1831.] Monthly Review of' Literature. 6^9 



Constable's Miscellany, Vol. LXXIII. ■ 



This is one of the most interesting and valuable books of the whole series. It 

 forms the fii-st of two volumes of a History of the Civil Wars of Ireland, by 

 W. C. Taylor, Esq., A.B. ; a work that has been long wanted, and which, if the 

 concluding pages equal the opening of the history, will prove an addition to our 

 literature of no every-day nature. Mr. Taylor sets about his undertaking with 

 a proper spirit, and lays bare his facts to an extent of elucidation, which, con- 

 sidering the slight and hasty glance at the obscurities and intricacies of the sub- 

 ject to which his space confined him, we should have conceived to have been 

 impracticable. His work, in its commencement, manifests considerable industry 

 and research, and (what is of at least equal importance) a very small portion of 

 prejudice. Entire impartiality is a thing hardly to be looked for in a history of 

 the nature and causes of such matters as the civil wars of Ireland ; yet it would 

 be difficult to shew to which side Mr. Taylor's leaning inclines, and still more 

 so to prove that he has anywhere miscoloured or misconceived a crime or a cha- 

 racter that he has had to deal with, " The History of Ireland," he remarks in 

 his preface, " from the period of the Anglo-Norman invasion, presents a series 

 of anomalies not to be paralleled in the annals of any European country" — a 

 fact not likely to be contradicted, and one that proves the difficulty of the sub- 

 jects Mr. Taylor has here so advantageously treated. We must observe that he 

 has confined himself to the relation of facts ; he is no believer of Irish fables, 

 and puts as much faith in the authenticity of the early history of his country, as 

 in the Arabian Nights' Entertainments. He shelters himself under the sanction 

 of Niebuhr. " It would be an insult to the understanding of an Englishman," 

 he observes, " if a writer should now seriously refute the tale of Brute the 

 Trojan." His facts commence with the English invasion of Ireland, under the 

 renowned Strongbow ; and breaks off at the Revolution : leaving a wide and 

 interesting field for his labours in the second volume. We cannot enter into 

 detail at sufficient length to give the reader a more than general idea of the 

 ground Mr. Taylor has trodden, of the views he has advanced or confirmed, and 

 of the facts and information he has elicited — facts drawn, not from the conflicting 

 assertions of histories, but from original and accredited documents. We can 

 only express our hope that the other volume of the history will complete well, 

 what is so well begun. 



Bishop Hall's Contemplations, forming the 18th Volume op the 

 Divines of the Chukch of England, Edited by T. S. Hughes, B.D. 



Hall is one among the most memorable of the old divines, and classes with 

 Taylor and Barrow for fertility and fancy, and often for vivacity and force, with 

 touches of pathos quite irresistible, even in the midst of what as irresistibly 

 excites a smile. His " Contemplations" are, however, often too wo'w'p and sim- 

 ple for the taste of the present day — such as those on Dinah and the Sheche- 

 "inites, and Judah and Tamar are little calculated now-a-days to excite the kind 

 of feelings the good man intended. The tyranny of association is not to be con- 

 trolled. Nor can rhetoric of this sort be any longer relished — " Manna had no 

 fault, but that it was too good and too frequent ; the pulse of Egypt had been 

 fitter for these coarse mouths. This heavenly bread was unspeakably delicious; 

 it tasted like wafers of honey, and yet even this angel's food is contemned! 

 He that is full, despiscth a honey-comb. How sweet and delicate is the gospel ! 

 Not only the fathers of the Old Testament, but the angels desired to look into 

 the glorious mysteries of it ; and yet we are cloyed. This supernatural food is 

 too light ; the bread-corn of our human reason and profound discourse would 

 better content us." In the bishop's heated imagination, fancies go for facts, 

 and declamation rings like devotion ; but the modern reader will think of little 

 but the utraii'jc tustc of our forefathers. 



Hall was born in 1G74, the son of a land agent of Lord Huntingdon, at 

 Ashby-de-la-Zouch. His mother was of a puritan family, and early infused 

 into her son feelings and fancies from which he never wholly escaped. It was 



