LAMARTINE seems determined to surpass th_Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XI.—April, 1851—Vol. II.

or even, if such a thing be conceivable, that of the renowned Alexandre

Dumas. In addition to his History of the Directory, mentioned in our

last number, it is announced that he has contracted to write a History

of the Restoration, in some eight or ten volumes. The _Leader_, which is

good authority on these matters, however, states that this last is

substituted for the History of the Directory, which Lamartine abandoned

in disgust when he found that Garner de Cassagnac had undertaken the

same subject for feuilleton publication. A romance, after the manner of

Genevieve, is advertised to appear in the feuilleton of _La Presse_. He

has long been under engagements to furnish, under the title of the

_Conseiller du Peuple_, a monthly pamphlet on current political events;

and he is said to have engaged to write another similar one every

fortnight. Finally, he has in contemplation a History of Turkey. He is,

moreover, an active member of the Legislative Assembly, and a frequent

speaker. During one of the late ministerial crises he came very near

being placed at the head of the Ministry. With such a number of

engagements, undertaken under the pressure of pecuniary necessities, it

is not to be wondered that his recent productions have been unworthy of

his former reputation.

Dr. J. F. SCHRÖDER has produced a unique work on Talmudic and Rabbinic

maxims and usages. As a specimen of these, we give some of the

refinements and distinctions relating to the observance of the Sabbath:

"Hunting is totally forbidden on the Sabbath, and since fly-catching is

a species of hunting, it is prohibited--nay, the prohibition extends so

far, that a Jew must not cover vessels in which there are flies, because

in this way a sort of catching might take place. Fleas must first have

bitten before they may be caught; and it is not allowable to kill them

when caught. A louse found on the body may be killed, but not one that

has taken up its abode in the outer parts of the garments. Animals, on

the contrary, which are tame and willingly allow themselves to be taken,

may be caught even on the Sabbath; some, however, consider this not

allowable. An egg laid on the Sabbath, or fruits which have been plucked

on that day, may not be used.... If any body wishes to borrow any thing

of another on the Sabbath, he must not say, '_Lend me this or that_;'

but '_Give it me, and I will give it you back_.' If a pledge is to be

restored, the lender must lay it down in silence. He who wishes to have

some beer or wine on a Sabbath, must not say to the tavern-keeper,

'_Give me so much wine or beer for so much money_;' but '_Give me the

vessel full or half full_.' After the Sabbath the vessel may be

measured, and the value of the wine or beer received may be determined.

Letters must not be either written or opened on the Sabbath; but if any

one not a Jew has opened them, without having received orders to do so,

and one is anxious to know the contents, they may be read; but the words

must not be uttered aloud. News also may be read in this way. Accounts,

on the contrary, bills of exchange, and such things, relating to trade,

may not be read. If a leg, &c., falls out of a chair or bench on the

Sabbath, the injury must not be repaired on that day. Should a wine-cask

or any thing of that sort begin to leak, a vessel may be put under it,

but the hole must not be stopped up."

CHARLES KNIGHT, the eminent publisher, in an effective pamphlet

advocating the repeal of the paper-tax, presents some facts showing the

bearing of that tax upon the diffusion of knowledge. He has had in

contemplation a Supplement to the National Cyclopædia, to consist of a

series of treatises upon Scientific, Social, and Industrial Progress, to

extend to four volumes. To produce this as it should be done, he must

secure the assistance of the most eminent men in every department of

knowledge; which assistance will cost £2000. To cover the outlay he must

sell at least 25,000 copies; which will consume 6400 reams of paper, the

duty upon which would be £880. This additional expense, adding nothing

to the value of the work, makes him hesitate to embark in the

enterprise, If this burden were removed he might either save it in the

original cost, or expend it in adding to the value of the work. In

either case he would not hesitate to carry out his design.

ROBERT CHAMBERS shows the bearing of the same tax upon labor. His

Miscellany of Tracts was stopped as not paying, although it had a

regular sale of 80 000. While published it had paid a paper-tax of

£6220. This publication, which might have been continued had it not been

for this tax, distributed £18,000 a year in labor. He had since started

a similar series at three halfpence, of which, owing to the increase in

price, only half as many were sold as the other. It is calculated that

this tax keeps out of employment, in London alone, full 40,000 people.

The whole value of the paper annually manufactured in the kingdom is

estimated at £4,000,000, upon which a duty is laid of £800,000. This is

levied almost entirely upon labor, the mateterial used being almost

entirely without value.

LEOPOLD RANKE, author of the History of the Popes, in the course of his

researches in the National Library at Paris, has discovered a manuscript

portion of the Memoirs of the famous statesman Cardinal Richelieu, which

has long been supposed to be lost. In the manuscript deposited at the

French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a series of leaves is wanting. These

Mr. Ranke found by accident in a bundle of old papers. It is thought

that this discovery may throw some light upon the disputed question

whether the cardinal was the actual author of the works which are

attributed to him, or merely revised and corrected them.

The _Quarterly Review_ tells a story about George IV. which reflects

little credit upon the "First Gentleman of Europe." The noble library of

George III., in the British Museum bears an inscription purporting that

it was a gift to the nation from his successor. It appears, however,

that the library was a purchase. George IV., in one of his frequent

pecuniary straits, had negotiated for its sale to the Emperor of Russia,

and was only prevented from completing the contract by the most urgent

remonstrances, backed by the receipt of the value of the Russian rubles,

in sterling coin, from the droits of the Admiralty. It is suggested that

the inscription in the Museum should be erased; as there can be no good

reason why the nation should be called upon to supply by a public

forgery the deficiency of worthy records left behind by that monarch.

According to the _Journal de la Librairie_ the whole number of

books and pamphlets printed in France during the past year is 7208, of

which 5848 are new publications. The publications in the French language

were 6661; in the dialects spoken in France, 68; in German, 53; in

English, 61; in Spanish, 51; in Greek, 83; in Latin, 165; in Portuguese,

16; in Polish, 14; in Hebrew, 9.

A _Grammar of the Kaffir Language_, by Rev. JOHN W. APPLEYARD, a

Wesleyan Missionary in British Kaffraria, is another valuable

contribution to science resulting from missionary labors. This language,

although, of course, destitute of literary treasures, presents some

features of interest to students of comparative philology. Those

relations of words to each other which in other languages are indicated

by change of termination, are in this denoted by prefixes, which are

regulated by similarity of sound. Neither gender nor number has any

influence upon grammatical construction, being lost sight of in the

euphonic form of the word or prefix. The noun is the leading word in a

sentence, the prefix to it determining that to the other words. Thus,

_abantu_ means "the people," and _ziyeza_, "are coming;" but a Kaffir

would not express "the people are coming" by _abantu ziyeza_, but by

_abantu bayeza_, it being necessary that the prefixes to the verb and

its subject should have a similar sound. The language is also remarkable

for freedom from anomalous usages and exceptions, and for great facility

of forming compound words. Mr. Appleyard's work contains also valuable

ethnographical materials in the shape of a general classification of

the South African dialects.

An Italian savant announces that when the fog is so thick as to prevent

signals being seen from one station to another, the difficulty may be

greatly diminished by placing a colored glass between the eye and the

eye-piece of the telescope. The best color for those who have strong

eyesight is dark red; while those who are short-sighted find light red

preferable. He accounts for the fact by stating that the white color of

the fog strikes too powerfully upon the eye, particularly if the glass

have a large field; and the intensity of the light is diminished by the

interception of a part of the rays by the colored glass, so that the eye

is less wearied.

_The Velocity of Artificial Light_ has been the subject of some very

ingenious experiments by M. Fizean. A point of intense brightness,

produced by oxy-hydrogen light, is concentrated by a lens, and being

received upon a mirror placed at about two leagues distance, is

reflected back again in the same line. This is effected so exactly that

scarcely any deviation in the course of the two rays can be perceived,

the going and returning ray appearing one within the other. Behind the

point of light is placed a wheel having 720 teeth, so adjusted that the

light shines between two of the teeth, so that when the wheel is at

rest, an eye placed behind it receives the impression of the full ray.

When the wheel is moved so that 12·6 revolutions are made in a second,

the teeth of the wheel appear continuous, and half the light is

obstructed. If the velocity be sufficiently accelerated all the light is

cut off, and that rate shows the time necessary for the light to have

traversed the two leagues and back again, for the observer sees only the

returning ray. The velocity of artificial light has thus been fixed at

70,000 French leagues in a second, which agrees remarkably with that

given by astronomers to solar light, 192,500 miles in a second. The

English mile, it will be recollected is a trifle longer than the French

mile.

A paper read before the British Association, describes several

remarkable hail storms which have occurred in India. The weight of some

masses of ice which have fallen exceeds 14 pounds. Many of these masses,

under a rough external coat, contained an interior of clear ice. Immense

conglomerated masses of hail stones had been known to be swept down the

mountain ravines by the torrents which succeeded the storms; and in one

of these conglomerations a snake was found frozen up, and apparently

dead; but it revived on being thawed out.

A patent has been taken out for what the patentee calls the _essence of

milk_. Fresh milk is placed in a long, shallow copper pan, heated by

steam to a temperature of 110 degrees. A quantity of sugar is mixed with

the milk, which is continually kept in motion by stirring. This is

continued for about four hours, during which the milk is reduced by

evaporation to one-fourth of its original bulk. It is then put into

small tin cans, the tops of which are soldered on. These cans are placed

for a while in boiling water, which completes the process. This

preparation may be kept for a long time, in any climate. It is

peculiarly adapted for use on shipboard.

OBITUARIES.

The MARQUIS OF NORTHAMPTON (Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton) died Jan. 16,

aged 60 years. He early manifested a love for literature, science, and

art, which he cultivated with greater assiduity than is usual among

students of his social rank. Among his associates at the university were

many whose names have since become known in the world of mind. In 1830

he became a member of the Royal Society. In 1838, when the presidency of

that body was resigned by the Duke of Sussex, on the ground that the

£13,000 a year, which was granted him as a prince of the blood, was an

income too limited to enable him to afford the coffee and sandwiches

usually furnished at the _soirées_ of the Society, the Marquis of

Northampton was selected to fill that place. If the selection was to be

on the grounds of rank rather than of high scientific attainments, no

better one could have been made. The _soirées_ which he gave drew

together the rank and science of the country, and had a happy influence

upon the scientific world. His attainments in almost every graceful

branch of intellectual culture were highly respectable. He resigned the

presidency of the Royal Society in 1848, and was succeeded by the Earl

of Rosse. He took no very decided part in politics, although he was

always recognized as belonging to the liberal portion of the House of

Peers. Among the large number of the higher classes who have recently

died, no one, since the death of Sir Robert Peel, is so great a loss to

literature and science as the Marquis of Northampton.

JOHN PYE SMITH, D.D., one of the most learned and eminent of the

dissenting clergy of England died Feb. 5, aged 77 years. He was the

author of a number of works of decided merit; the one by which he was

best known was Scripture and Geology. His attainments in geological

science procured his election as a member of the Royal Society. Early in

January a company of his friends and admirers presented him with a

testimonial of their affectionate regard, in commemoration of the

fiftieth year of his academic labors in the Dissenting College at

Homerton. The sum of £2600 was raised, the interest of which was to be

applied to his benefit during his lifetime, and the principal, after his

death, to be applied to the foundation of scholarships. This testimonial

to his eminent merit was only in time for an honor, but too late as a

pecuniary benefit.

CHARLES COQUEREL, whose recent death is announced in the Paris papers,

was the brother of the celebrated Protestant clergyman of France. He was

the author of a number of works, among which we remember a History of

English Literature; Caritas, an Essay on a complete Spiritual

Philosophy; and the History of the Churches in the Desert, or the

History of the Protestant Churches of France from the Revocation of the

Edict of Nantes to the Reign of Louis XVI. In this last work he

introduced the substance of a vast mass of private and official

correspondence relative to the persecutions undergone by the French

Protestants. He was also distinguished for his scientific attainments,

and for many years reported the proceedings of the French Academy of

Sciences for the _Courrier Francaise_. He was especially interested in

Arago's investigations upon light, and was busied with them almost to

the day of his death.

GASPAR SPONTINI, composer of _La Vestale_, and many other less

successful operas, died recently in the Roman States, at an advanced

age. For many years he was chapel-master to the late King of Prussia,

where both himself and his music were unpopular to the last degree among

artists; and it was an article in the contract of more than one _prima

donna_, that she should not be required to sing Spontini's music. The

one great work of his life was _La Vestale_, produced in 1809. It was

in rehearsal for a twelvemonth, and while in preparation was retouched

and amended to such an extent, that the expense of copying the

alterations is said to have amounted to 10,000 francs.

MRS. SHELLEY, wife of the poet, and daughter of Godwin and the

celebrated Mary Wolstoncroft, died in London on the 11th of February,

aged 53 years. She was herself an authoress of no inconsiderable repute.

Her wild and singular novels, among which are the Last Man, Walpurga,

and Frankenstein, are unequaled in their kind. The last in particular,

notwithstanding the revolting nature of the legend, is wrought up with

great power, and possesses singular fascination for the lovers of the

marvelous and the supernatural.

JOANNA BAILLIE, the most illustrious of the female poets of England,

unless that place be assigned to Elizabeth Barrett Browning,

notwithstanding her many affectations and great inequalities, died at

Hampstead, on the 23d of February, at the age of 90 years, within a few

weeks. She is best known by her "Plays on the Passions," in which she

made a bold and successful attempt to delineate the stronger passions of

the mind by making each of them the subject of a tragedy and a comedy.

The first volume was published in 1798, and was followed by a second and

a third in 1802 and 1812, and in 1836 by three additional volumes. In

addition to these she published at different times miscellaneous poetry,

which was in 1841 collected into a volume. Her career as an author thus

extends over almost half a century. A complete edition of her works in

one large volume has been issued within a few weeks. To Miss Baillie and

Wordsworth, more than to any others is to be attributed the redemption

of our poetry from that florid or insipid sentimentalism which was its

prevailing characteristic at the beginning of the present century. They

boldly asserted, by precept and practice, the superiority of nature over

all affectation and conventionalism. "Let one simple trait of the human

heart," says she in the Introduction to her first volume, "one

expression of passion genuine to truth and nature, be introduced, and it

will stand forth alone in the boldness of reality, while the false and

unnatural around it fades away upon every side, like the rising

exhalations of the morning." Her dramas are wrought wholly out from her

own conceptions, and exhibit great originality and invention. Her power

of portraying the darker and sterner passions of the human heart has

rarely been surpassed. Scott eulogized "Basil's love and Montfort's

hate" as a revival of something of the old Shaksperean strain in our

later and more prosaic days. But her dramas have little in common with

those of Shakspeare, so full of life, action, and vivacity. Their spirit

is more akin to the stern and solemn repose of the Greek dramas. They

have little of the form and pressure of real life. The catastrophe

springs rather from the characters themselves than from the action of

the drama. The end is seen from the beginning. Over all broods a fate as

gloomy as that which overhung the doomed House of Atreus. Her female

characters are delineated with great elevation and purity. Jane de

Montfort--with her stately form which seems gigantic, till nearer

approach shows that it scarcely exceeds middle stature; her queenly

bearing, and calm, solemn smile; her "weeds of high habitual state"--is

one of the noblest conceptions of poetry. Miss Baillie was a conspicuous

instance of high poetic powers existing in a mind capable of fulfilling

the ordinary duties of life. Among her friends were numbered most of

those whose genius has adorned their day. Her modest residence at

Hampstead was sought by visitors from all parts of Europe, and

especially from America, attracted by admiration of her genius, and love

for her virtues. In her has set one of the last and brightest stars of

that splendid constellation of genius, which arose during the early part

of the present century.

LITERARY NOTICES.

Lippincott, Grambo & Co. have issued the third edition of _California

and Oregon, or, Sights in the Gold Region_, by THEODORE T. JOHNSON, a

work which has deservedly met with a favorable reception from the

public, and which can not fail to be highly appreciated by the emigrant

to the shores of the Pacific. The author describes the incidents of his

voyage to Chagres, the journey across the Isthmus, his stay at Panama,

and his observations in the Gold Regions, in a spirited and graphic

style, which renders his volume no less amusing than instructive. The

chapters devoted to Oregon are full of valuable information, and form

not the least interesting portions of the work. In the opinion of the

author, Oregon is destined to be the permanent seat of American Empire

on the Pacific coast. The tide of emigration to California is now

setting in with gradual but increasing force toward Oregon, and of the

thousands among the population of that territory who have visited the

placers of the Sacramento, none have become settlers, but all have

returned to resume their abode in Oregon. The statements embodied in

this volume concerning the climate, soil, physical resources, and social

condition of Oregon, by Hon. Mr. Thurston, the able Representative to

Congress from that Territory, are distinguished for their good sense and

practical character, and have already made a strong impression on the

public mind. They should be taken into consideration by every one who

proposes to establish his residence in the Farthest West.

_Mount Hope, or, Philip, King of the Wampanoags_, by G. H. HOLLISTER

(published by Harper and Brothers) is a new historical romance, founded

on the scenes of Indian warfare which occurred in the first century

after the settlement of New England. The fruitful legends of that

period, which present such rich materials to the novelist, are

interwoven with the historical incidents of the day, in a tale of more

than common vigor and beauty. The development of the plot is accompanied

with numerous portraitures of real characters, some of which betray no

mean powers of description, and predict the future distinction of the

writer in this line of composition. Among the historical personages who

figure in the story, are Whalley and Goffe, the regicide judges, who

found an asylum for many years in Massachusetts, and who have left so

many traditions of mysterious interest concerning their fate. A scene

from the death-bed of the former presents a favorable specimen of the

author's ability:

"On a beautiful peninsula, formed by the most graceful curve which the

Connecticut (the loveliest of all the rivers that gleam among the hills

of the north) makes in its long, winding journey to the ocean, stood the

rural village of Hadley. It was situated upon the very point of the

peninsula, with one main street running north and south, and abutting at

either extremity upon the river. The settlement was then new, and had in

it few houses; but most of them indicated, from their size and neatness,

as well as from the degree of culture that surrounded them, the industry

and comparative opulence of the inhabitants.

"On the eastern side of the street, and about midway between the arms of

the river, stood the large, well-built mansion of Mr. Russell, the

parish clergyman, almost hidden behind the branches of two magnificent

elms of primitive growth. In the rear of the house was a lawn covered

with apple-trees.

"It was about ten o'clock in the evening of the day mentioned in the

preceding chapter, when a gentleman, closely enveloped in a long cloak

that perfectly concealed his person, emerged from the tall forest-trees

that skirted the river, and entered the orchard. At first, his step was

rapid and bold, but as he neared the house, he walked with more caution;

and on arriving at the garden-gate he paused, with his hand upon the

latch, and looked cautiously around him. Having apparently satisfied

himself that he was unnoticed, he passed noiselessly through the garden,

and stepped over the little low stile that separated it from the house,

stopped suddenly, and stamped his foot upon the ground. The earth

beneath him returned a hollow sound, and the traveler, kneeling upon his

right knee, commenced removing the rubbish that had been thrown so

artfully over the spot as to elude the vigilance of any eye not

acquainted with the premises. After he had cleared a space of about two

feet in diameter, the clear moonlight disclosed the entire surface of a

small trap-door, fastened by a strong padlock. He then pulled from his

pocket a bunch of keys, tied together by a thong of deerskin, and,

selecting the one that seemed to suit his purpose, applied it to the

lock, which yielded readily to his hand. Lifting the door upon its rusty

hinges far enough to admit his person, he placed his foot upon a short

ladder, letting the heavy door gently down as he descended. The pit in

which he had thus voluntarily shut himself was about six feet in depth,

and walled in like a well. At the west side, and near the bottom, was a

narrow channel or passage, of sufficient size to admit a full-grown man,

running horizontally westward with side-walls, and covered with large,

flat stones. Along this passage the mysterious night-wanderer crept

softly until he came to another door, opening inward, and secured in a

similar manner to the one that he had just passed. This he unlocked, and

glided through the aperture, shutting and fastening the door carefully

behind him. He was now in the cellar of the parsonage, which was so deep

that he could stand upright without touching the timbers overhead. After

groping about in the dark for some moments he discovered a small movable

staircase standing against the wall, and leading perpendicularly upward.

This he carefully ascended until he reached a third door, constructed of

lighter materials than the others, which he easily raised with a slight

pressure of the hand. He now found himself in a spacious closet, shut in

with solid panels of oak. Letting the door noiselessly down, he stood a

moment, and listened. Putting his ear to the wainscot, he could hear the

indistinct murmur of voices in low but apparently earnest conversation.

He heaved a deep sigh, and muttering to himself, 'I pray God it be not

too late,' knocked distinctly with his heavy hand against the firm

partition. The voices ceased, and he heard a light step cross the

adjoining apartment, and then a knock against the wall corresponding to

his own.

"'Who waits there?' inquired a voice from within.

"'Mr. Goldsmith,' responded the stranger.

"In a moment the door was partly opened from within by Mr. Russell, the

proprietor of the mansion, who held a lighted candle in his hand, and

who glanced stealthily into the closet, as if in doubt whether he could

safely admit his visitor.

"'Thank Heaven!' exclaimed the clergyman, 'my expectations have not

deceived me: you are with us at last.'

"'Ay, my son; the wanderer has returned. But you look pale--I am too

late--tell me if he yet lives?'

"'He lives, but is fast sinking.'

"'And his mind?'

"'Is still wandering; but there are intervals--I should rather say

glimmerings of reason; he spoke incoherently but a moment since; but he

replied not to my words, and whether he was sleeping or waking I could

not tell. His eyes were closed.'

"'I must see him: lead the way.' And opening wider the massive door, the

gray-haired regicide entered the apartment of the invalid.

"It was a small but comfortable chamber, neatly carpeted, and furnished

with a table (covered with writing materials and a few books), three

large oaken chairs, and two beds, in one of which, with his face turned

to the wall, as if to avoid the trembling rays of light that flickered

upon the table, lay an old man, apparently about eighty-five years of

age. As the evening was sultry, his only covering was a single linen

sheet thrown loosely over him, from which his emaciated arm and small,

livid fingers had escaped, and lay languidly by his side. His high,

straight forehead, and calm features, which, from their perfect outline,

neither age nor disease had robbed of their serene beauty, were pale as

marble. The window was partly open to admit the cool air from the river,

and the night breeze fanned gently the thin, snow-white locks that still

lingered about his temples. The tall form of Goffe bent over him, long

and silently, while he read with mournful earnestness the ravages of

superannuation and disease in every lineament and furrow of the

venerable face of his friend. Then, turning to the clergyman, who still

remained standing by the table, he asked, in a voice choked with grief,

while a tear sparkled in his bright eye, 'How long is it, my son, since

he spoke intelligibly? Hath he inquired after me to-day?'

"'About one o'clock, when I brought him his simple meal, he roused

himself for a moment, and demanded of me if 'I had seen his dear

major-general;' but when I sought to prolong the conversation, and asked

if he would see Goffe, his beloved son-in-law, he smiled, and said

'Yes;' but added, soon after, 'No, no: I have no son, and Goffe died

long ago.''

"'Alas!' replied Goffe--seating himself, and motioning the clergyman to

a seat that stood near him--'alas! I fear that my fruitless journey hath

taken from me the privilege I most prized on earth--the administering of

consolation to the last moments of this more than father.'

"'You call it a fruitless journey, then? And did you hear no tidings of

the long-lost son?'

"'None: I have ridden over ground where the sound of my very name would

have echoed treason; I have sought him out among men who, had they known

the name of the seeker, would gladly have bought the royal favor by

seizing and delivering over to the hands of the executioner the wasted,

life-weary _regicide_. I have this very day encountered the mortal

enemy of me and my race; but my arm struck down the wretch, as it has

stricken down many a better man in the days of the Protector. He paid

the price of his mad folly in the last debt to nature.'

"'An enemy! and slain! Have you, then, been discovered?'

"'Ay, an enemy to God and man. But did I not tell thee that he was

dead? Death is no betrayer of secrets: the hounds that scented my blood,

bore off his mutilated remains, but they will gladly leave them in the

wilderness to gorge the wolf and the raven.'

"'Who is this fallen enemy?'

"'Edward Randolph.'

"'Edward Randolph! Have you met and slain Edward Randolph?'

"'I have slain him. You look wild--you shudder. Dost think it a sin in

the sight of Heaven to stop the breath of a murderer? You start at my

words, and the minister of God may well shrink from the weapons which

the servants of the Protector have grown old in wielding. But, Russell,

Justice always bears a sword, and Oliver only taught us to employ it as

the meanest viper that crawls will use his envenomed tooth, to protect

his writhing shape from the foot that crushes him.'

"'The weapons of our warfare are not carnal,' interposed the clergyman.

"'Self-defense is the first law of our nature, Russell. But

self-defense, when roused against a tyrant, or the minions of a tyrant,

and in behalf of a goaded and maddened people, to inspire them with hope

and freedom, and lift their eyes to the pure light of heaven, is the

sentiment of a Christian patriot, and God will approve it. But let us

awaken our aged friend, and try if we can marshal his scattered thoughts

for a last conflict with the enemy of man.'

"He walked the room a moment, to banish, by more tranquil thoughts, the

frown that still lowered upon his brow and the gleam that had lighted

his dark eye--the reflex of many a bloody field; and walking slowly up

to the bed of the sick man, stooped over him, and passed his brawny hand

over the pale forehead of the sleeper. 'Awake, father, awake!--Dost thou

not know that thy son has returned? Let me hear thy voice once again.'

"The invalid turned his face suddenly toward the light, and, opening his

eyes, stared wildly at Goffe, but showed no signs of recognition.

"'Speak, Whalley: do you know me?'

"At the sound of his name, the old man started up, and rising upon his

elbow, cried, in a voice that rang hollow as the echo of the sepulchre,

'Who calls Whalley? Was it my Lord Cromwell? Was it the Lord General?

Tell him that I am ready with two hundred good troopers that carry

pistols at their holsters and swords at their girdles.' Then raising his

arm, with his small attenuated hand clenched as if it grasped the weapon

of which he raved, he continued with increased energy, 'Up, my merry

men! to horse! hew the roisterers down!--one more charge like that, and

we drive them into the morass!--There again--it was well done--now they

flounder man and horse in the dead pool--call off the men. They cry

quarter--shame on ye--'tis murder to strike a fallen foe! But I wander.

Who called Whalley? Sure I have heard that voice ere this.'

"'It is your son: it is Goffe.'

"'Peace, man! I know thee not. There _was_ a Goffe, who stood once

by my side in the armies of the Protector, and who sat with me in

judgment upon the tyrant; but he was attainted of high-treason, and

hanged--or, if not, he must have died in the tower. My memory is poor

and treacherous; I am _old_, sir; but you look--"

"'Hear me, father. Do you remember under whose charge the Stuart was

placed at Hampton Court?'

"'Do I _remember_ it!' quoth he. 'Ay, do I, as if it were but a

thing of yesterday. Yesterday! better than that. Sir, I have forgotten

_yesterday_ already: my thoughts live only in those glorious days;

they are written on the tablets of the brain as with a diamond. But what

was I saying? It has escaped me.'

"'The Stuart, father--'

"'Who had the Stuart in charge at Hampton Court? _I_ had him, and

thought the game-bird would sooner have escaped from the talons of the

falcon when poised on the wing, than he from me. But some knave played

me false, and for love or gold let the tyrant slip through my hands.

And, sir, to own the truth, he was a princely gentleman; and after his

escape he wrote me a loving letter, with many thanks for my gentle

courtesy and kindly care of him. Yet his phantasy was ever running upon

trifles: for in that very epistle he begged me to present in his name a

trumpery dog as a keep-sake to the Duke of Richmond. Had it not been for

such light follies and an overweening tyranny, he might have ruled

England to this hour.'

"Goffe now perceived that he had hit upon the right vein, and proceeded

to ply him with reminiscences of his earlier manhood.

"'Had you e'er a wife?'

"'The wife of my youth was an angel. What of her, but that she is dead,

and I desolate? Or who are you, that venture to thrust my grief upon me

unasked. You tread upon the ashes of the dead!'

"'Pardon me: I wound, that I may heal. Had you ever a daughter?'

"'I had several, but I can not recall their names. Yet I am sure there

must have been more than one.'

"'Was not one of them made by your consent the wife of William Goffe?'

"'Yes--why yes: Frances was the wife of Goffe--a gallant officer, and a

faithful servant of God and the commonwealth. I mind him well now. He

was a host in battle, but something rash, and of a hot temper. I thought

to hear of his death at the end of every conflict with the cavaliers. He

would ride a furlong in front of his troop in the rage of pursuit, if

ever the enemy broke rank and fled.'

"'What became of him?'

"'He died--no--it has all come back to me now. He came with me to

America, and here in the rocks and caverns of this wilderness he has

helped to hide me, with the tenderness of a bird for its unfledged

young, through this my second infancy.'

"'Do you not know me now?' asked Goffe, affectionately taking his hand.

"The old man fixed his mild blue eye, already beaming with the rays of

returning intelligence, full upon the anxious face of his fellow-exile,

and gazed long and intently, as if he would have read in his features

some sign of an attempt to practice upon his credulity. Then the color

came back in a momentary glow to his cheeks, and tears flowed copiously

over them, as he threw his arms around the iron form of Goffe, and

smiled faintly as he faltered, 'Alas the day--that I should live to

forget thee, my more than son!'

"The empire of reason was restored: and although afterward it sometimes

lost its sway in the chaos of the dim and shadowy images of the past,

yet from that time to the day of his death, the jealous glance with

which he followed the steps of the companion of his earlier and more

prosperous days, as he moved noiselessly around the room--the warm grasp

of the hand--the subdued patience of the sufferer--the oft-repeated

endearing appellation 'my son--my son'--were constant witnesses to the

faithfulness of memory, when kindled and kept in exercise by gratitude

and love."

_Parnassus in Pillory_, by MOTLEY MANNERS, Esq. (published by Adriance,

Sherman, and Co.), is a satire of great pretension and considerable

success upon several of the most eminent living American poets. Mr.

Manners has some sharp weapons in his armory, which he flourishes with

the skill of an adroit fencing master, but in most cases, they gleam

idly in the air without drawing blood. His happiest hits are usually

harmless, but now and then they damage himself while his antagonist

escapes. On the whole, the author's forte is poetry rather than satire,

and punning more than either. In this last accomplishment, we admit his

"proud pre-eminence."

Ticknor, Reed, and Fields have issued a new edition of _Twice Told

Tales_, by NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, with an original preface,

and a portrait of the author. The preface is highly characteristic, and

will be read with as much interest as any of the stories. Mr. Hawthorne

presents some details of his literary autobiography, in which he relates

the ill success of his first adventures as an author, with irresistible

unction and naïvete. He claims to have been for a good many years the

obscurest literary man in America. His stories were published in

magazines and annuals, for a period comprising the whole of the writer's

young manhood, without making the slightest impression on the public,

or, with the exception of "The Rill from the Town-Pump," as far as he is

aware, having met with the good or evil fortune to be read by any body.

When collected into a volume, at a subsequent period, their success was

not such as would have gratified a craving desire for notoriety, nor did

they render the writer or his productions much more generally known than

before. The philosophy of this experience is unfolded by the author

without the slightest affectation of concealment, or any show of

querulousness on account of its existence. On the contrary, he views the

whole affair with perfect good humor, and consoles himself in the

failure of large popularity, with the sincere appreciation which his

productions received in certain gratifying quarters. They were so little

talked about that those who chanced to like them felt as if they had

made a new discovery, and thus conceived a kindly feeling not only for

the book but for the author. The influence of this on his future

literary labors is set forth with his usual half-comic seriousness. "On

the internal evidence of his sketches, he came to be regarded as a mild,

shy, gentle, melancholic, exceedingly sensitive, and not very forcible

man, hiding his blushes under an assumed name, the quaintness of which

was supposed, somehow or other, to symbolize his personal and literary

traits. He is by no means certain that some of his subsequent

productions have not been influenced and modified by a natural desire to

fill up so amiable an outline, and to act in consonance with the

character assigned to him, nor even now could he forfeit it without a

few tears of tender sensibility."

_Time the Avenger_ is the title of Mrs. MARSH'S last

novel, reprinted by Harper and Brothers. It is intended as the sequel to

"The Wilmingtons," and like that powerful story abounds in vivid

delineations of character, and natural and impressive developments of

passion. With a more reflective character than most of the former

productions of the author, the style is equally vigorous and sparkling

with that of the admirable works which have given her such a brilliant

celebrity.

_The Educational System of the Puritans and Jesuits compared_, by

N. PORTER, Professor in Yale College (published by M. W. Dodd)

is an historical and argumentative treatise discussing the origin,

influence, and prevalence in this country of the two systems. The views

of the author are presented with discrimination and force, and well

deserve the attention of the friends of religion and education.

George P. Putnam has issued the second part of _The Girlhood of

Shakspeare's Heroines_, by MARY COWDEN CLARKE, containing

_The Thane's Daughter_, in which the early history of Lady Macbeth

is described in an ingenious and lively fiction. The story does great

credit to the author's power of invention, and is executed with so much

skill, as in some degree to atone for the presumptuousness of the

enterprise. The volume is embellished with a neat engraving of "Cawdor

Castle."

Munroe and Francis, Boston, have published a volume of _Poetry from

the Waverly Novels_, containing the poems scattered through the

Waverly Novels, which are supposed to be written by Sir Walter Scott,

and which are ascribed by him to anonymous sources. The volume will be

welcomed by every lover of poetry and of Scott, not only for the

agreeable associations which it awakens, but for the numerous delicious

morceaux which it has preserved.

A new edition of _Essays and Reviews_ by EDWIN P. WHIPPLE,

has been issued by Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, comprising the contents of

the former edition, with a Review of Dana's Poems and Prose Writings,

and one or two less elaborate papers. These volumes present the

character of the author as an acute and enlightened critic in a very

favorable light. With a familiar knowledge of the lighter portions of

English literature, a healthy relish for the racy varieties of a wide

range of authors, a sensitive taste which is none the less accurate in

its decisions for being catholic in its affinities, a peculiar facility

in appreciating the point of view of the writers under discussion, and a

richness, point, and beauty of expression rarely combined in any

department of composition, Mr. Whipple has attained a deserved eminence

as a critical authority, which is certainly not surpassed in the field

of American letters, and with but few exceptions, by any writer in the

English language.

_Elements of Analytical Geometry and of the Differential and Integral

Calculus_, by ELIAS LOOMIS, Professor in the University of

New York (published by Harper and Brothers) presents the principles of

the sciences treated of, with a precision of statement and clearness of

illustration, without sacrificing any thing of scientific rigor, which

make it an admirable text-book for the college student, as well as a

facile guide for the mathematical amateur. The happy manner in which the

knotty points of the Calculus are unraveled in this treatise presents a

strong temptation to plunge into the time-devouring study.

Harper and Brothers have published _Wallace_ and _Mary

Erskine_, being the second and third numbers of Mr. ABBOTT'S

LAMARTINE seems determined to surpass the literary fecundity of James,