LITERARY CHIT-CHAT AND VARIETIES.

We have just received, from London, the first volume of the FAMILY LIBRARY, the monthly publication of which is about still farther to increase the reputation of Mr Murray of Albemarle Street. We are much pleased with the appearance and style of the work. No. I. contains the first part of a Life of Napoleon, which is to be completed in No. II. Of its literary merits, which we hear are highly respectable, we shall speak at greater length next Saturday. The typography is beautiful, and the volume is embellished with six spirited and interesting engravings, one of

which, we believe, cost seventy guineas, and none less than twenty-five. This liberality, on the part of the publisher, will be its own reward.

A new edition of Mr Sadler's work on Ireland will be ready in about a fortnight. It is a curious anecdote in the publishing

of getting it up exceeded £1300. It closes with an "unrivalled representation" of the eruption of Vesuvius, and is expected to draw crowds for the rest of the season." The Provok'd Hus

band" has been revived at Drury Lane; Liston, Moody; Young, Lord Townly; Farren, Sir F. Wronghead; and Miss Phillips, Lady Townly. It seems to be the general opinion, however, that the powers of this young lady are not suited for comedy.-Miss Paton and Madame Vestris continue the chief attractions at Covent Garden.-A conjuror, called Mr Henry, is performing at the Adelphi; he is thus spoken of in the Literary Gazette:-" If you wish to find thirty sovereigns in your hand, when only twenty were paid into it, go to Mr Henry, and he will show you that such things can be. If you have a difficult conundrum, ask Mr Henry to guess it, and he will cut a lemon into halves, then into quarters, and out of the quarter which you select shall fly the solution, tied to the leg of a little living canary bird. Besides these things, and a thousand others equally amazing, you shall see a

lovely landscape, which, while you are gazing upon it, changes into a different picture, and so strangely that you cannot tell at what point it has changed; all you know is, you were looking at one, and are looking at another. Mr Henry plays the musical glasses too; raises ghosts of the dead, and fetches of the living; and does all these various feats equally well."-Charles Kemble has been playing here for the last week. It is amazing how well he wears; he has all the spirit and vivacity of youth still about him, yet we suspect he is on the wrong side of sixty. In genteel comedy he is still without a rival-" so gallant, gay, and debonair." Though a pleasing, he is not a great tragedian, and tragedy is one of those things which hardly admits of mediocrity.We have now lost Miss Noel; she sung her first and last song,

"

Say, my heart, why wildly beating," last Saturday evening. The manager must be particularly cautious in selecting her suecessor; we shall not submit very tamely to have our favourite airs mangled, although, to have them sung equally well is beyond our expectations. The state of her health has also compelled Mrs Henry Siddons to leave the stage for a season. Something spirited must be done to fill up these blanks.

SAT. MON.

WEEKLY LIST OF PERFORMANCES.
March 28-April 3.

The Wonder, & The Beehive.
Hamlet, & Gilderoy.

TUES. Beaux Stratagem, & Mary Stuart.
WED. Bold Stroke for a Wife, & The Critic.
THUR. Recruiting Officer, & Miller and his Men.
FRL

Part First of King Henry IV., & Bottle Imp.

STOULTZE IN REQUEST;

Or a late MEASURE towards the adjustment of
The Catholic question.

An Impromptu, by W. Ainslie, M.D.

HAS brave Winchilsea lived till this day without knowing,
That Irishmen ne'er are insulted in vain ;
Nor fail, unappeased, to be soon after blowing

A ball through the thorax, to wipe off the stain?
But our Duke, too humane to seek blood, may God bless him!
Yet faithful, withal, to himself, and high station;
Thus said, while deciding, just barely to miss him,
"If he won't, his tailor shall make reparation."

1

LITERARY CRITICISM.

Histoire de Russie et de Pierre-le-Grand. Par Le General Comte de Segur. 8vo. Paris. 1829.

History of Russia, and of Peter the Great By General Count Philip de Segur. London. Treuttel & Wurtz. 1829. 8vo, pp. 447.

COUNT SEGUR's candid and liberal narrative of Napoleon's expedition to Russia in 1812 has made his name favourably known in the world of letters. The work now before us, which is on a subject of far greater extent and difficulty, will not diminish his reputation. It consists, however, more of an essay on the earlier history of Russia, and of a bold and vivid sketch or picture of the reign of Peter I., than of a minute and regular account of the growth and progress of that vast empire. All that he attempts is, to present the information he has collected on the subject in masses, and to

:

PRICE 6d.

prevail throughout the whole nation, down to the very commencement of the seventeenth century, when Peter the Great ascended the throne, and gave to Russia, by the force of his splendid talents, a dignity and importance which had never before belonged to her. In consequence, however, of the long night in which she was involved, and the very trifling influence she possessed till a comparatively late period in the affairs of Europe, the history of few nations is more unclassical or repulsive; and we are much disposed to agree with Count Segur, in thinking that none but a Russian himself would feel disposed to do more than to pass from summit to summit, and take a rapid glance of all the principal events and persons that preceded the appearance of the creator of modern Russia; we only regret that the Count should have allotted fully one-half of his volume to the previous department.

The causes which contributed to keep Russia so far behind the neighbouring countries of Europe it is not difficult to explain. It may be laid down as a general principle, that wherever the means of intercourse do not

lossus, in its most important stages and most striking movements. "I have sought," the author remarks, " to discover the reason or the spirit of its long history; I have endeavoured to compress, to abridge, to circumscribe it within the limits of an almost synoptical table." "By so laborious a research, I may perhaps have succeeded in throwing a new ray of light upon these his torical ruins; but even should I merely have planted a few pickets to indicate the path, my work will not be useless." Count Segur has, in fact, done little more than establish a groundwork for a history of Russia; his book abounds in useful hints and sound philosophical observations; but, in so far as a narrative of facts is concerned, it is far too meagre to be either satisfactory or interesting. In short, as we have already said, it is more an historical disquisition than a history itself, and will be read with much greater advantage by those who have previously investigated the subject, than by those who enter upon it for the first time.

Little or nothing is known concerning the internal state of the Russian empire before the ninth century. Previous to that era, migratory hordes of barbarians seem to have been continually passing and repassing between Asia and Scandinavia, and were often engaged in bloody and exterminating warfare. In the year 862, Ruric, who headed the Varangians, a tribe inhabiting the shores of the Baltic Sea, having spread the terror of his arms over a considerable district, at length established himself at Novgorod, and is generally considered as the founder of the Russian empire, the crown being transmitted to his successors in regular descent, for nearly eight centuries: The kings, however, were always despots; and though some were more distinguished for military prowess than others, which was, in those times, synonymous with virtue, and though the election of a new dynasty in 1613 somewhat re-invigorated the empire, barbarism of the grossest description still continued to

Countries which are carved out and intersected by seas and great rivers, enjoy facilities of inter-communication, which give an impulse to mind that enables it to advance rapidly from discovery to discovery. Contrast, for example, southern Europe with the great continent of Africa, and who can doubt that the Mediterranean sea, which extends round the shores of Spain, France, Italy, and Greece, taken in connexion with the numerous rivers which empty themselves into its basin, has been an agent of vast power and utility, whilst the stagnant and uniform plains of Africa have been the leading cause of its depopulation and ignorance. The same observation may be applied with equal force to European Russia and northern Asia. They are without any considerable bodies of water; and there are, therefore, no easy and natural means of internal intercourse. In the earlier ages, they were, and even still, to a certain extent, they are, two dense and enormous masses of land, covered with endless deserts, deep marshes, and impenetrable forests. How, therefore, was civilization to force its way? It was not able to go down to the great sea in ships; the principles of commerce were unknown; population did not increase; and all things were forced to continue stationary. Besides, the scanty number of ideas which, in the blind credulity and scattered weak. ness of the inhabitants, got possession of the mind, took a stronger hold of it, and remained fixed there, however bigoted and erroneous. As the natural consequence, too, of these geographical disadvantages, the government became despotic, and the populace fell into that most hopeless of all conditionsa state of servitude. It is almost unnecessary to enquire further whether Montesquieu be correct, in supposing that there is something innately inferior in the mental faculties of the lower class of Russians, for the reasons already assigned appear perfectly sufficient to account for the worse than feudal degradation and barbarism in which they so long lingered contentedly, because they neither knew, nor were capable of appreciating, a better order of things.

It may, however, be stated, in reference to the subject we are at present considering, that Christianity was not introduced into Russia till near the conclusion of the tenth century; and even then, and for several centuries afterwards, it was not actively encouraged, but rather tacitly tolerated. It was under Vladimir, the Goth, that the light of the Gospel first penetrated into Russia. This conversion and its effects are vigorously described by Segur; and as the passage is altogether an interest. ing one, we shall extract it:

THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO RUSSIA.

"Vladimir's rude greatness, and the rumours of his great warlike exploits, awakened the attention of the neighbouring religions; four of them hastened to contend for his conversion; but Vladimir rejected Mahometanism, because it interdicted wine, which, he said, was indispensable to Russians, and was their delight; Catholicism, offered to him by the Germans, he disliked, because of its Pope, an earthly deity, which appeared an unexampled thing; and Judaism, because it had no country, and because he thought it neither rational to take advice from wanderers punished by Heaven, nor tempting to participate in their punishment. But, at the same time, his attention was fixed by the Greek religion, which his ancestress, Olga, had followed, and which had recently been preached to him by a philosopher of Byzantium. He summoned his Council, took the opinion of his boyards, of the elders of the people, and deputed ten of them to examine those religions in distant lands, even in their native temples.

"Hitherto, notwithstanding their Beli-Bog and their Tcheveric-Bog, (white god and black god,) and whatever they might have gathered from the followers of Zoroaster and of Odin, it is affirmed that the Slavonians had not even dreamt of the existence and perpetual struggle of a good and an evil principle; with different denominations, these Pagans had a mythology similar to all others that is to say, they had not only deified their passions, but also their tastes, and the chief objects of their hopes and fears.

"The envoys of the Grand Prince, meanwhile, plain, downright men, went forth, and returned; Mahometanism and Catholicism they had seen only in poor and barbarous provinces, while they witnessed the Greek religion in its magnificent metropolis, and adorned with all its pomp: they did not hesitate. Instantly convinced, Vladimir marched to conquer priests and relics at Cherson: having done this, he, by his threats, extorted from the Greek empire a princess, whom he married, and became a Christian. Playing the tyrant to Heaven, as he did to earth, his Pagan divinities, those divinities which he had formed entirely of gold, and fattened with Christian blood, he now stripped for the sake of Christ, like disgraced favourites; he went still farther: he ordered them to be dragged to execution at the tails of horses; they were loaded with blows by his guards, and were thrown into the Dnieper..

"The Prince, who thus treated the gods of Russia, was not more forbearing towards the men; he commanded them to become Christians on a certain day and hour: he commanded, and whole tribes were pushed on like flocks, and collected on the banks of rivers, to

receive the Greek baptism. One crowd succeeded to another, and to each of these, in mass, was given the name of a saint. He next carried to excess the virtues of Christianity, as he had formerly carried the vices of Paganism; he wasted the revenues of the state in alms, in pious foundations, and in public repasts, to imitate the love-feasts of the primitive Christians; he no longer dared to shed the blood of criminals, or even the enemies of the country." - P. 30-2.

But Heaven had not destined that an empire, which comprehends one-half of Europe, and a third of Asia, and forms a ninth part of the habitable globe an empire capable of supporting one hundred and fifty millions of human beings should remain forever lost in darkness and wretchedness. A regenerator at length | arose, a man who stands alone in history, who, trust- | ing only to his own gigantic mind, did more for Russia in fifty-two years, than all his predecessors had been able to do since the creation of the world. We do not talk of his victories and successes over foreign powers; _ they are nothing in the scale, when compared with the revolutions he effected at home. He was a despot, no doubt; but, to use the powerful language of our author, he was so " by birth, by station, by necessity, by the ascendency of genius, by nature, and because slaves must have a master; yet, what seems utterly incomprehensible, he was a despot more patriotic, more | constantly and wholly devoted to the welfare of his nation, than ever was any citizen of a modern, or even of an ancient republic!" Such men as Peter the Great appear only once during the existence of a world; and it requires no common grasp of intellect, for posterity even to speak concerning them as they deserve. His life was like the transit of a comet, which bewilders, while it excites admiration, and which is only the more sublime, because it sets at defiance all the ordinary laws of astronomical science. He stepped at once out of the night of centuries, into the full sunshine of civilization and knowledge; he extricated himself, by a single movement, from the ignorance and prejudices of the sixty millions of men by whom he was surrounded, and, standing pre-eminent on the lofty elevation he had reared with his own hands, he collected around him the chosen spirits of his people, and with these he formed "the nucleus of a nation, which thenceforth never ceased to aspire to the light, to proceed in its new and noble career, and to draw after it all the rest of his empire." It may be, that in tearing himself from the barbarism of ages, some fragments of it still adltered to him; but the dark spots they left upon his character, so far from eclipsing, served rather to give an intenser lustre to the glory he acquired. In his immense career, every thing bore reference to his one and great idea-the regeneration of his empire. If they are the greatest men who are continually influenced by the grandeur and the energy of reason and passion, and whose lives exhibit the fewest unmeaning and fortuitous actions, then Peter was one of the greatest of all; for his persevering and enthusiastic desire to do good to his subjects inspired and directed the most trivial occurrences of his existence. And what did he not achieve for Russia? She is indebted to him for every thing. He found her a dead, barren, and frozen continent; he gave her three seas, an extensive commerce, commodious harbours, a regular and well-disciplined army, a powerful navy, an admiralty, a police establishment, a code of laws, a multitude of schools and colleges, an imperial library, princely collections in anatomy and natural history, observatories, printing-offices, galleries of pictures and statues, - all that gives life a value, and refines and ennobles the species.

With such a hero, it is not to be wondered that Count

Peter the Great enters the scene; we only regret, as we

1

have already said, that he does not devote a greater portion of it to him exclusively. It is impossible to do jus. tice to a theme of so much magnitude in two hundred pages; and though our author has unquestionably produced a bold and masterly sketch, it is one which stands very much in need of filling up. Perhaps Count Segur's chief fault, at least as an historian, is, that he is rarely willing to confine himself to a mere narrative of facts. He is fond of indulging in reflections of his own, which are often both philosophical and profound, but which ought to be sparingly introduced in works whose principal object is to supply historical information. The Count is very apt to generalize; and his style, oddly enough, appears to be a kind of compound of Gibbon's and Hazlitt's; in philosophy, he resembles the former; and in sparkling antithesis, and a wish to say fine things, he is not unlike the latter. In the short specimens, however, we shall give of his work, we prefer selecting from the less ambitious department of plain narrative, or at least narrative as plain as he ever allows

himself to write.

THE CONSPIRACY OF THE STRELITZ.

" Like all malcontents, the Strelitz believed that discontent was universal. It was this belief, which, in Moscow itself, and a few days before the departure of their sovereign, emboldened Tsikler and Sukanim, two of their leaders, to plot a nocturnal conflagration. They knew that Peter would be the first to hasten to it; and, in the midst of the tumult and confusion common to such accidents, they meant to murder him without mercy, and then to massacre all the foreigners who had been set over them as masters.

"Such was the infamous scheme. The hour which they had fixed for its accomplishment was at hand. They had accomplices, but no impeachers; and, when assembled at a banquet, they all sought in intoxicating liquors the courage which was required for so dreadful an execution. But, like all intoxications, this produced various effects, according to the difference of constitution in those by whom it was felt. Two of these villains lost in it their boldness; they infected each other, not with just remorse, but with a dastardly fear; and, escaping from one crime by another, they left the company under a specious pretext, promising to their accomplices to return in time, and hurried to the Tzar to disclose the plot.

"At midnight, the blow was to have been struck; and Peter gave orders that exactly at eleven, the abode of the conspirators should be closely surrounded. Shortly after, thinking that the hour was come, he went singly to the haunt of these ruffians; he entered boldly, certain that he should find nothing but trembling criminals, already fettered by his guards. But his impatience had anticipated the time; and he found himself, single and unarmed, in the midst of their unshackled, daring, well-armed band, at the instant when they were vociferating the last words of an oath that they would achieve his destruction. At his unexpected appearance, however, they all arose in confusion. Peter, on his side, comprehending the full extent of his danger, exasperated at the supposed disobedience of his guards, and furious at having thrown himself into peril, suppressed, nevertheless, the violence of his emotions. Having gone too far to recede, he did not lose his presence of mind; he unhesitatingly advanced among this throng of traitors, greeted them familiarly, and, in a calm and natural tone, said, that as he was passing by their house, he saw a light in it; that supposing that they were amusing them

selves, he had entered in order to share their pleasures.' He then seated himself, and drank to his assassins, who, standing up around him, could not avoid putting the glass about, and drinking his health. But soon they began to consult each other by their looks, to make numerous signs, and to grow more daring; one of them even leaned over to Sukanim, and said in a low voice, Brother, it is time!" The latter, for what reason, is unknown, hesitated, and had scarcely replied, 'Not yet,' when Peter, who heard him, and who also heard at last the footsteps of his guards, started from his seat, knocked him down by a blow on the face, and exclaimed, 'If it is not yet time for you, scoundrel, it is time for me!' This blow, and the sight of the guards, threw the assassins into consternation; they fell on their knees, and implored forgiveness. Chain them!' replied the terrible Tzar. Then, turning to the officer of the guards, he struck him, and reproached him with his want of punctuality; but the latter showed him his order; and the Tzar, perceiving his mistake, clasped him in his arms, kissed him on the forehead, proclaimed his fidelity, and entrusted him with the custody of the traitors.

"His vengeance was terrible; the punishment was more ferocious than the crime. First the rack; then the successive mutilation of each member; then death, when not enough of blood and life was left to admit of the sense of suffering." P. 261-63.

Without attempting to follow this great monarch through the magnificent adventures of his after-life, we content ourselves with subjoining one or two anecdotes, illustrative of the best part of his character his deference to reason and good sense, even where his own wishes were most directly counteracted.

ANECDOTES OF PETER THE GREAT.

"The instance which they most delight to adduce is, the boldness of the senator Dolgousky, in the year of famine, when, by an ukase, which was already signed, Peter was about to sacrifice Novgorod to Petersburg: this magistrate had not co-operated in the injustice; he found it committed. But seizing in full senate the obnoxious ukase, he, at the risk of his life, suspended the execution of it, carried it away with him, and went to the next church, to receive the sacrament, which the priest was then administering. The intelligence of this offence, which was envenomed by envy and servility, was instantly speeded to the Tzar; he hurried to the senate, and sent orders to Dolgousky to appear there immediately. But the latter, without turning his head, or diverting his attention from heaven to earth, replied, I hear you,' and went on with his prayers. A second and more imperious message had as little effect upon him, I give unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's, and unto God the things that are God's,' replied he, unmoved; and it was not till the Holy Sacrament was over that he took his way to the Tzar. As soon as the monarch saw him, he rushed furiously at him, seized him, drew his sword, and with a threatening voice, exclaimed, 'You shall perish! But Dolgousky remained unmoved, and, pointing to his heart, ' Strike!' said he, firmly; I do not fear to die in a just cause! On hearing these words, the Prince dropped his hand, his voice softened, he stepped back, and said, in a tone of surprise, 'But, tell me, what could have made you so daring?' 'Yourself,' replied the minister; ' did not you order that the truth should be told you, with respect to the interest of your people?" He then explained; and Peter, who was convinced by what he heard, thanked him for his courageous sincerity, and begged pardon for his violence."

"On the occasion of the new and extraordinary labour which was imposed for the excavation of the canal of Ladoga, Dolgousky, indignant at such an abuse of power, dared to destroy, in the midst of the senate, the order which his master had himself dictated. On witnessing this unheard-of action, the senators started from their seats in affright; they removed to a distance; they kept as far as possible from this sacrilegious being on whom the thunder was about to fall, for the terrible Tzar had just entered. But Dolgousky remained in his place; and, unastonished either by his own boldness, or the violence of the Tzar, he opposed to the first burst of wrath from his irritated master, the glory of such a noble reign, which he was on the point of tarnishing, and the good of his subjects, which, doubtless, he did not, like Charles XII., desire to obtain! Then, he stated the reasons of his indignation, while he, at the same time, blamed its violence. It is said that the whole of the senators were struck with astonishment, to see the previous glances of their formidable Tzar lose their fierceness; his features, which were swoln with anger, become composed; his lips, which foamed with threats, acknowledge his error, and revoke his order; and his pride, jealous as it was, far from punishing the brutal sincerity of his counsellor, be satisfied with the regret which he had expressed to him."

"An ivoschick was a man who let out horses, which, in the simplicity of his manners, the Tzar was accustomed to hire in the same way as his people; but one day, being made angry by their slowness, he drove them without mercy, and one of them having died in consequence, the owner demanded the value of it. Peter refused to pay it; the ivoschick had the boldness to resort to the law. His sovereign agreed to abide by the decision of the tribunal, appeared before it, defended himself, lost his cause, and submitted without a murmur to the verdict which was given against him."-P. 366-9.

Before concluding, we must remark that we are very far from being satisfied with the manner in which the English translation of this work has been executed. The style is full of Gallicisms, is frequently obscure, and is often much more inflated than it is in the original. Take an example or two: "In Mikhail Romanoff, Russia chose a name which was lustrous with two hundred and fifty years of conspicuousness." "At the same time, the boyhood of Peter was banished to a village;" where did Peter himself remain ? "The original propension towards heat and light, which is so natural to the men of the frozen shades of the north, but which had at first been wrested aside by a great accident, now insensibly resumed its empire." "One of them seized the Prince, and raised his sword; and that head which contained the

seeds of the Russian glory was on the point of falling." "Truth is what is required from history, and when the truth which she has to record is all fire, is it with the ice of a frozen unfeelingness that its flames can be made obvious?" This may be fine writing, but it is not good English.

England and Scotland respecting those foundations, &c. connected with the Universities, that a perusal of Mr Gilbert's indefatigable work will amply gratify them. We hope that some industrious and able person in this country will take a hint from it, and present us on this side of the Tweed with a Liber Scholasticus of our own less wealthy country; its church, its lectureships, hospitals or foundations, universities, bursaries, or exhibitions; and by whom they can be enjoyed. Such a publication is very much wanted, notwithstanding all that has been said and written on Scotland; and whoever comes forward to supply the deficiency, shall have our hearty support.

The History of Napoleon Buonaparte, with Engravings on steel and wood. Two volumes. Vol. I. Being the first volume of the Family Library. London. John Murray. 1829.

We have heard that this Life of Napoleon is from the graphic pen of the author of "The Subaltern." Whether this be the case or not, it bids fair to do the writer much credit. It is temperately and judiciously composed, and will supply what has hitherto been a desideratum in this country, a distinct digest, within a moderate compass, of all the principal events which distinguished the career of by far the most remarkable man of modern times. We observe the author has

adopted the same spelling of the word Buonaparte as Sir Walter Scott. This is a pity, because it is incorrect; and is rather severely animadverted on by Louis Bonaparte, in his late Reply to Sir Walter. We could have also wished that more frequent references and authorities had been given. The publisher's part of the work has been very tastefully and liberally executed. The frontispiece, which is an engraving on steel by Finden, from David's celebrated picture of Bonaparte crossing the Alps, is itself almost worth the price of the volume. We cannot say so much for the engraving of Josephine; but the passing of the Bridge of Arcola, the Battle of the Pyramids, and the Death of D'Enghien, are exceedingly good. The paper and typography are unexceptionable; and a family library of such volumes would be all that a family could desire. The price of each is five shillings.

The Portraiture of a Christian Gentleman. By a Barrister. London. J. A. Hessey. 1829. Pp. 231. 12mo.

THIS work is so tastefully got up, that its external appearance would almost entice one to peruse it. Its author, Mr Roberts, who, from his profession, is one of those who are "skilled in the law," has drawn so

THIS work, of which we have quoted only the headline, as its title-page is none of the shortest, is a most elaborate account of the Fellowships, Scholarships, and Exhibitions of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge; by whom founded, and whether open to natives of England and Wales, or restricted to particular places and persons; also of such colleges, public schools, endowed grammar schools, chartered companies of the city of London, corporate bodies, trustees, &c., as have University advantages attached to them, or in their patronage; with appropriate indexes and references. The compiler, Mr Richard Gilbert, is an eminent printer in London, and is profoundly learned in every thing connected with the subject of this book. We can assure such of our readers as are curious in these matters, and who wish to form a proper opinion of the difference between

gentleman, that he who could act up to it, would have no inconsiderable pretensions to the state of absolute perfection. He is evidently, however, a well-meaning person; and though his work is not original, great use having been made of some old and now almost-forgotten "Portraictures" on the same subject, we feel pleasure in recommending it to our readers. It contains, among other illustrations, some excellent remarks on family devotion, unscriptural religion, and on the politics, literature, family government, exterior intercourse, familiar talk, worldly dealings, and education of the Christian gentleman. The chapters on the "Force of High Example" are well written; and we are presented with spirited, though severe, "portraitures" of John Wilkes, the author of Junius, and John Horne Tooke. The characters of George II., Lord Boling. broke, Horace Walpole, Lord Lyttleton, Gilbert West, the Earl of Chatham, Edmund Burke, Mr Pitt, Mr

i