Chapter XV (3)

The Vegetarians lately held a meeting in London, under the presidency of Mr. Brotherton, M.P. There were about 400 persons present; as many women as men; a great many children, and a great many Quakers; and as in that country people dine _a propos_ of everything, even when they only live on vegetables, there was a banquet of Vegetarians. We have no need to say that the flesh of all kinds of animals was rigorously excluded; the bill of fare consequently could be neither so brilliant nor so full of variety as those of Guildhall or the Hotel de Ville. These was only little pies of mushrooms, toasted bread and parsley, rice cakes, _blanc mange_, cheese tarts, and all sorts of pastry. The desert was composed of raspberries, cherries, and preserves; the whole washed down with tea, milk, coffee, and iced water. After dinner there naturally came speeches. It is probable, from the bill of fare, that the speakers were in full possession of their _sang froid_; they have then no excuse for making, and it is not permitted for any one to make, after such dinners, such speeches as they delivered. If a speech be inevitable in an English banquet, there is also something inevitable in the speech, a quotation from the Bible. The Bible (we ask pardon for the expression on account of the circumstance) is served up with all sorts of sauce. The President of the Vegetarians, then, relied on the verse in Genesis, in which it is said: "And God said--Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed: to you it shall be for meat." That is very good, but something else is to be found in the Bible; and if the Vegetarians quote to us the 29th verse of the first chapter of Genesis, we may answer them with the 28th, in which God, after having created man and woman, said: "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth!" So much for the theological part of the question; but there remains the political part, that of economy and health. In a political point of view, the Vegetarians place their panacea above all others; according to them, society will not be regenerated until all men shall live on parsley and tapioca: "Passing in review," says the report, "all the plans of social reform, the Peace Congress, popular education, &c.," the chairman expressed the opinion that none of these plans attack the root of the evil, and that a reform in eating and drinking should precede all others, "For," said he, "a man who, from conscientious motives, shall abstain from the slaughter of animals, will not be guilty of murder of his fellow creatures." As to the economic part of the question, the Vegetarians are decided free-traders, decided partisans of direct exchange. "It has been proved," said the chairman, "that the nutritious quality of animals is derived from vegetables, and, consequently, men take their good second-hand." The Vegetarians declare then for the abolition of intermediaries and for direct consumption. As for health, the advantages of the vegetable system are presented to us under the most encouraging colors. Thus, the East Indians, the porters of Cairo and Constantinople, and in general a great part of the Orientals, never eat meat, and yet they are the finest types of the human race. The Russians eat black wheat, the Scotch oats, and they are very industrious laborers. To this it may be answered, that if the Orientals eat little or no flesh, it is probably for them an affair of temperature as well as of temperament; that the conditions of health are not the same in all countries; that if the peasants of the North do not eat meat, it is probably because they cannot get it; if the English army were fed on rice, oats, and milk, instead of roast beef and beer, we should be curious to know the results of the _regime_. But that does not prevent men from being in good health by indulging in an enormous consumption of parsley; that herb is only fatal to parrots. The chairman of the Vegetarians, Mr. Brotherton, is a living proof of it. For forty two years he has followed the vegetable _regime_, and he affirms that it suits him. There was also in the meeting an American, who came expressly all the way from Philadelphia, and who had belonged to the fraternity for forty years. He declared that he enjoyed the best health, that he had five children, all well, that his children had married vegetarians, that he had twenty-one grandchildren, who could never be made to taste meat. There is in the society _one_ member of parliament, and, we may perceive sometimes, that the others do not live on raspberries and cream; there is a magistrate, before whom there will be no necessity of appealing to Philip Sober; there is an alderman, and we hope that he was not the other day at the Hotel de Ville; there are 21 medical men, but they are there for the sake of experiment; there are ten members of the clergy, but that is not many; there are ten literary men--alas! it is, perhaps, not their fault! And there are 50 lawyers, 26 merchants, 11 fundholders, 871 workmen--in all 718, of whom 513 are men, and 205 female. We remember having seen at Paris an Englishman who made a very large fortune by selling pills entirely composed of extracts of vegetables. A caricature once represented his patients in full flower, that is covered with carrots, turnips, and potatoes, proving the success of the medicine. Perhaps we shall see it proved that it is forbidden to men to eat animals, and we do not despair of seeing it proved that it is permitted to animals to eat men.

_Authors and Books._

The magazine literature of Germany is quite different from ours, a fact which generally speaking is not to its discredit. Indeed there are several periodicals in Germany which may be compared with the best English magazines for their varied excellence, while their cost is comparatively trifling. Among these are the _Deutsche Monatschrift_, a republican monthly, edited by ADOLF KOLATSCHECK, and published at Stuttgart; and the _Grenzboten_, a weekly, of conservative and constitutional opinions, edited by GUSTAV FREYTAG, and JULIAN SCHMIDT, and published at Leipzig. The American reader of these two periodicals, will have an excellent apprehension of the general scope and tendencies of current thought in Germany, as well as some knowledge of the new books as they make their appearance. Those who wish a convenient and cheap mode of becoming acquainted with the productions of German novelists, may find it in the _Illustrirtes Familienbuch_, (Illustrated Family Book), published monthly at Treves. This is mainly made up of romances by the best writers of the day; there is also a department for artistic criticism, but it is not very good. The engravings are tolerable.

* * * * *

German Poets are prolific just now. Mr. HOPPL has brought out a volume at Stuttgart, full of suppressed tears and melancholy miseries. He is unloved and unappreciated, and must, therefore, have a bad time in this dreary and woeful world. Of a similar strain is the second edition of CARL AUGUST LEBRET'S _Gedichte_, likewise published at Stuttgart; if anything he is more pitiable and stupid than Hoppl. ADOLPH GLASSBRENNER, of Berlin, serves up poems of another sort, in his freshly printed third edition. He is known to every reader of current German literature as a comic writer of no small ability, and these poems prove his talent. They are mostly political in their tendency, and are good of their kind. _Dunkles Laub_ (Dark Leaves) is a youthful poem of Mr. _Frederik Ruperti_, published at Bremen. It recounts the awful experiences, and spiritual and other struggles of the author's youth. He suffers especially from an unhappy passion, and is apparently convinced that the man never lived who endured so much. Still, he shows great poetic ability, and now that his youth is disposed of something may be hoped from him.

* * * * *

FREILIGRATH, the German poet, is the subject of a searching, yet mildly expressed criticism, in that excellent periodical, the _Grenzboten_, of Leipzig. The writer finds that he is superficial in feeling, without a genuine sense of poetic melody, and not remarkable for mental power.

* * * * *

A tenth edition of BROCKHAUS'S _Conversations-Lexicon_ is now passing through the press. The first edition was published in 1796. Of the fifth edition, which appeared in 1818, 32,000 copies were sold; of the seventh (1826) 27,000; of the eighth (1832) 31,000; of the ninth (1843) 30,000. The supplementary works issued between the editions, and devoted to current matters, have also had a large sale. Of _the Conversations-Lexicon der Neuesten Zeit und Literatur_, (4 vols. 1832-34) 27,000 copies were sold; of the _Conversations-Lexicon der Gegenwart_ (4 vols. 1838-1841) 18,000; and the _Gegenwart_ which is now appearing is also sold largely. The new edition promises to be written in the same spirit of moderation and liberalism as its predecessors, but if the articles of the _Gegenwart_ afford an indication, it will be more "progressive" and radical, and less careful to satisfy all parties.

* * * * *

An excellent German critic says of the preface to LAMARTINE'S _History of the Restoration_, that it is as coquettish as everything in the historic way that has come from Lamartine's pen of late years. He coquets with the conflict of his own understanding and sentiments. His heart still beats for the ancient dynasty; his mind decides for the republic--a very serious state of things, not only for a statesman, who is called to share in the immediate development of affairs, and who can never arrive at unity of action, as long as feeling and reflection impel him to different courses, but also for the historian. Lamartine, says the writer, is a remarkable example of that mixture which is often found among the French, of fantastic sentimentality, and frivolous, superficial reflection. He is especially remarkable, because he has converted this mixture, of which in most cases, the person is unconscious, into a sort of system, and justifies it accordingly. The understanding says Yes, the heart says No, but both speak vivaciously and clearly, showing that he has them both in a high degree. This consoles him for the want of harmony between the two; he never thinks that in such harmony the reality of both consists.

* * * * *

ROBERT PRUTZ, the well-known German historian, has just made his appearance as a novelist with a romance in three parts, called _Das Engelchen_ (The Little Angel). A large portion of it has been previously published in the _Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung_, where it has excited a profound interest. From the author's previous achievements as a lyric and dramatic poet, his success in this new sphere is only what was to be expected. The Little Angel is a novel of modern society.

* * * * *

_Zwrei Monate in Paris_ (Two Months in Paris), by ADOLPHE STAHR, is published by Schulze in Oldenburg. Lest our readers should infer from the name of the author that this is a political work of solid character, we subjoin the following remark by a German reviewer, "Written in a light, easy, careless vein, this work helps to augment the already colossal pile of books relating to Paris, but is by no means such as we should have expected from the representative of the Prussian revolution. Nay, it has been already surpassed by two recent and similar productions--the one by a lady, a little art-criticism, a little literature, a few theatrical items, a _bal mabille_, a visit to Heine, and the sketch of a meeting of workmen, with their songs, all written in that tolerably piquant, lively style, with which we have however of late been surfeited, form a book, agreeable enough, it is true, but not such as we should, in these earnest, serious times, have expected from such a writer." The American reader may however draw a very different conclusion from that of this "earnest and serious reviewer."

* * * * *

The last lesson usually taken by the student of ancient art is that in gems--cameos, intaglios, and the like--a fact the more surprising since nine-tenths of the spirit of classic life and beauty is thus extant in miniature. The Venus di Medicis and the Apollo Belvidere, the Parthenon and the Temple of the Winds--every variety of mosaic, and half-obliterated scrap of fresco are familiar to the dilettante, ere he reflects over the incredible grace, beauty, and spirit displayed in the exquisite design of nearly every classic gem. Those, however, who have learned to appreciate this department of ancient art, will welcome the appearance of KOHLER'S _Gesammelte Schriften_, (and the collected essays of H. K. E. KOHLER), forming the best work known on this subject. In it we find, treated in a masterly manner, all the intricate methods of judging of ancient gems with modern inscriptions, gems of an uncertain era, and modern imitations of ancient cutting. The "darker side" of the work consists of violent and unmerited attacks on rival writers. Published by Leopold Vossin, Leipzig.

* * * * *

Among the cheapest and most attractive books for children which we have met with are the recently published _Munich Bilderbuecher_, or picture-books, consisting of thin folios of all manner of neatly-designed fancies, many of them by eminent artists. They contain fairy tales, humorous sketches, historical illustrations, and a vast number of pictures in the well-known _Slovenly Peter_ style, but far more attractive. Many are colored, and the publisher has judiciously printed a number on thick, parchment-like paper, well adapted to withstand the wear and tear of the nursery.

* * * * *

Books are no longer written in Latin. For literature and learning that good old language has finally given way, in almost every country, during the present century. In the United States there have been produced some fifty volumes in Latin since the Revolution, nearly all of which are by foreigners. The Life of Washington, by Francis Glass, a western schoolmaster, is the most considerable contribution to Latin literature by a native American. In Europe only a few pedantic churchmen continue to write to dead nations, and it is perhaps well enough that they should do so, since scarce any of them have fit thoughts for the living age, or for tongues that have been used by free and thinking men. We find an exception to the prevailing law in _De Caroli Timothei Zumptii Vita et Studiis Narratio August. Wilh. Zumptii_. Every body is familiar with the name of Zumpt as that of one of the most learned Latinists of the last half century, and it is appropriate that his life should be written in a language to the study and illustration of which it was almost entirely devoted. The Lives of Hemsterhuys by Ruhnken, of Ruhnken by Wyttenbach, and of Wyttenbach by Mahne, have long been the delight of scholars, and have furnished some of the best specimens of modern Latinity. Zumpt will not take rank among philologers with these great lights of the eighteenth century, but he rendered services to learning which will deserve a memorial, and in moral qualities he was not inferior to any of them. He became in succession a teacher in other Gymnasia in Berlin, and ultimately Professor of History in the Military College, and of Latin Eloquence in the University. He published the first edition of his celebrated _Grammar_ in 1818, and it soon became known throughout the civilized world. Of his other publications the most considerate is his edition of the _Verrine Orations of Cicero_; his _Dissertations on the Population of the Ancient World, De Legibus Judiciisque Repetundarum_, and several others, show that he was well versed in antiquities, but grammar, criticism, and style were his proper field. Wolf pronounced himself and Zumpt the only men in Berlin who could write Latin. His incessant labors undermined his constitution, and brought on a premature decay; and for some time before his death he had become entirely blind. He died at Carlsbad in 1849.

* * * * *

A third edition of THIBAUT'S well-known work, _Uber Reinheit der Tonkunst_, with a preface by the Minister R. Bahr, and a portrait of Palestrina, has just made its appearance, from the establishment of the well-known publisher Mohr, of Heidelberg.

* * * * *

A new course of _Proces Celebres_ is to be published by Brockhaus, of Leipsic. Number one contains the _Proces du Comte et de la Comtesse Bocarme_.

* * * * *

_Remak Rob. Untersuchungen ueber d. Enturckelung der Wirbelthiere_, Berlin, 1851. All who are interested in theories of the development of organic life will welcome the appearance of this work, which has been received with cordial approbation by the most eminent German physiologists. This second volume is devoted to the development of "the chicken in the egg," and is illustrated with seven admirable copper-plates. Notwithstanding the researches of Everard Horne, Ratke, and others into this department, this work of Remak's is distinguished by an even more accurate and detailed examination of phenomena, and it may confidently be classed among the first of the age. This is the opinion of _The Centralblatt_. The engravings are by Haase. This Robert Remak is the brother of Gustav Remak, an eminent German lawyer in Philadelphia.

* * * * *

In the _Archives for the Study of Modern Languages and Literature_ we observe a paper by one G. JAP, entitled, _Why does the English Language, in its acquisition and combination of new words, rather incline to the classic tongues than the copious and flexible German element?_ To which we may answer, "Alas, _why_, indeed?" Why is not the study of the Saxon Testament generally introduced? and why are not school-boys familiarized with the older forms of our own language--as they are in Germany made to study the Neibelungen Lied, and Wackernagel's Reader? We can imagine no argument in favor of a study of Greek which might not be with equal force applied to Saxon and good _old_ English.

* * * * *

A work has recently appeared in Breslan bearing the title, _The Higher Classes, as they are, and as they should be_, by Count ARNIM BLUMBERG: _written in the month of February, 1851_. That the aristocracy of Germany at the present day are far from being the practical philanthropists which they should be is beyond a doubt, but that they will become such by inspiring them with piety, in the unfortunate, melancholy sense in which that word is generally taken at the present day on the continent, is still more doubtful. _Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord_, is piety in America--something contrasting remarkably with the mystical and world-renouncing _pietismus_ of modern Germany.

* * * * *

A second "completely renewed and greatly increased" edition of BERTHOLD AUERBACH'S _Deutsche Abende_, or German Evenings, has been published by Bassorman, of Mannheim. Auerbach is in this country rapidly attaining the popularity which was held a few years since by Zschokke. Apropos of the latter, we remark a neat and very cheap edition of all his works, now publishing by Sauerlaender, of Aarau.

* * * * *

One of the most important architectural works which has ever made its appearance is now being published by Meissner, of Hamburg, bearing the title _Denkmaler der Bankunst aller Zeiten und Lander_ (Monuments of the Architecture of every Era and Country), by JULES GAILHABAND, and published for Germany under care and contribution of Dr. Franz Kugler. The literary and artistic excellence of the original work is too well known to render description necessary, and its improvement is guaranteed from its being under the care of Kugler, who is perhaps better qualified, aesthetically, for such a task, than any German, or indeed any one living. The 197 and 198 _livraisons_ which now appear, contain engravings of the Chateau Chambord in France, the Mosque of Hassan in Cairo, the Temple of Gerschen in Nubia, the Baths of Caracalla, sketches of bridges of the middle ages, the Palace of Strozzi, and many others. In connection with this we may mention the _Entwurfez Land-und. Stadt Gebauden_, or Sketches for Domestic Architecture by F. W. HOLZ, a work which may be commended as _suggestive_ rather than practical, but still on that very account to be commended to young architects desirous of developing their creative powers.

* * * * *

Without wishing to render aught save honor to all who diligently pursue the minutest departments of science, we are still at times reminded, by occasional works, of the professor who was honored as one inspired by "a full German blood and a Fatherland's spirit," for a book--the result of thirty years' unwearied application--on bigamy and polygamy among grasshoppers. We are irresistibly reminded of this anecdote by a "preliminary notice" of some thirty odd years' observations of "certain varieties of thrushes," which are shortly to appear in an ornithological magazine at Stuttgart.

* * * * *

Among a mass of Lutheran Church literature recently published in Germany, we observe VOGEL ERNST GUST'S _Bibliotheca Biographica Lutherana, Ubersicht der zedruckten Dr. Martin Luther betreffenden biograph. Schriften, id est_, (Gustavus Ernst Vogel's Biographical Lutheran Library: a notice of all the printed works extant referring to the life of Dr. Martin Luther.) This work will be found extremely interesting to all readers of the History of the Reformation, since it embraces notices of many important works which might otherwise escape attention.

* * * * *

A work interesting to those who like to follow out the different political trains of thought developed in these "working" times, has recently been published by Rumpfer of Hanover, bearing the title. _The Excellence of a Constitutional Monarchy for England, and its inapplicability to the other countries of Europe_.

* * * * *

The German critics notice an increased interest in what relates to Art and Literature in the Middle Ages. Among other singular but interesting works, we observe the commencement of a series of "Manufacturing or Trade Chronicles" of that time, containing "researches into the mediaeval sources and archives of many German cities, and consisting of items never before printed," published at St. Gall, in Switzerland, by Scheitlin and Zollikoffer. As Switzerland is eminently the country wherein the ancient _guilds_, or business associations of the Middle Ages, have longest continued in their original form, we may remark a peculiar appropriateness in the fact that such a work should there make its first appearance. This volume consists of _The Chronicles of the honorable Association of Butchers_. Also, the publication of a manuscript, _Thetmari magistri, iter ad Terram Sanctum_, 1217, (Thetmar's Journey to the Holy Land, in 1217,) by Huber & Co., of St. Gall: edited by T. TOBLER. With which we would cite _Koninc Ermenrikes Duet_. The death of King Ermenrich, an old Flemish Song and Legend of Theodoric, discovered with notes, by Jac. Grimm, Hanover: pub. by Ehlerman, price 15s. groschen. This work, which we have as yet not seen, has, however, been spoken of in terms of high praise, as "although in many places wanting, still excellent, as giving yet another glance into the rich vein of German Legendary, and Lyrical Life." Fault is, however, found with the publisher for a want of precision and accuracy. CONRAD SCHWENCK publishes through SAUNERLANDER, a "_Mythology of the Ancient German_" while the "_Origin of the three oldest cities on the Rhine_," namely, Mayence, Bonn, and Cologne, by Franz Ritter, is not without claims to interest.

* * * * *

One of the most exquisite artistic literary productions which has for years appeared in Germany, is that which has lately been published by RUDOLPH BESSER, of Hamburg, bearing the title, _Dr. Martin Luther, der Deutsche Reformator: In bildlichen Darstellunzen von Gustav Koenig; in geschichtlichen Umrissen von Heinrich Gelzer_. (Dr. Martin Luther, the German reformer: artistically illustrated by Gustavus Koenig, with historical sketches, by Henry Gelzer.) This is one of the works of which Protestant Germany may well feel proud, inasmuch as it has in every line the impress and spirit of national art. The entire work sets forth the artistic feeling which characterized the Nuremberg artists of the sixteenth century, and we are continually and irresistibly reminded, in turning over these exquisite engravings, of Albert Duerer, Cranach Wohlgemuth and Hans Sebald Beham. The work consists in a great part of short sketches and scenes from the life of Luther, illustrated, as the title implies, by the eminent artist Koenig, who, though an artist of Munich, is by birth a Coburger. From Munich he has, however, drawn all the learning and inspiration of the middle age and high Catholic art, the which knowledge he has however admirably and consistently applied to an eminently Protestant subject. Peculiarly in the modernised Duerer style, is one of the first engravings representing Luther as a boy singing for bread, (as is even yet the custom in some parts of Germany,) before the door of a house. Luther gives himself a naive account of this: "They say, (quoth Luther,) and truly, that the Pope himself hath been in his time a wandering student, therefore let us not despise the lads who beg before the doors '_panem propter Deum_', and sing for bread. Such an one have I also been, and received bread before the doors of houses, particularly at Eisenach, in mine own dear town." Very animated and expressive is also the scene representing Luther as accidentally coming upon a copy of the Bible for the first time in the University Library. In his left hand he holds a massy folio Aristotle, and near him lie tomes of scholastic philosophy and theology, while his eye with the rapid glance of intelligence and conviction peruses the history of _Anna_. This is in short a work which every patron of art will certainly obtain, nor will it prove less acceptable to the scholar and theologian from the graphic and excellent character of the literary matter.

* * * * *

_Deutsches Volkskalender auf das Jahr_, 1852. _Herausg, von Gustav. Nientz._ There are two works, which, generally speaking, are found in every Christian family--the Bible and--the almanac. The Almanac has in fact the greater antiquity of the twain, for in the remote East, as in Norway, it was universally published "for the million," on blocks of wood or stone, or on walking-canes, even in the days of paganism. And since it _is_ so generally distributed, would it not be well for some of our higher literati to take the matter in hand, and make it a medium for something better than criminal trials, quack advertisements, and similar subjects? This of Nieritz is well gotten up, and contains excellent contributions from Jer. Gotthelf, Karl Barth, A. Wildenhahn, Karl Simrock, and A. Grube. The best in the collection appears to be _The Broom-maker of Rychiswyl_, by Gotthelf. All of the engravings are admirable, and the work is published for "next to nothing."

* * * * *

An _Austrian Biographical Dictionary_ is now publishing, by Moritz Bermann, at Vienna; useful to students of history and politics.

* * * * *

In SWEDEN, is the title of two volumes of _Sketches of Travel_, by HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN, just published at Leipzic. They are replete with all the poetic charm and genial humor which his pen imparts to every subject it touches.

* * * * *

HENRICH ZEISE is a Danish novelist with whose works we have in this country no acquaintance, but who has just been introduced to the Germans by a translation into their language of his _Novels of Christian Winther_, which are praised by the critics as not only well written, but as affording an excellent idea of Danish social life. Zeise is the son of a country parson of Lolland; was born in 1796; and first distinguished himself by his fugitive poems, which in 1820 were collected in a volume. He travelled in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, and in 1832 published a collection of translations from the German poets and other writers. In 1835, he brought out a second series of his own poems, in which he abandoned to a great degree his previous popular style, and put on the manners of fashionable society. This was not a successful experiment. His novels are more recent; the best, _Osterie_, was published in 1843. In 1849 he translated _Reinecke Fuchs_ into Danish, preserving the original metre. He now has a pension from government, and lives at Copenhagen.

* * * * *

TEGNER, the great Swedish poet, is known to American and English readers through _Frithiof's Saga_ and Longfellow's translations of his _Children of the Lord's Supper_. A German version of his more recent writings is now making its appearance at Leipzic. The first number contains _Gerda_, a fragment of an unfinished heroic poem which is spoken of as very admirable, and a few little comic poems which are said to be charming. Adam and Eve figure in one of these.

* * * * *

HEINRICH VON ORTENBURG has published a second edition of his poetical tale, entitled _Nachtbluthen_--Night-blooms, or Night-flowers--and JOHN G. SEIDE, the Viennese, an increased edition of _The Songs of the Night_. The two will serve to bind up with _Voices of the Night_--though perhaps there _are_ German or Sclavonic poems that would better serve this purpose.

* * * * *

_Bomische Rosen, Czechische Volkslieder_ (Bohemian Roses, or National Songs), by IDA VON DURINGSFELD, and published by Kern, of Breslau, will undoubtedly attract the attention of the rapidly increasing circle of friends of Sclavonic literature. Also Sketches of Travel, by the same authoress, published by Schlodtmann, of Bremen.

* * * * *

An edition of _Hoffman von Fallersleben's Heimatklange_, or Regrets for Home, a collection of songs, has just made its appearance. Apropos of ultra-liberal political bards, we see that FRELIGRATH publishes the second volume of _Neuere Polit und Sociale Gedichte_, or Recent Political and Social Poems, by Schaub, of Duesseldorf. Freligrath's reputation as a poet appears to have much advantage from his persecution as a patriot.

* * * * *

The Italians were surprised lately by the announcement that the ex-minister GUERRAZZI, who is in prison awaiting trial for high treason, was about to publish _An Apology for his Political Life_, and that sheets of this Apology are from time to time forwarded to Signor Lami, Minister of Greece and Justice, who revises them, when they are returned to Guerrazzi for final correction. It seems incredible--altogether inconsistent with Italian policy--that a state prisoner should thus be suffered to pre-occupy the public mind with his defence. But the ministerial paper of the 8th of August indiscreetly solved the mystery with the following notice:

"The publisher, Lemonnier, at Florence, is now printing, and
will shortly publish a thick volume, containing 'The Apology
for the Political Life of Guerrazzi,' written by himself.
The announcement of this publication, is of a nature to
excite great curiosity; it will at the same time be a
thunderbolt to the Neo-Moderati, and the most conclusive
condemnation of their acts during the period Guerrazzi was
in power. Guerrazzi therein unpitifully and ably scourges
their political weaknesses, and their _portefeuille_
rivalries, which obliged the Grand Duke in the end to throw
himself into the arms of the democratic party. This book of
Guerrazzi's will be a peremptory reply to the
proudly-compiled apology of the Italian Constitutional
party, published by Messrs. Gualterio and Farini, and
especially to the base and calumnious imputations, directed
by the latter against our excellent and loyal Grand Duke, in
the recently published third volume of his work. Not only
will the Constitutionalists be denounced in the book of
Guerrazzi, but the intrigues of the Piedmontese Government
with regard to Tuscany will be exposed, as likewise those of
Sir G. Hamilton, British ambassador at Florence."

This certifies the publication to be a bargain between Guerrazzi and the Tuscan Ministry to give vent to their hatred of the Constitutional party and of Piedmont. Guerrazzi writes in prison, from prison sends to the printers, and the Minister acts as reviser. It is really an odd thing--but characteristic of Italian affairs, perhaps,--for a disgraced and impeached minister to buy his life by turning "States' Evidence." In better days such results were for rascals of a lower grade.

* * * * *

F. A. GUALTERIO brings out an account of the late Italian revolution--_Gliultimi Rivolgimenti Italiani, Memorie Storiche, con Documenti inediti_--the first part of which, in three large octavo volumes, only comes down to the accession of Pius IX. to the Pontificate. The work is published in Florence, and has made considerable sensation, especially in Tuscany and Piedmont. The publications on the subject that appear in Italy are of course all on one side. The other side is represented by a party, or by several parties, who are in exile, and the number of books published on Italy and Italian affairs, in London and in Paris, is very great: more than a hundred during the last year.

* * * * *

In Berlin we observe that Sigismund Wiese, the author of two pious plays, entitled respectively _Moses_ and _Jesus of Nazareth_, has put forth another pair of similar dramatic productions, bearing the names of the _Apostle Peter_, and _The Apostle Paul_. Whether this be a retrograde movement toward the ancient Bible mysteries of the middle ages, or whether the theatre in Berlin (as we should infer from certain recent curious works and movements) is actually undergoing a spiritual renovation, we have not as yet ascertained.

* * * * *

A work called _Essai de Socialisme Rationnel_, by M. COLINS, has appeared at Paris, where it is exciting some attention. It is dedicated to Emile de Girardin, though in the dedication the author declares his complete dissent from the doctrines of that eminent journalist. M. Anatole Leroy is reviewing it in a series of articles in _La Presse_. The motto of M. Colins is this: "What I understand by socialism is the abolition of all pauperism, whether moral relating to knowledge, or material relating to riches. I affirm that this socialism has become necessary to order, and that it can be established without disorder."

* * * * *

Pleasant reading is there in the _Memoires Pittoresques d'un Officier de Marine_, just published at Paris in two handsome octavos, with the name of Captain F. LACONTE as their author. The French in general are not great travellers, but the best narrators in the world. Our Captain adds to the reputation of his people in both respects. He tells the story of his adventures and experiences in out-of-the-way parts of the world with a gayety and _laissez-aller_ which charm the reader. For the rest, what he saw in the South Sea, in Russia, in Turkey, at Madagascar, was well worth the telling in such a style. When he prints another book we hope to hear of it.

* * * * *

A book which our students of belles-lettres should have is M. de la VILLEMARQUE'S _Poemes des Bardes Bretons du VIe Siecle_. It is an excellent proof of the thorough study now devoted to the early popular literature of France, whose richness, by the way, is not much suspected by the elegant scholars of other countries. M. de la Villemarque has treated his subject with equal conscientiousness and affection. He gives abundant specimens of the songs of the bards in the form of translations from the original Celtic into French. The work is concluded by some philological disquisitions of value to whoever wishes to study the Celtic tongue.

* * * * *

M. PERRYMOND, one of the most intelligent and learned staticians of France, has published a reply to Thiers's Report on Paupers and Public Charity: the title of PERRYMOND'S work is _Le Pain du Proletaire, ou le Commerce des Peuples_. It is socialistic.

* * * * *

The political and social theory of Mazzini, and especially his doctrine that the idea of duty, with the utter subjection of the individual to the general interest, is the sole base for society and government, is the subject of some vigorous and unmerciful essays in the _Journal des Debats_, by Alexandre Thomas.

* * * * *

A late number of the _Revue des Deux Mondes_, has an article by M. TAILLANDIER, on the Swiss popular poets, in which they are duly praised, and considerable extracts given from their writings. M. Taillandier thinks, however, that Switzerland is in serious danger of moral and mental corruption from the inroads of the Hegelian philosophy.

* * * * *

Those who wish in the briefest space to get an idea of the philosophical system of AUGUSTE COMTE, will find a valuable aid in some articles by M. ROMAIN CORNUT, now published in _La Presse_. M. Cornut proposes to give a succinct yet complete summary of all the teachings of the great Positivist.

* * * * *

A work has just begun to appear at Paris, which must excite the attention of every student of history, and claim a place in every library that pretends to any degree of completeness. It is a collection of the speeches and parliamentary reports of the principal French orators from 1789 to the present day. The first volume is published containing the speeches of MIRABEAU, with a biography and a great variety of critical notices of the great revolutionist and his career. The speeches of Robespierre will appear promptly, as well as those of Bussot, Vergniaud, Danton, Maury, Cazalles, &c. The price is seven francs the volume.

* * * * *

We have mentioned with the praise which we believe it deserved, the _History of the Protestants of France_, by G. S. FELICE, lately published by Mr. Walker. This work was simultaneously translated, by the author of Mr. Walker's version, and by a very accomplished woman whose labors that version made profitless. On the same subject we have from Lea & Blanchard, of Philadelphia, in two volumes, a _History of the Protestant Reformation in France_, by Mrs. MARSH, the authoress of "Emily Wyndham," &c. This work will be popular. Several years ago we read a _History of the Reformed Religion in France_, by Mr. SMEDLEY, published by the Harpers, who still, we believe, have it on their trade lists. It is quite as eloquently written, as dramatic, and in all respects as able as either of the others; and any of the three may be commended as not less engrossing than the last new novel.

* * * * *

The library of the poet Gray, which had been kept together in the family of William Penn, was at length scattered by a sale at auction, in London, on the 26th of August.

* * * * *

When M. GUIZOT, many years ago, published his "Collection of Memoirs relating to the History of the Revolution in England," in twenty-seven volumes, he added to that great work biographical sketches of the various authors whose works he had translated. Those biographical studies, carefully revised and corrected, with some that he had contributed to dictionaries, and others entirely new, are now collected into a volume of _Bohn's Library_ (New-York, Bangs & Brother), and, with the memoirs of General Monk, constitute a sort of gallery of portraits, in which personages of the most different characters appear in contrast--chiefs or champions of sects or parties, Parliamentarians, Cavaliers, Republicans, and Levellers, who, either at the termination of the political conflicts in which they were engaged, or when in retirement towards the close of their lives, described themselves, their own times, and the parts they played therein. M. Guizot has written the History of the English Revolution in these lives of the Revolutionists; for _all_ parties were revolutionary in those days--the Cavaliers by their denial of right no less than the Parliamentarians by their assertion of it. The studies are of Denzil Hollis, Edmund Ludlow, Thomas May, Sir P. Warwick, John Lilburne, Fairfax, Mr. Hutchinson, Sir Thomas Herbert, John Price, Lord Clarendon, Burnet, the Duke of Buckingham, Sir John Reresby, with notices of the _Eikon Basilike_, &c, and Memoirs of James II.--a sufficient variety to enable the author to exhibit all the facettes of the diamond.

* * * * *

At the distribution of prizes awarded to pupils in the various colleges of Paris, three or four weeks ago, the new Superior Council of Public Instruction, including MM. Thenard, Giraud, Daniel-Poinsot, and Ortila, attended officially at the Sorbornne: they were placed behind the Minister of Public Instruction, beside whom were M. Portalis, President of the Court of Cassation, and M. Saint-Marc Girardin, Secretary of the Council. The other members of the Council who assisted the Minister were M. Dupin, President of the National Assembly; M. Laplagne-Barras, wearing the magnificent dress of the superior officers of the Court of Cassation; Cardinal Gousset, seated, wearing the scarlet robe and hat of his office, &c. But the real hero of the solemnity was GUIZOT, who, on his entrance into the hall to resume his ancient place among the professors, was greeted with loud acclamations and the most respectful salutations, which were repeated still more warmly when the name of his son, William Guizot, was pronounced as of one of the prizemen.

* * * * *

A new novel, in two volumes, by EUGENE SUE, with the title of _Miss Mary;_ a tale by HENRI MURGER, called _Claude et Marianne_; and volumes iv. and v. of _Ange Pitou_, by ALEXANDER DUMAS, have just appeared in Paris.

* * * * *

The witty feuilletoniste, JULES JANIN, has published in a volume the letters he wrote from London during the Great Exhibition to the _Journal des Debats_. J. J., as everybody knows, is the most delightful journalist of art and society in the world, and all Paris anticipates the articles under his signature as a principal part of each day's satisfaction. Apropos of this new book of his, the London _Morning Chronicle_ says, "From the first line to the last, he has rioted in his own peculiar style--laughed, cried, sung, danced, in the same, and almost in every breath--jumped about in one page like a kitten catching its tail--and struck himself into an awful attitude of moral meditation, with an aspect as wise as Aristotle's, in the next--accomplishing all these literary feats by a most miraculous outpouring of words--capital words, fanciful, witty, fantastic, scholarly words--and jumbled, tossed, piled up on each others' backs--jerked this way and that--sharpened one against the other, glittering and gleaming, one by the aid of another--a perfect firework of words, Roman-candle sentences, and Catherine-wheel periods--rockets of epithets, and girandoles of antitheses!" But yet Janin's self-respect would not allow him to say that, in some instances, he has "sacrificed thought and sense, pith and shrewdness, to build up a barley-sugar temple of verbal prettiness, and to deck and wreath it with artificial flowers of rhetoric and of phraseology, which for a moment may seem to have smell, and sap, and savor, but which, upon closer inspection, too often reveal themselves in their true, and dry, and dreary substance of wire, and gauze, and calico."

* * * * *

One M. LEON DE MONTBEILLARD has published a work on SPINOZA. If that Philosopher has one characteristic more eminent than another, it is commonly supposed to be the precision and exactness of his logic. To say that Spinoza was a rigorous logician is a platitude, a truism. M. Montbeillard declines to walk in such a beaten path. He denies that Spinoza has any skill whatever in the science of reason, that he is a mere rhapsodist!

* * * * *

M. XAVIER SAURIAC, author of the Socialist tragedy entitled _The Death of Jesus Christ_, was lately tried, along with his two booksellers, for pernicious and insurrectionary doctrines put into the mouth of the Redeemer. They were heard by counsel, and the dramatist was admitted to plead at length; but the jury convicted the three, and the court inflicted long imprisonment, and fines.

* * * * *

MR. THEODORE MARTEN, a frequent contributor to the Edinburgh Review, and the author of the well-known _Bon Gaultier Papers_ in Tait's Magazine, has been married to the celebrated actress, Miss Helen Faucit Saville (best known without the last name).

* * * * *

THOMAS COOPER, author of the _Purgatory of Suicides_, &c., has been on a lecturing tour through Ireland and Scotland, lately, and has given an account of what he observed, in several letters to the London _Leader_. We copy from them a few paragraphs:

I had two hours delightful conversation with Mr. de Quincy,
at Lasswade, and was as deeply impressed with his
intellectual power in talking, as I was with his writing
when, in my boyhood, I read his "Confessions of an English
Opium Eater."

On my return from visiting Kirk Alloway, and the cottage of
Burns, I called on his remaining sister, Mrs. Begg, a highly
intelligent woman of eighty, who gave me some information of
an important character, as I deem it to be. Her daughter,
Isabella, was present while I had the short conversation
with her. I told her that I entertained strong doubts of the
truth of many things which were said about her illustrious
brother, and I wished to have the benefit of her own
personal knowledge respecting him. She replied that she
would have pleasure in giving me all the information in her
power. I told her that a person in Glasgow had declared to
me, the other day, that he believed all the accounts of her
brother's irregular life; for a friend of his had called on
Mrs. Begg lately, and _she_ had said that she had often seen
her brother sit at the table in a morning, after a night's
debauch, shading his face with his hand, while the big tears
of remorse were dropping on the board before him. Mrs. Begg
seemed moved painfully. "Nothing is more false," she
replied; "I never had such a conversation; and never could
say so, for I never saw my brother either drunk, or showing
any such feeling; nor did I ever know him to be drunk. It is
true, I saw but little of him in the latter part of his
life; but his son, who was with him almost constantly, told
me that he never saw his father the worse for liquor but
once; and then he was sick, but yet perfectly conscious. His
son also said, that though his father would come home late
during the latter part of his life, when they lived in
Dumfries; yet he was always able to examine bolts and bars,
went to observe that the children were right in bed and
always acted like a sober man. Besides," added the
intelligent old lady, "how was it possible that my brother
could be a drunkard, when he had so small an income, and
yet, a few weeks before his death, owed nobody a shilling?
That speaks for itself." Mrs. Begg furthermore confirmed
what I also learned in Glasgow from persons conversant with
those who had known every circumstance of the close of
Burns's life, that Allan Cunningham has sorely misstated
many matters. Burns did _not_ die in the dramatic style
which Allan tells of. Allan was never in Ayrshire in his
life; but had his materials from some old fellow who went
about poking into every corner and raking out every false
story about Burns. A writer in Glasgow, in whose company I
sat for a short time in the evening after I had delivered my
oration there on Burns, contradicted Allan Cunningham's
account of Burns's death, from personal knowledge--just at
the time when Allan's _Life of Burns_ appeared; but Allan
never took any notice of the pamphlet, and never corrected
the misstatement. Mrs. Begg said that she had seen the two
volumes of the new life of her brother, by Robert Chambers,
and the account was fairer than any she had seen before.

The name of the "Baroness VON BECK" has been familiar through the English reviews, during the last year or two, as the authoress of a book on the late Hungarian war. This woman turns out to have been no baroness, not even a "friend" of Kossuth, but a paid spy in the service of the National Hungarian Government, and lately a paid spy in the "recently established foreign branch of the English police force." She was on the thirtieth of August apprehended at Birmingham for obtaining money under false pretences, and died in the anteroom of the court, from a sudden affection of the heart, induced by the emotion caused by her detection. She had played a remarkable part. Her Memoirs were published by Bentley, and had a large sale, but they appear to have been written by another person. At the time of her arrest she was procuring subscriptions for a new volume descriptive of her pretended Adventures.

* * * * *

Mr. THACKERAY is writing a novel in three volumes, to be published in the winter. The scene is in England early in the eighteenth century, and among the characters will be Bolingbroke, Swift, and Pope; and Steele will play a prominent part. Mr. Thackeray has concluded to publish no more "serials," and we hope his new scenes and persons will suggest to him a little respect for human nature, which hitherto he appears to have regarded as a mere trick and imposture.

* * * * *

A pension of 200_l._ a year on the civil list has been conferred on Mr. Silk Buckingham. A pension of 200_l._ a year has also been given to Colonel Torrens, the author of several works on political economy. Mr. Buckingham had just obtained 400_l._ a year, as we have before mentioned, from the East India Company. It seems to us that these pensions can have but little to do with the "encouragement of literature."

* * * * *

The venerable poet JAMES MONTGOMERY will be eighty years of age on the fifth of November, and the people of Sheffield are preparing suitable honors for the occasion. A statue, to be set up in a conspicuous place, is talked of, and a general desire is felt that the festival which is proposed, and the honors which are to be given, shall be worthy of the man and the city.

* * * * *

A curious Diary of EDMUND BOHEN, a voluminous writer of the seventeenth century, has been discovered in Suffolk, England, his native county, and is about to be published under the editorship of S. W. RIX, of Beccles, author of the Fauconberge Memorial.

* * * * *

JOHN STUART MILL, we are advised by letters from England, is hereafter to be editor of the _Westminster Review_, which is now the grand organ of the socialists and disorganizers of society.

* * * * *