MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND ART. 225 



THE RHETORICAL SPEAKER AND POETICAL CLASS BOOK, &c. BY 



R. LlMINGTON, pp. 359. SOUTER. 



THE author in his dedication " To Sir Hugh Palliser Palliser, of 

 Castle Palliser, Bart." says " It is with much pleasure and confi- 

 dence that I submit the present work for public approbation/' After 

 this, criticism may " go hang." We have not been able to discover 

 any particular novelty in the introductory essays on elocution. 

 Knowles, Hartly, &c. have been before Mr. Limington. The work 

 contains the usual quantum of readable extracts, and is altogether 

 very useful after its kind. 



THE ANTI-SPELLING BOOK ; BEING A NEW SYSTEM OF TEACHING 

 CHILDREN TO READ WITHOUT SPELLING. BULL AND CHURTON. 



THIS, we fear, is sad nonsense children cannot master the nice 

 points deduced for their instruction in this school-book. Give us the 

 old " C. A. T., cat," and this author " B. I. R. C. H., birch." 



CHOIX EN PROSE EN VERS. BY J. C. TURNER. SOUTER. 

 The reputation of M. Turner as a French litterateur, and teacher is 

 of itself a sufficient recommendation to this work. The judicious 

 selection he has made from the best author's of France, renders it a 

 most interesting book to the general reader, and particularly valuable 

 to the French student. 



THE LIFE OF GRANT THORBURN (THE ORIGINAL LAWRIE TODD), 

 WRITTEN BY HlMSELF. LONDON : FRASER. 



MR. GALT'S far-famed novel has given this worthy a celebrity 

 which certainly his importance does not warrant. The only portion 

 of Lawrie Todd that we did not like was that transcribed from Mr. 

 Thorburn' s M.S. While Gait was confined to that, he wrote in fet- 

 ters ; but when he got rid of the little nail-maker, and was at his own 

 will, " his foot was on his native heath, and his name was Mac- 

 gregor !" We do not exactly agree with Mr. Thorburn's notions 

 respecting the speciality of Providence at all events, we deprecate 

 the ceaseless mention of the sacred name as connected with every 

 pettifogging business transaction. There is much cant in this. 



Yet we cannot take leave of this book without characterizing it as 

 a pleasing gossiping production, with much shrev/dness and occa- 

 sional brightness in its pages. Mr. Thorburn, however, seems to 

 have so good an opinion of himself, that the praise or blame of the 

 " critic craft" will fall unheeded on his tympanum. He has declared 

 war against all who advocate opposite principles to his own, and 

 argues the matter with a passion and an energy quite conclusive. 

 Were Mr. Thorburn a man of more consequence than he really is, 

 we might look grave on his abuse of " England and the English" 

 it savours of the renegade ; but we laugh at his illiberality laugh at 

 his misrepresentations wilful or ignorant and like his book won- 

 fully after all. 



Mr. Thorburn, for all he is " a fiery ethercap a fractious chiel," 

 seems, from his portrait, to be naturally an amiable and benevolent 

 man. A lady of our acquaintance remarked, on seeing his good- 



M. M. No.' 98. 2 G 



