424 Monthly Review of Literatuie. 



Public education is not suitable for them, because they are never called Upon 

 to act jn public. Manners are all in all to them, and marriage is all they 

 look to."" 



The remainder of the volume is occupied with the notes of M. Pelet on 

 the discussions of certain important principles or measures. 



The general tendency is to exhibit Napoleon in a much more amiable light 

 than he has hitherto appeared on the stage of history, and leads us to suppose 

 that previous biographers have divested him of the attributes of humanity, 

 with a false idea of elevating him above his fellow-mortals, to a higher degree 

 than his natural qualifications permitted. And as these were amply sufficient 

 to command the highest respect and admiration that can be paid to human 

 genius, we think that previous writers have been doing both injustice and 

 injury to his memory, even in their attempts to exalt his character. 



Spain. By H. D. INGLIS. 2 Vols. Second Edition, with a political 

 Introduction. Whittaker. 



MR. INGLIS, by the various books of travel which he at different times sent 

 forth to the world, proved most satisfactorily that he travelled with his wits 

 about him, having an acute perception of the characteristic features of national 

 manners, and that he was able, beyond most of his contemporaries, to give a 

 sober and impartial account of his views and impressions. His works on 

 " Spain" and " Ireland" were mentioned with honour in parliament and 

 appealed to as a species of authority. The volumes on " Spain," the second 

 edition of which revives in us many pleasant recollections of a former perusal, 

 are the most elaborately composed, and deserve a more diligent reading than 

 can be claimed for most books of travel. We not only recommend the ori- 

 ginal work, but this edition of it, which, besides the late author's chapter on 

 the " politics of Spain," contains a kind of supplementary chapter by way 

 of introduction, in which the many changes that have occurred in the political 

 relations of Spain since 1831, are very happily described by an incognito friend 

 of the late author. 



We wish every success to a book that seems well calculated to give the 

 English public just views of the real condition of a country, which, possessing 

 every physical capability of becoming the finest and most highly cultivated in 

 the world, is still kept in- a degraded state of semi-barbarism by tyranny, 

 superstition, and ignorance. How long this will continue, we know not : 

 our eyes cannot discover any sunlight breaking through the gloom that hangs 

 over that unfortunate country. 



Second Report of the Poor-Law Commissioners. 8vo. pp. G39. 



Printed by W. Clowes. 



SCARCELY any measure of the Whig government has met with more oppo- 

 sition, both from the Opposition-party within the House or the Press out of 

 it, as the new Poor-Law Bill ; and yet in the event no measure, for a long 

 time past, has worked so well, or produced so good an impression on the 

 character of the people. Under the old system a premium was offered to 

 pauperism, and its advantages were embraced by the peasantry without hesi- 

 tation, and without the slightest feeling of disgrace : in fact, the out-door 

 relief system made the old poor-law an evil and a nuisance instead of a bless- 

 ing to the country. The new law has reformed these and other abuses ; and 

 it has also the merit of being economical of lightening the burden imposed 

 on the respectable part of society by the aged and infirm, the unfortunate 

 and the vicious. The rate of decreased expense, taking an average of 173 unions 

 in the central and southern counties, is 41 per cent. The bastardy-clause, so 

 much railed at as unjust and unmanly has at any rate produced itsjdegired 

 effect of diminishing the number of pauper-bastardies, th decrease of such 

 affiliations being at the rate of 38 per cent. We could, if time allowed us, 



