most beautiful flowers, and those popularly suggestive of sentiment, are figured; then come the descriptions of the botanist, in a plain and engaging form; after this, the manner in which the imagination employs the names of flowers symbolically; and lastly, some appropriate poetry, so lavishly to be found in the works of our greatest poets, embodying the sentiment conveyed by the flowers. Flowers are thus, if possible, made more lovely than they in reality are, by their drawing down upon themselves the immortal beauties of the human mind. A more lovely, and in some senses a more instructive book could not be published.

A Tale. By JANE London: Whittaker.

ART. XIX.-Lowenstein, King of the Forests. ROBERTS, Authoress of "Two Years at Sea." 1836. We find it difficult to characterize this tale in any style to our own satisfaction. Perhaps it would be the better way, in this inadequacy to please ourselves by any thing like precise speaking, to take refuge in a general expression of praise, and simply to aver that the "King of the Forests" has afforded us one of the greatest treats we have met with for a long time. But we shall state what seem to have been two or three of our grounds of delight in its perusal, without dilating upon them. Well then, the beauties of sylvan scenery, and the fine and natural feelings of our early years have been sweetly and almost imperceptibly brought home to our vision and to our hearts, with their pristine force and purity, by Lowenstein. There was, besides all this, the quiet but the ethereal spirit of the authoress seen to be at work, which of itself must be a fascinating object. And lastly, the story is exquisitely managed and wrought out. It is full of fine romance and love, chasteness of style and strength, as well as great refinement of thought, all which sustain and beautify the whole.

ART. XX.-The Solar Eclipse; or, the Two Almanacks: containing More Enquiries in Astronomy. By R. M. ZORNLIN. London: Ridgway. 1836.

MISS ZORNLIN, the authoress of "What is a Comet," which opportunely appeared a few months ago, and before that which goes by the name of Halley, has in this concise and tiny work, with equal acquaintance with her subject, and, we must add, unassuming graceful taste, come forward in advance of the eclipse which will show itself on the 15th day of the current month. The simplicity, the attractive and comprehensive character of the lessons conveyed by the dialogue, suit exactly, be they children or uninformed adults, the persons for whom this little book is framed. In short, we may call it one of the best little rudiments to the study of astronomy; for while it teaches, it entices, at the same time that it conveys the truest principles of religious feeling. In our anxiety to do justice to the fair writer's compressed performance, the best thing to be done is to give a specimen or two of her matter and manner.

After learning what an annular eclipse is, Charles puts it to his father, Mr. Walcot

"Will not the eclipse of the sun on the 15th of May, 1836, be annular in some places?

"Mr. W. Yes, it will be annular at Edinburgh; and it will also be annular, or nearly so, in that part of England which lies to the north of a line passing from Ravenglass in Cumberland, by Northallerton in Yorkshire.

"Ch. How many digits will be eclipsed at London ?

Mr. W. Rather more than ten."

At the close of the dialogue the pupil says

"The more I learn, the more do I desire to learn; for when I understand the cause of anything, I think about it when I look at it; and I am sure we shall all derive double pleasure now, whilst looking at a flower, and considering how it gains its colours, than we ever did before, when only admiring the bright tints." To which, among other things, the father answers-" The more we penetrate into the wonders of Creation, the more shall we perceive the harmony, and order, and beauty, which pervade the whole system of the universe; and the better be able to comprehend the power and goodness of that God, to whom we owe every blessing here, and every hope of happiness hereafter."

ART. XXI.-Irish Varieties, for the Last Fifty Years. Written from Recollections by J. D. HERBERT. London: Joy. 1836. THESE Recollections, "consisting of Sketches of Character, Customs, Manners, Occurrences, Events, Professions, Establishments, the Stage, the Bar, the Pulpit, and a Plan for Relieving the Irish Peasantry," as set forth in the title-page, contain lots of subjects for laughter, and not a few that are touchingly tender, curious, or descriptive. No one but an Irishman could throw off from recollection such a work as this. It deals with many personages of whom the world has long had knowledge, and some that are still among us, embellishing the age; but it deals with them after the most approved fashion of Hibernian light-hearted kindliness and affection. The truth is, that contrary to our expectations, we have found the volume nothing less than most engaging and delightful. We implicitly believe the author, when he says that his account of the characters are original, and written with truth, and that with most of these characters he has been familiar. The notices of the early years of Mrs. Jordan, of Moore, &c., will be universally acceptable. There can be no doubt of the work proving so popular, that the author's continuation of his" Varieties" will speedily appear, according to the condition announced by him.

ART. XXII.—The Present Position and Prospects of the British Trade with China; together with an Outline of Some Leading Oc-. currences in its Past History. By JAMES MATHESON, Esq. London: Smith, Elder, and Co. 1836.

THE author, who is of the firm of Jardine, Matheson, and Co., of Canton, states that he has been engaged in active commercial pursuits at Canton for the last seventeen years. Indeed, the work itself contains

sufficient proofs of practical familiarity and careful consideration respecting the subjects discussed in it, and consequently of its claims upon the marked attention of the British public. For it is nothing short of a melancholy fact, that an extreme degree of ignorance, callousness, and misrepresentation, has hitherto prevailed in this country as to our intercourse with China. It is truly said by the author, that four-fifths of the people know or care little more about our relations with that empire, than that the delightful beverage "which cheers but not inebriates," and a few articles of ornamental dress and curious earthenware, annually find their way hither from it. And yet no country, it is quite clear from the production before us, presents to England the basis of a more legitimate and mutually advantageous trade than China. But then, think of the sufferings, the insults, the dangers to which our countrymen have been exposed, by whose means all Chinese intercourse with this country has been conducted. All this has been greatly owing to the ignorance, timidity, and questionable policy on the part of the East India Company, pursued for a long series of years. But as respects the whole subject of British commerce with the Chinese, we earnestly direct the attention of our readers to the information and suggestions contained in the present production, which, together with several other works lately given to the world by the same respectable publishers, cannot fail of conveying an amount of knowledge, and producing a degree of anxious feeling throughout the realm on this paramount topic, that will have their practical fruits.

ART. XXIII.-Roscoe's Views in Wales. Simpkin & Co. Nos. 11, 12, 13. We have so often spoken in the most favourable terms of this beautiful and correct work, as to render it now unnecessary to say more, than that these numbers are in no particular unworthy of the fellowship of the best of the former. Surely no one acquainted, or wishing to become acquainted with Welsh scenery and Welsh history, if his purse allow it, will deny himself the pleasure and the benefit which this highly and happily embellished publication offers. The price indeed is exceedingly moderate.

ART. XXIV.-The Book of Common Prayer, &c., of the Church of England; with brief Explanatory Notes. By the Rev. G. VALPY. London: Valpy. 1836.

THE Editor's opinion is, that while Christians are called on to sing praises unto God with understanding, the command may be quite as rightly applied in regard to prayer. Certainly, both should be reasonable services, and without understanding going along with either exercise, they cannot be reasonable. The reverend gentleman, however, also believes that there are many who do not understand the prayers which they offer up from this Book of Common Prayer; and that there are in it, at least, many words and expressions which to them are as words in an unknown tongue. It is for such, especially, that this edition has been prepared. There are, accordingly, observations on the nature of the Church's forms of worship; a reference to all such passages of Scripture as are contained in the Book

of Common Prayer; the distinction of the Answers by Italics; the explanation of obsolete and difficult words; of all the Fast and Feast days; and the character and object of each Psalm. On the simple announcement of this plan and these particulars the conviction is clear and immediate, that Mr. Valpy has taken up a most happy idea, and that the work will prove highly useful to the adherents of the United Church of England and Ireland. The wonder is, that such an apparent desideratum has not been supplied long ere this. It is also our opinion that the execution of the plan is equal to the excellence of its conception. The Notes are not only brief, but they are plain, explicit, and to the point, so that the weakest may at once apprehend them. Along with all these recommendations the volume is of a commodious size; and in form, type, paper, and all the other mechanical requisites, it is elegant. It is, in short, the Prayer Book which every Church-going person, and every student of this Ritual, should possess; nor do we doubt of its almost universal adoption for the pocket as well as the closet.

ART. XXV.-The Fellow Commoner. London: Churton. 1836. A CONSIDERABLE portion of these three volumes appeared in a series of papers, some time ago, in the Court Magazine, under the title of "Remarkable Escapes of a Predestinated Rogue." The object of the work, we presume, is to let the reader see the frightful consequences which result from Antinomian belief. The Fellow Commoner is the Predestinated Rogue, and accordingly he believes, that as God has created some of his creatures to be "elected" to heavenly bliss, and others to everlasting misery, that he, being one of the elect, may do as he pleases, and therefore he follows his inclination, and is a thorough-paced thief, and an infamous fellow altogether. We need not attempt the slightest outline of his career. It is, however, as wonderful and incredible as it is bad. We do not like the novel at all. The successful issues of the hero's villanies, his future repentance and marriage, cannot prove harmless even in a fiction. The story may entertain the lovers of the marvellous, and confirm them more and more in their disrelish for rational or elegant literature; but this negative praise is the utmost we can afford. The style of the work is not good; it is forced, and loaded with far-fetched epigrams and unnecessary quotations. But above all, we doubt whether the attempt tɩ represent a religious heresy according to the fancy of the writer, it may be, who is not intimately acquainted with its real principles and actual bearings, and who only gives us what it suits his own fancy to put into the mouth and actions of any of his characters, can ever be serviceable to to truth, or sound moral sentiments. We therefore think that the subject, the plot, and the detail of the "Fellow Commoner" are questionable.

ART. XXVI.-The Elysium of Animals: A Dream. By EGERTON SMITH. London: Nisbet. 1836.

THIS production appeared originally in a publication called "The Melange," and having attracted the favourable attention of a number of bene

volent gentlemen, it has now been brought out in a detached form and separate volume. Its object is to co-operate with the conductors of the work entitled "The Voice of Humanity," in the laudable effort to mitigate the unmerited sufferings of the animal creation. That the author has succeeded in his endeavour to exhibit to the reader the odious character of wanton severity towards the lower animals, in a more forcible light than the common observer would discover for himself, we admit. He has also put the subject upon such a ground, and treated it in such a shape as will naturally arouse the attention of the young and the unreflecting. At the same time, we feel that he sometimes pitches his appeals too high, and that thereby he has run the risk of defeating the very object he had in view. For instance-and we care not by what human authority he backs his conjecture-it seems to us quite unnecessary, in pleading in behalf of the inferior animals, to suppose that they may enjoy a future state of existence. We fear, that in thus speaking of the "beasts that perish," ridicule may supplant sympathy and tenderness. Let the doctrine of humanity to the inferior creation be put upon rational grounds. Make men perceive that it is their interest to be kind to these dumb but sensitive beings; that there is great delight in cultivating their liking; that the enjoyment which may be conferred on them is in itself an object worthy of congratulation to the loftiest and most refined mind; that whatever God has created must be entitled to its appropriate and rightful position in the world; and that wherever we find in man a due appreciation of these and such like views and feelings, especially in the young, there never is a want of philanthropy and of high moral excellence. verse of this fact would be an absurdity, a contradiction in principles. The horse is the great victim of man's cruelty. Yet how much it becomes man-how much is he bound to be kind to this noble servant. How beautiful it is to see it meeting the beckoning hand of its master, unscared, and gladdened, because that hand never dealt it a wanton blow, but has fed, and caressed it. How dreadful to behold the same faithful drudge, in its old age, submitting to the murderous blows of a ruffian's bludgeon, for no fault, but old age, and an enfeebled, di eased, or hungered body! But he doth not complain; yet, we may be assured, though he openeth not his mouth, the oppressor shall not escape a reckoning.

The re

We were about to extract a passage from the Appendix to this publication, which shews that the skin of the horse is remarkably sensitive. But we rather, at the risk of offending the morbidly sensitive-though not of the considerate or sound-hearted—and with the hope of striking all such to the soul with appalling truths, quote a description of a knacker or horse-slaughterer's yard, as the account first appeared in the " Voice of Humanity."

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However, it is impossible, either by verbal description, or by graphic delineation, to convey an adequate idea of the truth, or to express or excite those unearthly impressions which will be experienced on visiting the scene. Neither pen nor pencil can communicate to the mind a just conception of the misery and pain endured by the ill-fated animals, when exhausted nature is ready to bestow the deliverance of death,' but is prevented by the knacker, who prolongs that state of suffering, upon the same principle of avarice that has actuated every former owner! There is no pathometer to enable us to judge of the quantum of agony felt by a horse,