polished and graceful description of the romantic
scenery of the Mohawk Valley, interspersed with several striking Indian
legends, comparing the tranquil happiness of the present day, with the
carnage and misery of the old warfare. Mr. Street gives a pleasing
picture in the following animated verses:

                      View the lovely valley now!
    Villages strew, like jewels on a chain,
    All its bright length. Whole miles of level grain,
    With leagues of meadow-land and pasture-field,
    Cover its surface; gray roads wind about,
    O'er which the farmer's wagon clattering rolls,
    And the red mail-coach. Bridges cross the streams,
    Roofed, with great spider-webs of beams within.

    Homesteads to homesteads flash their window-gleams,
    Like friends they talk by language of the eye;
    Upon its iron strips the engine shoots,
    (That half-tamed savage with its boiling heart
    And flaming veins, its warwhoop and its plume.
    That seems to fly in sullen rage along--
    Rage at its captors--and that only waits
    Its time to dash its victims to quick death).
    Swift as the swallow skims, that engine fleets
    Through all the streaming landscape of green field
    And lovely village. On their pillared lines,
    Distances flash to distances their thoughts,
    And all is one abode of all the joy
    And happiness that civilization yields.

Harper and Brothers have republished from the English edition Lord
HOLLAND's _Foreign Reminiscences_, edited by his son, Henry Edward, Lord
Holland--a book which has excited great attention from the English
press, and will be read with interest by the lovers of political
anecdote in this country. It is filled with rapid, gossiping notices of
the principal European celebrities of the past generation, and devotes a
large space to personal recollections of the Emperor Napoleon. Lord
Holland writes in an easy conversational style, and his agreeable
memoirs bear internal marks of authenticity.

_Jane Bouverie_, by CATHERINE SINCLAIR, is a popular English novel
(republished by Harper and Brothers), intended to sketch a portrait of
true feminine loveliness, without an insipid formality and without any
romantic impossibilities of perfection. The denouement has the rare
peculiarity of not ending in marriage, the heroine remaining in the
class of single ladies, designated by the author as par excellence "The
Sisters of England."

_London Labor and the London Poor_, by HENRY MAYHEW (republished by
Harper and Brothers), is the title of a work of the deepest interest and
importance to all who wish to obtain a comprehensive view of the present
condition of industry and its rewards in the metropolis of Great
Britain. It consists of the series of papers formerly contributed by the
author to the _Morning Chronicle_, entirely rewritten and enlarged by
the addition of a great variety of facts and descriptions. The author
has devoted his attention for some time past to the state of the working
classes. He has collected an immense number of facts, illustrative of
the subject, which are now brought to light for the first time. His
evident sympathies with the poor do not blind his judgment. His
statements are made after careful investigation, and show no disposition
to indulge in theoretic inferences. As a vivid picture of London life,
in the obscure by-ways, concerning which little is generally known, his
work possesses an uncommon value. It is to be issued in successive
parts, illustrated with characteristic engravings, the first of which
only has yet appeared in the present edition.

Harper and Brothers have published a new English novel by the author of
_Mary Barton_, entitled _The Moorland Cottage_, a pleasing domestic
story of exquisite beauty.

Three Leaves From Punch.

LECTURES ON LETTERS.

We find in a recent number of that well-known and reliable newspaper,
the London PUNCH, an interesting sketch of a new and improved system of
teaching the elementary branches of education. It proceeds upon
principles somewhat different from those which have generally obtained
in the popular methods of instruction. It was prepared by the Editor of
the journal referred to, for the Council of Education established a few
years since by the English Government, for the express purpose of
discussing and promoting improved methods of public teaching. In a note
accompanying the work, the author states that, as soon as it was
completed, he forwarded it, by

  THE PARCELS CONVEYANCE COMPANY,

with a polite note to the Secretary of the Council.

[Illustration: The Parcels Conveyance Company]

We regret that our limits will not permit us to present to the readers
of the New Monthly Magazine a full description of this novel work. We
can only give a slight sketch of the manner in which it proposes to
teach the Alphabet. The author thinks that, in the systems in general
use hitherto, advantage has not been sufficiently taken of the pictorial
form, as capable of connecting with the alphabet, not only agreeable
associations, but many useful branches of knowledge.

[Illustration: Oscillation illustrated]

He would begin with the letter =A=, by rendering it attractive to
children as a swing, and the opportunity might then be taken of leading
the conversation to the swing of the pendulum, the laws which govern its
oscillations, and the experiments of Maupertius, Clairault, and
Lemmonier, upon its variations in different latitudes.

[Illustration: Legendary G]

=G=, the child might be told, stands for George, and the pictorial
illustrations of St. George and the dragon (the latter about to swallow
its own tail) would enable the teacher to enter upon a disquisition
relative to the probable Eastern origin of the legendary stories of the
middle ages.

[Illustration: Historical H]

=H= would naturally suggest reminiscences of modern English history. The
teacher would give some account of George Fox, the first Quaker, and of
the singular customs and opinions of the sect he founded. Thence the
child might be led to perceive the evils of schism, and the legitimate,
and mischievous consequences of that right of private judgment still
claimed by a small, but happily now an uninfluential minority in the
established church.

[Illustration: Selfish Ends]

=J= might introduce some profitable remarks upon Natural History, when
the difference could be explained between bipeds by nature, and
quadrupeds who become bipeds only for selfish ends.

[Illustration: Pneumatical K]

Advantage might be taken of the pictorial illustration of =K= to lay the
foundation of an acquaintance both with the science of Pneumatics, and
with Captain Reid's theory of the laws affecting the course of storms.

[Illustration: A Stilted Subject]

With the letter =M= the child might learn the meaning of what is termed
the centre of gravity, so important to be maintained by ladies walking
on stilts.

[Illustration: Pisces]

The letter =S=, reminding the teacher of _Pisces_--_fishes_--one of the
signs of the Zodiac, would furnish him with a suitable opportunity for