1832.] Monthly Review of Literature. 117 



" The man who prides himself on his ancestry without personal merit, ma 

 ludicrously, though justly, compared to a potatoe plant the best part of whick 

 is underground." page 12. 



Some, however, might be spared ; for instance, the remark we remember 

 reading in Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, " A pigmy on the shoulders of a 

 giant can see farther than the giant himself;" contains all the matter of Mr. 

 B.'s eighteen lines on Councils. page 44. 



Against the principle of a few we must enter our protest such as that on 

 friends. page 104. 



Mr. B.'s theory of thought without language we do not understand. p. 1/0. 



With these exceptions, we may safely recommend the work for the literary 

 feasts of our friends, as a nice dish of the tit-bits of wisdom. 



THE PIRATE OF BOFINE, A NOVEL. 3 VOLS. 



We shall proceed upon a somewhat novel plan in our notice of this produc- 

 tion. We have frequently felt, on perusing an interesting book, an extreme 

 desire to quote the whole of it ; and as our Pirate here is really an interesting 

 person of his order, we have experienced the inclination in this instance. An 

 extract, three volumes in length, would however puzzle our printer exceedingly; 

 we shall therefore proceed upon the shorter, but scarcely less satisfactory plan, of 

 quoting the first and last paragraph of each volume. 



Vol. I. First paragraph. " It was in the year 1528, that a Spanish family 

 resided on the largest of the Arran Islands, situated in the bay of Galway in 

 Ireland." 



Last paragraph. " The Neapolitans finding resistance useless, opened their 

 gates to the Spaniards." 



Vol. II. First paragraph. " The night was dark and stormy the rain fell in 

 torrents, while at intervals vivid flashes of lightning served to guide a cavalier," 

 &c. 



Last paragraph. "This, Florian swallowed; and feeling himself faint and 

 sleepy, he threw himself upon his couch, and was soon buried in slumber." 



Vol. III. First paragraph. " With hurried steps, and glances impatiently 

 cast seaward, Barroso paced the platform before his castle." 



Last paragraph. " While Felix and Blanche happy in each other, still sought 

 to make others so, by the exercise of those virtues which alone lead to happi- 

 ness in this world, and a glorious hereafter." 



We are sure that the reader will not fail to derive as much information from 

 these extracts, as from a perusal of the story. We might in addition quote 

 some forty or fifty lines of stars * * * *, with which the narrative is liberally 

 sprinkled, without being in the least degree broken. But we prefer selecting a 

 passage from Shakspeare which we find at the commencement of the work, given 

 in a style that renders it completely original : 



" The neighing steed and the shrill trump, 

 The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife, 

 The royal banner, and all 

 The quality, pride, pomp, and 

 Circumstance of glorious war." 



We confidently recommend the Pirate of Bopeep Bofme we mean to all 

 readers of romance. 



THE HISTORY OF POLAND FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT TIME. 

 BY J. FLETCHER, ESQ., TRIN. COLL. CAM. WITH A NARRATIVE OF RECENT 

 EVENTS COMMUNICATED BY THE POLISH ENVOY. SECOND EDITION, 

 GREATLY ENLARGED. 



Confined at this time within the sphere of interest for our own political 

 arrangements, it seems as if we could scarcely steal a moment from them even 

 to lament over the unworthy fate of the brave Poles. How different 

 would have been our feelings had that unfortunate country been the caterer evem 



