1826.] 



Domestic and Foreisn^ 



73 



L 



Aiiotlicr strange state-captive in the north, 

 Constable- guanlcd in an iron mask — 

 Still let me ask, 



llast tliou no silver platter, 

 No door-plate, or no card — or some cuch matter. 

 To scrawl a name upon, and then cast forth ? 

 Thou Scottish Bannccide, feeding the hunger 

 Of Curiosity with airy gammon ! 



Thou mystery-monger. 

 Dealing it out like middle cut of salmon. 

 That people buy, and can't make head or tail of it ; 

 (Howbeit that \i\\'a.\e never hurts the sale of it !) 

 Thou chief of authors mystic and aUstractica!, 

 That lay their proper bodies on the shelf — 

 Keeping thyself so truly to thyself, 



Thou Zimmerman made practical ! 

 Thou secret fountain of a Scottish style, 



That, like the Nile, 

 Ilideth its source wherever it is bred. 



But still keeps disemboguing 



(Not disembroguing) 

 Thro' such broad sandy mouths without a head ! 

 Thou disembodied author — not yet dead, — 

 The whole world's literary Absentee ! 



Ah ! wherefore hast thou fled. 

 Thou learned Nemo — wise to a degree, 

 Anonymous L L. D. ! 



Laconics, or ihc Bcxt Words of tiie Sest 

 Authors, No. 1. — Every I'l-ieiid to the ilif- 

 fusion of information will think well of 

 this publication. Tlie first niniiber, now 

 before ns, is neatly printed, at a very mo- 

 derate price, and contains a judieious se- 

 lection of short and pithy extracts, from 

 many of the great standard writers of tliis 

 country, and Krance, with a few classical 

 quotations. We sincerely recommend the 

 publication, as well calculated to amuse 

 during an idle hour, to take u]) and read 

 and tlirow down again, and to be one of the 

 petted favourites of the drawing-room table. 

 The selection is so judicious, that it may 

 be safely given to the youth of both sexes 

 as a book to amuse and instruct. 



We do not observe among the authors 

 enumerated, from which the extracts are 

 to be made, the names of Hooker, Bar- 

 row, Skelton, Tucker, Raleigh, Mi! ton's 

 Prose- Works, or tlie Notes to the Philo- 

 patris Varvicensis. We recommend the 

 industrious and tasteful editor to consult 

 the former for a sentence on prayer, the 

 second for the progress of Christianity, 

 the third for much of the didactic spirit 

 transfused into a justlt/ pupular novel ; the 

 fourth, for matter on various subjects, the 

 passions, fashion, &c. ; the fifth contains 

 much that should be extracted ; the sixth 

 is a mine of jewels — among them the letter 

 to Uiodate ; the Phiiopatris Varvicensis 

 contains one of the finest pass.iges ever 

 penned, both in sentiment and style, on 

 the condemnation of a criminal \yho had 

 been previously punished by the laws of 

 his country. The works of Chamfort 

 should have been referred to, particularly his 

 opinions of men and manners. 



We think it necessary to give a few 

 extracts, as specimens of the style in which 

 the editor of this work has completed his 

 task. 



M. M. New Series, Vor.. I No. 1. 



" He that will' give himself to all manner of ways 

 to get money, may be rich ; so he that lets fly all he 

 Itnows or thinks, may by chance be satirically witty. 

 Honesty sometimes keeps a man from growing rich, 

 and civility from being witty. — Selden. 



" Prejudice may be conside'/ed as a continual false 

 medium of viewing things, for prejudiced persons 

 not only never speak well, but also never think well 

 of those whom they dislike, and the whole character 

 and conduct is considered with an eye to that parti- 

 cular thing which offends them Hiitler. 



" In civilized society, external advantages make 

 us more respected. A man with a good coat upon 

 his back meets with a better reception than he who 

 has a bad one. Vou may analyze this, and say, 

 what is there in it 1 But that will avail you nothing, 

 for it is part of a general ^yslclIl. Pound St. Paul's 

 church mto atoms, ami consider any single atom ; it 

 is, to be sure, good for nothing ; but put all these 

 atoms together, and you have St. Paul's church. 

 So it is with human felicity, which is made up of 

 many ingredients, each of which may be shown to 

 be very insignificant Jnhtijum. 



" People may be taken in once, who imagine that 

 an author is greater in private life than other men. 

 Uncommon parts require uncommon opportunities 

 for their exert ion. — Ji'lin^nm. 



" There Is nothing makes a man suspect much, 

 more than to know little ; and. therefore, men should 

 remedy suspicion by procuring to know more, and 

 not to keep their suspicions iu smother." 



The Virifner's, Brewer's, Spirit Jifer- 

 chant's, and Licensed Victualler's Guide— 

 This apjiears to be a very useful book, 

 written by a practical man, and containing 

 not only directions for making wines uird 

 potable liquors of uU kinds, but much 

 information on the histoi-y of wines and 

 an abstract of the Excise Laws ; an inge- 

 nious essay on the " Saccharometer," Laws 

 relating to Innkeepers, directions for cel- 

 laring, )<;c. &c. The style of the work is 

 far fi-om being of a common stamp. 



The Literary Souvenir. — Mr. Alaric 

 Watts, the editor, ha,s shewn considerable 

 taste and judgment in the selection con- 

 tained in this attractive volume. We 

 know the difficulty of collecting so much 

 matter ; and can fully enter into the delicate 

 situation of an editor, on his receiving 

 tales or poems from some celebrated writer, 

 obviously inferior to the general run of their 

 productions. Among the first-class speci- 

 mens in tliis collection we should place 

 the " Lovers' Quarrels." " The Wreck," 

 by Mrs. Hemans, is admirable ; the tale 

 is well told, and the versification is pure 

 and powerful. The " Loss of the Salda- 

 nah," by the late Thomas Sheriilan, 

 Esq., is the only piece of modern poetry 

 on a similar subject that will bear to 

 be compared with it. The " North- 

 wester" is also very good ; the " Rivals " 

 is a well-told tale, with more of origina- 

 lity in the connexion than is often met 

 with. The " Two Pictures" may be con- 

 sidered as being well told and well written ; 

 yet the impression left on the mind is far 

 from pleasing, and not well adapted to the 

 publication. " May-Flowers of Life" is 



