Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 2, July, 1850.

Prof. Lewis, of Union College, has published an Address delivered there some months since, in which he reviews with great ability the theories and schemes so abundant at the present day, of which Nature, Progress, and Ideas are the common watchwords. He treats them all as branches of Naturalism and as in direct hostility to the Scriptural doctrine of the Divine government. The discourse is marked by the scholarship, vigor, and clear analysis which characterize all the productions of this distinguished writer. – Bishop Hughes has also entered the lists against the prevalent Socialism of the day; not, however, in an original work but by causing to be reprinted the French work of the Abbé Martinet, entitled "Religion in Society," and by writing an introduction to it. – A new book on California, by Rev. Walter Colton, is soon to be issued. Even in the multiplicity of books upon this subject that have recently been given to the public, one from Mr. Colton's pen can hardly fail to attract and reward attention. – A work on the Logic and Utility of Mathematics, by Prof. Davies, is announced by Barnes & Co. Prof. D. is singularly happy in presenting mathematical truth clearly and attractively to the mind, and we anticipate, in this new work upon the characteristic advantages of his favorite studies, a production that will be widely useful, in promoting juster views of Education and better modes for its successful prosecution. – Prof. Bartlett of the West Point Academy, announces a new work on Natural Philosophy, for the use of Colleges, which will be of value. – Mr. E. D. Mansfield of Cincinnati, a clear, strong and judicious writer, has also in press, a Treatise on American Education, which will be pretty certain to contain a good many practical suggestions worthy of attention. – The Reader of the opening article in this number of the New Monthly Magazine, will be glad to learn that an edition of the writings of De Quincey is soon to be issued from the Boston press of Ticknor, Reed and Fields. No living English writer equals De Quincey in his peculiar department; in acute analytical power, and in the precision with which he uses language. He does not write for the masses – but to literary men, persons of cultivated taste and a critical habit, an edition of his Essays and multifarious sketches will be exceedingly acceptable. We presume, however, that nothing like a complete collection of his writings can be made. – An illustrated Edition of Longfellow's Evangeline is also announced, and a new volume of Poems by John G. Whittier, one of the most vigorous and masculine of living poets. Like other poets of the day, Mr. Whittier addicts himself somewhat overmuch to hobbies, and his present volume is to be mainly made up of Poems upon Labor. – Lowell, also, has a new Poem in press, called The Nooning. – A new volume by Rev. Henry Giles, entitled Christian Thoughts on Life, is announced. Mr. Giles is an exceedingly fluent, vigorous and brilliant writer. – A spicy controversy has grown out of a needless fling at the memory of John Jacob Astor, in a lecture delivered some months since by the Hon. Horace Mann. Mr. C. A. Bristed, grandson of the deceased Mr. Astor, has replied to it in a pungent letter, vindicating his kinsman's character and assailing with a good degree of vigor and success some of the radical theories propounded by Mr. Mann. – A new play, entitled The Very Age, by E. S. Gould, is in press, and will soon be issued by the Appletons. It is said to be a sharp and successful hit at sundry follies which have too mush currency in society. – A good deal of public interest has been excited by the announcement of an alleged scientific discovery made by Mr. Henry M. Paine, of Massachusetts. He claims to have established the positions that Water is a simple substance: that hydrogen gas is produced by the combination of positive electricity, and oxygen by the combination of negative electricity, with water; and that by passing the hydrogen thus obtained through spirits of turpentine in its natural state, it becomes carbonized and will support combustion. The practical result claimed from the discovery is the ability to furnish light and heat indefinitely at a merely nominal expense. The importance of it, if it prove to be real, can not well be overrated. The possibility of the thing, however, is peremptorily denied by scientific men, and it must be evident to all that it directly contradicts scientific principles that have been regarded as fundamental. Practical experiment alone, made under proper restrictions and scientific supervision, can determine its reality. If established the revolution it would produce in the economy of life would not be greater than that which would result from it in the received theories of science.

The Foreign events of the past month have not been of striking interest or importance. A diplomatic quarrel between England and France is the only incident which has attracted any general attention. This misunderstanding has grown out of the demands of British subjects, supported by their government, against the government of Greece, for losses sustained through its agency; but it is so entirely a matter of form that no serious result can well be apprehended. For some years past the English government has been pressing King Otho to an adjustment of these claims. One of the most important of them is that of Mr. George Finlay, who, when the Turks were leaving Greece on the formation of the Hellenic Kingdom, purchased certain portions of land from some of these emigrants. This was as long ago as in 1830, and his right to the property thus purchased and paid for was never disputed. But six years afterward King Otho seized upon these lands in order to inclose them in the royal gardens, and he has never paid for the property to this day. Another claim is that of Mr. Pacifico, a British subject, born at Gibraltar, and occupying at Athens the office of Portuguese Consul. It has been the custom for some years at Athens, on Easter-day, to burn an effigy of Judas Iscariot; but, in 1847, in consequence of the presence of Baron Rothschild, the government prevented the ceremony. The idle and reckless portion of the people, to whom such public spectacles are always matters of most interest, spread the report that Mr. Pacifico, being a Jew, had occasioned the discontinuance of this custom. A mob was soon raised by this report, which went to the house of the obnoxious consul, beat in the door, plundered the house of money to the amount of 9800 drachmas, and destroyed papers proving claims upon the Portuguese government to the amount of £21,295. For these losses Mr. Pacifico claimed restitution, and invoked the protection and aid of the British government in securing it.

These are the leading claims which have given occasion to the pending difficulties. The British government took up the subject and pressed the Greek authorities for payment of the claims. This was refused, and force was resorted to. The ports of Greece were blockaded and a bombardment threatened. This led France to offer her mediation, and Baron Gros was dispatched by the French government to Athens to arrange the dispute with Mr. Wyse, the British agent. The British government, for a long time, refused to allow the intervention of France, as the question in controversy was one which did not require or allow such interference But M. Drouyn de Lhuys being sent to London, a negotiation was prosecuted for three or four months, which resulted in an agreement between the two governments. Meantime Baron Gros at Athens, having interrupted proceedings there, Mr. Wyse resumes his demands upon the government of Greece, and, by strenuous coercion, secures all he had demanded. And Lord Palmerston decided that his proceedings must hold good. The French government was, of course, indignant at this disregard of the London convention, and withdrew her Minister from London. The dispute, at the latest dates, had not been settled, but it is not likely to lead to any thing more serious than a temporary estrangement between the two nations. It is generally believed that the quarrel is kept open by the French government, because it serves to divert public attention somewhat from the unpopular and unconstitutional abridgment of the suffrage, and because it has created an excitement favorable to the views and purposes of Louis Napoleon.

Not the least important result of this controversy has been the new position which it has induced Russia and Austria to take, in regard to the rights of British subjects residing within their dominions. The sympathies of these two nations, as well as of France, are, of course, with Greece: and the attempt of England to extend full protection to its subjects residing at Athens, has led the Emperor of Russia to address a note to Lord Palmerston, stating that he utterly rejects the principle on which British subjects or any other foreign residents in his own states, or those of any other government, had a right to be treated more favorably than the native subjects of such state; and he added, that for his part, he should expect such strangers, the moment they came to reside in his dominions, to conform themselves to the laws and usages practiced by Russians. An old law or custom had existed in Russia to this effect; it had long fallen into desuetude; but on the present occasion it has been revived by the emperor, and is now in force. The note of the Emperor of Austria is to the same effect; and though separate from that of Russia, runs concurrently with it. Lord Palmerston replied to this note, and received an answer couched in still stronger language and concluding in the following emphatic clause: "As the manner in which Lord Palmerston understands the protection due to English subjects in foreign countries carries with it such serious inconvenience, Russia and Austria will not henceforth grant the liberty of residence to English subjects, except on condition of their renouncing the protection of their Government." These documents have not been published, but their substance is given, on the authority of the London Times.

The doings of the British Parliament have not been of special importance, though they have involved the discussion of important measures. The misunderstanding with France gave rise to repeated demands on the part of Lord Brougham and others, and explanations by the ministers, in which the latter have been vehemently, and with apparent justice, charged with prevarication and concealment. – The Subject of University Reform has been incidentally discussed in the House of Lords but without decisive results.

In the House of Commons attention was called to the case of the black steward of a British vessel who had been taken out of the ship at Charleston, S. C. and imprisoned for two months simply because he was a Man of Color. – LORD Palmerston said that the case was not new; that such a law as that mentioned existed in the State of Carolina; and that the British government had remonstrated against it as a violation of the principles of international law, as well as of the treaty of 1815: but the reply had been that the Federal government was unable to revoke the law, and that, if England insisted, the American government would be compelled to terminate the treaty of 1815. The English government, therefore, had not thought it expedient to press the matter further; but it should be remembered that the law is known, and that those who go there expose themselves to it voluntarily. This acquiescence of the British government in a law and practice of one of the United States, directly in violation of the rights of British subjects, has not escaped severe animadversion.

The subject of a sinecure office in the Archdiocese of Canterbury has attracted some attention. It seems that the emoluments of the office of Register of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, have been from £9000 to £12,000 per annum, and that the office itself is a sinecure. The usage has been, that the archbishop for the time being should nominate the incumbent of the office and two successors. Archbishop Moore appointed his two sons, and they in succession held the office. Dr. Manners Sutton appointed his grandson, the present Lord Canterbury, to the reversion of the office – that grandson being then ten or twelve years old. The late Dr. Howley made a communication to the government, that, in the conscientious fulfillment of his duty he could not fill up the reversion of this sinecure when it became vacant in 1845; and it remained vacant at his death. When Dr. Sumner, the present archbishop, succeeded, he found the reversion of the office vacant, and immediately filled it up, by appointing his son, a young gentleman studying in the Temple. Lord John Russell stated that the matter was under inquiry and that the office would either be abolished or greatly altered. – The general subject of reducing the salaries and wages paid in every department of the public service, has also been discussed. The general sentiment seemed to be that the servants of government were not overpaid, and the motion for an address upon the subject was negatived.

While the bill for the government of the Australian Colonies was up, an amendment was submitted to deprive the Colonial office of all interference with the local administration of the colonies, and to give them the uncontrolled management of their own affairs. Sir W. Molesworth, who moved the amendment, closed a speech in support of it by saying that there was a striking analogy between the government of the United States and that which ought to be the system of government in their colonial empire. "For," he said, "the United States form a system of states clustered round a central republic; our colonial empire ought to be a system of colonies clustered round the hereditary monarchy of England. The hereditary monarchy should possess the powers of government, with the exception of that of taxation, which the central republic possesses. If it possessed less, the empire would cease to be one body politic; if it continue to possess more, the colonies will be discontented at the want of self-government, and on the first occasion will imitate their brethren in America." The motion was negatived by 165 to 42. This vote is important as an indication of the sentiment of Parliament in regard to Colonial government. – A motion to form an ecclesiastical Constitution for the Australian Colonies was defeated.

The bill reducing the franchise required to constitute a Parliamentary voter in Ireland to £8, has been passed. The discussion of this bill, and the action upon it, is important as showing the tendency of public sentiment in England toward a greater infusion of the democratic element into the government. The bill was opposed expressly upon the ground of its democratic tendencies by Lord Bernard, Mr. Napier, Lord Jocelyn, Mr. Disraeli, and others, and its principal supporters were Mr. Shell, Sir James Graham, and Lord John Russell. Sir James Graham's speech was remarkable for the broad ground on which he supported the measure; alluding to the objection that the bill would unduly enlarge the constituent body, he said, "I do not object to it on that ground. I must say, considering the increase of the democratic element in our institutions, that I see the greatest danger in erecting an immense superstructure upon a narrow electoral basis. Sir, if that superstructure can not stand upon an extended electoral basis, I am sure that a narrow basis can not long sustain it. On principle, therefore, I can not object to this bill as it extends that basis. Allusion has been made to what has lately been witnessed elsewhere, and I think it is not good policy to neglect examples which are patent and before our eyes. If I were to mention what in my humble judgment was the immediate cause of the fall of the kingly power of Louis Philippe, it would be, that he attempted to maintain the semblance of representative government with a constituent body, which, as compared with the great bulk of the population, was dangerously narrow, and utterly inadequate. What was the consequence? A tumult arose in the metropolis, and the government was overthrown without a struggle. His power was buried in this ruin; and the consequence has been, that for the last two years the nation has been plunged into anarchy, and property and life have been rendered insecure. But what is the return of the wave, and the reaction from that state of things following the universal extension of the suffrage in France? The return is a desire to base the suffrage, restricted as compared with universal suffrage, on household suffrage, on permanent residence, and the payment of local taxation. And, I am sure that that is a safe basis on which to rest the franchise." These remarks were loudly cheered throughout. The result of the division was that the third reading was carried by 254 to 186, and the bill passed.

Other questions not directly political, but involving interests of importance, have been brought in various ways into discussion, of which we find a summary notice in the "Household Narrative." The Metropolitan Interments bill has made no further progress in the House of Commons. Lord Ashley has withdrawn his opposition to the government proposal for giving practical efficacy to the Ten Hours Act; and all the more rational of the Ten Hours champions have signified acquiescence in the compromise. When the bill shall have passed, factories will be worked from six to six on five days in the week, and between six and two on Saturdays, with perfect leisure after two on the latter day, and with an hour and a half for meals and leisure on each of the former. A measure not less interesting to masses of the most industrious part of the population, is the scheme for securing more direct responsibility in the management of Savings Banks, and for extending the power of government to grant annuities and life assurances of small amounts through the medium of those institutions, which is now before the House of Commons for discussion. Various projects of law reform have been started. A commission has been issued, preparatory to a reform of the system of special pleading. Lord Campbell has introduced a bill to simplify criminal pleadings, and prevent the lamentable and too notorious defects of justice on small technical points; the same dignitary has declared, in judgment on a case in the Queen's Bench, that the intervention of an attorney is not essential in the employment of a barrister, but that the latter may receive his instructions directly from the party to the suit. A spirited attempt is in progress, by Mr. Keogh, to reform the Ecclesiastical Courts in Ireland; and the Lord High Chancellor Cottenham has issued a series of orders which will have the effect of dispensing, in a large class of suits, with the formality of bill and answer, and of providing for the reference to the master, on a mere observance of certain very simple forms. A motion to repeal the advertisement duty was lost, 208 to 39. A motion to inquire into the sanitary condition of the journeymen bakers was negatived, 90 to 44. A bill, the principal object of which was to place in the hands of the Board of Commissioners the regulation of all the Irish fisheries, was lost by a majority of 197 to 37. A bill proposing to allow railway companies to buy waste lands on the margins of their railways and establish cemeteries on them, was thrown out by 123 to 4. Lord John Russell has introduced a bill to abolish the Viceregal Office in Ireland. The bill gives power to the Queen to abolish the office by order in Council; to appoint a fourth Secretary of State, chargeable, like the others, with any of the functions of a Secretary of State, but in practice with Irish affairs: some of the functions of the Lord Lieutenant will be transferred to the Secretary for the Home Department, others be given to Her Majesty in Council. The Lord Chancellor of Ireland will be President of the Privy Council in Ireland. The bill was opposed by several Irish members, but leave was given to bring it in by 107 to 13.

An official correspondence on the intention of Ministers to issue a Royal Commission of inquiry into the state and revenues of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge has appeared in the newspapers. Lord John Russell, after announcing the Ministerial intention in his place in Parliament, wrote to the Chancellor of the two Universities "to explain the views of her Majesty's confidential servants in recommending this measure to her Majesty's approbation." His letter is now published; and the other portion of the correspondence given to the public, is the letter of the Duke of Wellington to the authorities of the University of Oxford, requesting them to take the Premier's letter into consideration, and give him the assistance of their opinions in a report; and the report of the University authorities rendered in compliance with that request. Lord John Russell, in his letter, after alluding briefly to the legality of the Commission, puts forward the following general considerations: "No one will now deny, that in the course of three centuries the increase of general knowledge, the growth of modern literature, the discoveries of physical and chemical science, have rendered changes in the course of study at our national Universities highly expedient. The Universities themselves have acknowledged this expediency, and very large reforms of this nature have been adopted both at Oxford and at Cambridge. These improvements, so wisely conceived, reflect the highest credit on those learned bodies." He then proceeds to state the general line of the limitations of the proposed action of the government, saying that it is not to obstruct, but only to facilitate the changes and improvements already in progress. Both the Universities have warmly protested against the Commission.

Preparations for the Industrial Exhibition of 1851 continue to be made. It is stated that about £50,000 has been subscribed toward the grand Industrial Exhibition, and nearly 200 local committees formed to promote. A project has been started to connect with it a religious congress of the Christians of all nations. To questioning in Parliament, it has been answered by the Minister that no government supply was contemplated beyond the expenses of the Royal Commission. The various German Powers have united, and the Commission in London has apportioned 100,000 square feet of space to the service of the German exhibitors generally, 60,000 square feet being reserved for the States of the Zoll-Verein 30,000 for Austria, and 10,000 for the North German States and the Hanse Towns.

The transactions of the London Scientific Societies for the month present nothing worthy of record. The Zoological Society has received a new and valuable collection of animals, and among them the first live hippopotamus ever brought to Europe. – Letters from Mr. Layard, who is prosecuting his researches in the East, have been received to the 18th of March, in which he mentions the Arab reports of remarkable antiquities in the desert of Khabour, which have never been visited by European footsteps, and toward the exploration of which he was just setting out, with an escort of Arab Sheiks and their followers, in all, to the number of seventy or eighty in company. During his absence on this new track, the excavations at Nimrood are to be continued by the parties employed on that work, which has recently furnished interesting acquisitions to Mr. Layard's collection. One important inscription is mentioned, and more winged-lions and bulls.

The Times has an account of a new invention for extinguishing fires, the work of Mr. Phillips – the agent used being a mixture of gas and vapor. A public experiment was made with it, at which a compartment of a large open building, quite twenty feet high inside, was fitted up with partitions and temporary joisting of light wood, well soaked with pitch and turpentine, and overhung besides with rags and shavings soaked in the like manner. The torch was applied to this erection, and the flames, which ascended immediately, at length roared with a vehemence which drove the spectators back to a distance of forty feet, and were already beyond the power of water. The inventor then brought forward one of his hand machines, and threw out a volume of gaseous vapor, which in half a minute entirely suppressed all flame and combustion; and to show that the vapor which now filled the space was quite innoxious, Mr. Phillips mounted into the loft, and passed and repassed through the midst of it with a lighted candle in his hand. The machine with which this effect was accomplished, was rather larger than a good sized coffee-pot, and consisted of three tin cases, one within another, and mutually communicating. There was a small quantity of water in the bottom of the machine, and in the centre case was a composite cake, of the size and color of peat, containing in the middle of it a phial of sulphuric acid and chlorate of potash. In order to put the machine into action this phial is broken, and a gaseous vapor is generated so rapidly and in such quantity that it immediately rushes out from a lateral spout with great impetuosity Mr. Phillips explained that a machine of any size could be made according to the purpose for which it was intended.

Some recent experiments on light, in Paris, have attracted a good deal of attention in the scientific circles. M. Foucault is said to have practically demonstrated that light travels less rapidly through water than through air, though he made his experiments with instruments devised by M. Arago, and mainly under his direction. The importance of the discovery may be judged of from the fact that for the last twelve years M. Arago has been pondering over it, and on the means of effecting it.

Experiments have been made on the means of protecting the hands against molten metal. M. Corne, in a paper submitted to the Academy of Sciences, thus details them:

"Having determined on investigating the question, whether the employment of liquid sulphurous acid for moistening the hands would produce a sensation of coldness, when they are immersed in the melted metal, I immersed my hands, previously moistened with sulphurous acid, in the melted lead, and experienced a sensation of decided cold. I repeated the experiment of immersing the hand in melted lead and in fused cast-iron. Before experimenting with the melted iron, I placed a stick, previously moistened with water, in the stream of liquid metal, and on withdrawing it found it to be almost as wet as it was before, scarcely any of the moisture was evaporated. The moment a dry piece of wood was placed in contact with the heated metal, combustion took place. M. Covlet and I then dipped our hands into vessels of the liquid metal, and passed our fingers several times backward and forward through a stream of metal flowing from the furnace, the heat from the radiation of the fused metal being at the same time almost unbearable. We varied these experiments for upward of two hours; and Madame Covlet, who assisted at these experiments, permitted her child, a girl of nine years of age, to dip her hand in a crucible of red hot metal with impunity. We experimented on the melted iron, both with our hands quite dry, and also when moistened with water, alcohol, and ether. The same results were obtained as with melted lead, and each of us experienced a sensation of cold when employing sulphurous acid."

A circular from Prof. Schumacher has brought an announcement of the discovery of a new telescopic comet, by Dr. Peterson, at the Royal Observatory of Altona, on the 1st of May. "Unfavorable weather," says Mr. Hind, writing to the Times, "prevented any accurate observation that evening, but on the following morning at 11 o'clock, mean time, the position was in right ascension 19

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, and north declination 71° 19' 34". The comet is therefore situate in the constellation Draco. The right ascension diminishes about 48" and the declination increases about 8' in the space of one day.

The Literary Intelligence of the month comprises the issue of no books of very great pretensions. The Autobiography of Leigh Hunt was just ready for publication, and from the extracts given in the preceding pages of this Magazine, our readers will readily judge it to be a book of more than ordinary interest. It is full of anecdote and incident, often trivial in themselves, but sketched with that naiveté and warmth of manner which constitute the charm of whatever Hunt writes. It will be a favorite with summer readers. Two octavo volumes of Selections from Modern State Trials, by Mr. Townsend, have been published: they comprise only five state trials properly so called, the rest being trials for murder, forgery, dueling, &c. The book is interesting and eminently readable. General Klapka's Memoirs of the War in Hungary have been published, and attract the attention of the critical pen. The author was one of the leading generals in that gallant but unsuccessful struggle; and his opinions of the men engaged in it, and the causes of its failure, are therefore entitled to notice and respect. He regards the raising of the siege of Komorn as the turning point in the campaign. He speaks of Kossuth and Görgey as the two great spirits of the war – the one a civilian, the other a soldier. The Athenæum condenses his views concerning them very successfully. Kossuth, according to him was a great and generous man, of noble heart and fervid patriotism, at once an enthusiast and a statesman, gifted with "a mysterious power" over "the hearts of his countrymen;" possibly, however, of too melancholic and spiritual a temperament for the crisis, and unfortunately a civilian, so that notwithstanding his "marvelous influence to rouse and bring into action the hidden energies of the masses," he could not "give them a military organization;" Görgey, on the other hand, an able, hard-headed soldier, believing only in battalions, and capable of using them well, but wanting enthusiasm, without great principle, without even patriotism, taciturn and suspicious, chafing against authority, and aiming throughout chiefly at his own ends in the struggle, wanting that breadth of intellect or strength of courage that might have made his selfishness splendid in its achievement. Had Kossuth had the military training of Görgey, or had Görgey had the heart of Kossuth; or, finally, had there been a perfect co-operation between the two men and the parties which they represented, Hungary might have been saved. Nor, so far as Kossuth was concerned, was there any obstacle to such co-operation. His disinterestedness, as it led him at last to resign all into the hands of Görgey, would have led him to do so, had it been necessary, at first. But Perezel and the other generals, who were friends of Kossuth, disliked Görgey; never had full trust in him, and even accused him from the first of treachery. Görgey is alive and rich; the earth covers the dead bodies of many of his former comrades, pierced by the bullet or strangled by the ignominious rope, others live exiles in various lands. Of these last is Kossuth. There is something striking in the unanimity with which all testimonies combine as to the nobility of this man. Even Görgey, his foe, once wrote to General Klapka – "Kossuth alone is a classical and generous character. It is a pity he is not a soldier." General Klapka's own book is an involuntary commentary on this one text – "O that Kossuth had been a soldier!"

A volume of selections from papers contributed to the Edinburgh Review, by Mr. Henry Rogers, has been published. They relate chiefly to questions of religious interest, or have an indirect bearing upon religious philosophy. Comparing them with the similar papers of Sir James Stephen, a critical journal says, the author is less wide and comprehensive in his range, in expression less eloquent and original, but more practical in his views. He attacks the two extremes of Tractarianism and Skepticism; gives large and sound expositions of Dr. Whately's views of criminal jurisprudence; and attempts special biographical sketches, such as Fuller's, Luther's, Pascal's, and Plato's.

The fourth volume of Southey's Life and Correspondence has been issued, and sustains the interest of this very attractive work. Southey's Letters are among the best in the language, easy, unaffected, full of genial, intelligent criticisms upon men, books, and things; and abounding in attractive glimpses of the lives and characters of the eminent literary men who were his contemporaries. The new volume mentions that after Southey's acrimonious letters to Mr. William Smith, M.P. for Norwich, appeared, he was offered the editorship of the London Times, with a salary of £2000, and a share of the paper, but declined it.

The readers of the Excursion will remember that it was announced as the second part of a poem in three parts, called the Recluse. The first part was biographical, "conducting the history of the author's mind to the point when he was emboldened to hope that his faculties were sufficiently matured for entering upon the arduous labor which he had proposed to himself;" and the third part consisted mainly of meditations in the author's own person. It is now stated that the poem has been left in the hands of the author's nephew, Rev. Dr. Christopher Wordsworth, with directions that it should be published after his decease, together with such biographical notices as may be requisite to illustrate his writings. It is in fourteen cantos. A meeting of the personal friends and admirers of Wordsworth has been held, to take steps to erect a monument to his memory.

There have been published a large number of books of travel, among which the following are mentioned: – Lord Chesney has issued the first portion of his narrative of the Government Expedition to the Euphrates; and a certain Count Sollogub has recorded his traveling impressions of Young Russia, in a lively little book called The Tarantas. An English artist, lately resident in America, has described his Adventures in California; and Mr. Robert Baird, a Scotch invalid traveling for health, with strong party prepossessions, but shrewd observant habits, has published two volumes on the West Indies and North America in 1849. Also, pictures of travel in the Canadas, in a book called the Shoe and Canoe, by the Secretary to the Boundary Commissioners, Dr. Bagley; a very curious and complete revelation of Eastern life, in a Two Years' Residence in a Levantine Family, described by Mr. Bayle St. John; a peep into Nuremberg and Franconia, by Mr. Whiting; a summer ramble through Auvergne and Piedmont, by the intelligent Secretary of the Royal Society, Mr. Weld; the record of a brief holiday in Spain, Gazpacho, by a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; Notes from Nineveh, by a clergyman who has lately had religious duties in the East; and a satisfactory and compendious compilation called Nineveh, and Persepolis, by one of the officials of the British Museum.

An article in the Quarterly Review, on the Flight of Louis Philippe and his Family, in the Revolution, has attracted a good deal of attention in Paris. It was written by Mr. Croker, from materials supplied by the ex-king himself, and denounces Lamartine and the leading actors of the revolution, with the utmost bitterness. Lamartine has written a reply to it, the chief object of which is to refute one of the principal assertions of Mr. Croker, by proving that he, Lamartine, not only did not take measures to prevent the flight of Louis Philippe and the members of his family, but that he actually exerted himself actively to have them placed out of the reach of danger. Ledru Rollin has occupied his leisure, during his exile in London, by writing a book on the Decadence of England, which abounds in the most extravagant statements and predictions. It is denounced, in the strongest terms, as a worthless compound of malice and credulity.

The Obituary for the month embraces the name of M. Gay-Lussac, one of the great scientific men of Paris. The Presse says that few men have led a life so useful, and marked by so many labors. There is no branch of the physical and chemical sciences which is not indebted to him for some important discovery. Alone, or in conjunction with other eminent men, particularly with M. Thénard and M. de Humboldt, he carried his spirit of investigation into them all. At a very early age he was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences. In 1810, says M. Pouillet, speaking in the name of that academy, when the university opened, at length, its public courses of high teaching, it sought to associate in that object the most eminent scientific men of France, and M. Gay-Lussac, though very young, recommended himself to it by the double title of chemist and natural philosopher. "M. Gay-Lussac was already famous by his discovery of the fundamental laws of the expansion of gas and vapors; by a balloon ascent the most important and almost the only one of which the history of science has any record to keep; and for many works on chemistry which tended to lay the bases on which that science was soon afterward to be established." M. Gay-Lussac was a peer of France.

The Brussels papers mention the premature death of M. P. Souyet, the eminent chemist, at the early age of thirty-two. M. Souyet was professor of chemistry at the Musée de l'Industrie, and at the Royal Veterinary School at Brussels. His funeral, on the 6th inst., was attended by the most eminent scientific men in Brussels; and M. Quetelet delivered an address, in which he briefly enumerated the important discoveries and chemical investigations that have rendered the name of M. Souyet so well known. M. Souyet had written several valuable chemical works.

The Emperor of China, Tau-Kwang (the Lustre of Reason), "departed upon the great journey, and mounted upward on the dragon, to be a guest on high" – in other words died, on the 25th of February, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and thirtieth of his reign. His death is said to have been caused by the fatigue he underwent at the funeral ceremonies of the late Empress-Dowager, his mother-in-law. The nomination of a successor in China rests always with the Emperor, and before his death Tau-Kwang decreed that his fourth and only surviving son should succeed him. He ascended the throne the day of the Emperor's death, and is to reign under the title of Sze-hing. He is only nineteen years of age. Keying, the former Viceroy at Canton, is appointed his principal guardian, and will no doubt hold a high and an influential position in the Cabinet. It is not likely that any material change in the policy of the Government will take place, but from the enlightened character of Keying and his knowledge of foreigners, the tendency of any new measures will probably be toward a more liberal course.

The Earl of Roscommon died on the 15th inst. at Blackrock, near Dublin, in the fifty-second year of his age.

Major-General Sir James Sutherland, of the East India Company's Service, died suddenly on the 15th, at his house. He had enjoyed perfect health up to the day of his death, when he invited a large number of friends to dinner. He was giving instructions to his butler with respect to the wines in his drawing-room, and Lady Sutherland was standing near him. He suddenly grasped her shoulder, fell to the ground, and died in a few minutes. He was in the sixty-sixth year of his age, and had seen a great deal of service in India.

The "Scottish Press" records the demise of Mrs. Jeffrey, the widow of one whose death was so recently the cause of an almost universal sorrow. Shortly after Lord Jeffrey's decease, his widow, affected in a more than ordinary degree by the sad event, broke up her establishment, and took up her abode with Mr. and Mrs. Empson, her son-in-law and daughter. Though naturally cheerful, her spirits never recovered the shock she sustained by the death of her distinguished partner, whom she has not survived four months. Mrs. Jeffrey was born in America, and was the grandniece of the celebrated John Wilkes, and second wife of the late Lord Jeffrey, to whom she was married in 1813.

Affairs in France are without change. The Assembly was proceeding with the bill for restricting the suffrage, and some of its sections had been adopted. No doubt was entertained of its final passage. It meets, however, with stern opposition, and will lay the foundation for a settled popular discontent, highly unfavorable to the permanence of the government or the tranquillity of the Republic. No immediate outbreak is apprehended, as the preparations of the government are too formidable to allow it the least chance of success. The government has adopted very stringent measures against the opposition press. On the 14th, M. Boulé, the great printer of the Rue de Coq-Heron, was deprived of his license as a printer. He was the printer of the "Voix du Peuple," the "République," the "Estafette," and several other papers. The authorities seized all the presses, and placed seals on them. In consequence of this step, the Editors issued a joint letter explaining how their papers were prevented from appearing. The editor of the "Voix du Peuple" was brought again before the tribunals on the same day for attacks on the government. In the one case the sentence previously pronounced against him of a year's imprisonment and a fine of 4000f. for an attack on M. Fould's budget was confirmed, and for the other he was sentenced to a year's imprisonment and a fine of 5000f. Courtois and the Abbé Chatel have been convicted by juries, of inflammatory speeches at electoral meetings. The former was condemned to a year's imprisonment and 1000f. fine, and two years' more imprisonment if the fine be not paid. The Abbé Chatel has a year's imprisonment and 500f. fine. It seems rather surprising that the government should obtain verdicts against the Socialists, considering how Socialism has spread in Paris.

The French Embassador having been recalled from St. James's, General la Hitte, the Minister of War, read to the National Assembly on the 16th, a letter he had written to the French Embassador at London, in consequence of infraction, by England, of the conditions on which France had agreed to act as mediator in the affairs of Greece. The letter, after a summary of the circumstances of the misunderstanding, and the demand that it should be set to rights, proceeded to say: "This demand not having been listened to, it has appeared to us that the prolongation of your sojourn at London is not compatible with the dignity of the Republic. The President has ordered me to invite you to return to France, after having accredited M. Marescalchi in quality of Chargé d'Affaires," and concludes, "You will have the goodness to read this present dispatch to Lord Palmerston." This announcement was received by the Right with loud acclamations, the Left, or Mountain party remaining silent.

In Germany the Erfurt Parliament, having finished the revisal of its proposed Constitution for the German Union, dissolved itself, and has been succeeded by two separate Convocations. The one is held in Frankfort, and consists of the representatives of the old Germanic confederation, convoked by the Emperor of Austria, with the object of re-organizing that confederation. This conference includes all the secondary States of the old confederation except Oldenburg and Frankfort itself, though the assembly is held within its own walls. The other, held at Berlin, was assembled by the king of Prussia, and consisted of twenty-one heads of sovereign houses, with representatives of the three Hanse towns, Hamburg, Bremen, and Lubeck. This last convention has finished its sittings, and the members, previous to separating, were entertained by the king at a banquet on the 16th, when his majesty addressed them in a speech expressive of his satisfaction with their proceedings.

On the 22d An Attempt was Made on the Life of the King of Prussia, by a Serjeant of artillery named Sesseloge, who fired a pistol at him as he was setting out for Potsdam, and wounded him slightly in the arm. The assassin was immediately apprehended.

The only political news from Spain during the month, related to some palace intrigues, in which the Queen, King-Consort, and General Narvaez were concerned. One evening in the last week of April the King suddenly notified to General Narvaez and the rest of the cabinet his intention of quitting Madrid in order not to be present at the accouchement of the Queen. After exhausting all means of persuasion to induce him to change his purpose, but which were of no avail, a council of ministers was held, in which it was decided to oppose by force the King's departure. His Majesty was placed under arrest. Sentries were stationed at the door of his apartment, and the King remained a prisoner during four hours, at the end of which time his Majesty capitulated, and even consented to accompany the Queen in an open carriage in her usual evening drive on the Prado.

After a Drought of Five Years, the province of Murcia has been visited by a copious rain. It was curious to observe the young children who had never seen rain in their lives, evince as much alarm as if some frightful accident had happened. Rain also has fallen in the vast "Huerta," or garden-land of Valencia: the simple inhabitants of the villages, in the height of their joy, have carried their tutelary saints about the streets with bands of rustic music.

At about a league from Saragossa a Powder-mill exploded and many lives were lost. Parts of human bodies, remnants of clothing, and the remains of beasts of burden, were found scattered in every direction. The edifice was shattered to pieces.

Since the Pope has established himself in Rome, that capital has been very quiet. The French commandant, General Baraguay d'Hilliers, has returned to Paris, but the French troops remain. The Pope adheres to his high-handed measures of reaction. Rome is full of mysterious rumors, not entitled, however, to much credit. The Pope is accused of an attempt to escape from that city, and his continuance there is only attributed to the vigilance with which his movements are watched by the French. Tuscany is about to be occupied by 14,000 Austrian troops, the time of occupation to be determined by the will and convenience of the Cabinet of Vienna. There is a rumor that, as a counterbalance. Savoy is to be occupied by a French army. It is feared that plans are in agitation for the political enthrallment of all Italy.

LITERARY NOTICES

The Unity of the Human Races proved to be the Doctrine of Scripture, Reason, and Science. By the Rev. Thomas Smyth, D.D. New York: George P. Putnam. 12mo, pp. 404.

The question discussed in the present volume, is one that has excited great attention among modern savans, and more recently, has obtained a fresh interest from the speculations concerning it by the popular scientific lecturer Professor Agassiz of Harvard University. In many respects, Dr. Smyth has shown himself admirably qualified for the task he has undertaken. He brings to the discussion of the subject, the resources of great and various learning, the mature results of elaborate investigation, a familiarity with the labors of previous writers, and a lively and attractive style of composition. The argument from Scripture is dwelt upon at considerable length, and though presented in a forcible manner, betrays the presence of a certain tincture of professional zeal, which will tend to vitiate the effect on the mind of the scientific reader. Under the head of the Former Civilization of Black Races of Men, a great variety of curious facts are adduced, showing the original sagacity and advancement in all worldly knowledge and science, by which the family of Ham was distinguished. The testimony of a southern divine of such high eminence as Dr. Smyth, to the primitive equality in the intellectual faculties of the negro and European races, is not a little remarkable, and speaks well for his candor and breadth of comprehension. The discussion of the origin of the varieties in the human race is conducted with great ingenuity and copious erudition, but it must be admitted, hardly succeeds in making out a case to the satisfaction of the inquirer, who regards the subject only in the light of history and philosophy.

The influence of the theory which he opposes, on the relations of the Southern States, is considered by Dr. Smyth to be of a different character from that set forth by many writers. He believes that it would be suicidal to the South in the maintenance of her true position toward her colored population. The diversity of the Black and White races was never admitted by the fathers of the country. They always recognized the colored race which had been providentially among them for two centuries and a half as fellow-beings with the same original attributes, the same essential character, and the same immortal destiny. The introduction of a novel theory on the subject, Dr. Smyth maintains, would be in the highest degree impolitic and dangerous, removing from both master and servant the strongest bonds which now unite them, and by which they are restrained from licentious, immoral, and cruel purposes.

Without reference to many statements, which will produce the widest latitude of opinion in regard both to their soundness and their accuracy, the work of Dr. Smyth may be commended as a treatise of the highest importance in the scientific discussion to which it is devoted, abounding in materials of inestimable value to the student, filled with the proofs of rare cultivation and scholar-like refinement, and every way creditable to the attainments and the ability of the author and to the literature of the South.

Historical View of the Languages and Literature of the Slavic Nations; with a Sketch of their Popular Poetry. By Talvi. With a preface by Edward Robinson, D.D., LL.D. New York: George P. Putnam. 12mo., pp. 412.

It is rarely that a subject is treated with the profound investigation, vigorous analysis, and intelligent comprehensiveness which are exhibited in the discussion of the interesting literary topics to which the present work is devoted. The authoress, whose name is concealed in the mystic word Talvi, is understood to be the lady of Rev. Professor Robinson, and her rare accomplishments in various departments of learning have long since established her intellectual reputation in the most cultivated European circles. Usually written in her native German language, her productions are perhaps not so extensively known in this country, although few of our educated scholars are ignorant of her researches in a province of literature with which her name has become, to a great degree, identified.

The volume now published is characterized by the extent and thoroughness of its investigations, its acute and judicious criticisms, its warm-hearted recognition of true poetry, even in an humble garb, and the force and facility of its style. The last trait is quite remarkable, considering the writer is using a foreign language. There is little, either in the translations or the original portion of the work, to remind us that it is the production of one to whom the language is not native.

After describing the old, ecclesiastical Slavic Literature, the authoress proceeds to the literary monuments of the Eastern and Western Slavi, giving an elaborate account of the Russian, Servian, Bohemian, and Polish literatures, with glances at the achievements of several less important branches of the great Slavic race. In the course of this discussion, a great variety of rare and curious information is presented, of high importance to the student of ethnography and history, and accompanied with complete and lucid references to the original sources. The most attractive feature of the work to the general reader will doubtless be the sketch of the popular poetry of the Slavic nations, illustrated with abundant specimens of songs and ballads, many of which are marked with a strong natural pathos and tenderness, and all of them possessing a certain rustic simplicity, which is usually of a very pleasing character, and seldom offensive.