NOTICES OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS. Histoire des Revolutions, &c.History of the Revolutions and Wars of Greece, from Cyrus to the Successors of Alexander. By M. de la Grave. 8vo. pp. 444. 7s. 6d. THE author intends, in a work of three volumes, of which the first is before us, to comprehend a period of time including three centuries, which he considers, and with reason, to be most abounding in extraordinary events. His first volume relates the exploits of Cyrus, the wars of the Greeks with the Persians, and the celebrated battles of Marathon, Thermopylæ, Salamis, and Platea. These events acquire additional spirit and interest when described by a man who is himself well initiated in all the arts of war, for he must necessarily be the better judge of the detail of expeditions and battles. The style of the history of the Revolutions de la Grece is equally simple and natural; the author's reflections are not numerous, but they are clever, just, and expressed in a tone of moderation; and he usually avoids all unnecessary discussion. The subject he treats of is rich in interesting facts, which cannot be condensed into three volumes without brevity. In a preliminary discourse, placed at the commencement, he gives a rapid sketch of the contents of the three volumes. We give an extract of the author's description of Alexander, and this will suffice to give an idea of his general style and opinions. "There is a certain set of men who, affecting to think little of high-sounding names, delight in lessening and degrading the genius of Alexander, and in describing him as an adventurous and cruel conqueror, worthy only of contempt and horror. On the other hand, there are many, whose opinions are of infinitely greater weight, who agree with the ancients in wondering how, at an age when the powers of mind are scarcely unfolded in other men, his principles were fixed and his judgment accurate: they are agreed that, whether in council or in the midst of peril, he in an instant decided, and decided rightly; that his combinations, however hastily formed, however vast and daring, were yet always the best to be pursued in similar circumstances, and the most likely to insure success; and that he excelled in the grandeur of his designs and the rapidity of his exploits; that he was without an equal in noble sentiments, in courage, and in renown. "Tradition attests to this day, that, on the borders of the Nile, the Euphrates, and the Indus, and throughout Asia, his march has left recollections equally honourable to himself, and advantageous to the respective countries there, as elsewhere, his name is coupled only with valour and heroism. Assuredly no one pretends to approve the spirit of conquest and its deplorable consequences, or praise an insatiable ambition, or excuse a guilty excess; but if Alexander had been faultless in these particulars, he would have been a god, not a man.' The military career of the Macedo nian chief has perhaps a little dazzled our author; his work, therefore, is not to be read without caution. Nothing is more pernicious to youth than that blind devotion which is generally paid to the heroes of antiquity during their classical education. False ideas of virtue and justice are imperceptibly incul cated by the admiration of false models of excellence; and so thoroughly has the page of ancient history been perverted to serve the purposes of anciently existing power, that perhaps no real benefit can be derived from it, unless we are content to read the greater part of it as a work of imagination. This observation particularly applies to the History of Alexander the Great, as related in the entertaining Romance of "Quintus Curtius." Has the character of Nero ever been set in its true light? Are we quite sure that he was that monster of iniquity as described by the venal pens of party? or rather, could we not, even from these very histories, produce evidence sufficient to prove, that in many respects he was vastly superior, and in no respect inferior to many of the Roman emperors who succeeded him. This opinion may appear novel, but neither Lord Bolingbroke nor Sir Walter Raleigh would call it unworthy of grave consideration. Lettres sur le Bosphore, &c.-Letters on the Bosphorus; or, Travels into different Parts of the East, during the Years 1816 and 1819. 8vo. 9s. 6d. These Letters, which are anonymous, appear to have been written by a lady of distinction, who accompanied the wife of the French Ambassador to Constantinople. They have, in a great measure, the peculiar charm, which so eminently distinguishes the letters of Lady M. W. Montague. Arrived at the place where Ilion stood, the author thus speaks: "Will you now accompany us to the sacred ground we are going to travel over? Take with you Homer; follow him in his poetry, in his exquisite and accurate descriptions, and your heart will beat like our's, at the aspect of these noble ruins, and your imagination will restore to these desolate shores the superb palaces which embellished them, and the demi-gods who made them illustrious. The most ordinary object acquires interest in this place, where every thing breathes love, glory, and poetry. This stone, perhaps, has been wetted with the tears of Andromache; here repose the ashes of Diomede; farther on, Old Priam embraced with his trembling hands the knees of the implacable Achilles. M. de Chateaubriand, during his stay at Tunis, heard the sound of a French violin floating over the ashes of Dido and the ruins of Carthage. I am witness, now, of the giddy gaity of some young officers, on the ruins of lion. The Ambassadress and myself, mounted on a carriage, resembling the cars of the Ancients, the wheels of which, are plain boards, without spokes. This carriage is drawn by two oxen, that, in swiftness, rival even horses. A feeling of admiration filled our minds at going out of the village of Yeni-Keny, 'when the plain of Troy offered itself to our eyes, anxious to see the theatre of so many battles, the history of which three thousand years has not effaced. We saw the canal, made by the orders of Assan-Pacha, then Capitan-Pacha. We passed by the countryhouse inhabited by this Pacha, whose father, wishing to try the courage of M. Choiseuil-Gouffier, the then French Ambassador, caused a tame lion to appear suddenly before him. The Ambassador, without betraying the least fear, coldly regarded the enormous beast, and said to his host, You have a beautiful animal there. The Pacha could not help exclaiming, 'The French are brave." The author of these Letters has contrasted several charming descriptions, with anecdotes upon the Plague; on this subject and says: Here, we had the sad conviction, that the plague is, indeed, a terrible scourge. A very handsome young man, nephew of the Neapolitan Minister, who was travel wo ling, in consequence of having committed some polifical faults, died yesterday of this fatal malady. Some think he caught it in a Turkish bath, which he went into without taking any precaution; others say, he caught it at the house of a Jewess, which he often visited. What renders this last supposition more probable is, that water is a powerful preservative against the plague. On returning from this w man, he felt the most acute pain, which soon brought him to the grave. When M. Choiseuil-Gouffier was Ambassador, a young man attached to the embassy met his death from a bunch of flowers, sent to him by a beautiful Jewess." "Can we think of danger," says the author, "when we love ?" He inhaled the perfume of those flowers with delight; the unfortunate man was far from foreseeing, that his fate was enclosed in the calix of a rose. "The plague," observes the author," is still more dreadful, as the sufferer must die without those consolations that generally soften the last moments of existence; no friend is there to close the languid eyes; the tender mother cannot receive the last sigh of her beloved child. Delivered over to mercenary hands, the victim of this horrible dis order is transported to a hospital, where death brandishes his menacing scythe; Religion alone, celestial maid! superior to every fear, watches at the foot of the death-bed, with treasures of charity and ineffable consolations, when every other earthly feeling is extinct." PA the stranger's . The wort divided into two the is described all that is remarkable in this ancient and unhappy city; the second, contains an abridged history of Venice. Each part contains eight divisions, which the author calls days in the first part, and epochs in the second. It is impossible to read this work, without experiencing a feeling of horror and compassion in compar ing the ancient state of this republie with its present degraded condition. It would be useful and interestingy if every principal town in Italy possessed a similar work, which, in pointing out to foreigners, every remarkable object, would at the same time remind the inhabitants of the liberties they formerly enjoyed. Comparisons thus drawn could not fail of being useful and instructive, and in the end might lead to a better state of things. Sei Mesi, &c.-Six months in Spain; in Letters from Giuseppe Pecchio, to Lady G. O. Madrid. ✓ These letters treat of the actual condition of Spain, at least such as it appears to an emigrant Italian, who travels all over the kingdom, and who is grateful for the hospitality he receives and is an attentive observer of the manners and condition of the people. The principles of the new government, the present public administration, the character, manners and prejudices of Spaniards, the interest direct and indirect that they take in the general constitution, and still more in the independence of the nation, and even a certain excess of confidence in their own stength and resources, which might expose them to dangers they affect to despise; in a word, every thing that relates to the grand interests of the nation is described with equal spirit and truth. The author in his last letter says, "The Spaniards are ignorant, they do not know that the sound of bells attracts lightning, they do not understand the use of the thermometer and the barometer, nor the utility of vaccination &c." They possess, nevertheless, sufficient good sense and discrimination to discern that a government, however imperfect and irregular, is preferable to the yoke of a foreigner, and that civil war is the most dreadful evil as well as the worst of crimes, unless waged for the purposes of ensuring general prosperity, and consolidating public liberty! been the principle incentive to M. Chateauvieux's journey, he has not forgotten to make frequent mention of the antiquities, and manners of the country. We think the perusal of this work absolutely essential to those who wish to be thoroughly acquainted with the present state of Italy. Poème Lyrique sur la Mort de Napoléon.-A Lyric Poem on the Death of Napoleon. By Pierre Lebrun. 8vo. Paris. He, who for five and twenty years held the destinies of Europe in his hands, exists no more; his life now belongs to history. But how difficult is it, while the fame of his elevation and the remembrance of his fall are yet fresh in the memory of man, and while his astonishing influence yet exists, to judge this extraordinary being, and to venture either upon praise or blame! Such, however, is not the intention of M. Lebrun. "I wrote these verses," says he in his preface," because I could not resist the impulse; I have written them in solitude, in the country, the instant that the surprising news reached me; I neither chose nor meditated on my subject, I felt touched, my emotion was expressed in verse, and thus my poem was written." In touching on this subject, the author has sought neither to awaken dangerous remembrances nor to nourish culpable hopes; nor has he, while the earth is yet fresh that covers the tomb of the hero of Marengo, dared to add his reproaches to those of men, who, by their perfidious counsels and slavish adulation, contributed greatly to his fall. But the fact of a soldier, in an age of civilization, conquering and obtaining one of the finest uations in the world, and then proving by his fall, that " vaulting ambition oft o'erleaps itself," his dying on an isolated rock apparently forgotten equally by his friends and enemies, an astonishing contrast of the highest elevation and the most dreadful reverse, are subjects well calculated to excite the imagination of the poet. M. Lebrun has yielded to an involuntary enthusiasm, and he found in his subject the most eloquent inspirations. This poem is well worthy of perusal, and the vérsification is beautiful. The author with laudable gratitude, from the recollections of his youth, bas related some particulars of a brighter hue, which form a kind of episode in his poem. Perhaps he may be said to have pub 3 H Relation des Evenemens, &c.-Narrative of Military and Political Events that occurred at Naples in 1820 and 1821; addressed to His Majesty the King of the two Sicilies. By General William Pépé. Paris, 1822. This narrative is written with infinite moderation. It contains remarks and explanations of the conduct of the Neapolitans in general, and of the author in particular, during that epoch. A supplement is added, containing a number of official documents, the greater part unpublished, which serve to verify the history of the times.. The author is very patriotic and zealous in his endeavours to defend his fellow countrymen from the reproaches bestowed on them in consequence of the late events. wards the Scandinavian kingdoms; the more especially as they were his birthplace. The preface is dedicated to M. de Wetterstedt, and is dated from Tangiers, Feb. 15, 1821. M. Graberg wishes to prove that the people of Scandinavia, whom we bave been so long accustomed to consider as barbarians from the assertions of historians, were really possessed of a very high degree of civilization at the period of the fall of the Roman empire. This civilization, as our author has it, though extremely different from that of the Greeks and Romans, was yet equally apparent and infinitely more calculated to polish the public manners. In the second place, M. Graberg asserts, and we have no doubt proves by historical testimony, and in fact by the nature of things, that it was not from Scandinavia, but from Asia, that emanated that host of barbarians who deluged the civilized countries of Europe, and who, in the end, caused the destruction of the Roman empire. It is impossible here to give an analysis of the very learned researches of M. Graberg. It will be sufficient to say, that he presents some of the most important facts of the middle ages in a new point of view, and that he elucidates the primitive history of all the northern nations of Europe. The author does not, as is usually the case în works of erudition, indicate his autho rities by notes placed at the bottom of authors cited, and the simple inspecthe pages, but by giving a list of the tion of this list is alone sufficient to prove his vast reading concerning the antiquities of the north, which cannot but be read with a feeling of deep interest. M. Graberg writes French with clearness and precision, though he occasionally uses a mode of discussion that has fallen into disuse with regard to scientific works. LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. and it has been examined by many military and naval characters, and ge nerally approved: its use is acknow ledged to be free from all danger. wift jed▸ 7010 O‘ASIA..? On the 16th of Sept. 1821, a ship from the Sandwich Islands entered the port of St. Peter and St. Paul. The captain, by an express order of his sovereign, entertained the governor and his staff. Presents were exchanged on both sides; two rein deer, male and female, and one young bear, were sent as presents to the king of the Sandwich Islands. The Captain received one of the most beautiful cows of this country for his own use. On his departure, the 18th of December, the vessel gave a salute by a discharge of all her artillery: she was well equip ped, the crew were entirely composed of natives of the Sandwich Islands, and were good humoured and great favourites with the Kamtchatkans. Their clothing is not yet very uniform, one wears a sailor's jacket, another a frock coat, and others a silk coat, but with out any stockings; and few of them had any shoes. ISLAND OF HAYTI. The Telegraph being the only jour nal in this capital, some Haytians have thought that the actual state of the Republic required a more extended periodical journal; and for this purpose they have united to conduct a new journal, under the title of Haytian Propagator. The first number of which was to have been published on the first of last June. By the prospectus, which is composed with great ability in French, we find that the editors will insert articles on politics, sciences, literature, and the useful arts. This journal, which is to contain sixteen or twenty octavo pages, will ape pear the first and fifteenth of every month. The lovers of antiquity have to deplore an irreparable loss. General Menu, of Minutoli, had succeeded under the protection of Mehemed-ali-Pacha, in collecting a great number of Egyptian antiquities; he had them carefully packed up in ninety-seven cases, and brought them as far as Trieste, where they were re-shipped for Hamburgh, and ensured for the sum of 27,000 marcs, but the vessel sunk in a gale of wind, between Heligoland and Cuxhaven. Some of the cases, however, were cast ashore on the Du chy of Bremen, which the peasants opened. Their consternation when they discovered the mummies may be easily imagined; they, however, ventured to give them a burial-place in the village church-yard, where they remained until the Prussian authorities had been informed of the circumstances by those of the Duchy of Bremen. The King of Prussia has issued an ordonnance, dated the 12th of April last, containing the following regula tions:-that professors, whether civil ort ecclesiastie, who, yielding to the evil influence of the times, oppose, in the minutest particular, the commands of the King, or interfere with politics, will be instantly deprived of their functions, and banished. The parti. sans or propagators of democratic principles are to receive no employment or relief throughout the Prussian dominions. Before a professor can be admitted to a situation, he must obtain from the Minister of the interior an |