prepared for the use of Schools and Colleges. By W. S. Ruschenberger. Philadelphia: 1841. Turner and Fisher.

Principles of Geology. By Charles Lyell, Esq. Boston: 1841. Hilliard, Gray & Co. 3 vols. 12 mo.

POETRY AND THE DRAMA.

The Poets of America: Illustrated by one of her Painters. Edited by John Keese. Boston: W. D. Ticknor. 12mo.

Poetical Works of Bishop Heber. Phila. 1841. Lea & Blanchard. Poetical Remains of the late Lucretia Maria Davidson. Collected and arranged by her mother; with a Biography, by Miss Sedgwick. Philadelphia, Lea & Blanchard. 12mo.

The New Tale of a Tub, by F. W. N. Bayley; with numerous Illustrations. New-York, 1841. Wiley & Putnam.

Poetry of the Seasons, by a Lady. Boston: A. Tompkins.

Pocahontas, and other Poems, by Mrs. Sigourney. New-York: 1841. Harper & Brothers.

La Déesse, an Elssler-atic Romance. By the author of "Straws." New-York, 1841. Carvill & Co.

ORATIONS AND ADDRESSES.

Address to the Alumni Society of the University of Nashville, on the Study of Theology as a part of Science, Literature and Religion. Delivered at Nashville, Tennessee, October 5, 1841, by the Rev. LaRoy, A.M., of Halsey with an Appendix, containing a Catalogue of the Alumni, and certain proceedings of the Society. Nashville: Cameron & Hale.

A Discourse, delivered before the Georgia Historical Society, on Friday, February 12, 1841, by William Bacon Stevens. Boston: Freeman & Bolles.

Discourse on the Objects and Importance of the National Institution for the promotion of Science, established at Washington, 1840. Delivered at the first Anniversary, by Joel R. Poinsett, Secretary of War, and Senior Director of the Institution. Washington: P. Force. 1841. Address, delivered at Jefferson College, St. James' Parish, Louisiana, June 30th, 1841, on assuming the functions of President of that Institution. By Alexander H. Everett. New-Orleans, 1841.

A Lecture on Education, delivered before the Mechanics' and Manufacturers' Association, of Oswego, July 12, 1841. By James Brown, Esq. Oswego: John Carpenter. 32mo.

VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.

Visit to Northern Europe; or, Sketches Descriptive, Historical, Political and Moral, of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, and

the Free Cities of Hamburg and Lubec. By Robert Baird. NewYork: 1842. J. S. Taylor. 2 vols. 12mo.

The Glory and Shame of England. By C. Edwards Lester. NewYork: Harper & Brothers. 2 vols. 12mo.

Incidents of a Whaling Voyage: to which are added, Observations on the Scenery, Manners and Customs, and Missionary Stations of the Sandwich and Society Islands; accompanied by numerous lithographic prints. By Francis Allyn Olmsted. New York: D. Appleton & Co. Narrative of an Expedition to the Polar Sea, Commanded by Admiral Ferdinand Wrangell. New-York: 1841. Harper & Brothers. NOVELS, TALES AND ROMANCES.

Confession, or the Blind Heart; a Domestic Story, by the Author of "The Kinsman," "The Yemassee," &c. Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard. 2 vols. 12mo.

Monaldi, a Tale, by Washington Allston. Boston: 1841. Charles C. Little and James Brown.

Jacquerie. By G. R. P. James. New-York: 1842. Harper & Brothers. MISCELLANEOUS WORKS.

Democracy. By George Sidney Camp. New-York: 1841. Harper and Brothers.

Letters of John Adams, addressed to his wife. Edited by his Grandson. C. F. Adams. Boston: 1841. C. C. Little and J. Brown.

Conjectures and Researches concerning the Love, Madness and Imprisonment of Torquato Tasso. By R. H. Wilde. New-York: 1842. A. V. Blake.

Sketches from a Student's Window, by S. G. Goodrich. Boston: W. D. Ticknor.

Essay on Property and Labor, as connected with Natural Law and the Constitution of Society. By Francis Lieber. New-York: Harper and Brothers.

The Book without a Name, by Sir Charles and Lady Morgan. NewYork: Wiley and Putnam.

An Inquiry into the History of Slavery; its Introduction into the United States; Causes of its Continuance; and Remarks upon the Abolition Tracts of William E. Channing, D. D. By the Rev. T. C Thornton, President of the Centenary College, Clinton, Mississippi. Washington, D. C.: William M. Morrison.

ERRATA.

6

Page 32, for Mr. Sullivan,'_read—Mr. O'Sullivan; p. 40, for Boston Review, read-Boston Quarterly Review; p. 255, for making money out of them,' read-make money out of them; p. 262, for 'Carlisle,' read-Carlyle; p. 274, for comes homes home,' read-comes home; p. 282, for deserving tribute,' read-deserved tribute.

SOUTHERN QUARTERLY REVIEW.

No. 2.

APRIL, 1842.

ART. I.-The Natural History of Society in the Barbarous and Civilized State: An Essay towards discovering the Origin and Course of Human Improvement: By W. COOKE TAYLOR, Esq. L.L.D., M.R.Â.S, of Trinity College, Dublin. 2 vols. New York: D. Appleton & Co. pp. 332-328.

The volumes, the title of which is placed at the head of this article, are ushered forth, under the sanction of high authority, having received the revising care of archbishop Whately, before publication. That the subject matter of these volumes is interesting, is unquestionable: no man of reflection and of general information could produce a work on this subject, which would be totally devoid of interest. To trace man, from the earliest records of his race, down through the successive generations which have flourished and passed away, till we reach our own times, opens a field of investigation and research, for which few minds are well prepared. The proper performance of a task, which embraces the different grades and characteristics of civilization, requires a mind well stored with knowledge, relating to the history and capacity of man for improvement.

In entering upon the investigation of the natural history of society, we lay down the proposition, that, man is a being of progress, that all knowledge, which is really useful and valuable to him, is never wholly lost, though it may be modified by circumstances; and, although it may be seemingly lost, for a time, yet it affords the basis on which other means of information, tending to the development of VOL. I.-NO 2.

more important truths may be founded. To this, it may be replied, that the knowledge of arts once in use, is now entirely lost to man. The art of embalming the dead, is now unknown; no trace of the knowledge, by which that process was performed, now remains. Be it so but is any useful knowledge lost, because we cannot embalm the dead as the ancients did? What benefit to man was the possession of that art? Though the frail tenement might be preserved, still the question returns, how did this aid in the improvement of man, either physically, intellectually or morally? If these questions be answered with impartiality, we think that, on this subject, there will no longer be any cause of dispute; for none, we presume, will contend that a state of ignorance is preferable to one of intelligence. Take the first rude attempts in all the arts, and the clumsiness and inefficiency of the machinery are strikingly manifest. Compare this with the nice adaptation of the machinery now used to produce the same, or similar results, and mark the grand and elevating contrast, -grand and elevating it is, because we behold in it, an exhibition of the power of mind over matter!

In the early records of our race, we learn that the simplest constructions were accomplished by great toil and much labor. The combinations of the mechanical powers, so as to produce important results, were not thought of. Give me a place to stand upon, said Archimides, and I will move the world; but his lever would have proved unavailing, and fruitless would have been the effort to overcome that silent but mighty power, which holds the universe together, and binds it in harmony. Had he known what Newton in after times discovered,-led to it by so simple a thing as the falling of an apple to the ground, he never would have made the assertion quoted above. The existence of steam was cöeval with fire and water; but not a century since, and the application of that power to the useful arts was undiscovered. Now, inland trade, penetrating the rivers of continents, is carried on by means of steamboats, and the "fire-fed horse" draws the ponderous car, with almost the rapidity of wind, to the place of its destination. Nor does the improvement stop here: the mighty steam-ship ploughs old ocean's tide, and lays the treasures of the earth at the foot of man. The

different parts of the world are brought nearer together,—and, unless inseparable barriers should be providentially inter. posed, must soon be bound together in harmony and love.

These examples have been presented, to show the great powers of the human mind, in any department of art or science to which they may be directed. Now, it is the developing and unfolding of these powers, from the infancy of the human race to this period in their history, which forms the proper subject of the natural history of society. All the physical greatness of man, though it be exerted in rearing monuments to transmit to future ages the memory of deeds of valor and of high renown, sinks into insignificance before the majesty and splendor of mind. Every thing, which has been effected for the melioration of human suffering, and for the elevation of man to his true dignity, is owing to the energy and power of mind. When such are the triumphs of the human intellect, is it wonderful that such efforts are now making to diffuse knowledge amongst the people,-knowledge, which will strengthen and refine the powers of the soul, and thus destroy the sources of pollution, by eradicating the very principles which tempt man to evil? These efforts show, that man is a being of progress; that progress is stamped upon, and interwoven in his very nature; that as we look back on past ages as comparatively ignorant and unenlightened, so those who come after us, standing upon a higher platform, and having a more elevated and commanding view than we now have, will perceive that we have discharged, as far as we could, our duty to the age in which we lived, that we performed our part in the drama of human affairs, and left works unfinished, which could not be accomplished in any age, and which it becomes their duty to carry out and perfect, in the spirit in which they were begun. These views, to most readers, may appear visionary; but, we believe they are sanctioned by the researches of Dr. Taylor, as his essay shows, and as the history of man fully proves. That history has been one continuous struggle for the advancement and improvement of man,and the fact, that intellectual progress is a positive law of his nature, renders it impossible that the race should ever relapse into the state from which it has emerged. We do not, by any means, suppose that a savage state is