The Incarnation, and other Poems. By Thomas Ragg. Second Edition.-There is a great deal of piety, and somewhat of poetry, in this little volume; and the author, though evidently not a person of learning, possesses a tolerably good ear for blank verse. We will give SONNET TO THE EVENING STAR. power. Bright Star of Even, thy delightful ray Is lovely to my sight-I love thy hour, I love the dusky twilight's silken grey, And ev'n the strength of its enchanting [breeze For peace to me seems whisp'ring in each That bears thy influence, as the worn out day [trees, Sinks on his cradle-bed; and brooks, and And waving corn-fields their soft music play [dwell To lull thee to repose. Peace seems to On every tongue. The grassy mountain high, The dark'ning valley, and the rocky dell, All speak the self-same note; while bright the sky, Enliven'd by thy beam, looks so serene, The ravished soul might think these ne'er had been. Public Expenditure apart from Taxation. By D. Wakefield, jun.-The object of Mr. Wakefield's book is one which all persons must approve; the general principle of " paying public servants in proportion to the duty performed," is certainly the only just scale, but it is so constantly disturbed by different causes, that it is seldom able to bring the perfection of its theory into practice. Mr. Wakefield considers all the different branches of government expenditure, including the law and the church, as well as those directly paid by the state, as the public offices. His observations on the unequal distribution of the revenues of the Church, and on the great disadvantages that arise from it, as in Wales more particularly, are full of truth; but how to remedy the evil, is not easily to be discovered. A zealous churchman says, "let Government buy up the lay patronage, and bestow it on the Church, thus bringing the distribution of its revenues to a greater equality, and insuring residence." A less attached and more tinid man says, "take from the cathedrals, and chapters, and large livings, and give to the small." A Dissenter cries ont, take away the Church's exclusive privileges, and place us all on one footing." The Radical exclaims, "cut it down root and branch, destroy it altogether, it is a pest to the land." When there is such a melancholy diversity of opinion existing, it is impossible to bring forward any measure that would meet the approval of all. Mr. Wakefield considers the law-servants (as the judges) much overpaid, and he has drawn out, for the satisfaction of the whigs, a table of the amount which Lord Grey and his family have derived from the nation in the short space of three years; and which amounts to the trifling sum of about TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND POUNDS. He considers the by the Duke of Richmond; and the ComPost-office to have been very badly managed missioners of the Insolvent Debtor's Court, to be persons of no knowledge or capacity. There is much truth in many of his remarks, but mixed up with too much of the almost personal bitterness of the Reformer by profession. The Frolics of Puck. 3 vols.—We suppose this work to be the amusement of some facetious sojourner at Cowes or Ryde, to deceive, as best he could, the dark autumnal days. They are not devoid of a peculiar kind of wild unchartered drollery; and the little goblin friars, and fat monks, and the demons of the wine cellar, with Puck himself as their monarch, may amuse those who, confined to the delights of bathing towns and watering places, are sadly in want of mental recreation. The Young Seer. By Elizabeth Frances Dagley.-The history of the misfortunes of a young lady, arising from the control which a gipsy woman gained over her, by acting on her credulity. The moral is, that a more Christian spirit and a more attentive education, would have so regulated her principles, and strengthened her mind, and elevated her hopes, and purified her heart, that she would not have been open to the artifices of the cunning Egyptian, or suffered so deeply from her own indiscretion. and do not occur in America; and owing Buffon confined the geographical range Before we conclude, we must mention one slight mistake that occurs in p. 188, where we read, "This is the bird which was known in early times in Britain by the name of Popinjay. In the reign of Henry the Fifth, a singular poem was written by Skelton, under the title of 'Speak Parrot,' in which the essential characters of this species are well described." Perhaps the learned editors will transfer the date of this poem to a later reign in their next edition. A Popular View of the Correspondence between the Mosaic Ritual, and the Facts and Doctrines of the Christian Religion, in Nine Discourses. By the Rev. William Greswell, A. M.-A very intelligent, well-written, and well-reasoned volume, on a subject which has exercised the piety, and perhaps exhausted the learning of many good scholars. Mr. Greswell has modestly called his volume a Popular View," and in his preface he says, "He had no view in the primary contemplation of his undertaking, beyond that of endeavouring to excite a new interest in an old and familiar subject, and to exhibit acknowledged and unquestionable truths in a popular and intelligible light, for the benefit of the simplest understanding. The religious world must not therefore expect to find much that is novel in the present volume." It will be evident that this is a work, the merit of which cannot be exhibited by any short quotations, which are suitable only, where brief divisions of argument may be expounded, or facts recorded, or brilliancy of style and thought exhibited; but those persons who will read the third and fourth discourses on the sacrificial institutions of the Jewish law, and the three last on the feasts of the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacle, will be satisfied with the manner in which they are treated, and which prove Mr. Greswell to be alike a good reasoner, a scholar, and a divine. Men of learning are of course perfectly acquainted with the necessity of studying deeply and familiarly the institutions and the spirit of the Mosaic law, to enable them to understand the Christian institutions; but there is a great mass of Christians who much and unhappily neglect this important branch of their religious studies; to them this volume will prove very useful, in alike reminding them of the absolute necessity of being acquainted with the Old Testament, if they mean to be masters of the New; and it will further give them valuable information on some of its leading and primary dispensations and institutions. Causes illustrating the Remedial Power of the Inhalation of Iodine and Conium, in Tubercular Pthisis. By Sir C. Scudamore. -A very clever French physician once gave this account of the practice of medicine: Nature," he said, "and disease are at strife, they cannot come to terms. A blind man with a great stick (the physician) is called in to make them friends. He cannot get through with it; he then takes his stick, and lays about him, without knowing where he strikes. If he strikes on the disease, he kills it; if on nature, he kills her, and the quarrel is decided." We thought of this apologue, as we read Sir C. Scudamore's treatise on that disease that has so long laughed defiance at the arts of medicine. proposal to retard, or cure consumption by inhalation of iodine and conium, seems ingenious and in some cases successful. A much more extended trial is however wanted, before any opinion can be given safely concerning it. Many cases failed-" Discunt Periculis nostris," His says Pliny, and " per experimenta mor tes agunt.' The Parent's Dentist Guide. By William Imre, Surgeon Dentist.-This is not a work for a reviewer to shew his teeth at: it is full of good practical observation and experience; and treats with skill and delicacy some of the nicer opera tions that fall under the eye of the dentist. A famous oculist used to say, that when a person came into the room, he could immediately tell whether those were his eyes or not, whether his brush had produced their brilliancy. And Mr. Imre may well boast, that the polish and candour of HIS teeth are visible at the first grin, above those of common and unimproved nature. On Malignant Cholera. By Joseph Ayre. We much approve Dr. Ayre's method of meeting the fiend of pestilence, and firing at him a succession of calomel bullets till he destroys him, as the poor elephant Chuni was killed in Exeter Change by leaden ones. There is in this treatise, sober investigation and cautious judgment, and sound inferences from facts. A Treatise on the Nature of Vision, and the Formation of the Eye. By Alex. Alexander.-Treatise on the Physiology and Diseases of the Eye. By H. Curtis. -Two excellent treatises, the result of experience on a subject most interesting to mankind, the preservation of the sight, in its strength and serenity. Mr. Curtis's is the largest and most elaborate, but Mr. Alexander's seems not at all inferior in merit. The disease of the Reviewer is the "musca volitans," which at length swells to the size of the blue-bottle fly, whenever huge enclopædias, and epic poems, and endless county histories come before him. Half the diseases of the world are fatal from ignorance and neglect; and it appears that some very dangerous habits and opinions exist relating to the eye, and to the instruments that assist vision. The student, and the scholar, and the clerk, who begin to feel the effects of their vigils, and their late lucubrations, will derive knowledge and benefit from these sensible volumes, which we highly recommend; especially as good eyes are peculiarly wanting, when duodecimos and diamond classics are in vogue; though fortunately a man may see all that is new in them, with half an eye. The Flora of Oxfordshire and its contiguous Counties. By Rev. Richard Walker, B. D. 1833.-We consider that the author of this work has judiciously arranged his Flora according to the artificial nomenclature of Linnæus, leaving to the students of Botany to carry on their investigations by uniting the Linnæan and Jussieuian systems. In the present state of the science, this seems the best and most profitable plan. The catalogue of native plants has been formed with care, and much personal observation; the plates are neatly and elegantly engraved, and the book is a valuable addition to the study of the English Flora. Forty Years Residence in America. By Grant Thorburn, (the original Laurie Todd). This volume is introduced by a very pert preface from Mr. Galt, and the object of the work is to exemplify the doctrine of a particular Providence in the person of Mr. Thorburn, who was once a nail-maker, and is now a seedsman at New York. If the book has any design beyond this, we are ignorant of it. To us it appears neither very instructive nor entertaining: the author is a violent republican, as may sufficiently be known by his calling the upper ranks of society in England, "the noble blackguards," (p. 244); and by saying that the ladies "are waited on by white slaves" (p. 245). If any admirer of Thomas Paine wishes to glean some information concerning that interesting person, and learn how much brandy he drank and blasphemy he uttered per diem, he may satisfy himself in this work. Some Remarks on the present Studies of Eton School. By a Parent.-The chief ground of complaint against the system of education at Eton is the old one, the one so often adduced, and as often refuted, the too great prevalence of classical studies. Now we so far differ from this writer, who, we will be bound to say, is not a classical scholar himself, as to assert that the study of the languages of the ancient writers is not so severely and systematically pursued as it ought to be, and that our classical knowledge is infinitely below that of our neighbours the Ger mans. We believe a better system of education is opening before us, assisted by grammars on more philosophical principles, and more accurate lexicons; better editions of the ancient writers are appearing, explained by men of great erudition, and we trust that the language of Homer and Archimedes, of Lucretius and Livy, will be learned with greater facility and correctness, and will ever be the main leading points of study in all our public schools of education. Let the seminaries and academies teach their chemistry and music, and use of the maps, and gymnastics, and marching exercise, and landsurveying, and geology; be it ours to follow that system that produced a Barrow and an Usher, a Milton and a Taylor, a Horsley and a Paley, a Fox and a Canping, as well as a Bentley, a Porson, an Elmsley, and a Parr. Credit Pernicious. By Archibald Ros ser, 2nd. edit.-There is much in this pamphlet worthy of consideration; and much that would instruct the inexperience of youth; but the main principle which it advocates, we are sure will never be adopted ;-in a rich, refined, luxurious country like ours: it never can. There is a line, undoubtedly, beyond which all credit is pernicious, ruinous, and destructive; but the discovery of that line as it winds around each individual case, is impossible-no laws can prevent credit being given and received; to attempt it, against the feelings and habits of a people, would only be to make it more pernicious. Dissertation on the Construction of Fire-Places. By Thomas Hadfield.-To this pamphlet is prefixed an epistle to the Lancashire Witches-in which there is unfortunately more smoke than fire. Yet the author is a gay spark, and is willing to preserve the bloom and beauty of the ladies of his county from being smoke-dried, like those of Holland and Germany: he therefore lights his fire in the best-constructed stove, and sends the smoke up the chimney by such a flue as will not induce it to come down again. The Practice by Justices and Plaint, in the County Court; with Practical Forms, and an Index. By George Barclay Mansel, Esq.-At a time when the public mind is occupied with proposals for the erection of new courts for the recovery of small debts, it is highly advantageous to be informed as to the nature of the constitution and practice of our common law local courts. With a very little alteration, these ancient tribunals might be made to answer all the beneficial purposes sought to be obtained by the proposed new courts. Without having any political object in view, Mr. Mansel has here presented us with some of the materials for forming a judgment upon this question, and at the same time has furnished the practitioner with a cheap and compendious manual of practice. In the latter respect, this book will be found eminently useful, as there has not been any similar work for very many years past. Political Lucubrations. By John Earl Somers. The object of this pamphlet is to recommend a Property Tax, on so large a scale as to pay off the national debt; to explain the views of the noble author on these great questions which have come before him as a legislator in the last sessions; and to give his opinions on the merits and demerits of the different administrations. It is the production of a sensible, experienced man, a lover of his country, and one ready to make any personal sacrifice to ensure the stability of its government, and to promote the happiness of his fellow citizens. In Antiquitates Apostolicæ, or the Lives of the Apostles. By William Cave, with an Essay by Richard Henry Stebbing. 3 vol. -A very acceptable service is rendered to the public by the republication of Cave's learned and excellent Lives of the Apostles, the original being both expensive and scarce. The introductory essay by Mr. Stebbing is well worthy of perusal, with the exception of the sneer at Jortin at the end, which was not deserved. stead of being only a compiler, Jortin was a man of wit, knowledge, learning, and acuteness; and twenty Caves will appear before another Jortin shall delight and inform the world. Mr. Stebbing ought to be above building the pedestal of his author's fame on the ruins of a rival. A compiler indeed!! We should be glad in these days of compilation to find a few Jortins employed in the task. What would the Doctor of Hatton have said to this, had he been alive? 'Rowbotham's New and Easy Method of Learning the French Genders in a few hours,' is a useful compilation. Ordination Counsel and other Poems, By Richard Knott.-Mr. Knott is a very pious and deeply religious person, and being a Baptist, is strongly persuaded of the truth of the Calvinistic tenets; and he has made his poetical volume the vehicle of much of his peculiar views, and controversial statements. In this we think he has not done wisely; his controversy has marred his poetry, and their conjunction is hurtful to both. We will give, as a specimen, a poem "on the uncertain Tenure of Earthly Friendship." Earthly friendship, oh! how fleeting, Friend our earlier steps attend. Nature then with death may cope. First the widening gates of day, Light when gloom shall pass away. Popular Encyclopædia, Part 2d. Ban- tion where his duties and interests will be united. Place him in a situation respected by society; give him an income raised above the sordid pittance upon which he is now all but starving; make him comfortable and independent, elevate him to a level above the mass of his parishioners; let men look up to him with respect for his station-in fact, let the Bishops use their influence and interest in placing the body of the Clergy in such circumstances of comfort as they ought to possess, and they will be performing a more beneficial part, more honourable to themselves, and more advantageous to the community, than in dropping hints of their immorality, and thereby giving weapons of attack to the Philistines of Gath and Askalon. FINE ARTS. ROYAL ACADEMY.-ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS. The erection of a new Hall for the Fishmongers' Company, at the principal entrance of the metropolis, afforded an opportunity of rare occurrence, for the display of talent. Here we might have expected to witness a design which would at once be an ornament to the site and a monument of English genius, attracting the gaze of every stranger on his arrival at the great city; but unfortunately corporation judgment is not always in unison with the dictates of good taste, and in this quality, the lapse of nearly a century has produced no improvement. The spirit of dullness which rejected Palladio's design for the Mansion-house, because this great architect was a non-freeman, would appear to have reigned despotic in the society which directed the erection of a large common-place, naked building, in one of the finest building sites perhaps ever witnessed. In the present exhibition, there are six designs for this hall, viz. : No. 886. A design submitted to the Fishmongers' Company, Dec. 1831. W. GRELLIER. No. 891. Sketch for a Publie Building. S. ANGELL. No. 892. Viere of a Public Edifice designed for a site at the N.W. Angle of the New London Bridge. C. E. LANG. No. 949. Perspective View of a design for a New Hall for the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers. 1832. J. BOORER. No. 960. One of the designs for the Elevation at the front of the New Fishmongers' Hall facing the river. R. J. BARROW and F. LANG. No. 976. Per. spective View of the New Hall proposed for the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers. J. GOLDICUTT'S. In these designs, as well as others which have not met with so great publicity, the architects have in most instances merely aimed at designing a great house which possessed no character as the ball of a Company; it might be a tavern, or a town hall, a theatre, or a meeting-house; there was nothing in the elevation to mark its peculiar character. In three only of the six designs noticed above, the hall is allowed to form a prominent feature. Of these, 967, Mr. Goldicutt's design is, without exception, the most beautiful and appropriate we have seen. In the front. towards the street, appears a small court separated from the foot path by iron gates: on two sides are ranged the private apartments of the structure, built in the Italian style of decoration, with a clock turret marking the principal entrance; the remaining side of the quadrangle was to be occupied by the hall, a parallelogram of large dimensions peripteral, and crowned with an attic, the order Corinthian; the character of the building is marked by the attic, which sufficiently distinguishes it from a temple: if this design had been executed, London might have shewn one palatial building which need not veil its face before the proudest structure of Rome or Venice. No. 892, by Mr. LANG, also shewed the hall in a prominent point of view; but the design was merely a copy of the Parthenon. It certainly would have been pleasing to have seen such a structure in a conspicuous situation in London, but architectural propriety would have been violated by a temple being erected for a banquetting hall. No. 886. Mr. GRELLIER introduced the hall in the centre, with a hexastyle portico of the Ionic order; but it is incumbered with wings. No. 891, No. 949, No. 960, are nearly as commonplace as the building which has been erected, and differ not very essentially from it. No. 941. A Restoration of the Priory Church, at Christ-church, Hants. B. Ferrey. Mr. Ferrey is about to publish an historical account of the church and priory, illustrated by elucidations of its architecture, and he makes this design from documentary evidence to be given in his work. He shews a central tower in the Norman style with a leaded spire, as well as two large circular towers at the west end, raised on square basements, and capped by pyramids. At Rochester and Town Malling are similar turrets, but they are smaller, and appear rather as |