Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli. (Published by Phillips, Sampson, and Co.) The subject of these volumes has left a reputation for strength and brilliancy of intellect which, we imagine, will hardly be justified hereafter by the perusal of her writings. No one, however, can read this touching tribute to her memory without perceiving that she was a remarkable woman. It at once explains the secret of her success, and of her want of general recognition. From her early childhood, she displayed a wonderful precocity of genius. This was stimulated by constant mental inebriation, produced by the excitements of an ambitious and ill-judged education. Her girlish studies were devoted to subjects which demanded the mature experience of a masculine intellect. Deprived of the frolic delights of childhood, a woman in cultivation while young in years, goaded to the wildest intensity of effort by the urgency of an exacting parent, and attaining an extraordinary mental development at the expense of her physical nature, she must, of course, soon have become the object of marked attention and wonder—a prodigy to her friends, and a mystery to herself. Thus she was early placed in a false position. She grew up self-involved, her diseased mind preying on itself, and the consciousness of her personal importance assumed a gigantic magnitude, which threatened to overshadow all healthy manifestations of character. In this condition, she was accustomed to claim more than she could give—more than others were content to grant. The loftiness of her self-esteem was the measure of her lavish disdain. Hence, with the exception of those with whom chance had made her intimate, she was more formidable than attractive to the circle of her acquaintance; her presence in society called forth aversion or terror; as she dispensed the scathing splendors of her Jove-like lightnings, rather than the sweet refreshments of womanhood. But beneath this social despotism, were concealed a genuine kindliness of nature, a large sympathizing heart, a singular power of entering into the condition of others, and a weird magnetic charm which drew to her closest intimacy the most opposite characters. She was, moreover, generous and noble to an uncommon degree, in all the more sacred relations of life; with a high sense of duty; never shrinking from sacrifices; a wise and faithful counselor where her confidence was invoked; absolutely free from every trait of petty or sordid passion; the very soul of honor; and with a sense of justice that seemed to ally her with Eternal Truth.—In these volumes, she is left in a great measure to speak for herself. Her letters and private journals present a transparent record of her character. The editorial portion, by R. W. Emerson, James F. Clarke, and W. H. Channing, is executed with beautiful candor. The most truthful simplicity graces and fortifies their statements. With no other aim than to exhibit an honest portraiture of their friend, they have in no case, that we can discover, allowed their private feelings to gain the mastery over their sterner judgments.—Her residence in Italy reveals her heroism, devotion, and womanly tenderness, in a light that would almost induce the belief, on the part of those who had met her only in the antagonisms of society, that she had changed her identity. A profound, mysterious pathos hovers around her Italian experience, preparing the reader for the tragic close of a life, which was itself a tragedy. The description of her last hours presents a scene of desolation, before which grief can only bow in mute tears. Charity and its Fruits, by Jonathan Edwards, edited by Tryon Edwards. A new work from the pen of the illustrious Northampton pastor can not fail to be welcome to the admirers of his profound and original genius. Combining a rare acuteness of metaphysical speculation, with a glowing fervor of religious sentiment, Edwards has called forth the most expressive eulogiums from the philosophers of the old world, while his name is still "familiar as a household word" in the primitive homes of New England. His character presented a striking union of intellectual vigor with earnest piety. The childlike simplicity of his tastes was blended with the refined subtlety of a mediÆval schoolman. The apostle of disinterested love, his soul was inspired and thrilled with contemplating the glories of redemption, and the triumphs of grace over the ruins of humanity The manuscripts from which these lectures have been prepared were nearly ready for the press, as left by the writer. They were afterward placed in the charge of Dr. Hopkins and Dr. Bellamy, and are now for the first time given to the public by the present editor. He justly deserves the gratitude of the religious world for this valuable gift. (Published by R. Carter and Brothers). Harper and Brothers have issued a neat octavo edition of Sir John Richardson's Arctic Searching Expedition, comprising a copious journal of a boat-voyage through Rupert's Land and the Arctic Sea, in search of Sir John Franklin—a variety of interesting details concerning the savages of that region—and an elaborate treatise on the physical geography of North America. Sir John Richardson left Liverpool in March, 1848, and after landing in New York, proceeded at once to the Saut Ste. Marie, where he arrived about the last of April. Starting in a few days from the Saut, he reached the mouth of the River Winnipeg on the 29th of May, and arrived at Cumberland House, on the Saskatchewan, June 13—a distance of nearly 3000 miles from New York. His various adventures on the overland route to Fort Confidence, in 66 degrees of north latitude, where the winter residence of the party was established, are related with great minuteness, presenting a lively picture of the manners of the Indians, and the physical phenomena of the icy North. The history of Sir John Franklin's Expedition, and the present state of the search for that intrepid navigator, is briefly recorded. With the prevailing interest in every thing connected with Arctic discovery, this volume is a most seasonable publication, and will be read with avidity by our intelligent countrymen. The Future Wealth of America, by Francis Bonynge, is a volume of curious interest, describing the physical resources of the United States, and the commercial and agricultural advantages of introducing several new branches of cultivation. Among the products enumerated by the author as adapted to the soil and climate of this country are tea, coffee, and indigo, the date, the orange, the peach fruit, and the guava. The work, though written in an enthusiastic spirit, is filled with practical details, and presents a variety of useful suggestions in regard to the conditions of national prosperity. Mr. Bonynge is familiarly acquainted with the culture of tropical products, having resided for fourteen years in India and China. His book is well-deserving the attention of the American public. The Twenty-second Part of Copland's Dictionary of Practical Medicine is published by Harper and Brothers, reaching to the eight hundredth page of the third volume of the work, and to the commencement of the letter S. For laymen who have occasion to refer to a medical work, this Dictionary forms a valuable book of reference, and may be consulted with convenience and profit. Its merits are too well known to the profession to demand comment. A Reel in the Bottle, for Jack in the Doldrums, by Rev. Henry T. Cheever. Modern allegory is a dangerous species of composition. The taste of the age demands clearness, brevity, point; it prefers practical facts to mystic symbols; and, above all, rejects artificial tamperings with Oriental imagery. Imitations of the venerable simplicity of the Bible are always offensive to a correct mind; and scarcely less so is the ancient form of allegory disguised in fashionable trappings. The volume now put forth by Mr. Cheever forms no exception to these remarks. He has met with but indifferent success, in an attempt where a perfect triumph would have brought little credit. The frequent sacrifices of nature and good taste, which his plan demands, illustrate his ingenuity at the expense of his judgment. He reminds us of John Bunyan, whom he takes for his model, only by contrast. We should as soon expect a modern Hamlet from Bulwer as a second Pilgrim's Progress from the present author. (Published by Charles Scribner.) The Head of the Family, by the gifted author of "The Ogilvies," forms the One Hundred and Sixty-seventh number of Harper's "Library of Select Novels." It is distinguished for the absorbing interest of its plot, the refinement and beauty of its characterizations, and its frequent scenes of tenderness and pathos. eander's Practical Exposition of the Epistle of James has been translated by Mrs. H. C. Conant, and published by Lewis Colby. We have before spoken of the success of Mrs. Conant, as the translator of Neander. She has accomplished her present task with equal felicity. Biblical students are greatly in her debt for introducing them to the acquaintance of such a profound and sympathizing interpreter of Holy Writ. Neander wisely avoids metaphysical subtleties. Nor is he a barren, verbal critic. He brings a sound, robust common sense to the exposition of his subject, seeking to detect the living spirit of the writer, and to reproduce it with genuine vitality. A new glow breathes over the sacred page under his cordial, feeling comments, and we seem to be brought into the most intimate communion with the inspired writer. It is no small praise to say of the translator, that she has transferred this lifesome spirit, to a great degree, into her own production. Redfield has published a spirited translation of Arsene Houssaye's work on the Men and Women of the Eighteenth Century in France. A more characteristic portraiture of that egotistic and voluptuous age is not to be found in any language. It places us in the midst of the frivolous court, where the love of pleasure had triumphed over natural sentiment, where religion was lost in hypocrisy, and earnestness of character laughed out of countenance by shameless adventurers. The brilliancy of coloring in these volumes does not disguise the infamy of the persons whom it celebrates. They are displayed in all their detestable heartlessness, and present a wholesome warning to the reader by the hideous ugliness of their example. Bon Gaultier's Book of Ballads. These clever parodies and satires, whose cool audacity and mischievous love of fun have secured them a favorite place in the English magazines, have been republished in a neat edition by Redfield. Our too thin-skinned compatriots may find something to provoke their ire in the American Ballads, but the sly malice of these effusions generally finds an antidote in their absurdity. For the rest, Bon Gaultier may be called, in Yankee parlance, "a right smart chap," excelling in a species of literature which the highest genius rarely attempts. We have a new edition of Walker's Rhyming Miss Mitford, in her Literary Recollections gives some specimens of poetical charades by Mr. Praed, the most successful composer of lyrical jeux d'esprit of this kind. In the review of her work by the AthenÆum, the two following charades are quoted, the latter of which, Miss Mitford says, is still a mystery to her, and proposes a solution to her readers: I."Come from my First, ay, come! "Toll ye my Second! toll! "Call ye my Whole, ay, call, II."Sir Hilary charged at Agincourt,— "My First to all the brave and proud A correspondent of the Literary Gazette furnishes the following poetical solution of the two charades in one: "No more we hear the sentry's heavy tramp Messrs. Clark of Edinburgh have in preparation, translations of the following works: viz.—Dr. Julius Muller's great work on the Doctrine of Sin, translated under the superintendence of the author.—Professor Muston's Israel of the Alps, the latest and most complete History of the Waldenses, translated with the concurrence of the author.—Dorner on the Person of Christ, translated by the Rev. Mr. Kingsford, one of the Chaplains to the Hon. East India Company.—Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament, translated by the Rev. Peter Holmes, of the Plymouth Royal Grammar School. Mr. Bohn announces the following important Works as about to appear shortly: Kirby and Kidd's Bridgewater Treatises.—Coin-Collector's Hand-Book, by H. N. Humphreys, with numerous engravings of Ancient Coins.—Greek Anthology; or Select Epigrams of the Greek Classic Poets, literally translated into Prose, with occasional parallels in verse by English Poets.—Oersted's Soul in Nature, and other works, translated from the Danish, with Life of the Author.—Rome in the 19th Century; with Maps and Diagrams.—Kugler's Historical Manual of Sculpture, Painting, and Architecture, Ancient and Modern. The election of the Greek Professor in the University of Edinburgh was fixed for the 2d of March. The number of candidates in the field was very large, but it was thought that many would retire before the day of election. The principal struggle was supposed to be between Dr. William Smith, of New College, London, the learned author of the Classical Dictionaries; Dr. Price, late of Rugby, the friend of Dr. Arnold; Professor Macdowall, of Queen's College, Belfast; and Professor Blackie, of Aberdeen. The emoluments of the chair are upward of 800l., and the college duties extend only over about half the year, during the winter session from November to May. Professor Robinson, our townsman, whose proposed expedition to Palestine we lately announced, was at Berlin, at the latest accounts, and expects to be at Beyrout on the 1st of March. He intends to occupy most of his time in visiting the more remote districts of the country, and those villages off the usual routes, which are least known to travelers. Toward the completion of the topography and geography of Palestine, we may expect many new facts to be thus obtained. One of the American missionaries in Syria, the Rev. Eli Smith, and Mr. William Dickson, of Edinburgh, are to join Professor Robinson at Beyrout, and accompany him in the journey. The identification of the site of the Holy Sepulchre, about which there has been much dispute lately, is one object to which special attention will be given. Dr. Robinson was in London, on his route to the Continent, and attended the meetings of the Geographical and other Societies. The wife of Professor Robinson has recently published a protest in the London AthenÆum against a garbled English edition of her work on the Colonization of New England. Mrs. Robinson says, "A work appeared in London last summer with the following title: 'Talvi's History of the Colonization of America,' edited by William Hazlitt, in two volumes. It seems proper to state that the original work was written under favorable circumstances in German and published in Germany. It treated only of the colonization of ew England:—and that only stood on its title-page. The above English publication therefore, is a mere translation—and it was made without the consent or knowledge of the author. The very title is a misnomer; all references to authorities are omitted; and the whole work teems with errors, not only of the press, but also of translation—the latter such as could have been made by no person well acquainted with the German and English tongues. For the work in this form, therefore, A late number of the London Leader in a review of Herman Melville's Moby Dick, or the Whale, says, "Want of originality has long been the just and standing reproach to American literature; the best of its writers were but second-hand Englishmen. Of late some have given evidence of originality; not absolute originality, but such genuine outcoming of the American intellect as can be safely called national. Edgar Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville are assuredly no British off-shoots; nor is Emerson—the German American that he is! The observer of this commencement of an American literature, properly so called, will notice as significant that these writers have a wild and mystic love of the super-sensual, peculiarly their own. To move a horror skillfully, with something of the earnest faith in the Unseen, and with weird imagery to shape these phantasms so vividly that the most incredulous mind is hushed, absorbed—to do this no European pen has apparently any longer the power—to do this American literature is without a rival. What romance writer can be named with Hawthorne? Who knows the horrors of the seas like Herman Melville?" A bill has been introduced by the Lord Advocate for abolishing tests in the Scottish universities for all professional chairs but those of the theological faculties. At present every professor, before induction, is required by law to sign the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the other formularies of the Scottish Established Kirk. In many cases the signature is not actually required, or it is given as a mere matter of form. Many of the most distinguished professors in Scotland do not belong to the Established Church of that country. Count de Montalembert's formal reception as a Member of the AcadÉmie FranÇaise took place on the 5th of February; and as an event of literary and political importance, excited extraordinary sensation. The salle of the Academy was thronged to excess by the Élite of Parisian society, and hundreds who had obtained tickets were unable to secure admission. As usual on such occasions, the Count delivered an harangue, the text of which was the merits, real or supposed, of the deceased member to whose chair he succeeded—but the burden of which was an exposition of the Count's opinions on things political, and things in general. As usual, also, one of the Academicians replied by a complimentary discourse to the new member, and it so chanced that the respondent was no less a personage than M. Guizot. These two distinguished men are what the French call "eagles of eloquence," and under any circumstance the liveliest interest would have been felt to see the two noble birds take an oratorical flight; but on this occasion it was immensely increased, by the fact that they are recognized chiefs of two different creeds in religion, the Catholic and the Protestant; of two hostile political parties, that of absolutism, and that of liberty; and of two contending schools in philosophy—one, which imposes authority on the mind of man, the other, which maintains his right to free examination. Cavaignac is stated to be employing the leisure of his voluntary exile in writing his own memoirs. This may be one of the mere rumors which float idly about in an age of interrupted sequence and disturbed action, but should it prove true, the public may hope for a curious and exciting narrative from the hero of June. Godfrey Cavaignac, his brother, was one of the wittiest and sternest of republican writers under Louis Philippe—and his own avowed opinions were the cause of much suspicion to the government, though his brilliant exploits in Algiers rendered it impossible to keep him down. Of course, however, the chief interest of his memoirs would centre in the pages devoted to his share in events subsequent to 1848. A letter-writer from Paris to a London journal, presents some sound comments on the recent infamous law for the suppression of the freedom of the press: "President Bonaparte has this day promulgated his long-expected law on the press. It is of unexampled harshness and oppression. Old Draco himself, if living in these days, would not have made it so atrociously severe. It ruins newspaper and periodical proprietors; it strips editors, and writers, and reporters of the means of obtaining their bread by their honest industry; it altogether annihilates the political press. And not content with this, it prohibits the entrance into France of foreign political journals and periodicals, without the special authorization of the government. "A few months ago the number of daily political newspapers in Paris exceeded thirty; it now does not amount to ten, and of these ten some are certain to disappear in the course of a short time. It is a very moderate computation to suppose that each one of the twenty and odd suppressed journals gave regular employment at good salaries to ten literary men, as editors, contributors, reporters, correspondents, or critics, and that each one afforded occasional employment to at least the same number of feuilletonistes. Here, then, we have upward of twice two hundred men, who, as regards intelligence, are of the Élite of society, suddenly deprived of 'the means whereby they lived,' without any fault of their own. What is to become of them? What of their helpless wives and families? Few of them have any aptitude for any other calling, and even if they had, what chance have they, in this overstocked world, of finding vacant places? The contemplation of their misery must wring every heart, and the more so as, from a certain fiertÉ they all possess, they feel it with peculiar bitterness. But, after all, they are but a small portion of the unfortunates who are ruined by the ruining of the press: there are the compositors, who must exceed two thousand in number; there are the news-venders, who must amount to hundreds, there are the distributors, and the publishers, and the clerks, and all the various dependents of a journal, who must amount to hundreds more—all, like Othello, now exclaiming, 'My occupation's gone.' And then paper-makers and type-founders must surely find work slacker and wages lower, now that the newspapers are dead. And then, again, the cafÉs and the reading-rooms—a very legion—can they do the same amount of business when they have no newspapers to offer? I wonder whether the French Dictator has ever thought of the wide-spread misery he has occasioned, and is causing, by his enmity to the press. It may be doubted—else, perhaps, he would never, from motives of personal or political convenience, have annihilated such an important branch of human industry, which gave bread to tens of thousands. It is a fine thing to have a giant's strength, but tyrannous to use it as a giant." The German papers say that Dr. Meinhold, the author of the Amber Witch, has left among his papers an unfinished manuscript, entitled "Hagar and the Lamartine's new periodical, the Civilisateur, is receiving fair support. The subscriptions are coming in rapidly, and the first number will appear shortly. The Mysteries of the People, by Eugene Sue, is announced to be completed immediately. The sale of this eccentric novel, to say no more, has been prodigious. Eugene Sue is in Switzerland. Dr. euman, Professor of History in the University of Munich, has completed his long-promised History of the English Empire in Asia. It is on the eve of publication. Herr Hartleben, the publisher at Pesth and Vienna, whose meritorious efforts to familiarize his countrymen with the best works of English literature, has just published a translation of Mr. Dickens's Child's History of England. A German edition of Mr. Warburton's Darien is preparing for publication. The German letter addressed to the Countess Hahn-Hahn on her two works—From Babylon to Jerusalem, and In Jerusalem—in Germany generally ascribed to Dr. itzsch, of Berlin, has been translated and published by Mr. Parker. It is very clever, and will probably amuse and interest the readers of that lady's former novels. The restless longing after new sensations, and the logicless action of a vain and ambitious mind, have seldom been analyzed so well or satirized so keenly as in Babylon and Jerusalem. A sharp preface from the translator also adds to the reader's zest. Gutzkow, the German critic and novelist, has just published a collected edition of his works in thirteen volumes, to which he is about to add a fourteenth volume, containing the memoirs of his earlier years. His gigantic novel, the Knights of the Spirit, has reached a second edition. An English newspaper, The Rhenish Times, is about to be published at Neuwied, on the Rhine. This new organ, which has not many chances of success, is to be devoted to polite literature, politics, &c.; from the contributions of a number of "eminent English authors," now residents of Neuwied and its environs. The Austrian government, in order to secure the improvement of Hebrew works of devotion for its own subjects, has authorized the establishment of a special printing press at Goritz, in IllyrÏa; and it calculates that it will henceforth be able to supply the vast demand which exists in the East. Heretofore the Jews of Eastern Europe, of Asia, and of Northern Africa, have obtained their religious books principally from Amsterdam or Leghorn. "Of the language and literature of Hungary," says the Literary Gazette, "little is known in England. No European nation has excited so much political interest, with so little intellectual communion, or literary intercourse with other nations. By deeds, very little by words, has Hungary gained the sympathy and respect of the Anglo-Saxon freemen on both sides of the Atlantic. Few Englishmen have ever heard of the names of Garay, and PetÖfi, and Kisfaludy, and VÖrÖsmartz, whose lyric strains stir the hearts of the Magyars. The literature of so noble a people can not remain longer neglected in England. Besides the political importance which the country will yet assume, there is beauty and originality in the language itself deserving study. Of all European tongues, it has most of the Oriental spirit and form in its idioms. We are glad to find that an elementary work, entitled 'The Hungarian Language; its Structure and Rules, with Exercises and a Vocabulary,' is in the press, by Sigismund WÉkey, late aid-de-camp to Kossuth. Both in Great Britain and America, we have little doubt, the book will be popular." The Edinburgh papers record the death, upon the 14th, at the early age of forty-four, of Robert Blackwood, Esq., the head of the firm of eminent publishers of that name. For the last two years the state of Mr. Blackwood's health compelled his withdrawal from a business which, for the previous fifteen years, he had conducted with admirable energy, sagacity, and success. In the discharge of the difficult duties which devolved upon him, from his position with reference to the literary men of the day, Robert Blackwood uniformly displayed the same strong practical sense for which his father, the founder of the Magazine, was distinguished. He was respected and beloved for his simple and manly qualities by all who had the happiness to know him. His judgments were independent, clear, and decided; his attachments strong and sincere, and by many his name will be long and warmly remembered as that of a stanch and cordial friend. The friends and admirers of the late Lorenz Oken, one of the most eminent anatomists and natural philosophers of modern Europe, have set on foot a subscription for a monument to his memory. Oken's writings have been widely read in Europe and in America—and have, we believe, been translated into French, Italian, and Scandinavian, as well as into English. The character of the monument can not be determined until the probable amount of the subscription shall have been ascertained—but it is expected to take the form of a bust or a statue, to be set up in the Platz at Jena. Baron d'Ohson died recently at Stockholm, aged 73. He was a member of the Academy of Sciences, and President of the Royal Society of Literature in that city. He was one of the most eminent Oriental scholars of the day, and author, among other things, of an important work on the peoples of Caucasus, and of a valuable history of Chinese Tartary, He was born at Constantinople, of Armenian parents, but was educated at Paris. He became secretary to Bernadotte, accompanied him to Sweden, and subsequently fulfilled several diplomatic missions to Paris, London, &c. Turin journals announce the death of Serangeli, an artist of celebrity. He was born at Rome, in 1770, and became a pupil of the celebrated David. At an early age he distinguished himself by a painting in one of the annual exhibitions at Paris, and commissions of importance were given to him by the government. His principal works are: Eurydice dying in the arms of Orpheus; Orpheus soliciting her release from the King of Hell; Sophocles pleading against his Sons; a Christ Crucified; and the Interview of the Emperors Napoleon and Alexander at Tilsit. Of late years he confined himself principally to portrait-painting, and his skill as an historical painter declined in consequence. |