taineer is proverbially the soldier of Freedom in its wildest sense. That he has a true and perfect eye in this connection, we have only room to demonstrate by a single extract. So, also, in the truly magnificent and thrilling description of Suwarrow, forced away from the passage of the Naefels, leading his army of 24,000 men through a fresh and heavily-fallen snow, over terrible "mountains, which, as far as the eye could reach, leaned along the solemn sky," where "whole companies would slide together, with a shriek, over the edge of the precipices, and disappear in the untrodden gulfs below," there is certainly a power of description which no writer has surpassed. He not Nobody, then, will dispute with us, the power and distinctness of the effect produced. That Mr. Headley is an artist, all who have had an opportunity of judging with us, will agree. But a fault we have to find-that is, that he has carried the assured consciousness of this power to an unpleasant extreme. He has forgotten something of his birth-right of knighthood, in seeking for the reputation of artist." unfrequently sacrifices, the proportions and unity, to an overweening ambition to impress. He gives us too much of a good thing is too dramatic-gets up too many scenes-permits the Histrionic to show too apparently through the shadowy seeming of the enthusiast. He thus spoils some of his best pictures by demagogueing for effect. He is in danger of becoming rather the trained and calculating, than the involuntary artist. These are mistakes for a writer of his capabilities to fall into. We hope he will return with greater confidence to that entire abandon of manner which constitutes the striking element of popu larity in him. If he will do this, and lop off those superfluities and inaccuracies of style which sometimes deface his page, he will and must become one of our most permanently popular and effective writers. This last fault is rather the result of a characteristic recklessness, than any other cause, and can be easily amended. PAYNE'S UNIVERSUM, OR PICTORIAL WORLD: being a collection of engravings of views in all countries, portraits of great men, and specimens of art, of all ages and of every character. Edited by CHARLES EDWARDS. Vol. 1. London: BRAIN & PAYNE, 12 Paternoster Row. New York: CHARLES MÜLLER, 118 Nassau Street. A year's monthly issues of these engravings are before us, bound up in a manner-though our American binders are not famous for their work-quite fitted for the table of any gentleman, (or lady-paren thetically is it spoken, as it were in a whisper,) whose taste for externals surpasses his (or her) care for the contents. Having succeeded-skillfully, we think— in "cracking up" the cover, we prefer, in any further remarks, to dilate on the inside. We should care little to say anything of most of the engravings "On copper, steel, and wood, and Lethean stone. in which the present age is prolific-having formed, we confess, no great attachment for them. But we have had these by us so long, that we have become quite familiar with their faces, and may speak from acquaintanceship, at least, if not from admiration. The beautiful art of engraving has hardly improved since the century or two which furnished the compeers of Albert Durer. There is increased fineness, finish, nicety of touch, more skill in perspective, and a certain pervading dreaminess, which has an exquisite effect of its own, but there is not half the bold limning, striking power of contrasts, and general force of character. Of those, however, which the past year has produced, the "Universum"-which has been issued in monthly numbers, as it is to be in future-contains some of the finest. While all of them are good, many are of the first merit. The title-page shows that the plan embraces a very great variety. This first volume has sixty-four, making five monthly. Some of them are humorous. Of these, the "Blind Mother," and " Lizzy, you are not spinning, child" -in both of which the sunny-faced girl stops her household-wheel to listen to the whispers of her lover, while the old matron, who is guided only by her ears, gropes about to find out the cause of such cessation in domestic industry;-" The Catastrophe," a delicate feline, caught in a relentless trap, having succeeded in turning over a pan of cream-a kind of ecstacy into which we have ourselves helped such culinary depredators; "The Fast-Day," on which a pastor surprises a peasant family helping themselves to a bountiful dinner, and The Schoolmaster in Jeopardy"- -are the best. The last is really one of the best things we have seen. The angular, fusty, old Pedagogue, with spectacles, buckled shoes, bell-crowned hat and kneebreeches, vest" entirely buttoned up”—as was right-and coat large enough for the man with the seven-leagued boots-trying, in a general fright, to cross a narrow brook on a wide plank without falling off-makes a figure altogether unique and laughable. There are several very good landscapes, river and ocean scenes. Among the best, decidedly, are a new view of the Bay of Naples-which is beautiful always and from every point, though it can hardly be more so than the magnificent New York harbor"Amalfi," "Drachenfals" on the ever-glorious Rhine; a hushed pausing of Catholic boatmen as the "ave Maria" steals over the water; a wild Polar scene of whalers attacked in their boats by shoals of white bears-which are accustomed to swim out miles at sea; and "The Land's End," where the heavy and dark waters of the Atlantic roll in upon the iron-bound coasts of Cornwall. The engravings of Cathedrals are quite beautiful, especially of those in Cologne and Strasburg. There is a full-length statue of Mozart-very noble ;-a spirited, full-length of Otho, king of Greece, in a rich, Suliote dress-somewhat idealized, we should judge; a fine, thoughtful face of Schiller, another of Lord Nelson, and several effective fancy pieces. But quite the best things of this kind, and perhaps in the volume, are a figure of Goethe, in an antique, flowing robe, reclining on an old Roman wall, and looking off, as it were, into the world of his own creations-and a youthful face of the Scottish Burns, with that eye which Walter Scott, who in his boyhood saw the poet, declared was such as he never beheld in any other human head. The letter-press illustrations are very unequal in merit, though mainly satisfactory since the chief interest lies in the objects illustrated. We eschew, however, those which are" done into verse." On the whole, we are greatly pleased with these engravings, and think they will obtain, as they demand, an extensive circulation. To this end their very low price is in their favor. What shall we say of this authoress ? That she has genius? But we all know that this word means a great deal-has, in fact, almost an infinite significance. Of twenty for whom it has been claimed-by their friends, or oftener by themselvessince Homer wrote, probably not one has really possessed it. Nature is sparing of such peculiar gifts. But then she scatters over many minds light, lightness, grace, earnestness, the touches of passion, the solemnities of deep self-consciousness; and of these qualities Mrs. Osgood has such a share as places her among the acknowledged female authors of the country. We shall quote some passages in proof of what we have said. Some lines from the first "To the Spirit of Poetry," are chapiece, racteristic of her more serious tone. Thou that cam'st to me in my dreaming childhood, Shaping the changful clouds to pageants rare, Peopling the smiling vale, and shaded wildwood, With airy beings, faint yet strangely fair; Telling me all the sea-born breeze was saying, While it went whispering thro' the willing leaves, Bidding me listen to the light rain playing Its pleasant tune, about the household eaves; Tuning the low, sweet ripple of the river, Till its melodious murmur seem'd a song, A tender and sad chaunt, repeated ever, A sweet, impassion'd plaint of love and wrong! Leave me not yet! Leave me not cold and lonely, Thou star of promise o'er my clouded path! Leave not the life, that borrows from thee only All of delight and beauty that it hath! "Lenore" is a specimen of delicate and unique versification. The language, also, accords finely with the measure. The only fault is the use of several wrong accents. The same fault is to be found in the succeeding piece, which is otherwise exceedingly beautiful. Biographical and Critical Miscellanies, by WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT. New York, Harper & Brothers. We are very well pleased to see the movement of a mind like Mr. Prescott's in lighter works than those which he has before acknowledged to the public. With most of them, it is true, we had been familiar, as they are all but one taken from early volumes of the North American Review; but we did not know their paternity. They are principally reviews of books and literary characters. Charles Brockden Brown, Irving's Grenada, Cervantes, Walter Scott, Brancroft's United States, Molière, Scottish Song, and the Poetry of Romance of the Italians, form the principal subjects. Mr. Prescott's style in these critical essays is not of the slashing order of most modern reviewers. It has not the loud tone of a man who means to be heard, like Macaulay's-nor the studied sneer of Jeffrey'snor the unstudied but severer wit of Sidney Smith's-nor the cutting of fine flesh with a coarse knife, like Gifford's and Lockhart's -nor the dashing, designed, uncertain, abandoned mingling of gentleness and brute force-like a tame bull among mirrors-that characterizes Kit North. Perhaps, indeed, it may be said that Mr. Prescott's critical style has not the point, variety and brilliancy that are most effective, and therefore, most desirable in such writings. But it has nearly all the singular purity and grace, joined with a certain equable strength like the flow of a full river-that belong to his historical works; and, besides, an evident sincerity that does not always appear in the feats of the truculent badger-baiters above-named. This last quality is in truth The History of Silk, Cotton, Linen, Wool, and other fibrous substances, including Observations on Spinning, Dyeing and Weaving; also an Account of the Pastoral Life of the Ancients, Social State, and Attainments in the Social Arts. With Appendices on Pliny's Natural History; on the Origin and Manufac ture of Linen and Cotton paper; on Felting, Netting, &c. Illustrated by Steel Engravings. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1845. The above title, which is given in full, sufficiently proves the very great value of the work. It is crowded with the most curious and useful information, and on topics which are constantly attracting more of the attention of this country. The proficiency, still more the processes, of the ancients, in the useful arts-especially in the culture and manufacture of silk, cotton and linen-are very little known. History has been, in this respect disastrously partial. The author, in his preface, remarks justly and well to this point. The book is a most interesting and important one to all in this country who are engaged, or engaging, in the culture of silk, cotton and flax. This class, especially of silk and flax growers, is becoming larger every day, and they ought to lay hold of whatever sources of information are opened to them. They cannot fail to find this volume worth to them its full price. It is even curious and interesting matter to the general reader. The book is every way well executed, with fine paper and ample illustrations. We recommend it to the agricultural and growing West. 66 There are several other books on our table, of which we designed to speak, but must forbear at present from want of space. Among them are, "The Border Wars of New York." The Life and Times of Henry Clay, Vol. ii.” "Mrs. Hewitt's Poems," from Ticknor & Co., Boston; "Father Ripa's Residence at the Court of Pekin; and " Junkin on the Oath," from Wiley and Putnam; with other volumes of their Series; "Hoffman's Poems;" "Parker's Aids to English Composition," &c., from the Harpers, as also several Nos. of their really cheap, valuable and complete maps, executed by the Cerographic art. No subject, of a national interest to us, within the last twenty years, has elicited so various and contradictory opinions, as the character and value of the western coast of this continent, and the question of territorial possession in a portion of those regions. When it was made a matter of diplomatic correspondence, under the administrations of Monroe and Adams, it lay under the disadvantage of not being sufficiently understood. Within the last two years, it has arisen to public interest under the still greater disadvantage-the greatest that can befall a national question-of becoming, to an alarming degree, a field for partisan excitement and warfare. A few words on this point will not be out of place. The more sober and reflecting portion of the people-remembering, simply, that in two or three distinct negotiations our government have apparently compromised the question, offering a division of claims and a definite boundary line-had been nearly unanimous in supposing England to have, in the case, actual inherent rights of territorial possession, a paramount title to a part of the country. The ground of this conclusion was quite reasonable; for it was hardly to be supposed that so many commissioners and ministers, on the part of the United States and of England, could have conferred so often without settling the question, in its broader merits, beyond the possibilty of dispute-certainly beyond the possibility of being discussed, in the end, by positions differing in such important respects from those first assumed and for a long time vigorously defended. Those, on the other hand, who have for some twenty years practiced deepening of their • I. The History of Oregon and California, and the other Territories on the Northwest Coast of North America. With Documentary Proofs and Illustrations. By Robert Greenhow, Translator and Librarian to the Department of State. New York: Appleton & Co. II. History of the Oregon Territory. By Thomas J. Farnham. New York: William Taylor & Co. III. The History of Oregon-Geographical and Political. By George Wilkes. New York: William H. Collyer. IV. The Oregon Question; or a Statement of the British Claims to the Oregon Territory. By Thomas Falconer, of Lincoln's Inn, London. V. Documents accompanying the President's Message: Correspondence of the De partment of State. VOL. III.-NO. II. 8 voices with shouting for the "largest liberty"-which means, in effect, the liberty of progressing, in whatever way, outside both of the Constitution and the Country-having found the Texas affair (in which nearly every step was in violation of some law, legislative or international) to prove an easy transaction, "easy as lying," and of great popular effect-set up forthwith the similar cry, and for the same purposes, "the whole of Oregon!" On the other side of the Atlantic, again, the English and French Journals, and the talking mass of the English people, spoke confidently of the preponderance of British claims in all the Pacific region north of the Columbia. But did either part of the community in this country, or the journalists and political talkers of Great Britain, give forth their opinions on any grounds of knowledge in the premises? We confidently affirm not. We dare assert-without fear of finding ourselves in error, could the truth be known-that not a hundred persons in America, not fifty in Europe, till the publication of Mr. Greenhow's book, and not many times that number till the appearance of the late Diplomatic Correspondence, were aware of the various grounds, on which the claims of either nation are supported, in any degree warranting the constant positive assertions made on every side, that the United States had, or had not, a superior title to the entire extent of Oregon. A few historical facts were familiar to every one. The voyaging of the old Spaniards along the Pacific coast, the subsequent explorations of English navigators, the discovery of the Columbia by a Captain Gray, an American, the expedition of Lewis and Clark, the Nootka Sound Convention; that Spain had made over all her claims to us, that we had a shadowy claim, it was thought-though few could explain how-through the purchase of Louisiana, that the language of the Nootka treaty seemed to recognize for England certain positive territorial rights, and that we had afterwards, in two or three negotiations, made offers that implied a compromise-which offers, how ever, were not accepted; these, and some other points, were generally agreed upon. But how these discoveries, treaties, offers, did actually affect the ultimate right and title to that immense region between the Rocky Mountains and the Ocean was by no means understood, except by a few diplomatists, congressional or parliamentary debaters, and delvers in matter-of-fact history—and by most of these to an extent not equal to the perplexities of the subject. The great body of the politic-mongers-defenders of national honor-enjoyed extraordinary freedom of speech, from the unusual limits of misapprehension afforded them. This thorough confidence of knowing in the thorough absence of knowledge, was not, perhaps, to be wondered at. It certainly was not first displayed by the public on this subject. The leaders of popular opinion, when a national question arises, are obliged to appear informed. The public dislike to appear uninformed. The former, accordingly, forthwith declare the subject-as the clown said, in the Old Play-" enveloped in great light." The latter swear by their leaders, and imagine themselves illuminated. It This general ignorance, however, on the subject of Oregon, was not in reality a matter of surprise. The question was eminently complicated, as well as far removed from the common view. demanded, for an adequate understanding of its merits, not only much investigation among obscure historical documents, but a very thorough acquaintance with the principles of international law. Most evidently the opinions of the mass, under these circumstances, could only be entertained at second-hand. But before the appearance of Mr. Greenhow's book no opinions sufficiently guarantied by authorities were before the public at large. Not but that the knowledge displayed, and the expositions presented, by the American Plenipotentiaries and leading Statesmen in the earlier Discussions, -from 1818-19, the date of the Florida Treaty, to 1827 when the final convention of joint occupancy was signed-were very full and evincing great ability. The management of our claims by Mr. Rush, for some years resident at the Court of We take this occasion to say of Mr. Greenhow's volume, that it is, in all respects, the most valuable work which has appeared, on the subject of the Pacific Coast and the Oregon question. We do not agree with all its representations, geographical and historical, nor always with its deductions on disputed points; but it is replete with infor mation, and its statements are candidly and clearly presented. No one can do without it who wishes to obtain a full knowledge of the subject. |