and Mary, the wife of William of Orange, could not have been fonder of her needle, than the wife of George III. She was, through life, exceedingly industrious; and one of the principal complaints which she made in her last illness, was, the want of employment. As long as her health permitted, she had always some design in hand; and, when her visitors frequently wondered how she got through so much, the reply was, that she never let a single hour pass unoccupied." No. IV. SKETCH OF THE LIFE, CHARACTER, AND WRITINGS OF BARONESS DE STAEL HOLSTEIN. BY Madame Necker de SAUSSURE. 1 vol. 8vo. 1820. THIS work was undertaken at the special request of the chil dren of the late Baroness De Stael. It is divided into two parts; the first of which includes her literary life, and comprehends the "Letters to Rousseau;" " Defence of the Queen;""Delphine;"" Corinna, or Italy;" "Of Germany;" "Considerations of the French Revolution," &c. Part II. is dedicated to the domestic and social life of Madame de Stael. "The education of this lady was superintended by her amiable and accomplished mother; and her system, we are told, was totally opposite to that of Rousseau, who supposed that we acquire ideas only through the medium of our senses. She, on the contrary, sought to operate on mind immediately by mind." The following passage cannot fail to prove interesting: "In her habitual society, Madame de Stael was full of charms. She had a simplicity of manners, and even an appearance of carelessness, that made every one feel at ease. In her company, there was no constraint. Circles, formal dissertations, wit on compulsion, did not please her: she was too fond, in all things, of what was unexpected, not to leave much to chance; and an animated and easy motion prevailed around her. Always observing, she never had the air of scrutinising; and, as her attention appeared turned to the subject of the discourse, rather than to the manner in which it was carried on by each individual, no one felt himself in the heavy on any person: she asked only for amusement; not for trials of skill. Madame De Stael was graceful in all her motions. Her face, without satisfying the eye in every respect, first attracted, and then fixed it; because it had a very uncommon advantage as an organ of the mind; a sort of intellectual beauty, if we may use the term, suddenly displayed itself in it. Her thoughts painted themselves in succession so much the more distinctly in her countenance, that, except her eyes, which were uncommonly fine, no very striking feature marked its character beforehand. She had none of those permanent expressions, which mean, ultimately, nothing; and her physiognomy was created on the spot, as we may say, by her feelings. Perhaps, when still, her eye-lids were rather heavy; but genius suddenly sparkled in her eyes; her looks glowed with a noble fire, and animated, like lightning, the thunder of her words." She observed, one day, to M. Chateaubriand, “I have always been the same, lively and sad; I have loved God, my father, and liberty." On her death-bed, Madame De Stael displayed great equanimity of temper. During her last illness, she solicited the pardon of a person of the name of Barry, who had been condemned to die; which was obtained the day after her death: "so that she did good, even after she had breathed her last." No. V. THE LIFE OF THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD, THE following quotation from the preface, will convey some idea of the intentions of the Reverend Author. "No order of men has produced nobler examples of distinguished piety than the episcopal order. The names of Ignatius and Polycarp, in the primitive ages, and of Latimer and Ridley in more modern times, are dear to Christians. It would be easy to add a multitude of names of similar excellence, to the catalogue of bishops, who, at different periods, have shone as lights in the world;' but perhaps it would not be easy to produce one more deserving of universal esteem than the venerable one of Bishop Wilson. "The very mention of this name will raise high expectations, and as such, the writer of the following pages is deeply convinced of his inability to satisfy. This conviction, however, has not deterred him from the attempt of recording the events of a life, so eminently pious, and so extensively useful. As the smallest particle of the diamond are valuable, so every fragment of such a life should be holden in high estimation. The design of the present work is to collect these fragments, and form them, and the materials already prepared by a former biographer, to present the public with a fuller account of the life and character of Bishop Wilson, than has yet appeared. Whilst they exhibit many a happy Christian in the obscure walks of life, they embalm the memory of thousands, who have been called upon by Providence, to occupy more important stations.” 1 and Mary, the wife of William of Orange, could not have been fonder of her needle, than the wife of George III. She was, through life, exceedingly industrious; and one of the principal complaints which she made in her last illness, was, the want of employment. As long as her health permitted, she had always some design in hand; and, when her visitors frequently wondered how she got through so much, the reply was, that she never let a single hour pass unoccupied." |