336 MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND ART. 



rhymes, he has given his poetical sentiments, in the blank verse of 

 our colleges, which is no more Miltonian, or Wordsworthian, than 

 the braying of an ass is the sound of the trumpet. It may be a pleas- 

 ing diversion, to write such works for one's own gratification, but the 

 world cares little for that which may please one. The public taste 

 should be sought after if public purchasers are wanted; We must 

 confess however that we would sooner re-read Mr. Milnes's book, 

 than read fifty pages of any of the American travels which the world 

 has of late been deluged with. 



HISTORY OF ROMANCE. EDITED BY LEITCH RITCHIE. THE 

 BARONET. BY Miss JULIA CORNER, SMITH AND ELDER. 



THIS very excellent work still progresses successfully, indeed the 

 name of the editor is a sufficient guarantee for the ability of the un- 

 dertaking. The present volume is by a lady, with whose name we 

 are not very well acquainted; but if we may judge from this speci- 

 men of her labours, she is ambitious to be recognized as the cham- 

 pion of her sex, against a very insignificant foe. She has heard of a 

 certain class of sceptics, who sneer at the perfection of woman as a 

 fable, and magnifying the infidels into a more imposing class than 

 they are, kindly undertakes their conversion by a very pleasant nar- 

 rative, wherein, though she does not spare them for the heinousness 

 of their errors, she promotes their happiness by seducing them from 

 their disbelief. Mis^ Julia Corner is evidently an amiable anti-Mal- 

 thusian, who, we should be glad to see pitted against the philosophy 

 of Miss Martineau. -She is evidently no exclusive in matters of 

 the heart ; in that, she is a radical to all intents and purposes ; her 

 theory of perfection is woman, and her greatest happiness principle 

 is matrimony. She has many heroes and many heroines, the latter, 

 with the exception of one to prove the rule, are all virtuous, and 

 kind and lovely. She marries them all, and kinder still, she pro- 

 vides them each with a '' comfortable independence/' 



The scapegrace among the gentlemen is the " Baronet" himself, one 

 Sir Charles Freemantle. He is a sort of Tremaine, though his heresy 

 is a less serious cast ; but who by the gentle medium of romantic 

 correspondence aided afterwards by beautiful eyes, and a half-flirting 

 half sentimental tongue, is brought to a recantation of his errors with 

 regard to women, and is fairly, and pleasantly noosed in the halter of 

 matrimony. There is one little faux pas in the shape of a run-a way- 

 match, between a Portuguese count, and a girl of seventeen ; but 

 then the parties are so young, and so good and so handsome, and 

 run-away matches are really so scarce now-a-days, no money stirring 

 to pay the post-boys, that the young people are very readily forgiven, 

 and a comfortable allowance settled upon them for their spirit. To 

 sum up, we have been much amused with the book ; but we beg to 

 assure Miss Julia Corner, that the moral conveyed is, as far as regards 

 ourselves, a work of supererogation. The infallibility of the sex has 

 been very long with us a favorite doctrine, and we regard with little 

 short of orthodox bigotry, the pagan who maintains a contrary faith. 



