REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.

History of Charles VIII., King of France. By Count Philip de Segur, Lieutenant-General, Peer of France, Member of the French Academy, Author of “Napoleon’s Russian Campaign,” etc. Translated by Richard R. Montgomery. Two volumes, duodecimo. Philadelphia, Herman Hooker.

This work in its original language has been very popular, and some critics have deemed it the best of Segur’s productions. It is a history of France while that country was in the transition state between feudalism and centralism, and is written in the picturesque style of the old chroniclers.

Louis XI., the father of Charles, died in 1483. He had wielded the sceptre with strong hands, and given an extraordinary impulse to public affairs. It was therefore necessary that the government should be administered by an experienced person during the minority of the young king. There was a deep and pervading dissatisfaction in the country, especially among the nobles, who had been repressed by Louis, and were now anxious to reclaim their lost privileges. Anne of Beaujeu, the eldest daughter of the deceased monarch, and wife of the lord of Bourbon Beaujeu, had been selected by her father for the regency. She was not more than twenty-two years old, but at that early age was shrewd, resolute and dignified—the wisest and most beautiful woman of the realm. Her first act was the convocation of the Estates General at Tours, an event long celebrated on account of the ability and independence manifested by the deputies in their debates. She afterward undertook and accomplished the conquest of Bretagne—the great measure for which the regency was distinguished,—and finally, having maintained her position amid innumerable dangers, adding from year to year to her own and the national glory, resigned the government to Charles. A new policy was from that time pursued. The young king was ignorant and capricious, guided by his own mad impulses, or the wishes of intriguing courtiers, to whom he had given the places before occupied by gravest and wisest counsellors; and his reign, disastrous to France, prepared the way for the most important changes in European politics. A false notion of honor and the ambition of two favorites made him undertake the conquest of Naples. He succeeded, but instead of endeavoring to secure the permanent possession of that kingdom, gave himself up to a thoughtless voluptuousness, until a confederacy was formed which expelled him from Italy. After re-entering his own dominions his conduct and policy continued to be nerveless and vacillating. He seemed to regard the Neapolitan expedition as of slight importance, speaking of it as a series of passages at arms, a royal adventure which had resulted somewhat unfortunately; and never dreamed that the foolishly commenced and insanely conducted enterprise had destroyed the balance of power in Italy, taught the states of Europe to view with jealousy each other’s motions, and opened the way for the cultivation of those sciences and arts which civilized society and made men feel that they had other pursuits and pastimes than war. A short time before the close of his life a change came over his character; hitherto Cæsar had been his hero, and Charlemagne his model, but from the death of his third son, in infancy, he was ambitious to imitate St. Louis, and occupied himself with reforms in religion, legislation, and the administration of justice. How long he would have continued in his new career, but for his sudden death, cannot be known. He died in consequence of an injury, received in his magnificent château d’Amboise, in the year 1498.

Many eminent men flourished in France during this reign, among whom were the brave and intriguing Dunois; Philip de Comines, the celebrated historian and minister; La Tremouille, a principal actor in the Neapolitan expedition; Savonarola, the prophet priest of Florence; and others of less distinction.

The work of Segur is not alone interesting as a history of important political transactions; it contains numerous passages of a romantic description, characteristic of the age and its institutions, and written in a highly dramatic and picturesque style. The translation we doubt not is rigidly correct; but had Mr. Montgomery been less studious to render his original literally, his version would have flowed somewhat more smoothly, without losing any of its freshness or animation.

The Book of the Navy; comprising a general History of the American Marine, and Particular Accounts of all the most celebrated Naval Battles, from the Declaration of Independence to the present time; compiled from the best authorities, by John Frost, A. M., etc. One volume, octavo. New York, D. Appleton & Co. Philadelphia, Herman Hooker.

Mr. Frost has succeeded in his attempt to present the leading incidents in the history of our national marine in an attractive form. The Book of the Navy is one of those “books for the people” which awaken only patriotism, pride and emulation. The Appendix, containing selections of naval lyrical pieces and anecdotes, seems to have been prepared with less care than the historical part of the work. The best American naval songs are Edwin C. Holland’s “Pillar of Glory” and the “Old Ironsides” of Oliver W. Holmes, neither of which appears in Mr. Frost’s collection, while it embraces some which have no allusion to the navy, and others too worthless in a literary point of view to deserve preservation. The volume is very elegantly printed, and is embellished with several portraits on steel, and other engravings from designs by Croome.

Family Secrets, or Hints to those who would make Home Happy. By Mrs. Ellis. Two volumes, duodecimo. Philadelphia, Lea & Blanchard.

This work is composed of a series of tales, each illustrating a principle or enforcing a moral. The first volume contains, Dangers of Dining Out, Confessions of a Madman, Somerville Hall, The Rising Tide, and The Favorite Child; the second, First Impressions, and The Minister’s Family. The characters are usually well-drawn, and the interest of some of the stories is deep and well sustained.

The Life of Jean Paul Frederic Richter, Compiled from various Sources, together with his Autobiography. Translated from the German. Two volumes, duodecimo. Boston, Little & Brown.

The name of Jean Paul has become so familiar to American and English readers, that this work will doubtless supply a great desideratum with many ardent admirers of German literature. Our ideas of Jean Paul do not coincide with those of most critics. We have great respect for his genius, the purity of his thoughts, the extreme delicacy of his sentiments, and his almost universal learning; but we think his style forced and unnatural, and the amount of his wit, sarcasm, humor and hyperbolical refinement, altogether disproportionate to the “littleness” of his subjects. He is the most poetic of prose writers, and his autobiography furnishes many happy illustrations of this assertion. In our opinion, however, he indulges far too much in didacticism, a style which we dislike equally in poetry or prose, and which is seldom chosen by men of great intellect. He is a feminine writer, and much which in his works appears and is applauded as poetry, is in truth only high wrought feminine delicacy. He is accordingly much read and admired by women. But we doubt whether in all his productions there is a well drawn character of a man. When we look upon his heroes we cannot but remember Hotspur⁠—

“I would rather be a cat and cry mew

Than one of those self same ballad mongers.”

The writings of Jean Paul have had a pernicious influence on the minds of the youth of Germany, who are naturally inclined to sojourn in the regions of fancy; but it is a proof of returning reason that among the numerous republications of the works of German authors his have not gone through very large editions.

Schiller and Goethe disliked the muse of Jean Paul; the former because she had not warmth, and the latter because as an artist he was shocked with her morbid taste. Jean Paul was much mortified at the coldness of this Corephæus of German literature, and in giving an account of his visit to Weimer, says⁠—

“On the second day I threw away my foolish prejudices in favor of great authors. They are like other people. Here every one knows that they are like the earth, that looks from a distance, from heaven, like a shining moon, but, when the foot is upon it, is found to be boue de Paris (Paris mud.) An opinion concerning Herder, Wieland, and Goethe is as much contested as any other. Who would believe that the great watch towers of our literature avoid and dislike each other? I will never again bend myself anxiously before any great man, only before the virtuous.”

This sentiment is unworthy the mind of Jean Paul. The best relations existed between Schiller and Goethe through life. Each of them was great enough in his sphere to fear no rival. The jealousies which Jean Paul refers to were those of some women in “the society” of Weimer, but the men whom they maligned were both immeasurably beyond their reach.

Gervinus, in his “History of German Literature,” the most national work lately published, assigns to Jean Paul rather a low rank among the poets of his country. There is much thought and meditation in his works, but that divine spark which kindles enthusiasm and inspires men to sublime action is not in them. Even his female portraits are not drawn after Nature, and his Linda, in “Titan”—perhaps the best of his novels—is, after all the praise it has received, but a transparent shadow.

This memoir contains Jean Paul’s autobiography, reaching to his thirteenth year; a connected narrative of his life, compiled and translated from the best sources, and copious extracts from his correspondence. The translation is generally correct and elegant, but many errors occur in the proper names, especially by the transpositions of the i and e. We have seen mentioned, as the compiler and translator, Miss Lee of Boston, a lady of taste and learning, to whom the public have before been indebted for several pleasing and instructive publications.

Remains of the Rev. Joshua Wells Downing, A. M. With a brief Memoir. Edited by Elijah H. Downing, A. M. One volume, duodecimo. New York, J. Lane and P. P. Sandford: 1842.

We have read the sermons, sketches of sermons, and letters in this volume with considerable attention, and regret finding in them so little to praise. Mr. Downing died when but twenty-six years old, in Boston. He was a pious, earnest and efficient minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, had he lived to a mature age, we doubt not, would have been one of the most useful clergymen of his denomination. But, however excellent his qualities as a man or as a preacher, his printed discourses bear too few of the marks of genius or learning to secure for him a high reputation as a writer. They are not distinguished for graceful expression, vigor, or originality. The fraternal partiality of the editor deserves not to be censured, but the common practice of printing sermons, “called so,” as Bishop Andrews well remarks, “by a charitable construction,” and other “remains,” not originally designed for the press and unworthy of publication, is an evil which can be remedied only by honest critical judgments.

Elements of Chemistry, Including the most recent Discoveries and Applications of the Science to Medicine and Pharmacy, and to the Arts. By Robert Kane, M. D., M. R. T. A., &c. An American Edition, with Additions and Corrections, and arranged for the use of the Universities, Colleges, Academies and Medical Schools of the United States. By John William Draper, M. D. New York, Harper & Brothers.

Chemistry, more than any other science, is progressive. In the work before us Mr. Kane has exhibited with great ability its advancement, general extent, and present condition. There is no lack of elementary works on the subject, but we know of none which enter into it so fully or are so clear and comprehensive as this. Dr. Kane ranks among the first philosophical inquirers of the day, and is probably unequaled as a chemist. The American editor is likewise well known for his profound knowledge of this science. In looking through the work we have been particularly pleased with its practical character—the explanations it contains of the various processes by which chemistry has been made to contribute to the progress of the arts, which enhance its value to the medical practitioner and the manufacturer.

Lives of the Queens of England, from the Norman Conquest: With Anecdotes of their Courts. Now first published from Official Records and other Authentic Documents, Private as well as Public. By Agnes Strickland. Second Series. Three volumes, duodecimo. Philadelphia, Lea & Blanchard.

The new series of Miss Strickland’s Lives of the Queens of England contains memoirs of Elizabeth of York, Katharine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katharine Howard, Catherine Parr, and Mary “the Catholic.” The work improves as it advances and the materials for history accessible to the authoress become more abundant. Some of the memoirs in the second series are exceedingly interesting. The volumes deserve a place in every lady’s library.

Uncas and Miantonimoh; A Historical Discourse delivered at Norwalk, (Con.) on the fourth day of July, 1842, on the occasion of the erection of a Monument to the Memory of Uncas, the White Man’s Friend, and first Chief of the Mohegans. By W. L. Stone. New York: Dayton & Newman.

This is an interesting and valuable contribution to our historical writings. Uncas, “the white man’s friend,” was the king of a powerful tribe of Indians occupying a large part of the territory now called Connecticut, when it was colonized by the English Pilgrims, in 1635. His ashes rest in the “royal burying-ground” near Norwich; and, above them, in 1833, when General Jackson was on a visit to that city, the corner stone of a monument was laid, with imposing ceremonies. The granite obelisk, with the simple inscription, Uncas, was finished on the fourth of July, 1842, and on that day Mr. Stone delivered the address which, with its appendix and notes, composes the volume before us.

Principalities and Powers in Heavenly Places. By Charlotte Elizabeth. One volume, duodecimo. New York, John S. Taylor.

“Charlotte Elizabeth” is the wife, we believe, of a London clergyman. Excepting Hannah More, no woman has written so much or so well on religious subjects. In the work before us she treats with her usual ability of the holy angels and of evil spirits, their existence, character, power, and destiny.

The Smuggler’s Son, and Other Tales and Sketches. By A. W. M. One volume, duodecimo. Philadelphia, Herman Hooker.

This volume contains several interesting prose pieces, mingled with lyrics, smoothly versified, and poetical in ideas and expression.

A History of the State of Vermont: In Three Parts. I. Natural History. II. Civil History. III. Gazetteer. By Rev. Zadok Thompson, M. A. With a new Map of the State, and Two Hundred Engravings. Burlington, Chauncey Goodrich. Philadelphia, Herman Hooker.

This is the title of a large and closely printed octavo just issued from the press. It embraces much curious and valuable information, some of which is from original sources. The work, however, is badly arranged and carelessly written. The different parts, having but little connection with each other, should have been published separately.

A Kiss for a Blow. By Henry C. Wright. One volume, 18mo. Published at 31 North Fifth Street, Philadelphia.

Emma, or the Lost Found. One volume, 18mo. New York, Dayton & Newman: Philadelphia, Hogan & Thompson.

The Great Secret, or How to be Happy. One volume, 18mo. New York, Dayton & Newman: Philadelphia, Hogan & Thompson.

These are short stories, for children and youth, written with simplicity and in a genial and loving spirit, and in every way superior to the books of the class written before the last few years.

A Collection of the Promises of Scripture, under their proper heads, representing the Blessings promised, the Duties to which Promises are made, with an Appendix and Introduction, by Samuel Clarke, D. D. One volume, 32mo. New York, D. Appleton & Co. Philadelphia, Herman Hooker.

This little work is well known to Christians, and to others its title will convey an accurate idea of its character. The present edition is doubtless the most beautiful that has been published.