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August 26, 1854.J TH E LE ADER. 809
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A BATCH OF BOOKS.* It the present famine...
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* Turkey Ancient and Moihrn. By llobort ...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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August 26, 1854.J Th E Le Ader. 809
August 26 , 1854 . J TH E LE ADER . 809
A Batch Of Books.* It The Present Famine...
A BATCH OF BOOKS . * It the present famine ia the publishing world is to continue , we shall soon be reduced to a review of the Iliad or the Pentateuch . There is nothing more to he said about the war , and all other literature seems to have disappeared , save the perpetual flux of those novels which voting ladies pay to print , and the public does not pay to read , and which are -wont to solicit provincial admiration without appealing to the Jaded appetite of metropolitan critics . Our present list contains a collection of serials and reprints , with two or three original essays . Scarcely one of the list can be said to demand an extended notice , while of some the bare announcement is . sufficient—or too much . We shall proceed to dispose of this miscellaneous heap without any very rigorous attempt at classification of contents . For the sake of clearness , however , -we exercise some sort of discrimination and selection in our comments j resolving the series as much as possible into its ' subjects . ' Webegin with history : Turkey Ancient and Modern , by the Rev . Robert Fraser ( Adam and Charles Black ) , is a seasonable and useful pendant to the History ; of Russia recently published by Mr . Bohn . From a hint in the preface it appears to be a hasty , but not Careless condensation of materials which the author had occupied himself for years past in collecting towai * ds a inore extended history . of the Ottoman empire . We do not recognise , however , the " present acknowledged want of accurate ' mformation on the subject , " in obedience to w ^ iich , the author tells us , he committed his manuscript to the press . The want of accessible information on Russian history was undoubtedly felt , but in bestowing his labours upon Turkish annals and institutions the author of the present , compact and readable history cannot besaidto have brdken newground . Mr . Fraser has put his materials together with considerable intelligence , and at the risk of Sacrificing his dignity of historian has : cpnsuited the latest sources of '¦; information for the ^ exploits of -Omar Pasha ' s army . The history is brought down to the raising of the siegft of Silisti-ia , and the occupation of Greece . The value of thework : to more impatient readers is increased by its being in a single volunie with £ t good index , for purposes of referencei Than appendix the author has giVen tlie Jtext of the principal treaties in which Turkey has been a ; partaker ( and avictim ) suice li 74 y : " . ' . '¦ ¦ - . ¦• C . ;¦ ¦ . "' ¦ : ¦¦ -y . ' /¦ ' : ' ¦ ¦ ¦ : '¦'¦ ¦¦] : - ' ¦' :.: ' % ' ..: i : , ' : ; : ' ¦ ' ' /¦ .. ' . A ' - ¦ ¦ : ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦¦ •; ' us
The monthly voluhie of Mr . Bohn ' sAntitj ^ arian Library takes out of the world of actuaiities into vrhat are facetiously called the ' good old times . ' A translatiori of old Matthew E ! afis's -English History from the Year 1235 to 1273 * by the Rev , Dr . Giles , in which ; the quaint and homely flavour of the original Latin is preserved w-ith singular fidelity , is cbrh ^ pleted this month ; and -we recommend this , reproduction , of the racy old chronicler more especially to students of early Church history . Therei were scandals enough in . those days to eitiploy the energies of the contenipprary Whistojis and Holloways , and Papal aggression in the shape of * ' Romans' ' foisted on English benefices was even then anational coinplaint : ' A complete index is always si ^ commendable feature in Mr . Bonn ' s publications' . " History for the young should be invititig as > yell as instructive ; not a dry collection of dates and facts , but a lively and interesting narrative ... This requirement is in some degree attempted by liters Outlines of EngliskHistpryy ¦\ v \ hich has the merit of combining with the usual record of political and military events , brief notices of the domestic life and progress of the nation . We -cannot * however , approve the ' . * characters" bestowed on sdme of the . kings ; George TV ., for instance , is thus described : * " Manly and graceful in his youth , open arid noble in his countenance ; the proportion of his limbs was exquisite ; but towards the close of his : reign he became corpulent and unwieldy . His mariners were elegant and his conversation agreeable ; he was of a frank , and open temper , but far too fond of pleasure and splendour . " Poor William IV . is called in capital letters Father of his Countrt , which is a title we were not aware that harmless and good-tempered monarch ever deserved . The author of these Outlines would have done well to omit this fulsome and foolish nonsense . Such a treatment of contemporary history is ji sorry guarantee for the accuracy of tho earlier portion , and is positively objectionable in a manual specially designed for the young . English children deserve healthier dootrine . Mr . Julian Allen ' s Autocracy in Poland and Russia ( TrUlmer and Co . ) is the work of a young Pole , who -was implicated in a conspiracy of students at the Government College of Grodna , in Poland , and who contrived to escape to the United States , whore he is now a naturalised citizen . His own experience of Russian tyranny in Poland constitutes the chief interest of his book . A chapter on the Russian recruiting system , one on the condition of tho Russian army , and one on tho Polish nobility , will be found to contain some original facts and illustrative anecdotes . Tho historical chapters convey little with which tho general reader is not familiar . Tho Edinburgh edition of tho British poots , edited by the Rev . George Grilfillan , gives us this month the works of Samuel Butler ,, commencing , of course , with Hudibras . The poem is preceded by a notice on The Life and Works of Butler , by Mr , Gilfillan . Among the reprints of the month , Mr . Routledge , continues his cheap Railway Series of Sir Bulwcr Lytton ' s Works with that laborious historical fiction , The Last of the Barons . Hoclielciga ; or , England in the New World ( Eoutledgo and Co . ) , as a . lively picture of
Canadian life , by a brother of the lamented Eliot War-burton , is a pleasant contribution to our cheap and rapid literature . We cannot , however , profess much consideration for the more ambitious and serious portions of this gossipping and gallopping writer ' s journal . .. His hasty generalisations of American life and institutions are perhaps more amusing than accurate . A third edition of Mr . S . W . Fulloni * is Story , The Great Highway ( Routledge and Co . ) , needs no recommendation , as we are informed by the author that the favour with which it was , received at the high price of a guinea and a half induces him " to sanction its publication in another form , which will reader it accessible to a much wider circle of readers . " Two little stories , The Perils and Adventures of Priscilla Eaton ( Shaw ) , and Gold , a Story for the Times ( Chapman and Hall ) , deserve a word of notice . The former is rather ambitiously called " an historical tale , " and in the preface we are told that , " though a vein of imagination pervades it , it is only like a silken thread on which are strung golden , beads of truth . '' We are unable , in spite of this flowery definition , to say in what sense The Adventures of Miss Priscilla Eaton . can be pronounced " historical . " The period of the story is that of the flight v of the early Puritans from religious persecution ; the incidents are thrown together with some neatness , and ' composed' with as much local colour as a few snatches of stern Puritan theology , and a reminiscence or tvro of Fenimore Cooper , can be said to represent . Gold is a very slight affair of four scenes : a path in a woodY a country , baak , a vestry , and a " gentleman ' s seat . " The moral of this pretty tale is — -what do you think , reader ? local self-government . TJae duty incumbent upon every Englishman of attending to parochial business . Think of Marylebone ; sublimated into an : 'id ylf ' Man and M ^ yestre , whose death we lately mentioned . Readers whoare alarmed at the bare mention of French novels ( of which they ;^^ orily read the . worst ) inay be glad to know thai this story , which we suppose was selected by the ' " translator for its morality rather thanior its mterest , is ( Uke all Souyestre ' s ) sufficiently harmless , although includingan ' admirer' and a fenime iricdmprise . The version-is tolerably satisfactory , but we may caution , the translatdr against supposing that ' a . lady's salon , is "' &> ¦ saloon .. The MentalExerctees o ^ Ghatles Didkens by Mr : ; P exampleof self-culture , and may vrell encourage the efforts of educationists wlioVdo not apprehend daiiger to the : State from a spread of knowledge among themasses of the people . These ; fourteen essays ' . deal ! with profoilhdandevenabstruse subjects of thoiight * : such as the " Origin of Evil , " ' * ' The Iliaw of Conscience , " Bacon ' s Philosophy , '' the "/ Theory of Human ¦ Per ^ ctibility . " >' If it should be ^ sgid that the authprr should hayeicon ^ . fined himselfto . subjectsnlore within the scope of his powers , he has oply to ajiswev that every mind possesses sqme distinct tendency or beni , and that in attempting to discuss such questions he followed his bvyri inclinations , arid for his own pleasure ; " Eor our own part we would , not desire a manKer vindication of the libertyfof the thinker . : And Mr . M'Burnie has vindicated thatlibertyeven more nobly by the real independence andbrigir riality of his thought as we trace it through these always superior an , d often masterly essays , someof which bear the mark of youth , but none of youthful imtnaturitv .
The remainder of our batch we may without injustice dismiss in a few paragraphs . A very complete andcompendious American Handbook and Tourist ' s Guide ( Routledge and Co . } , fulfils a want , now that the travelling world has used up Europe . The same indefatigable publisher , always in season , is bringing out a light and pretty series of Bqoks for the Country which almost bring fresh air into your room as you read them . JVIr . Robert Blakey , a disciple of Isaak Walton , discourses \ yith curious , vivacity on Angling ; or , how to Angle and where to Qo ,. We are not surprised to find that Mr . Blakey has been the author of a History of the Philosophy of Mindy knowing as we do how thoughtful a pursuit is angling . We who have an unsatisfied passion for the art arid an utter ignorance of the rod , cannot certify to the correctness of Mr . Blakey ' s information and advice ; but we can speak to tho agreeable nature of his little book . From the Old Testament to Daniel Webster Mr . Blakey finds authorities tor the fisherman ' s art ; we have alvrays conceived the charm and the enthusiasm of a pursuit which brings you into intimate communion with nature in her loveliest aspects , not to mention the coarser attractions of the sport . ' We are loth to speak lightly of the professors of a science " foundol upon conjecture and improved by murder , " but here is a treatise which shows the discrepancies and disagreements of the Faculty on a point of vital importune * m a bewildering variety . It is an . attempt , " from history , anatomy , p hysiology , and chemistry , " to prove that the " original , natural , and best diet of man is derived from the vegetable kingdom . " And a very imposing weight of evidence we find in fwvour of ruining the butchers . A . season of cholera may seem most improper for the advocacy of a purely vegetable and farinaceous diet ; what is called a " generous diet" is especially recom * mended at such a season ; even paupers are told to eat beefsteaks and to drink port wino . But our farinaceous friend brings a mass of witnesses in favour of ' milk and honey' aa a protective against epidemics . For our o > v » part , wo confess to Pythagorean , inclinations , regarding , ns wo do , English 'joints' ns only one remove from cannibalism . Practical Observations on the Use and Abuse of Jhbucco are an attempt to attribute every disease under the sun to—smoking . To tho enormous fallacy which he shares with the respected toototalW'S , of confounding tho use of God's gifts with their abuse , Mr . Lizars adds another equally common iallaoy , that of confounding : effect with coincidence . After giving us the highly-coloured evidence of " an intelligent man , aged sixty-five , stout , ruddy , early married , tomporato , managing a largo business , " who began smoking at soventeon , and " yours after" suflorod from a •? gnawing cupricious appetite , " and other dreadful symptoms , and gave the ' vilo habit" up after thirty-three years , Mr . Liziu-s goes on to say , after such well-marked examples of nmnly firmness no ono nc " ed p rotend to aWrm that tho luxury of smoking , muffing , plm / guiff , or chewing , or quiddtng cannot bo given up . " Wo should think not ! Every disease » s to bo cured , it seems , by throwing away lobacoo for ever ; but how are those who have never " smoked , enuflcd , plugged , or quidded" to bo made whole ? Mr . Lizars
* Turkey Ancient And Moihrn. By Llobort ...
* Turkey Ancient and Moihrn . By llobort W . Fiiiaor . A . and 0 . Black , Edinburgh . — Matthew Paris '' s Chronicle . Vol . Hi . Bohn . —Inee ' e Outline * of English TItatorif . Gilbert . —Autocracy in Poland and Russia . \\ y Julian Allon . TrUlmor and Oo . —Tke Poetical Works ( f Samuel Butler , uifrh Life , Critical Dissertation , and Explanatory Notes . By t ho Rovorcnd Qcomo GilfiUan . Vol . i . Juincs Nichol , Edinburgh . —The Last of the Barons . By Sir E . B . Lytton , Bnrt ., M . l \ ( Uiiilway Ubnm . ) Uoutledgo and Oo . —IIochelaoa . ? n .-j ^ y . W »« t Warburton . Koutlodgo and Co . —Tho Great fli <] hw « y . By S . W . Fullom . 1 Inrd Edition . Koutlcdgo nnd Co . — -Man and Money ; or , the Two Rivals . From tho 1 « raiMh of hm \ lo Souvcatro . K . Howoll , Liverpool . —Gold : a Ston / for the rimes . Ohnnmnn ana Hull—The I ' ortln and Adventures of Z ' rieailla Eaton . An Historical Tnfo . TiiT * ''I * m . ^ rinacca tho Prayer Food < if Man . By John Smith . With Notca nnd IUuBtr « twu ) by R . T . Trail , M . D . Fowl « r and Wells , Now York . — -Proctforf Obaervattona on the Uaoand Abuao of Tobacco . By John Umn . S . Hlgliloy , jnn .- , 4 Btoymphtaal Sketoh of the Sweciis } t Po < it ( ml Oymwmarck , Peter Henry Ling . By Augustus n ^ «» 1 H « Jm .-- it' « Household UMooh . No . viil .-DomosUo Oookoiy . % f . S . ulJiZIL 1 , lTn JM \ ^« Country : Analino . ami Whore to Go . By Robert Blukoy . S » w Tt \ i Q ?' —ll ™ tlcdat ? e American / landhoohaml Tow-Ma Quide ' —Btmlon Guide . ™ L > n « S ^ ft 1 M i ? " Knulbury m {\ Ev « n 8 .-CTa »» 6 flr « ' « Repository of Inttrwdion ctn 4 amusing Tracts . —My Vaunts . TJy Edmund H . YatcB . David Boguo .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 26, 1854, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26081854/page/17/
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