MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE. 535 



tradition has consecrated, and it is hoped that spite of time, and laughter- 

 scaring- science, they may still play round the imagination and the heart 

 familiar to our ears as household words, and continue to delight us in 

 the closet, at the festive game, and on the mimic boards. Honour, 

 patriotism, and generosity, all those ' high thoughts seated in a heart of 

 courtesy/ which form the mirror of sovereigns, and the idol of a people, 

 and which often rescue monarchy itself from the brand of history, are 

 ever freshly associated with our ideas of Alfred and Arthur recollections 

 more useful and ennobling than may, on first reflection, appear." 



The plates in this part are, " Snowdon, as seen from Harlech Castle/' 

 a very brilliant-toned engraving ; " Bridge over the Llugwy," and 

 " Harlech Castle," both of which have the highest merit as works of art, 

 independently of the striking scenery they so well pourtray. 



This is a work which cannot fail to be its own reward. It stands out at 

 an immeasurable distance from every illustrative series which has yet 

 appeared. 



Rhymes for my Children. Smith, Elder and Co. 



A charming little book ; particularly good as regards its plates, and 

 not less meritorious in its literary contents. Amusement and instruction 

 are well blended in these simple rhymes, fitted for young capacities. 

 They form a very pleasant addition to our stores of nursery and family 

 sitting-room literature. 



Songs of the Prophecies. By S. M. MILTON. Baldwin and 

 Cradock, London. 



The sublimity of scriptural language in reference to the prophecies, 

 made us hesitate to open this volume. Had, we asked ourselves, a 

 Milton or a Dante risen amongst us or is Bishop Newton here clothed in 

 poetry ? It was with these impressions that we ran our eye over these 

 songs. The author means well, and has endeavoured boldly, but he has 

 nevertheless failed failed because he has aimed too ambitiously at a 

 subject which none but the highest poetic powers could handle success- 

 fully. There is, however, fine poetry in the book. 



The Songs of England and Scotland. In 2 vols. Vol. I. Containing 

 the Songs of England and Ireland. Cochrane and Co., London. 



A well-conceived work. The collecting the scattered gems of song, 

 which abound in the writings of some of our best poets, both ancient and 

 modern, has been attempted more than once. Ritson, Ellis, Percy, and 

 others, have laboured zealously and successfully in this field ; and the 

 present work forms an admirable finale to their researches ; neither 

 aiming at antiquarian display and black-letter lore, nor crowding its 

 pages with mere prettinesses. The songs are arranged chronologically, 

 commencing with Bishop Still's " Jolly good ale/' written in the year 

 1575 ; and we fully coincide with the opinion of the editor, when he 

 remarks, " were our musicians to turn more frequently to our best An- 

 thologies, their talent and ingenuity might be better employed than in 

 setting to not indifferent airs the vast piles of mere trash, and pilfered 

 trash too, that the musical market has of late been deluged with." It is 

 indeed remarkable, that with the many brilliant songs of Carew, Jonson, 

 and others before them, our musical composers should have married ab- 

 solute rubbish to their notes, disgraceful alike to our literature and to 



