The Annuals. LITERATURE OF THE MONTH. WHEN Mr. Ackerman first thought of imitating the Germans, with whom this sort of work originated, in the yearly production of a pocket volume of light literature and elegant art, we fancy he had no idea that he should ever see so many rivals, or at least followers, in the same course. The multiplicity of these works, however, proves that he was right in his calculations, and that such miscellanies are acceptable to the public taste. We might say something on the effect they have produced, particularly in the department of engraving, but we have only undertaken to describe the volumes before us. We may remark, however, that small-line engraving, such as is suited to book embellishment, has been much improved by the encouragement given in the Annuals, and that it was particularly fortunate that the ingenious American, Mr. Perkins, had invented engraving on steel before these works commenced. No copper plates, such as were formerly in use, would bear half the number of impressions called for by most of these popular volumes, without material detriment, and requiring to be re-touched; whereas the steel plate throws off its thousands of impressions in all its original strength and clearness. ex Forget Me Not.- This annual, which was the first started in England, is this year as good as, or perhaps rather better than, we have ever seen it. The literary matter comprises an cellent tale by Allan Cunningham, another by Mrs. C. Gore, a marvellous narration by the Ettrick Shepherd, and sundry pretty things both in prose and verse. Among the engravings we have been much pleased with the "Interior of the Church of St. Peter's at Caen," after Prout; "Chains of the Heart," after J. Cawse; "The Hong Merchant's Garden," a beautiful Chinese scene from a picture by W. Westall, A. R. A.; "Scottish Haymakers," after W. Kidd; and "Cupid caught tripping," from a drawing by that very elegant artist and accomplished man, J. P. Davis, or as his brethren call him, "Roman Davis." In this instance, however, he has suffered some injustice from the engraver, who has made one of his beautiful female figures to squint and goggle most frightfully, and has moreover illtreated the face of Cupid. Knowing, as we do, Mr. Davis's peculiar excellence in delineating feminine and childish beauty, we cannot for a moment believe the faults alluded to are attributable to him. We much regret their existence, as they tend to mar an exquisite little composition. The worst thing in the volume is the "Victoria," after H. Ritcher; an artist, who, in some shape or other, is perpetually before us, but who seldom gives us an opportunity for ad miration. The Literary Souvenir.-Mr. Alaric Watts has good taste generally, both in literature and the fine arts, he has also long experience in his favour, and, it must be said, his annual volume is always among the best of its kind. We think, however, that we have seen it better than it is this year. Two or three of the plates are indifferent, and one (a chalk engraving that looks unfinished) was certainly never intended for the annual, but introduced as a make-up." Yet there is one delightful thing-so bold, so original, so characteristic, that when we look at it we forget all defects; we mean the Austrian Pil grims," engraved by J. B. Allen, from a painting by G. R. Lewis. The "Oriental Love Letter," after Destouches, is also a bijou. In "Hawking," after Cattermole, the lady has a decided squint, and the gentleman, rather a burly, coarse, ungentlemanly aspect. Greuse's picture of the Child, with a Dove in his hand, has been badly christened. The chubby, scowling boy looks ferocious rather than innocent, and we greatly fear from the expression of his countenance, he is going to bite off the dove's head. 6. The literary portion of the work is generally good, and selected and arranged with the editor's wonted judgment. His own verses, (why does he not write more of the book himself?) addressed to the Sœur de la Charité, the author of Selwyn's "Grande Chartreuse," and some beautifully felt little pieces by Sir Aubrey de Vere, are among the best of the poetry. "Allan Mac Tavish's Fishing," by the author of "Three Nights in a Lifetime;" "The Raven's Nest," by the author of "Tales of the Munster Festivals," &c, "The Incendiary," and "The Old Man of the Mountains," are all good tales. In the first of them, which describes the loves and death of a bold Highland fisherman, the simplicity and pathos are admirable. We perceive from the preface to the Literary Souvenir, that the editor is become aware of the necessity of introducing some variety in this class of publication. We wish him every success in his new plans and arrangements, which he announces are to commence with his next volume. Friendship's Offering.—Is very good this year. Here, as in the work we have just noticed, some of the best of the poetry is contributed by the editor; there is, however, this difference between them, that Mr. Pringle, gives much more of his own than does Mr. Watts. Mr. Whitehead, a young writer of good promise, has a tolerably long poem, "Ippolito," which shows great talent, with a little extravagance. There are by that extraordinary man, Coleridge, and other some extraordinary experiments in English verse, vagaries of his, which cannot fail of being very serviceable to the volume, if it is only that they will be regarded in the light of curiosities, and attract attention. Barry Cornwall has contributed two short but beautiful pieces of poetry, and there are several other productions in verse, superior in quality to the general run of Annual rhyme. Among the tales in prose we have been most struck with "Grace Kennedy," by the author of "Pictures of Private Life;""Stephano the Albanian," "Master Dod's Blessing," and the "Lad of Genius," by the delightful author of "The Puritan's Grave," a novel, which we again take the opportunity of cordially recommending to our readers' notice. The embellishments, with the exception of two, "The Chieftain's Daughter, and "My first love," are very good as works of art, and pleasing in their subjects. It is a long time since we have seen a finer specimen of engraving than that exhibited here by J. Phelps, in his copy of a celebrated female portrait by the late J. Jackson, R. A. The Amulet.-Contains some excellent things both in literature and art. The portrait of Donna Maria, the young Queen of Portugal, engraved by R. Graves, from a picture by Sir Thomas Lawrence, in his Majesty's collection, must give great interest to the present volume, and we hope, increase the well deserved popularity of Mr. Hall's work. The other plates which have much pleased us are, "Sir Roger de Coverley," and "The Gipseys," after Leslie; "Too hot," an inimitable dog-scene, by Landseer; "The death of the Stag," after A. Robertson; "The Wandering Thought," an exquisite portrait of a young lady in an old fashioned dress, by D. M'Clise, and the "Sea Shore," from a painting by Bonnington. "The First-born," from a picture by J. Wood, has also much merit; though it happens rather unfortunately that the head of the infant is almost as large as its mother's. The articles in prose and verse have been furnished by writers of established reputation, and the editor, has been, as usual, very successful in procuring a few communications which add useful instruction to entertainment. Such, for example, are "The pass of Abdomim," by W. H. Yates, M. D.; "The Visit to Johanna," by the Hon. Mrs. Erskine Norton; and " A scene in the Zenana," by Miss E. Roberts. We can scarcely include among these Dr. Walsh's "Earthquake at Zante," as that account appears to us to be considerably exaggerated. There are a few lines by Leigh Hunt, so beautiful that we must find room to quote them. The original idea is eastern, and is to be found in D'Herbelot's " Bibliothéque Orientale," but the great merit is in the expression and versification. Abon Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase !) VOL. III.NO. VI. Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, The Keepsake.-Though we cannot but feel there is a little want of variety in the embellishments this year, we are altogether much pleased with "The Keepsake," and delighted with some of the plates. Our favourites are the frontispiece, an exquisitely delicate female portrait, by Boxall; Milicent," another portrait of the same nature, by Newton, (as engravings these two pieces could scarcely be better;) "A View of Havre," by the great Turner! and "The Two Barons," by Cattermole. Turner's Havre is perfection. "The The Three Guests," by Lord Morpeth, is a very graceful little poem, and the different pieces of verse, by J. H. Lowther, are pleasing. Requisites for a Wife, and the Requisites for a Husband," by Lady Isabella St. John, is a very clever, smart, pointed jeu d'esprit. We recommend it to the immediate attention of our readers. There is an elegant trifle in antiquated French, with a translation by J. H. Lowther, and another by Lord Nugent, neither of whom has caught the close epigrammatic turn of the original, which is simply this : "Pour chasser de sa souvenance On se donne bien de souffrance, "Une peu douce fantaisie Toujours revient: En songeant qu'il faut qu'on l'oublie, L'on s'en souvient. Several of the prose narratives in "The Keepsake" have given us much amusement: we would particularly mention "Sir Roger de Coverley's Picture Gallery," by Mrs. Charles Gore; "The Widowed Bride," by Sheridan Knowles; and "The Head," by L. E. L. Heath's Picturesque Annual.-Mr. Stanfield has this year confined himself to the sea-coasts of France immediately opposite to our own shores. Though only divided from us by a narrow sea, those particular parts of the French kingdom are little known to us, and indeed, generally speaking, to Frenchmen themselves. Our annual swarms of travellers cross over to Calais, Dieppe, or Boulogne, and some few to Havre; those ports they see, but the many interesting spots which intervene between them, or extend beyond them along the coast, are rarely visited except by accident, and remain almost a terra incognita. The elegant volume before us 20 contains views on that coast from Calais to SaintMalo, which, we doubt not, from their great interest and beauty will induce many a tourist to start from the beaten track, and examine the regions where they occur. We have only one trifling fault to find we think Mr. Stanfield has given us rather too much of Mont St. Michel. Mr. Leitch Ritchie in the literary department gives some very curious local information, which would not be the worse if conveyed with less continual efforts and attempts at smartness and point. What the new police can have done to Mr. Ritchie to induce him to prophesy, as he does, their utter annihilation in the first popular commotion; or what they (the English police) can have to do with "Travelling Sketches on the Sea Coasts of France," we cannot for our lives discover. The Landscape Annual.-The beautiful views in this volume are also all French, and for the greater part, as in the Picturesque Annual, taken from districts in France which are rarely visited by the traveller. Several of the landscapes are in Auvergne. The Interior of the Church at Polignac," ""Mont Ferrand," which looks so very provincial and so truly French, the " Approach to Royat," and the scene in a little crowded Place in that town, are all very pleasing and characteristic. From Auvergne Mr. Harding's pencil carries us to the sunny regions of the south of France; to Montpelier, Nismes, Avignon, &c. and thence returning towards Paris, it shows us the city of Lyons and other scenes near the Rhone and the Saone. With the country included in the latter part of his tour we are well acquainted, and can answer for the fidelity of Mr. Harding's views in them. We must say, however, that his "Amphitheatre at Nismes " conveys an exaggerated notion of the size of that fine Roman ruin, if ruin it can be called: here it looks as vast as the Coliseum at Rome. For the rest he has managed the very difficult subject with great skill, and produced a delightful scene. The accompany ing letter-press is by Mr. Thomas Roscoe, who has edited the work since its commencement. He has made good use of old French historians, chroniclers, and biographers, to increase the interest of the scenery laid before us. With modern matters and the actual state of the country he does not pretend to meddle. We should have been thankful for some modern accounts of Auvergne, which is in many respects a very interesting portion of the French kingdom, and but little known. The Oriental Annual. We noticed the plates of this graceful and novel annual last month; since then, we are happy to say, an extensive sale has proved that if we were wrong in our judgment, the public has partaken in our mistake. But no! we were right, and the public is right and (as it ever will be when a work of real merit is fairly brought before it) prompt and liberal in its encouragement. It only remains for us to say a few words of the letterpress, by the Rev. Hobart Caunter, a gentleman who has had the advantage of visiting the particular spots represented by the painter, and of which a description was necessary, and whose high character places him above all suspicion of falsehood or exaggeration. Mr. Caunter has described what he has seen in a wide range of travels in India, and the interesting island of Ceylon; the scenery, the most celebrated edifices, the customs and manners of the inhabitants; and all this he has judiciously mingled and enlivened with narratives of remarkable historical events, and sketches of the natural history of those countries. The zoological anecdotes are particularly interesting. Throughout the volume valuable information is coupled with amusement, and a specific object is pursued. This object is to convey through a pleasant medium, full and exact information concerning our vast possessions in the East; and it will be effected by the succession of a few volumes like the present. When we reflect on the almost marvellous means by which those remote dominions have been obtained; on the manner (unparalleled in history) by which they have been held and governed, on the thousands and tens of thousands of individuals in England whose interests are directly or indirectly, entirely or in main part, connected with India, we may not merely call such information, interesting-important but absolutely indispensable. The style which Mr. Caunter, has adopted, seems to us, well suited to the subject; it is plain and straight forward, without those attempts at fine writing which are too much the fashion of the day, though they are so apt to render obscure, what it is the author's duty to make clear, and to mystify the reader instead of instructing him. We have no room for extracts. This we regret the less, because so many have been before the public in various popular periodicals, which have, almost without exception, agreed in giving the "Oriental Annual" their warmest praise. REGISTER OF EVENTS AT HOME AND ABROAD. THE COURT.-The King held a Court on Monday afternoon, at the Palace of Brighton, which was attended by Earl Grey, the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Earl of Ripon, Viscounts Melbourne and Palmerston, Mr. Stanley, Lord John Russell, Lord Albemarle, Sir William Alexander, and the Earl of Belfast. After the Council, the Cabinet Ministers and the Members of the Household dined with their Majesties. Baron Ompteda, the Hanoverian Minister, arrived at Brighton, and had an audience of the King on Monday. Earl Grey spent Tuesday at the Palace, and returned to town the next day. The uncertain state of the weather has prevented both their Majesties, during the greater part of the week, from taking their usual rides. The King occasionally sits for his picture to Sir Martin Archer Shee. The regulations at the Palace in every department are observed with the most scrupulous attention. All persons, calling on or visiting the domestics, are required to give their names, which are inserted in a book kept for that purpose, and every article received is duly registered. Captain Ross and his nephew had an interview with the Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria, at Kensington, on Thursday. The Duke of Gloucester has left town for Ickworth Lodge, near Bury, on a visit to the Marquis of Bristol. BRIGHTON CHAIN PIER-This ingenious work is being repaired under the superintendence of Captain Brown, at the cost of above 20007. The Earl of Egremont has on this, as on a multitude of other occasions, contributed in a most princely manner. EARTHQUAKE.Chichester has been for a third time of late visited by earthquake. The shocks of the last were so sharp, it is stated, as to cause the clocks to strike. The good people of Chichester had better take heed. —Literary Gazette. WINCHELSEA.-An ancient vessel has been found embedded in the mud near Winchelsea, which is supposed to be the remains of a phenomenon which inundated that coast six hundred years ago. Charles the Tenth has had an interview, it is said, with the Duchess de Berri, and has returned to Prague. The object of this conference was to induce her to give up the deed of abdication which he had signed in favour of the Duc de Bourdeaux. His exiled Majesty appears to think that he has some chance of being restored to his throne; he was therefore extremely urgent in his demands. But the Duchess was equally peremeptory in her refusal. Indeed it was impossible for her to give up the do cument in question, as it is lodged in the Government archives at Paris; but she absolutely refused, for herself and her son, to execute any deed, or do any thing to invalidate the claim of the latter to be considered King of France. CAPTAIN BACK-The Montreal Herald brings intelligence of Captain Back to the 10th of October, on which day the expedition were all well, and the Captain and Dr. King proceeding (as was stated to be their expressed intention) in a light canoe, followed by two boats, to look out for winter quarters. Brighton has been selected by the Committee of the Agricultural Employment Institution to hold their first meeting out of London. Several noblemen and distinguished visiters have signified their intention of honouring the meeting with their pre sence. Earl Talbot has at length purchased the Tixal estate by private contract, for a sum little short of 320,0007. Till within the last two years, the out-parish of St. Philip and Jacob, Bristol, containing a popula tion of sixteen thousand souls, was destitute of any place of public worship, either in connexion with the Establishment or the Dissenters! It is said that a great proportion of the inhabitants were absolutely in a state of practical heathenism. A subscription has been commenced for the purpose of erecting a tablet to the memory of the late Hannah More, and also for the establishment of a school to bear her name, in connexion with the new church of St. Philip and Jacob, at Bristol, to the endowment of which she has bequeathed the residue of her estate. Nearly 4007. have been already subscribed. The names of the Bishops of Salisbury, Lichfield and Coventry, Bath and Wells, Lincoln, and Sir R. Inglis, appear amongst the pecuniary supporters of the undertaking. The pavement lately taken up and re-laid in the nave of Exeter Cathedral, is Bohemian marble, which stone was much used in our churches during the middle ages. It resembles the verde antique of the Egyptians; being of a grey-green colour, varied by black and white spots, called ophites and tephria ; but this contains petrified antediluvian remains, which the Egyptian marble does not possess. In a similar marble in Derbyshire, are discovered parts of the starfish; but this stone is of a whitish-brown colour. It may appear surprising how the beauties of this variegated testaceous marble should have escaped observation; but, like the pebble that contains the madrepore, its shades and figures could only have been seen by polishing. The proprietors of the Clarence Vase, (manufactured and now exhibiting in Birmingham, the cost of which has been enormous, and the loss to its owners proportionately great,) are attempting, through the medium of Mr. Joseph Parkes, the solicitor, to negotiate a sale with government. It is thought that a native invention of such splendour ought to grace the national galleries of the British Museum. The proprietors are desirous of obtaining, in exchange for the vase, grants of certain Government lands in the Canadas; to which settlements, if granted, it is said several of the proprietors intend to emigrate. The proprietors are for the most part members of the Birmingham Political Council. SPAIN. Mr. Villiers formally presented his credentials to the Queen Regent at Madrid on the 6th instant. Until then, Lord William Harvey had figured as the official representative of our government, under the title of Chargé d'Affaires. At Madrid, and throughout the southern provinces of the kingdom, the Queen's authority is undisturbed. The partisans of the Pretender are treated with some harshness; a considerable number of military officers and civil employés, in the different branches of the government, suspected of a leaning towards Carlism, have been suddenly dismissed. In the northern provinces Carlism seems to prosper: the insurgents have driven the Queen's troops from Irun; and have thus closed another line of communication to Madrid General Saarsfield, of whose march upon Vittoria and expected demolition of the rebels, so many reports have been current, was still at Burgos, when the last accounts left Bayonne, seven days ago. Still later accounts have just been received, which state, that the rebels have been completely dispersed by the general. PORTUGAL.-The war in Portugal is carried on with little spirit: there is a strong disinclination to fight on both sides. The Miguelite army remains within the walls of Santarem: and Pedro seems to be destitute of the means of attacking it with any probability of success. He ordered a portion of his force to be drawn up below the town, by way of bravado, or in order to ascertain whether the enemy would have the folly to leave their fortifications and fight in the open plain; but the Miguelite General only laughed at him, and his troops did not move a foot. FRANCE. The French Liberals have altered their tone respecting the interference of their Government in the affairs of Spain. A short time ago, they were eager for the despatch of an army to support the Queen and suppress the Carlists. But they have since discovered, that the support of the Queen may be a very different affair from the establishment of a Liberal government; and have a reasonable dread that French arms, if used at all, would be for the benefit of absolutism, or at least, what they abominate nearly as much, the system of the Juste Milieu. Now, therefore, they would prefer to assist the Queen with a loan of money; which would probably answer her Majesty's purpose much better than an auxiliary army of Frenchmen. According to present appearances, Louis Philip will do neither one nor the other. The Paris newspapers, and the correspondents of the London journals resident there, give us abundance of Spanish news, or rather rumours, but yield no intelligence of interest respecting French affairs. BELGIUM. King Leopold's concerns proceed smoothly. The addresses, in reply to his speech, were passed unanimously by both chambers; and it is said that the session is likely to be one of little specchifying and much business. Count Diedrichstein, the Austrian, and Count d'Arnheim, the Prussian ambassador, have reached Brussels. The latter is already very active in his endeavours to form a commercial treaty, the real object of which is to exclude British manufactures from the continent. Great inducements, it is said, will be held out to the Belgian manufacturers to become parties to the Prussian system. TURKEY.-There is a solitary piece of news from Constantinople, but that is important if true: the combined English and French squadrons have entered the Dardanelles, in spite of the recent treaty between Russia and Turkey, by which such entry was forbidden. This is a proper and spirited proceeding, and we hope that the information of the Standard, from whom we copy the news, may prove to be correct. It is far better to show at once our perfect contempt for the treaty, in this way, than get entangled in the diplomatic net of endless negotiation with a view to alter it.—Spectator. |