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taining cakes of stinking maize. They were accompanied | by a pretty-looking young woman, the daughter of one of the chiefs at Pari-pari, gaily attired in a string-mat, with a bunch of myrtle leaves in her ear. The grace and gentle bashfulness of this rangatira damsel were in strong contrast with the coarse and rude appearance of the halfclad slaves who were her fellow-travellers.

At Pari-pari, there lives a European, named Lewis, who has married the daughter of Taonui, the principal chief of the district, and successor to Tariki. Under the auspiees and protection of his father-in-law, Lewis enjoys his Robinson Crusoe-like life in perfect security. He has a hut of his own construction, together with a garden, and a flock of seventy goats, besides pigs, fowls, and other small domestic animals. During my stay, for a few days, at Pari-pari, I experienced every hospitality from Lewis, who took infinite trouble and pleasure in pointing out to me all the antiquities and remains of pahs and ornamental architecture in the neighbourhood. It was an anexpected treat to sup upon brown bread and milk-the former made by my host from the product of his last Fear's crop. The concluding dish at supper would ap pear less inviting to a European appetite, for it consisted of a quantity of fine plump grubs, nicely browned before the fire; and, repulsive as such an article of food might at first appear, they are not only agreeable in flavour, but resemble, in taste, the most delicious cream. Taonui's daughter had procured them from the decayed timber of the rimu pine, in the adjoining forest. At a small pah, not far distant from the abode of his pakeha Lewis, Taonui, the chief, has his residence. He is one of the most powerful and superstitious of the old heathen chiefs, and is scrupulously attached to the religion of the Tohunga; around his neck he usually wears a small flute, constructed out of the leg-bone of Pomare, a northern enemy of his tribe; and upon this instrument he frequently plays with peculiar satisfaction.

On the death

ef a favourite daughter, Te Whero Whero made a song,

the substance of which was, that he would take off the scalps of all the chiefs, except Ngawaka, and fling them into his daughter's grave, to revenge her untimely death."

It would have given us much pleasure to have accompanied Mr. Angas farther in his Australian wanderings, but we must be content with recommending him to our readers as an exceedingly entertaining and instructive companion, and as one entirely devoid of pretension.

Ceylon: a General Description of the Island and its Inhabitants; with an Historical Sketch of the Conquest of the Colony by the English. By Henry Marshall, F.R.S.E., Deputy Inspector-General of Army Hospitals; Author of the Military Miscellany,* &c., &c. Post octavo. With a Map of Ceylon, &c., &c. London: Allan & Company.

THERE are extant several histories, or descriptions, of Ceylon; Mr. Marshall's valuable addition is, therefore, chiefly devoted to what he terms "the English period," er from the time when, in 1796, the island, or its maritime provinces, were taken from the Dutch, when the United Provinces, organised under the name of the Batavian Republic, had become the allies of France.

Mr. Marshall's introductory account of the island is brief, previous to the period that it was, in 1590, occupied by the Portuguese, the original discoverers, who had planted themselves in Ceylon, through the insidious arts and crooked policy which have too often characterised the dealings of Europeans with the native powers of India. The Kandyans, who expected deliverers, found the Dutch not a whit better than the Portuguese, if not more cruel and

* See Tail's Magazine for June, 1816.

VOL. XIV.NO. CLVIII.

selfish; and, at the time when the British gained possession of the Island, the recollection of the grasping policy of the Portuguese, and the selfish rapacity and cruelty of the Dutch, made the King of Kandy forbid his people to have any intercourse with Europeans of any nation, as all were to be held alike treacherous and dishonourable. But, when the English commissioners arrived-after the capture of Trincomalee, and when the maritime provinces, so long held by the Portuguese and Dutch, had been seized-greater faith and friendship were professed for the English-professions which subsequent events showed to be false and hollow; though Kandyan treachery is, in this instance, not without apology.

Having briefly gone over the preliminary periods, and noticed the contests maintained, for centuries, with mutual pertinacity and cruelty, between the people of Kandy and the foreign encroachers who settled on the coasts, Mr. Marshall approaches the English period; and his lucid narrative of the negotiations and intrigues of the Anglo-Indian governors, or commissioners, presents an indirect exposition of the character and conduct of too many of the individuals who have administered the government of our Eastern colonies, and who, if sometimes outwitted by superior native craft, certainly never failed in their diplomacy from adherence to the maxim of honesty being the best policy. The intrigues of the Hon. Frederick North and the chiefs of the court of Kandy are an epitome -a "picture in little"-of much of the history of English diplomacy in India. It is not history to be nationally proud of. Mr. North's weak and underhand dealings with persons, at the court of Kandy, wholly unworthy of his confidence, resulted in the miserable and disgraceful affair best remembered by the catastrophe of Major Davie, and the troops who had the misfortune to be placed under the command of so inefficient an officer.

Mr. Marshall, who went to Ceylon in 1808, when an army was assembling to invade and conquer Kandy, must have had ample opportunities, during the thirteen years he was professionally engaged in the Kandyan provinces, to acquire the most minute information regarding the previous disasters, and the secret springs of action; and, after relating the whole proceedings, he is compelled to sum up" Thus did the British Government, by the right of conquest, assume, without reservation, the same arbitrary and absolute authority over the Kandyan people which had, by immemorial usage, been possessed by the despotic kings of Kandy." "For some reason," he says in another place, "the Kandyans, of all grades, disliked the English." The reason, we should apprehend, is not difficult to find, if Mr. Marshall chose to seek it. been blamed for severity in his exposition of British policy and British officials in Ceylon; but if he has erred at all it is on the side of leniency. A historian does not sit down either to extenuate guilt or to apologise for imbecility.

He has

The hostile sentiments of the Kandyans, who had waited in vain for the withdrawal of their professed friends and deliverers from their territory, again broke out into open violence; and the hostilities which followed were marked with equal atrocity on both sides with this mighty difference, that the Ceylonese were fighting in defence of their national independence, and all that a people hold dear and sacred; and the English to maintain conquests obtained not always by the fairest means. Mr. Marshall

K

corroborates his own statements by the opinions of other writers. "No conduct," it is said in Knighton's Hisory of Ceylon, “could justify the conduct of the English.... We may reasonably question, whether it would not have been more just and wise, altogether, to evacuate the interior, than to allow such a state of things to continue so long as they did." And Mr. Marshall adds, that the Kandyans were treated precisely as the Duke of Cumberland did the Highlanders after the Battle of Culloden.

Such things may not be pleasant to tell, but they are salutary to hear; and in their revelation consists much of the merit of Mr. Marshall's work, which we consider more valuable as admonition than as history. But, that we may not touch wholly on the dark side or dwell in generalities, we shall now select, as a specimen of the narrative, the description of the King of Kandy, who was deposed for many alleged reasons, but, in reality, because this measure was deemed necessary to the furtherance of British objects :

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much resistance, on some of the routes to the capital;
but the force in the Three and Four Cories behaved to-
lerably well.' King: It is of no use to talk of the
taste of food after it is in the belly.' The King then
asked the writer a number of questions, such as, How
long he had been in Ceylon? How far he had come?
How long he had been on board ship? And for what
Writer: I belong to the
purpose he had left Europe?
medical department of the army, and my duties are
chiefly to take care of sick soldiers.' King: You
must be a good man, to travel so far for so commendable
a purpose. Would you like to be at home?" Writer:
'Yes.' King: Think what is the exact form of your
house; is it square or round?' Writer: My house is
square. King: Then you are at home, your thoughts
being there; the mind is of the first moment-the body,
though absent, being of comparatively little importance.'
In the course of conversation, he entered upon a discussion
in regard to the cause of thunder and lightning.
allusion having been made to the severity of the King's
punishments, he rather testily observed, I governed my
kingdom according to the Shasters'-Hindoo or Brahmini-
cal law-books, of which the Institutes of Manu are said to
have obtained the highest reputation. Manu professes to
have great confidence in the utility of punishments.
‘Punishment,' says he, 'governs all mankind; punishment
alone preserves them; punishment awakes while their
guards are asleep. The wise consider punishment as the
perfection of justice.
The whole race of men is
kept in order by punishment, for a guiltless man is hard
to be found.'-Laws of Manu.

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"Sri Wickreme Rajah Singha, the deposed King of Kandy, was about five feet nine or ten inches in height, slightly corpulent, stoutly made, and muscular. He had a pleasant expression of countenance, a handsome beard, broad shoulders, and a full chest. His figure was manly, and his general appearance dignified. He did not appear to the writer, to be deficient in intellect, and was "On the 24th January, 1816, the King, with his fagenerally much more affable and good-humoured than mily, embarked at Columbo, on board of H.M. ship could be expected of a deposed king in a state of con- Cornwallis, for Madras. He was taken to the waterfinement. Having been placed on the throne by a pro- side in the Governor's carriage, and his ladies were acfessed friend, but in reality an inveterate, intriguing commodated with palanquins. They were closely veiled enemy, for the intriguer's own aggrandisement, his situa- as they went into the boat: and during their embarkation, tion as king was attended with insuperable difficulties. which took up some time, the King stood by and assisted Like a man blindfolded and in fetters, he could neither by giving orders to his own people, with much composure see nor move but as the adikar directed him. With a and presence of mind. He was very handsomely dressed; faithless minister, and a powerful, ambitious, hostile neigh- and his large trousers, drawn close upon his ankles, rebour, who was ever ready to encourage traitors, provided minded the spectators of the figure of Rajah Singha, as he might benefit by the treason, his throne was surrounded given by Knox. The King embarked with his wives and by the most embarrassing perplexities-difficulties which mother-in-law, in the captain's barge, and the attendants would have required a person of great natural talents to in another. The wind was high, and the boats encounsurmount. The character of a native sovereign is so tered a good deal of sea in their passage to the ship. much influenced by that of the people over whom he They were all taken into the ship by means of an accomrules, and particularly by the personal qualities of the modation-chair. Some of the ladies were greatly alarmed, persons by whom he governs, together with the circum- while others suffered much from sea-sickness. The King stances under which he is placed, that it is often diffi- showed no indication of fear; and, considering that he cult to discover or to appreciate his natural disposition. was carried through a rough sea, which he had not been upon since his infancy, to an English man-of-war, which he had not seen before, it must be acknowledged that his whole deportment indicated considerable dignity and firmness of mind.

*

"To enable the reader to judge fairly and impartially of the character of the King of Kandy, he should be tried by the standard of his own country, by the spirit of the Kandyan Government and the usages of Oriental despotisms, together with the circumstances in which he was placed. These conditions must be properly understood before a correct estimate can be made of the real merits of his case. Like Peter the Great of Russia, he was despot by condition and necessity.'

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"The predominating feeling of his mind, after he was made a prisoner, was indignation at the treatment he had received from his own subjects, more especially the chiefs. Take care,' said he, of Eheylapola and Molligodda; they deceived me, and they will deceive you.' He gave Government an account of the places where his treasure was hidden; observing that it mattered little what became of it, providing the chiefs and people did not benefit by his property. He did not generally show any reluctance to discuss Kandyan matters. The writer of this sketch, who had been requested to visit him professionally, found him frank and affable, and willing to converse upon any subject which was started. In the course of conversation, he observed- Had my people behaved as they ought to have done, I would have shown you whether I was a man or a woman. Twice during my reign have you obtained possession of the town of Kandy, and twice have you been very glad to get out of t.' Writer: Your people, it is true, did not make

"He died at Vellore, on the afternoon of the 30th of January, 1832, aged fifty-two years, having been seventeen years a state prisoner. At the desire of the family, the body was conveyed to the place of burning before sunset, under the escort of a military guard, and accompanied by his male relatives and servants."

After the deposition of the King, the Kandyans were continually inquiring when the English intended to withdraw to the maritime provinces, to which the Portuguese and Dutch had been limited. They have not yet received a satisfactory answer to their question. The maritime provinces and the interior kingdom have been amalgamated under British dominion; but sundry attempts at insurrection evince that the Ceylonese are not yet conciliated, nor much better affected to British rule than those other tribes of the East, who are "biding their time."

Mr. Marshall's work is distinguished throughout by the same painstaking and minute examination of facts and authorities which formed a valuable feature in his more important recent work on the condition of the British army.

Florentine History, from the Earliest Authentic Records to the Accession of Ferdinand the Third, Grand Duke of Tuscany. By Henry Edward Napier, Captain in the Royal Navy, F. R. S. In six volumes : volume II. London: Moxon.

denounced the nobles and their disgraceful tyranny, even with more reason than those worthy and renowned the ancient senate which he had recently discovered, and citizens. On another occasion he produced a decree of showed it to the people as an act of that body investing Vespasian with the authority of Emperor. After this No time has been lost in issuing Captain Napier's the Roman people, who made emperors their vicars, he again harangued them on the antique majesty of second volume, which brings the history down to the by clothing them with their own rights and power. first years of the fifteenth century. A very long "Mis- 'These princes,' said he, only existed by the will of cellaneous Chapter," referring to the social condition your ancestors, and you, you have allowed the two eyes of Rome to be torn away; you have allowed both Pope of the people, the habits, usages, literature, and the and Emperor to abandon your walls, and be no longer arts-forms, as in the preceding volume, a most in- dependent on your will.' The consequence of this, as he teresting appendix or illustration; giving pith and marrow told them, was banished peace, exhausted strength, disto the dry bones-the bare skeleton of public annals. cord, the blood of numbers shed in private war; and that If the history of all Italy were not implicated in the Flo-city, once the queen of nations, reduced so low as to be their scorn and mockery. Romans,' he continued, rentine annals, and if the other States, by the skill of the you have no peace, your lands lie untilled; the jubilee historian, were not made to revolve like satellites around approaches; you have no provisions; and if those who Florence, we should still fear that the work was cast come as pilgrims to Rome should find you unprovided, upon too broad a scale; but, by free discursion, the his- they will carry the very stones away in the fury of their hunger, and even the stones will not suffice for such a torian contrives to keep alive the reader's interest, and multitude.' The people applauded and the nobles mocked to give an abundance of matter, which, if not always pre- him. Like the first Brutus, they even invited him for cisely relevant, is always instructive and entertaining. amusement to their revels, and made him harangue them like a mountebank, while they ridiculed his eloquent As a specimen of his style, we select the portrait of the truths and fearless denunciations. Allegorical paintings Tribune Rienzi, which is executed at full-length, and with were from time to time posted in various parts of the minuteness of finishing which might have adapted it to a city, with corresponding labels, such as The hour of history of the state in which Rienzi played his remarkable justice approaches-wait thou for her;' and, Within a brief space the Romans will reassume their ancient and good state.'

part :

About this period, considerable interest was excited in Florence, by the appearance of an embassy from the celebrated Nicola di Rienzi, tribune of the Roman people, whose bold, rapid, and somewhat theatrical career had become the wonder and admiration of Europe. The long-protracted absence of pontifical government had made Kome a scene of anarchy: no law, no justice, no civil protection; every man acted for himself alone, without reference to the safety or the rights of others: the two senators, Orsini and Colonna, each with his own faction, were hereditary and deadly enemies: the public revenue was plundered, the Pope defrauded, the streets infested with assassins, the roads with robbers, and pilgrims no longer visited the sacred shrines, for none were safe from violence: the ancient temples everywhere rose into fortresses, and nothing but war and slaughter were seen in the Eternal City. In the midst of this confusion appeared a certain Nicola, or Cola, son of one Lorenzo, or Rienzo, a petty innkeeper, and Madalena, a washerwoman of Rome. Cola di Rienzo's own exertions had already raised him to the rank of notary; his naturally refined intellect was cultivated until he became a perfect scholar; he excelled in all literary acquirements, and was gifted with powers of elocation far beyond the common standard. An enthusiastic admirer of ancient Rome, he existed only in her authors, revelled amidst her antiquities, deciphered her mouldering inscriptions, and lamented her fallen state; but, while still musing over her misfortunes, heroically resolved to accomplish her deliverance. His extraordinary abilities, displayed in an embassy to Avignon, where Petrarch is said to have been joined with him, so struck Pope Clement VI. that he immediately made him notary to the apostolical chamber at Rome, although deaf to the eloquence that would fain have persuaded him to return there. In this distinguished post Cola gained universal respect by his integrity, and soon began to declaim openly against the oppressors of his country. At a public meeting in the capitol he fearlessly reproached the leading factions with their crimes, but gained nothing except a blow from Andreozzo CoJonna, and an indecent insult from an underling. His next feat was the exhibition of an allegorical picture on the walls of the capitol, which told the melancholy story of Rome, and the fate of more ancient nations under the withering effects of injustice; and when the people's attention was once excited, he suddenly poured forth one of those powerful strains of eloquence in which he so much excelled, and with all the spirit of the Gracchi,

"But Rienzo was still ridiculed, and his proceedings considered as the mere visions of learned vanity. It was not with pictures and sententious matters, they said, that Rome could now be regenerated-something more was requisite. Cola was also of this opinion; and, seeing that the public mind, whether in gravity or mockery, was now alive to the subject, immediately resolved on more vigorous action. Secretly assembling a considerable number of the most determined spirits from every class, except the very highest nobility, he addressed them on the Aventine Hill, and conjured them to assist him in the deliverance of their common country. He unfolded his plans; assured them of the Pope's acquiesence; developed the resources of Rome and the wholesome vigour of an honest popular government; and then administering an oath to each, he dismissed the assembly.

"On the 19th of May, 1347, taking advantage of the potent Stefano Colonna's temporary absence, with most of his forces, Cola proceeded in solemn but unarmed procession to the capitol, where he laid his whole enterprise open before the assembled people. Shouts of enthusiastic approbation rolled through the crowd, and Rienzo was instantly invested with sovereign authority. Old Stefano Colonna soon returned, and haughtily refused to quit Rome again at the command of the dictator, whose orders he treated with contempt. On hearing this, Rienzo suddenly assembled the armed citizens, and, by a vigorous assault on the stronghold of Stefano, mastered all his forces, and compelled him to fly from the city with only a single domestic. The other barons succumbed; the town was guarded, fortified, and soon cleared of those ferocious bands of miscreants that had so long infested it under aristocratic license and protection. A parliament then assembled, which sanctioned every act, and bestowed on Rienzo the high-sounding titles of TRIBUNE OF THE PEOPLE, AND LIBERATOR OF ROME.

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"Thus was Roman liberty for a moment restored, by a single member of her humblest class of citizens. Such is the power of eloquence, when tyranny prepares its way and honesty dictates its periods! With all this excellence there was yet a certain vanity about Rienzo that argued weakness and instability. He assumed the pompous titles of Nicola the Severe and Clement,' Liberator of Rome,' The Zealous for the good of Italy,' The Lover of the World,' and The August Tribune.' But upright magistrates were created, many chiefs of factions who disturbed the country were

executed, the noxious and nonjuring great were banished, | panions, friends, wives, &c. Mr. Robinson recommends and a gleam of tranquillity burst over the long-benighted as best what he selects of books but one, which would in city.

The fall of the vainglorious demagogue was much more
rapid than his rise; yet we cannot help thinking that Cap-
Stain Napier has hardly done justice to the genius of this
"remarkable man.
The 14th century was rendered me-
morable in Florence by the great plague, and by the worse
plague of the feuds of the Guelphs and Ghibelines, which
so long disturbed and desolated the Italian States. This,
too, was the era of Petrarch and Boccacio; so that there
is no want of brilliant themes for the composition of this
portion of the Florentine history. We have received the
third volume, to which we will refer again.

The Gallery of Scripture Engravings, Historical and
Landscape; with Descriptions, Historical, Biographical,
and Pictorial. By John Kitto, D. D., &c. Vol. I.
London; Fisher & Son.

This work is of the same size-a large quarto-with the numerous embellished volumes which the Messrs. Fisher & Co. have published. The engravings are numerous— above sixty in the present volume-and chiefly from paintings by the old Italian masters. The work is of a grave character; and, to suit this, Dr. Kitto to each plate has attached an explanatory and critical lecture, rather than a description, which combines, with popular biblical criticism, the historical, geographical, and miscellaneous notices incidental to the subject. The work is one which may be depended on both for fulness and accuracy of information. It will find a welcome in many an English home, both for its embellishments and its intrinsic literary merits.

NEW POEMS.

Heroic Odes and Bacchic Melodies. By George St.
Edmonds. London: Thornton.

We have here a collection of verses, not in any way distinguishable from the numerous volumes of fugitive and occasional poems which, every year, or every month, issue from the press. Though it is delightful in spring to roam over the meadows, richly bedecked with primroses and daisies, it is impossible to loiter over every separate flower, expatiating on the delicacy of its form, or the beauty of its hues; and this must be our plea with many of the young contemporary versifiers, by whom silence ought not to be construed into neglect, but considered an absolute necessity in an age so fertile in verse.

EDUCATIONAL AND JUVENILE WORKS.
First Book of Astronomy, with Questions to each Page,
&c. &c. By John L. Camstock, M.D. London :
Adam Scott.

Heat, Light, and Electricity. By John L. Camstock
and Richard D. Hoblyn. London: Adam Scott.
Portel's Conversational French Grammar.
Houston & Stoneman.

London

all departments require revisal, correction, and amend-
ment. The drama is entirely excluded; and the most
profane of the poets selected is Moyers.

Glimpses of the Wonderful. Miss Feries. London:
Harvey & Darton.

THIS is a very neat juvenile quarto, with many beautiful
illustrations, the subject being taken chiefly from natural
history, though enterprise and adventure furnish a few of
the diversified topics.

Euclid's Elements of Plain Geometry, as corrected by the late Alexander Ingram, Leith: with the Elements of Plain Trigonometry, and their Practical Application, adapted to the Use of Schools and Private Students, with numerous and appropriate Exercises annexed to each book. By James Trotter, of the Scottish Naval and Military Academy. Revised Edition. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.

An excellent, sound, and remarkably cheap work this, which, besides being a useful school-book, may be made a valuable acquisition to every young mechanic and artizan who seeks to extend his knowledge and rise in his profession.

The Sikhs and Affghans, in connexion with India and Persia, immediately before, and after, the Death of Runjeet Singh. From the Journal of an Expedition to Kabul, through the Punjaub and the Khyber Pass. By Shahmet Ali, Persian Secretary with the Mission of Lieutenant-Colonel Wade, &c. &c., Political Resident in Malwa. London: John Murray.

SHAHMET ALI, the class-fellow of Mohan Lal, and, probably, emulous of his literary and European fame, or fancying that Colonel Wade's native secretary had as much to tell Europe as the secretary of Sir Alexander Burnes, has produced his volume; but, under the disadvantage of coming second, and of not being so native as much of the Journal of Mohan Lal, whatever the cause may be.Has it been spoiled by English top-dressing?

The African Wanderers; or, the Adventures of Carlos and Antonio: embracing interesting descriptions of the Manners and Customs of the Western Tribes, and the Natural Productions of the Country. By Mrs. R. Lee, Author of Memoirs of Cuvier, &c. &c. Small octavo, with Plates. London: Grant & Griffith, successors to Harris.

THE author of this volume (formerly Mrs. Bowdieh) may be presumed, from her own African wanderings, and her taste and acquirements in natural history, peculiarly well qualified for the office she has assumed. She has chosen to give her geographical lessons, and to make her appeal for Africa, through the medium of fiction-that is to say, her young heroes are invented for a special purpose, which they amply fulfil, though, perhaps, sticking

Self-Education; or, the Value of Mental Culture. By rather too closely to the text set for them.

William Robinson. 2d Edition. London: Hamilton

& Co.

THIS little book, sensible in its outline and excellent in purpose, reads much like the lectures delivered to young men in provincial situations, and to show advices which used to be given to apprentices about the choice of com

The Scientific Phenomena of Domestic Life familiarly explained. By Charles Foote Gower, Esq. Second Edition. Longman & Company.

As we have not seen the first edition of this little book, it may be proper to explain, that the second consists of

familiar descriptions of objects usually seen in the routine of daily life, but which excite little attention from being always before the eyes. Such are the frost on the window panes on a winter's morning, the steam from the bailing tea-kettle or hissing urn, or the many curious objects which pass unheeded on the daily rural walk. It is, in few words, an ampler illustration of the most of Mrs. Barbauld's Eyes and No Eyes, and will be useful in opening the eyes and fixing the attention of young readers, and students of natural science or physics.

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ON THE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN EUROPE AND INDIA, THROUGH EGYPT.

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF LIFE ASSURANCE. By John Sturrock, junior, Dundee.

PERIODICAL AND SERIAL WORKS. MURRAY'S HOME AND COLONIAL LIBRARY, No. 38.Sir Francis Head's Journey across the Pampas. KNIGHT'S OLD ENGLISH WORTHIES, Part XI. With Portraits of William Penn, Addison, Marlborough, Sir Christopher Wren, Sir Isaac Newton, and De Foe.-D.D., Secretary to the Bible Press Company, Coldstream. Frontispiece-the interior of St. Stephen's, Walbrook.

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BIBLE EMANCIPATION; or, the extraordinary results of unfettered Bible printing, &c. &c. By Adam Thomson,

FUNERAL SERMON on DR. ABERCROMBIE. By the Rev. John Bruce, A.M.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF EATING; displaying the omnivarous character of man, &c. &c. By a Beef-Eater,

BURNS' ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE.-This is a selection of the best wood engravings which have appeared in the BURNS FIRESIDE LIBRARY and other Libraries of this publisher. It makes a neat little table-book, and is to be sold very cheaply to purchasers to a fixed amount of the works illustrated. Many of the engravings are firstrate specimens of the art of wood-engraving.

THE CAUSE OF BLIGHT AND PESTILENCE IN THE VEGE

TABLE CREATION, &c. &c. By John Parkins, M.D. Dr. Parkins does not appear much more successful in his creation, and the murrain among cattle, than other investigation into the causes of the blight in the vegetable inquirers; but his suggestions for remedies, and particularly for immediate attention to the fisheries, as a certain means of supplying food, which he thinks likely to be more and more deficient, are deserving of notice.

POLITICAL REGISTER.

THE Session of Parliament was opened on the 19th ult. by her Majesty. The speech from the throne embraced few topics, and those few are very concisely treated; as if the Ministers intended to express their anxiety for short debates and an early finish of the business. The attention of Parliament is called, in the first sentences, to the "dearth of provisions which prevails in Ireland, and in parts of Scotland"; but an equal "'dearth" prevails even in many parts of England. The expression is, we believe, applied not merely to the absolute cost of food, but also to the comparative means of buyers. One Buckinghamshire paper-the News-says, that the wages of farmers' labourers have been reduced, in one quarter of that county, from nine shillings to eight shillings per week; and even nine shillings, with bread at its present price, must leave a sad dearth of provisions in a labourer's family. In the second paragraph, Ministers say, that "outrages" in Ireland "have become more frequent, chiefly directed against property; and the transit of provisions has been rendered unsafe in some parts of the country;" while, in the third, they acknowledge "that in many of the most distressed

| districts, the patience and resignation of the people
have been most exemplary." The patience of the people
everywhere, with a few, certainly not serious, exceptions
in Ireland, is most remarkable; and contrasts favourably
with the conduct of the Continental population, under
similar privations. The measures recommended for the
alleviation of this distress are, the temporary repeal of the
existing Corn-Laws; the use of sugar in breweries and
distilleries; and the suspension of the Navigation Laws
until 1st September next. Several measures are promised
for the permanent improvement of Ireland, "and to lessen
the pressure of that competition for land which has been
the source of crime and misery." The only other mea-
sures promised in the speech relate to the improvement of
towns. The Montpensier marriage and the occupation of
Cracow have a paragraph each. The French business, we
are told, has given rise to a correspondence; and the
Austrian affair to a protest. The public were previously
well acquainted with these matters; but speeches from the
throne are seldom sources of information: their intelli-
gence is always late.
Taken as a programme of
the Session, the speech promises short work to the

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