late Protest against the Church Missionary Society. By an Orthodox Clergyman. 2s.

On the Nature, Progress, and Consequences of Schism; with immediate Reference to the Present State of Religious Affairs in this Country. By the Rev. Charles Daubeny, Archdeacon of Sarum. 8vo. 7s. 6d.

Familiar Sermons on several of the Doctrines and Duties of the Christian Religion. By the Rev. William Barrow, LL.D. 2 vol. 8vo. 17. ls.

The Greek Septuagint, with the Apocrypha from the Oxford edition of Bos. 8vo. 11. 8s.

· Indian Church History, or an Account of the first Planting of the Gospel in Syria, Mesopotamia, and India: with an accurate relation of the first Christian Missions in China. By Thos. Yeates. 8vo. 6s.

Principles of Christian Evidence Illustrated, by an Examination of Arguments subversive of Natural Theology and the internal evidence of Christianity, advanced by Dr Thomas Chalmers in his 'Evidence and Authority of the Christian Revelation.' By Duncan Mearns, D. D. Professor of Theology in King's College and University, Aberdeen. 5s.

Cornelius the Centurion; a Sermon preached in St Peter's Chapel on March 4, 1818, for the benefit of the Naval and Military Bible Society. By the Hon. and Rev. Gerard Noel, A. M.

Lectures, with Practical Observations and Reflections on the Prophecies of John, commencing with the fourth chapter of the Revelation, and continued to the close of the book: To which is added, a Dissertation on the Origin and Termination of the Antichristian Apostasy. By Robert Culbertson, minister of the Gospel, Leith, in two vol. 8vo. 24s.

A Sermon upon Christian Peace; translated from the French of M. de Bourdaloue, one of the preachers of the Court of Lewis XIV. King of France and Navarre, with a Portrait of Bourdaloue. 8vo. 1s. 6d.

A Word to the Wise: or a Summary Essay in Vindication of the Presbyterian Form of Church Government, stated in contrast with the prominent peculiarities of Tabernacle Independents; by a Presbyterian to which is added, remarks on Christian Liberality opposed to Bigotry,' a Sermon, &c. By William Orme. 1s. 6d. Sermons on various Important Subjects. By the Rev. James Stark, Loanhead, Denny. 8vo. 10s. 6d.

The Counsel of God the only true wisdom; a Sermon preached in Charlotte Street Episcopal Chapel, on February 19, 1818, for the benefit of the Edinburgh Gratis Sabbath Schools. By the Hon. and Rev. G. Noel, A. M. Vicar of Rainham, Kent. 1s. 6d.

The plain Bible, and the Protestant Church in England; with Reflections on some important Subjects of existing Religious Controversy. 8vo. 4s.

Twenty-five Sermons, in which the Doctrines and Duties of Christianity are illustrated by References or Allusions to recent Characters and Transactions. 2 vol. 8vo. 15s.

Sermons on the Nature, Offices, and Character of Jesus Christ. By the Rev. J. Bowdler. 8vo. 14s.

An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. By Thomas Hartwell Horne, A. M. illustrated with maps and fac-similes of Biblical Manuscripts. 3 vol. 8vo. 21. 2s.

Annals of Scottish Episcopacy from the year 1788 to the year 1816, inclusive; being the period which the late Right Rev. John Skinner, of Aberdeen, held the office of Senior Bishop and Primus ; of whom a Biographical Memoir is prefixed. By the Rev. John Skinner, A. M. Forfar. 8vo. 12s.

A Treatise on the Covenant of Grace. By John Colquhoun, D. D. Minister of the Gospel, Leith. Fine, 6s.; Common, 4s. 6d. boards.

TOPOGRAPHY.

Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Engraved from Drawings by J. P. Neale, with Descriptions. No. I. (to be continued monthly). Royal 8vo. 4s.

Illustrations of the Island of Staffa, in a Series of Views, accompanied by a Topographical and Geological Description. By WilTiam Daniell, A. R. A. Imp. 4to. 21.

Topographical and Panoramic Survey of the Campagna di Roma, with References to Geology, History, and Antiquities. By Dr. F. C. L. Sickler. 8vo. 17. 1s.

Description of the principal picturesque Beauties, Antiquities, and Geological Phenomena of the Isle of Wight. By Sir Henry C. Englefield, Bart. With additional Observations on the Strata of the Island. By Thomas Webster, Esq. Illustrated by Maps and 50 Engravings, by W. and G. Cooke, from Original Drawings by Sir H. Englefield and T. Webster. Royal 4to. 71. 7s. Large paper 10/. 10s.

A new Picture of Rome, or an interesting Itinerary. By Marien Vasi.

12s.

A General History of Malvern, intended to comprise all the advantages of a Guide, with the more important details of Chemical, Mineralogical and Statistical information. By John Chambers, Esq. 8vo. 15s.

Hakewell's Views in Italy. Part I. 4to. 12s. 6d.; Royal 4to. 18s. Indian paper 30s.

The History of Cornwall, in seven Parts. vols. 81. 8s.

VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.

4to. bound in 2 large

Travels of his Royal Highness the Duke of Angouleme through the Northern and South-west Departments of France, in October and November 1817. 8vo. With a portrait.

Travels from Vienna through Lower Hungary; with some remarks on the state of Vienna during the Congress in 1814. By Richard Bright, M. D. With numerous engravings. 4to. 41. 4s. Narrative of an Expedition to explore the river Zaire, usually called the Congo, in South Africa, in 1816, under the direction of Captain J. K. Tuckey, R. N. To which is added the Journal of VOL. XXX. No. 59.

S

Professor Smith, and an Appendix, containing the natural history of that part of the kingdom through which the Zaire flows. Four teen plates. 4to. 21. 2s.

Travels to the Mouth of the Black Sea; by Gen. Count Andreossy; translated from the French, with plates, and nine maps. Travels in Canada and the United States, in 1816 and 1817. By Lieut. Francis Hall, 14th Light Dragoons. 8vo.

Narrative of a Voyage to Hudson's Bay, in his Majesty's ship Rosamond, containing some Account of the North-Eastern Coast of America, and the Tribes inhabiting that remote region. Lieut. Edward Chappell, R. N. 8vo. 12s.

By

A Journey to Rome and Naples, performed in 1817, giving an Account of the present State of Society in Italy; and containing Observations on the Fine Arts. By Henry Sass. 8vo. 12s.

Letters of a Prussian Traveller, (interspersed with numerous personal Anecdotes), descriptive of a tour through Sweden, Prussia, Austria, Hungary, Istria, the Ionian Islands, Egypt, Syria, Cyprus, Rhodes, the Morea, Greece, Calabria, Italy, Tyrol, the Banks of the Rhine, Hanover, Holstein, Denmark, Westphalia, and Holland. By John Bramsen, Esq.

A Picturesque Tour of Italy, in illustration of, and with reference to, the Text of Addison, Eustace and Forsyth. From Drawings taken on the spot in 1816 and 1817. By James Hakewell. Part I. (to be completed in 12 parts). 4to. 12s. 6d. Large paper 18s. Proofs 17. 10s.

Journey through Asia Minor, Armenia, and Koordistan, in 1813 and 1814. With Remarks on the Marches of Alexander, and the Retreat of the Ten Thousand. By John Macdonald Kinnier, Esq. Svo. 18s.

Iceland, or the Journal of a Residence in that Island during the years 1814 and 1815: containing observations on the natural phenomena, history, literature, &c.; with an introduction and appendix, plates and map. 2 vol. 8vo. 17. 8s.

Observations on Greenland, the Adjacent Seas, and the Northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean, made in a Voyage to Davis's Strait, during the Summer of 1817. By Bernard O'Reilly, Esq. With chart and plates. 4to. 21. 2s.

No. LX. will be published in September.

D. Willison, Printer, Edinburgh.

THE

EDINBURGH REVIEW,

SEPTEMBER, 1818.

No. LX.

ART. I. Considérations sur les Principaux Evénémens de la Révolution Françoise. Ouvrage Posthume de Mad. la Baronne de Staël. Publié par M. LE DUC DE BROGLIE et M. LE BARON A. DE STAEL. En Trois Tomes. 8vo. pp. 1285. Londres, 1818.

N° O BOOK can possibly possess a higher interest than this which is now before us. It is the last, dying bequest of the most brilliant writer that has appeared in our days;-and it treats of a period of history which we already know to be the most important that has occurred for centuries; and which those who look back on it, after other centuries have elapsed, will probably consider as still more important.

We cannot stop now to say all that we think of Madame de Staël-and yet we must say, that we think her the most pow erful writer that her country has produced since the time of Voltaire and Rousseau-and the greatest writer, of a woman, that any time or any country has produced. Her taste, perhaps, is not quite pure; and her style is too irregular and ambitious. These faults may even go deeper. Her passion for effect, and the tone of exaggeration which it naturally produces, have probably interfered occasionally with the soundness of her judgment, and given a suspicious colouring to some of her representations of fact. At all events, they have rendered her impatient of the humbler task of completing her explanatory details, or stating in their order all the premises of her reasonings. She gives her history in abstracts, and her theories in aphorisms:-and the greater part of her works, instead of presenting that systematic unity from which the highest degrees of strength and beauty and clearness must ever be derived, may be fairly described as T

VOL. XXX. No. 60.

collection of striking fragments-in which a great deal of repetition does by no means diminish the effect of a good deal of inconsistency. In these same works, however, whether we consider them as fragments or as systems, we do not hesitate to say that there are more original and profound observations—more new images-greater sagacity combined with higher imagination-and more of the true philosophy of the passions, the politics, and the literature of her contemporaries-than in any other author we can now remember. She has great eloquence on all subjects; and a singular pathos in representing those bitterest agonies of the spirit in which wretchedness is aggravated by remorse, or by regrets that partake of its character. Though it is difficult to resist her when she is in earnest, we cannot say that we agree in all her opinions, or approve of all her sentiments. She overrates the importance of Literature, either in determining the character or affecting the happiness of mankind; and she theorizes too confidently on its past and its future history. On subjects like this, we have not yet facts enough for so much philosophy; and must be contented, we fear, for a long time to come, to call many things accidental, which it would be more satisfactory to refer to determinate causes. In her estimate of the happiness, and her notions of the wisdom of private life, we think her both unfortunate and erroneous. She makes passions and high sensibilities a great deal too indispensable; and varnishes over all her pictures too uniformly with the glare of an extravagant or affected enthusiasm. She represents men, in short, as a great deal more unhappy, more depraved and more energetic, than they are-and seems to respect them the more for it.-In her politics she is far more unexceptionable. She is everywhere the warm friend and animated advocate of liberty-and of liberal, practical, and philanthropic principles. On these subjects we cannot blame her enthusiasm, which has nothing in it vindictive or provoking; and are far more inclined to envy than to reprove that sanguine and buoyant temper of mind which, after all she has seen and suffered, still leads her to overrate, in our apprehension, both the merit of past attempts at political amelioration, and the chances of their success hereafter. It is in that futurity, we fear, and in the hopes that make it present, that the lovers of mankind must yet, for a while, console themselves for the disappointments which still seem to beset them. If Mad. de Staël, however, predicts with too much confidence, it must be admitted that her labours have a powerful tendency to realize her predictions. Her writings are all full of the most animating views of the improvement of our social condition, and the incans by