be qualified to do: but it is also provided that the moisture may be increased at will, by letting out the water from the trough into the cavity, by means of apertures at the ends, where the trough turns, and where, for this purpose, a small inclination has been contrived to cause the water to fall. But since these beds are too long to be irrigated sufficiently from one point, an aperture is again made half way in each side of the troughs; by these means the beds are watered from two distinct points. After the water has flowed through all the troughs, the residue is taken off by a drain of sufficient depth to keep the surrounding ground from becoming too damp; which is easily accomplished, as it runs into a bottom of coarse sand, which is of immense depth all around Munich. As in a botanic garden, the stronger kinds of plants must of necessity be taken up, from time to time, to be cleansed, to have their roots pruned, and to be set in better order, an apparatus of this description facilitates the labour greatly; you not only get at the plants, altogether, more conveniently than when they are in ponds, but you may also treat the plants in any given division, as you like, without interfering, in the least, with the other divisions. On the Management of Cauliflower Plants, to secure good produce during the Winter, by Mr. G.Cockburn.--1 sow the seeds of the early cauliflower in a south border, in the beginning of July, and as soon as the plants come up, I thin them out to twelve or fourteen inches apart, where I suffer them to remain, keeping them clean, and watering them occasionally, till about the middle of November, by which time they all produce heads from ten to thirty inches in circumference. As they are not hardy enough to bear more than three or four degrees of frost, I remove them at that time into a shed which will keep out ten degrees of frost, taking care to retain as much mould about their roots as possible, and to remove all their decayed leaves. In the shed they are planted in mould, keeping a space of about an inch between each head. In this state they are frequently looked over with care, their dead leaves removed, and those heads eut for present use which shew any disposition to decay. When severe frost occurs, the plants are covered with dry short hay. By this management I have been able to send three dishes of cauliflowers to the table every week during the Autumn and Winter until February.-Trans, Hort, Soc. USEFUL ARTS. PATENTS LATELY GRANTED. J, L. Bradbury, of Manchester, for improvements in the art of printing, painting, or staining silk, cotton, woollen, and other cloths, and paper, parchment, vellum, leather, and other substances, by means of blocks or surface-printing. Edinburgh, July 31, 1823. W. Palmer, of London, for improvements in the machinery applicable to printing on calico or other -woven fabrics, composed wholly or in part of cot. ton, linen, wool, or silk. Edinburgh, August 4, 1823. L. J. Pouchee, of Queen-street, Holboru, for ⚫ machinery or apparatus, to be used or employed in the casting and making of metal types. Communicated by a stranger residing abroad. Edinburgh, August 15, 1823. J. Smith, of Droitwich, for an apparatus for the applying of steam for the cooling and concentration of solutions in general, crystallising the muriate of soda from brines containing that salt, melting and refining of tallow and oils, boiling of sugar, distilling, and other similar purposes. Edinburgh, August 18, 1823. W, Wigton, of Derby, for improvements on steamengines. Edinburgh, August 18, 1823. J. Butler and F. Gleave, of Manchester, for a new machine, engine, or mechanical contrivance, for feeding or supplying steam-boiler furnaces, or other furnaces, with coals, cokes, or other fuel, by machinery, whereby the quantity of smoke proceeding therefrom is greatly reduced, and a great saving is effected in the quantity of fuel consumed, and in the labour necessary for feeding and supplying the same therewith. Edinburgh, August 28, 1823. T. Hancock, of Goswell-mews, St. Luke's, for an improvement in the preparation, for various useful purposes, of pitch and of tar, separately or in union, by an admixture of other ingredients with either or both of them. Edinburgh, September 5, 1823. T. Leach, of Friday-street, London, for improve ments in certain parts of the machinery for roving and spinning wool, cotton, silk, flax, and all other fibrous substances. Edinburgh, September 6, 1823, M. A. Robinson, of Red Liou-street; for improvements in the mode of preparing the vegetable matter, commonly called pearl-barley, and grits or groats, made from the corns of barley and oats, by which material, when so prepared, a superior mucilaginous beverage may be produced in a few minutes. Edinburgh, October 2, 1823. A. Buchanan, of Catrine Cotton-works; for an improvement in the construction of weaving-looms impelled by machinery, whereby a greater quantity of cloth may be weaved in a given time, without injury to the fabric, than by any application of power for that purpose heretofore employed. Edinburgh, October 10, 1823. J. Henfry, of Little Henry-street, Surrey; and A. Applegath, of Duke-street, Surrey, for ma chinery for casting types, Edinburgh, Oct, 17, 1823. W. Robson, of St. Dunstan's-hill, London; for a method to prevent or protect against fiudulent practices upon bankers' checks, bills of exchange, and various species of mercantile, commercial, and other correspondence. Edinburgh October 17, 1823. J. Johnston, of Waterloo Bridge-wharf, Middlesex; for improvements on drags to be used for carriages. Edinburgh, October 17, 1823. J. T. Beale, of Christian-street, St. George's in the East; and T. T. Beuningfield, of Whitechapw!; for improvements in steam-engines. Edinburgh, October 23, 1823. NEW PUBLICATIONS, BIOGRAPHY, MEMOIRS, &c. more rational conclusion. The whole style of Burke's character proves him to have been a man of high imagination and powerful feeling; but there is little in it of that calm and useful good sense which is often, and we believe correctly, Theatres and Theatrical Usages. By A. considered incompatible with more brilliant quaSkottowe. In 2 vols. 8vo. So much has already been done in illustrating Shakspeare's Life and Works, that there really secmed little room for a publication like the present. The labours of M. Douce, in elucidating our ancient drama, are well known and properly appreciated; and (later still) Dr. Drake has swept into his ponderous quartos all the information which could be collected on the subject of Shakspeare and his Times." Mr. Dunlop, also, in his excellent "History of Fiction," has traced most of our great dramatist's plots to " their original sources; so that, in fact, Mr. Skottower has had little more to do than make a selection from the copious materials which lay before him. This he has accomplished in an agreeable manner; and to those who do not possess the works of his predecessors, his labours will be found useful and amusing. The biogra. phers of Shakspeare have all of them experienced the difficulty of writing the Life of a man of whom nothing is known, and his memoirs, therefore, contain rather a history of the stage at the period when he lived, than a personal narrative of his life. We may imagine the dearth of materials for a work like this, when we find the biographers diligently scarching the town records of Stratford for an insight into the family affairs of the poet, and extracting from those documents the important information, that "in the year 1578, John Shakspeare (our dramatist's father) was indebted five pounds to a baker at Stratford, and compelled to obtain collateral securities for its payment !" vol. i. p. 5. The Essays in these volumes do not display much research, and become very insipid when we remember the Criticisms of William A. Schlegel, Memoirs of the Life and Character of the Right Hon. Edmund Burke, with specimens of his Poetry and Letters, and an estimate of his genius and talents compared with those of his great contemporaries. By James Prior, Esq. 8vo. 16s. It has always been the fate of statesmen to meet in their biographers with either panegyrists or defamers. The political life of Burke, espe cially, was such as to render an impartial account of it as improbable as it was desirable. With re gard to his public conduct every one can form his own conclusions, and a volume of 600 pages was scarcely required to illustrate a subject so well understood; but the character of the poli. tician is a matter of much more difficult speculation. The course pursued by Burke was so extraordinary as certainly to render either the purity of his motives, or the soundness of his judgment, exceedingly questionable; but, upon a fair review of his life, the latter seems to be the VOL. XII. NO. XLIII, lities. Surely the conduct of Burke, with respect to the French Revolution, is sufficient to demonstrate the folly of regarding him as a man of a cool and considerate judgment. The frenzied zeal which he displayed upon this subject must for ever discredit him as a statesman in the mind of every sensible person. In the horrors expressed by him at the atrocities committed during the Revolution, every one can sympathize; but no man, of a clear and unclouded intellect, will permit that feeling, as Burke did, to blind him to the evils of the dreadful system which produced so awful a consummation. Nor can the conduct of Burke in promoting and approving the interference of foreign powers to regulate the internal affairs of France, be justified by any sound principle of international policy. We have seen, in the fatal termination of the Spanish conflict, the necessary result of recognizing so dangerous, a power. But upon these and similar topics, in which the character of Burke is involved, the reader must not expect much information from Mr. Prior, who can discover in the life of his hero nothing but the most harmonious consistency, the most lofty integrity, and the most unbounded wisdom. Even the strong political bias with which Mr. Prior has evidently approached his task, has not prevented him from eulogising the part taken by Mr. Burke with regard to the American Revolution, though, at the sametime, we meet with some very equivocal passages relative to the merits of that question. The hesitation of Congress in acceding to the Declaration of Inde. pendence, is styled "a proof that the passions of moderate men, excited by the arts of the more designing, shrunk from the ultimate consequences of their own violence;" and the author appears to regret that "scales so nicely poised," were not by the English ministry "turned in favour of their country." The style of the present volume is not altogether free from exceptions; but the errors which we have remarked have arisen probably from inattention. The memoir is a very copious one, and from the subject of it necessarily interesting. The Life of the Right Rev. J. Taylor, D.D. with a Critical Examination of his Writings. By Reginald Heber, D.D. 2 vols. post 8vo. 15. The plates in the later numbers of this interesting work, as well as the sections and plans, are executed with the same spirit that characterized the first. The Exchange, St. Bride's Church, Covent Garden by Jones, Mary-le-Bone, the Russel and London Institutions, Henry VIIth Chapel, Somerset House, &c. are among the later engravings, The text, as before, is concise, but contains all the information necessary. Specimens of Gothic Architecture and Ancient Buildings in England, &c. By John Carter, F.S.A. 4 vols. 16mo. 21.2s. Views in Australia, or New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, delineated. 4to. To be completed in 12 numbers, at 7s. HISTORY. The Greek Revolution, its Origin and Progress. Together with some Remarks on the Religion, National Character, &c. in Greece. By Edward Blaquiere, Esq. Author of an Historical Review of the Spanish Revolution, &c. 8vo. 128. An historian of Revolutions, like Mr. Blaquiere, has an arduous task to perform in these tines, when "the strife Between tyrants and freemen has spread through the world," and the nations on every side are asserting their claim to be considered as something more than the mere property of their rulers. The Spanish Revolution' was watched by Mr. Blaquiere with an observant eye, and the account of it given by him is the best which has yet been presented to the public. We would hope that the struggle of which he has now become the historian, may have a more successful issue-a hope which we are more readily inclined to indulge after a perusal of the narrative before us. When we I consider what has been already accomplished by the Greeks, and under what circumstances of difficulty and depression, we cannot but antici. pate a successful termination of the great conflict in which they are engaged. It is a matter of surprise and regret that the Greek cause should * not have excited more interest in England than it appears to have done; but the fact may perhaps be accounted for, when we remember the › vast and numerous political changes which have taken place, and are still taking place around us. The Neapolitan and Spanish Revolutions, and the Changes in South America, bave excited and en'grossed a degree of public interest which appears to have left little room for sympathy in the affairs of Greece. We were, therefore, gratified to observe the publication of the present volume, which is well calculated to throw much light upon the subject to which it relates, and to impress the reader with a strong feeling of the importance and justice of the Greek cause. Mr. Blaquiere has spent a considerable time in Greece, and the narrative before us contains the results of his personal observations and local inquiries. The History of London; or interesting Memorials of its Rise, Progress, and present State. By Sholto and Reuben Percy. 3 vols. 18mo. 16s. JURISPRUDENCE. A Discourse on the Study of the Laws. By the Hon. Roger North. Now first printed from the original MS. in the Har grave Collection. With Notes and Illus trations by a Member of the Inner Temple, The legal antiquarian is well acquainted with the name of Roger North, who has preserved in his Life of the Lord Keeper Guilford, and in his "Examen," a mass of curious information rela tive to the lawyers of his day--the worst period of our legal history. Roger North himself at tained considerable honours in his profession, being appointed Attorney-General to James II. and, owing to the kind instructions of his brother the Lord Keeper, was, it may be presumed, a lawyer of no mean learning. The present treatise, which may, perhaps, be considered as much the work of the Lord Keeper as of his younger brother, (so frequently is the authority of the former cited,) displays an intimate acquaintance with the theory and practice of the old law, and may, upon the whole, be regarded as a curious and valuable accession to our stores of legal literature. The style of the author in this, as in his other works, is careless, rugged, and sometimes almost unintelligible. Numerous notes and illustrations are added by the editor, who has given some directions for a more modern course of study. A short memoir of the author, and a pleasing portrait of him, are prefixed to the work. MEDICINE, SURGERY, &c, On Injuries of the Spine and Thigh School of Great Windmill-street. By C. Bone, in two Lectures delivered in the Bell. 1 vol. 4to. 168. A short Treatise on the Section of the prostate Gland in Lithotomy. By C. Aston Key. 4to. 9s. MISCELLANEOUS. The Periodical Press of Great Britain and Ireland, or an Inquiry into the State of the Public Journals, chiefly as regards their moral and political Influence. 12mo. A much better book than this might be written on a subject so important. The periodical préss has become so powerful an engine, that a foll inquiry into its history, operation, and effects, would be highly desirable. The present volume, which was probably suggested by a late article in the Edinburgh Review, does not contain much real information on the subject, but is chiefly filled with the author's own speculations, which are not always of the wisest character, or the most impartial tendency. We may judge of the writer's principles when we find him defending the system of personal slander in which some of our newspapers indulge, and advocating the cause of the Beacon and the Sentinel. Although the newspaper press alone forms the subject of his pages, yet he cannot refrain from stepping out of his way to vituperate the Edinburgh Review. "It is hard," he observes, to say, whether the wild acts of the Revolutionists of France, or the wilder dreams of the writers in this Northern Luminary, have had the greater tendency to inflame the prejudices of the people, and to engender principles dangerous to the stability of the British empire !!?? The style of this volume is by no means good. What, for instance, will our readers think of Hunting the effusions of the press like a partridge on the mountains!" of Historical Sketch of the Progress Discovery, Navigation and Commerce, from the earliest records to the 19th cen tury. By William Stevenson, Esq. 1 vol. 8vo. 14s. A literal Translation of Drakenborch's Text of the 21st Book of Livy, with the Text, Ordo, Notes, and Variæ Lectiones, &c. 8vo. 8s. 6d. 12mo. "The Favourite of Nature," a tale which is or ought to be known to all novel readers, obtained for its author a reputation which, if not increased, was at least sustained by the publication of "Osmond." The most striking merit of hoth these novels was an energy of feeling, a strength of passion, which worked upon the heart of the reader, and commanded his sympathies in no common manner. The death of Eliza Rivers, in the former work, is one of the most affecting scenes with which we are acquainted. In the present volume the author has abandoned her most powerful weapons; and in exemplifying the milder virtues of patience, resignation, and piety, has lost much of the interest which attached to her ardent delineations of the stronger passions of the heart. The "Trials" of the heroine arise out of the miseries of an union with a weak-minded and thoughtless man, who involves himself and his wife in distress and ruin; and though the sweet temper and noble conduct of Matilda are painted with a clever pencil, yet the interest of the reader is never excited in a very lively manner, We cannot but object, also, to the frequent introduction of much highly-wrought religious sentiment, which does not appear calculated to produce a good impression. We are actually favoured in the last volume with a considerable portion of the sermon of a reverend divine. Castle Baynard, or the Days of John; a Romance." 8vo. 8s. Ourika; a Tale from the French. 12mo. 3s.deal tub , Incg3t9 e ti se Past Events; an Historical Novel "öf the 18th century. By the author of The Wife and Mistress."8 vols. 12mo. 17. Ts.huff sildn't oft do enoitertzulil We are so accustomed to the prose version of the Psalms in the fine language of the authorised translation, that attempts to render them, inte English verse have not in general met with thất success which might reasonably be expected. Fu The truth, the ports who have undertaken the task have more frequently been qualified for it by their zeal and picty, than by their poetical ta lents; and it still remains to be seen with what success the efforts of a poet of high genius exerted in such a cause would be attended. versions before us are evidently the production of a man of taste and ability; and when it is considered that they were written after the author had passed his eightieth year, they must certainly be regarded as an extraordinary instance of mental vigour at so advanced a period of life. The versification is always easy and flowing, and many of the Psalms are rendered into very bold and spirited metre. The Old English Drama; a Selection of Plays from the Old English Dramatists. No. I. The Second Maiden's Tragedy. crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. It is with pleasure that we notice the first number of a work which promises to be highly creditable to our literature. Many excellent dramas of the time of Shakspeare, of great rarity, are only to be met with in the cabinets of the curious; and it is principally with the view of introducing these plays to the notice of the public, that the present collection has been projected. It is at the same time proposed to mingle with these more obscure dramas, the principal and most deserving part of the plays in Dodsley's Collection, and thus to form a more complete body of English dramatic literature than has hitherto ap. peared in print. The present number contains a tragedy, now first printed from the MS. in the Lansdown Collection, and is one of the plays which escaped the hands of Warburton's cook. Whoever may be the author, it is a drama of very - considerable merit. The Bibliomaniac will notice the work before us with approbation, as a speci. men of very neat typography. The Silent River; a dramatic Poem. Faithful and Forsaken; a dramatic Poem. By Robert Sulivan. 12mo. This little volume will not, we feel persuaded, notwithstanding its unobtrusive shape, be overlooked by any true lover of poetry, who will at the same time regard it as the earnest and pro. mise of future, and even higher excellence. Mr. Sulivan has sought for inspiration where alone it is to be found-in the bosom of Nature, and in the recesses of the human heart. His descrip tions of natural scenery are at once simple, rich, and vivid ; and his delineations of human feelings and passions are no less faithful and pleasing. In "The Silent River" be has succeeded in throwing round a very few characters and a very simple story, an interest which a much more intricate machinery often fails to produce; it is, in fact, a highly affecting little tragedy. In "Faithful and Forsaken" there is a greater play of fancy, and per haps a greater richness of description than in the "Silent River," though, upon the whole, we feel inclined to prefer the latter poem. The character of Annabelle, the "faithful and forsaken," is, indeed, very beautifully drawn ; and the tender love which she still bears towards her unfaithful lover is most poetically described. Annabelle. "Must I not Remain your friend ?-This morn, while yet the sun O'erloaded with its luxury of roses. And then-and then-the thoughts of silly maids Posthumous Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Svo. Whatever may be the general impression as to the nature and effect of Mr. Shelley's speculative opinions, no one will, we think, deny his high and peculiar merits as a poet; and it is merely in that character that we shall notice the present collection of his writings, which is edited by his widow, who has added to it a preface, written in a very powerful and feeling manner. The great characteristics of Mr. Shelley's poetry are a very high and sometimes obscure imagination, a passionate attachment to the beauties of nature, and a wonderful grace and power of versification. The faithful and glowing pictures which his poems present of beautiful scenery and natural objects, to us give them their greatest charm. "His life," says Mrs. S. "was spent in the contemplation of nature;" and again, "Such was his love of nature, that every page of his poetry is associated in the minds of his friends with the loveliest scenes of the countries which he inha. bited." In his descriptions of flowers, and in the delightful illustrations which he derives from them, he is always most happy. The facilities of versification which Mr. Shelley possessed, have,” perhaps, led him to make too many experiments in metre, of which the present volume furnishes some instances. One of his longer poems is written very successfully in the terza rima. The following affecting lines were composed when "ill-health and continual pain preyed upon his powers, and the solitude in which he lived, par! ticularly on his first arrival in Italy, although congenial to his feelings, must frequently have weighed upon his spirits." Stanzas written in Dejection, near Naples. "The sun is warm, the sky is clear, The waves are dancing fast and bright, Like many a voice of one delight, With green and purple seaweeds strown; I see the waves upon the shore, Like light dissolved in star-showers, thrown ; I sit upon the sands alone, The lightning of the noon-tide ocean Is flashing round me, and a tone Arises from its measured motion, How sweet! did any heart now share in my emotion. "Alas! I have nor hope nor health, Nor peace within nor calm around, Nor that content surpassing wealth The sage in meditation found, And walked with inward glory crowned- Smiling they live and call life pleasure ;— To me that cup has been dealt in another measure. "Yet now despair itself is mild, Even as the winds and waters are; My cheek grow cold, and hear the sea Breathe o'er my dying brain its last monotony. "Some might lament that I were cold, " As I, when this sweet day is gone,......... Which my lost heart, too soon grown old, Insults with this untimely moan; They might lament-for I am one Whom men love not,-and yet regret, Unlike this day, which, when the sun Shall on its stainless glory set, Will linger, though enjoy'd, like joy in memory yet." We have not space to notice the longer poems contained in this volume, some of which are tinctured with the writer's peculiar views. In the first of them, "Julian and Maddalo," we fancy that an allusion is intended to the character and sentiments of the author and Lord Byron; and in this, and in other respects, it is a most singular. |