of the brain, and that each particular faculty depends upon its own particular part of the brain. 3. When health and other circumstances are alike, the faculties are powerful or feeble in manifestation, according to the sizes of their organs-size being a measure of functional power. These three fundamental principles of the science, the Phrenologists say are proved by an overwhelming host of facts, as well as supported by analogies; while no facts have been found adverse to them, when fully understood.

It is probable, says the author, that exercise or activity of the organs increases their size; but whether so much as to alter the external configuration of the scull, after puberty, seems very doubtful.

It appears quite certain, that particular forms and qualities of brain are hereditary; but the laws of hereditary descent are yet unascertained. There is a presumption that the organs predominantly active in the parents, will be most developed in the children. The whole of this second division of the work is of great interest.

The existence of certain organs in the brain, is one thing; the mode of ascertaining their existence another. Now the bony and fleshy covering of the skull intervenes between the cerebral organs and the hand of the Phrenologist. That this is an obstacle to the progress of a science demanding great nicety of manipulation and delicacy of touch, must be granted; and we mention it for the purpose of observing, that we presume it was owing to the thickness of our scull that Mr. De Ville, acknowledged by the author to be a clever manipulator, made such a mistake as to pronounce that we had the organ of music very well developed; whereas, the smallness of that organ is the only possible appearance of defect existing in the otherwise complete formation of our mental faculties. The person who accompanied us to the Cave of Phrenology, was one distinguished for his capricious, violent, and angry disposition: him, Mr. De Ville pronounced to possess the organ of justice highly developed. Two greater mistakes could not be made; but whether for the want of knowledge in the Professor, or from the obstacles before mentioned being

in our case of unusual thickness, we cannot venture to pronounce.

We recommend Mr. W.'s book to all desirous of acquiring some knowledge of the history and progress of a system which ought to excite the curiosity if it does not satisfy the judgment of the physiologist and the moralist. To the same gentleman the public is indebted for some very interesting and accurate little volumes on British Botany.

Cowper's Works, by Southey. Vol. VII.

THIS elegant and accurate edition proceeds with undiminished attractions. The letters are followed by some judicious notes by the editor, on which we have only to remark :

P. 57. We believe in our review of the late Mr. Grimshawe's edition, that we explained the allusion in the Miltonic lines, which Cowper did not understand, from a similar passage in A. Gill's Poemata.

P. 321. The mezzotinto print of Twining, we have often seen for sale in the stationers' shops at Colchester. P. 322. Mr. Southey says, "that Mr. Park's knowledge of English poetry has never been surpassed! We can assure Mr. Southey, that he must very much limit his assertion to certain periods of English poetry, before it is correct; and that Mr. Park's Heliconia, and others of his works, abound with the grossest blunders, and show either the greatest ignorance, or the most extraordinary carelessness. Although we had long entertained this opinion, we would not advance it in opposition to the declaration of the Laureate, till we mentioned the subject to two friends, from whose intimate knowledge of Old English Poetry there could be no appeal; and they both fully confirmed our statement. If Mr. Park possessed a thorough knowledge of English poetry, he did himself great injustice in his works.

The Principles of Gothic Architecture elucidated by Question and Answer. By M. H. Bloxam, Esq. Rugby. 12mo. pp. 96.

A GENERAL idea of the value and beauty of the architecture termed Gothic, is now so pervading a sentiment, that it has become a far less

desirable object to make new converts to the style, than to place the prevailing taste under the discipline of scientific principles and the guidance of the best examples. The present little volume may be regarded as a grammar, or rather as a primer of the art. To some its catechetical form may not be pleasing; but it has the advantage of having bound the author to a very clear and lucid arrangement, and there are as many sugarplums throughout the book, in the shape of pretty woodcuts, as any grown-up child can desire. The talents of Mr. Bloxam are perhaps better known by his very pleasing summary of Monumental Architecture; though the present was his earlier work, having previously appeared in a limited edition, the copies of which have been long "out of print."

After a very clear and intelligent introduction, on the origin, progress, and decline of Gothic Architecture in England, Mr. Bloxam proceeds to discuss, in several chapters, the different kinds of arches; the seven styles of 1. Saxon; 2. Norman; 3. Semi-Norman; 4. Early-English; 5. Decorated; 6. Perpendicular; and 7. Debased;the Principal parts of a Church; its Subordinate parts; and, lastly, its internal Arrangement and Decorations under the old Religion.

And here we cannot help lamenting and even remonstrating on the continued use of the hateful term Gothic. If the various periods of the style are denominated after the respective periods of English history, why should a foreign name be retained to designate the whole? Besides, Mr. Bloxam treats only of Churches, not of Castles nor Houses; and his treatise would certainly have been designated with greater precision as a Catechism of English Church Architecture. We regard Gothic as a term most convenient to be turned exclusively to the abortive imitations of the last and present centuries.

In spite, however, of the opprobium of its name, the antient architecture of England has again raised her head: and honoured be the tasteful handmaids of her attire! Among these the works of Mr. Bloxam may be justly enrolled. The present we recommend

expecially to country clergymen. It treats of the value and beauty of particular parts of churches; and in the preservation of beautiful parts which have accidentally escaped destruction and even injury, much is within their power. They have also occasionally the quiet opportunity of supplying parts which have been lost; such as the mullions of windows; a cross at a gable end; a pinnacle, &c. and to do so with correctness and good taste, and to deserve the gratitude of a subsequent and probably more discriminating age, an arranged system like the present will be found of essential

use.

We notice one historical error in p. 48, namely, that the spire of old St. Paul's was destroyed in the Great Fire: it had been burnt by lightning more than a century before, in the year 1561; and we may also correct another, though very trivial, misapprehension respecting the " Sancte bell," in p. 81. As this name was derived from the passage "Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus," we have little doubt that the final e is a misreading of the contraction us of some old manuscript. It is true we find it termed the Saunce bell, which is evidently an abbreviation of Sanctus; as is the Saint's bell, which occurs in Hudibras, and which is still the popular name in places where the bell still exists.

Guidone, a Dramatic Poem, &c. By

W. Smith, Esq. 1836.

THE Author says, "Guidone, though written in the dramatic form, might be described as belonging to the class of reflective or philosophic poems. It seems needless to add, that it was not composed for representation on the stage, or that the interest of the plot, or story, has been treated as a subordinate matter."

The Author, we think, should have gone one step further, and informed us as to what induced him to write a drama not dramatic. He acknowledges, and justly, its defects, yet he does not attempt to reconstruct it on a better principle. As a drama it fails, we think, wholly in three points :-There is no one leading person from whom the incidents spring, or who interests

·

There is more of this as we proceed, but we have given enough: it is an overstrained exaggerated feeling we do not approve. Had it been a hero's or a tyrant's last speech in the struggles of death, after the fearful drama was closing, it would have been more probable, more appropriate, and might have excited sympathy. But for a man to come forward in this Hercles' vein,' and call upon the feelings of the spectators in this manner, when he should have clearly and dispassionately narrated his griefs, before he indulged them, is it well-designed? This exaggeration in describing feelings, belongs to the Byron school, and is a blot in his poetical fame throughout, in our opinion.

There are a few unmusical lines and

Glances at Life in City and Suburb, by Cornelius Webbe.-Mr. Webbe is a very facetious gentleman, and has produced a volume which must please those who delight in the productions of Messrs. Colman, Hood, and Co.; and though our complexion is rather saturnine, and we are not often surprised into a smile, yet we permitted our Niece to read two or three of the tales to us after dinner, and when we awoke, we found we had taken no harm from them. The poor girl herself was convulsed with laughter at the story of the Long Lawyer, and the account of the Hippy; and to please our niece, we can assure Mr. Webbe, is a work of no slight merit on his part; for being constantly with us, and hearing our opinions of the multifarious works that pass through our hands, and herself often writing down our decisions, the girl has acquired a fine discriminating taste, and it is to her that the public is indebted for the excellent account of the Annuals which we gave, to the satisfaction both of the public and the proprietors. Miss Lucy is not unknown to Lady E. Wortley, Miss Landon, and other ladies of first-rate talent, who found out the value of her acquaintance; and whose poems she sometimes finishes for them, at a moderate expense, when they have too much in hand. N.B. Miss Lucy's terms for odes, charades, and jeuxd'esprits, may be had at the Publisher's ; blank verse is cheaper, and may be agreed for separately. Small parcels of spare stanzas and broken lines, bought at the sale of a deceased poet, may be had a bargain.

Sallustii Opera, with English Notes by Professor Anthon. Seventh edition. R.

inelegant expressions of no great consequence in the poem :-"Fulfilment of vows made in childish years ”"Push'd to the throne, myself Rinaldo"-" Breaks never"-"Age that excepts not any"-"Am rais'd at once to rectitude of port," &c. We should not have said so much on this poem, had it not, together with its faults, possessed many marks of talent, happiness of thought, vigour of expression, and many poetical images. We are convinced that the author could give us a better poem than this. But we see he dates from the Temple; if so, we despair. For he cannot justly make the Muse of Poetry his wife, and she will never live with him as hisbed-muker.

Priestley.-We have had occasion to express our previous approbation of some of Mr. R. Priestley's editions of the classics. We willingly extend that to the present: a more useful and valuable edition of Sallust certainly has never appeared; and when it is considered how difficult his style must be to young scholars, from its brevity, its condensed expression, and its idiomatic phrases and affectation of antiquity, the value of Professor Anthon's labours will be duly estimated. There is an excellent Life of Sallust prefixed; and a large body of useful Notes, both grammatical and critical, follow the text. The book is printed in a very neat type, and with the greatest attention to its correctness. It is an edition that should be recommended by all masters, and well studied by all scholars.

History of the West Indies, comprising Jamaica, &c. By R. M. Martin. Vol. I. -Mr. Martin has presented to us a book containing much valuable information in a small compass: the account of Jamaica and of Trinidad are of peculiar interest. We should have liked a fuller, perhaps a more accurate, notice of the Botany of these islands. It has often been remarked that the Zoology is very scanty. Jamaica, for instance, scarcely producing a single animal except the monkey and the agouti (v. p. 82). The other islands in some respects are richer, but on the whole the list of animals is very small-but is it not so in that immense island of New Holland?—while the zoology of Sumatra and of Java is comparatively varied, and of a higher class. These are curious facts. Jamaica, however, appears to have produced other animals now extinct. A com

parison would be advantageous between the zoology of these islands and the American continent opposite to them. The author says, some cabbage-trees (palm) in Jamaica have been known 270 feet high. If so, they are among the loftiest trees yet seen upon the earth.

By T.

De Quincy on the Fine Arts. C. Kent. We have long possessed and highly esteemed this work in the original, and are gratified in seeing it for the first time in an English dress. The treatise of M. de Quincy is the production of a reflecting and sagacious mind, of a fine and delicate feeling, and of great knowledge of art. The great object of the treatise is to ascertain the boundaries of art in its various provinces; this inquiry is pursued with great acuteness and know. ledge; and while the whole work gratifies, as it must do, the man of taste and the man of genius, it will be of great practical service to the artist, by pointing out to him the limits within which he must confine himself, and the great error he would fall into by invading the province of others. To Mr. Kent, we have no doubt, very many, who never heard of the treatise in the original, or who could not avail themselves of it in its native language, will feel deeply obliged by the translation.

Hopes of Matrimony, &c. By John Holland.-Mr. Holland has formed himself on the style of Campbell, and the expressions, cadence, and tone of the Pleasures of Hope, are traceable in his poem. He has chosen a good exemplar, and his own poem is very creditable to him. We will quote the Sonnet on Haddon Hall. Rock-bas'd, tree-girdled, silent, smokeless, still There stands a Mansion of the olden time; To that strong postern gateway let us climb, Portcullissed once; look how that massive sill Is worn by constant feet! or what goodwill Of feudal spirits this brave spot hath seen! There stood the Yeomen in their coats of green, [shrill; There the bold Huntsman blew his clarion There at the massive table VERNON sate, There lay his dogs: there his retainers stood, While in that gallery dames of gentle blood

Walked forth in beauty's conscious charms elate,

When the rich arras, now worn thro' and thro',

The Family Liturgy, &c. By the Rev. W. Sibthorp. 1836.-This little work well fulfils its purpose. The Selection of Prayers and Psalms, and other parts of the Liturgy, is formed with care and judg

ment.

The Christian Legacy, in Fifteen Discourses. By the Rev. James Hough, Minister of Ham, Surrey.-We think the Author has done right in giving a greater publicity, through the press, to his forcible and interesting discourses, than they could have gained in any other manner. To make extracts from such compositions, in our limited space, cannot be expected, and would be of no profit to the reader. But we recommend them as the discourses of a pious and enlightened minister: the doctrine is sound, the illustrations well chosen, the language simple, and the feeling devout.

The Phylactery, a Poem. 1836.-The Author of this poem is a person of thought and knowledge, -a scholar and a divine. Shall we also say that he is a Poet? We answer in the affirmative. And yet there is a want of finish and elegance in his language, and a want of selection in his thoughts and images, which will act strongly against the popularity of his poem, as they detract also from its value. Its chief merit consists in the soundness and solidity of the reflections, and the earnestness and force with which they are delivered. We fully agree with the Author in his views of the social and civil state of the kingdom, and thank him for expressing himself on such important subjects in the voice of Wisdom and Religion. His poem is worth revising. Many vulgar and many unusual words should be suppressed, and some lines restored to a better measure. We do not like coparcenery, bezil, succedaneum; or such lines

as,

"Stamp'd deeply in his susceptible breast."

The Author's subject and style would lead him to Cowper's Task, and there he would find a model, in which, with little exception, the expression and the subject admirably harmonize; which is familiar without being mean, and which embel

bright and new.

A short Exposition of the Order for the Burial of the Dead, &c. By an old College Incumbent. 1836.-A very judicious and useful little work, forming a very excellent commentary on our most eloquent and impressive Service on the Dead.

trations and happy transitions. The Author should study Cowper's lightness and grace of allusion, as well as the severity and strength of his satire and rebukes.

Walks and Scenes in Judea and Gallilee. It is sufficient praise for such unassuming though excellent little books as