more than realizes our expectations, and he bounds them "As yon grey lines that fret the east Who does not wish that he had foreseen the splendour But it is time to close these disjointed notes. However delightful it may be thus to string them together in the silence and sunshine of a Highland glen, every nook and crevice of which is now instinct with life and beauty, they will be read with different feelings in the saloons of the "city of palaces." RECOLLECTIONS OF A PARSONAGE. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY-CLERICAL ORATORY. Ar the west end of the manse, and immediately betwixt me and the north-east wind, there grew, and there still grows, a small clump of firs. In fact, they were rather useful than ornamental, as they were all of the dull, stupid, leaden Scotch kind, and had been spared when their betters fell around them, on the same principle that some of us have attained to manhood. The crows, however, found them convenient for nest-building. So soon as the snowdrop thrust its snowy point through the softening soil, there they were, morning and evening, hard at work, in spite of wind and weather, croaking, fighting, and choaking. In these crows, however, and their yearly labours, my feelings were interested. They came careering, on the retiring blasts of winter, black and dark as the departing clouds, lively and cheerful as the returning brightness of heaven. And then I could not avoid associating their advent with other convocations, and other contested labours. They reminded me of the General Assembly of our Church, wedded, as it is, to the freshness and the splendour of confirmed spring. When I saw the glossy blackness of their habits, the wayward sagacity of their aspects, and listened to their notes of friendship, contest, debate, and war, I -immediately bethought me of the right reverends, and right honourables, right and left of the throne. Such had been my thoughts, when a few years ago I packed up my trunk with the regular allowance of necessaries, for my General Assembly expedition. It was but a spring from the ground to the top of the stagecoach, a careful wrapping of the neck, and buttoning of the coat, till I found myself rumbled and boated into Princes street. By this time the Assembly had met, and a number of the sharp-set lads were down from the mountains, and up from the glens, glossy as the evening cloud, good-humoured as the season itself, and openhearted, fisted, and mouthed, as old recollections and unexpected recognisances could make them. At every corner I met and recognised some friend of the olden time, and mutual exchanges of good-will were made on both sides. The fatness of the once thin man, and the thinness of the once fat man,-the wig, where wigs were formerly unknown,-the single tuft in the wilderness of baldness, where hair once flourished bushy and bristly; -all these, and similar circumstances, called forth, and do constantly, on similar occasions, call forth, a great deal of half-jocular, half-mournful chat. And there are the clubs to attend. I do not mean those political convenings where Assembly business is discussed ere it be debated; but the clubs I speak of are very innocent and pleasant meetings of old college acquaintances, who draw upon past reminiscences, as the prodigal does upon the accumulated treasures of his sires; who, in one evening of renewed friendships and tremendous excitement, live over the intermediate happiness of twenty years. Last of all comes the Monday's, the Tuesday's, and the Wednesday's debate. "The combat thickens-on, ye brave!" and happy he whose voice is of that firm com manding tone to secure a hearing, otherwise there are mouths and lungs strong and large enough to convert his incipient efforts into the chirpings of the Robin during the passing of a mail coach. The subject is an old and a tough one-nothing less than the "Plurality question." Doctor Tough is now on his legs, and even the darkness of his eye becomes meaning, mixed with threat, humour, dying into sarcasm. Arguments, lambent with illustration, are mixing and mingling like the merry dancers in the tempestuous north. Anon, his eye is brightened and his brow lighted;-he has trode upon the dragon, and, with his foot upon his neck, he flourishes aloft his defiance; and bold is he, and fearless, who dares to accept of it. Snell, cutting, unsparing, reckless, cruel, he moves like an ancient scythe-armed chariot,-his very tread is terror-his every advance is death;-there is a breadth in his devastation, an extension in the zone of his overthrow, which occasions a fearful recoil in the ranks of opposition. "Longe fuge!" is the watchword; "fonum habet in cornu." The victory is his; and in an hour of reckless impetuosity and ungoverned triumph, he may order his victims to immediate execution. After a three hours' infliction, he sits down, having apparently dovetailed every argument, and hermetically sealed up the mouth of opposition. But it is not so. He has defied armies,-but he is challenged to single combat-not indeed by little David, but by large Saul;-not by a commoner in the ranks, but by the king himself in his armour. The voice is, for a time, shrill, tenor, and even peepy; but there is a mouth, and a face, and a brow of mighty compass and promise; the tenor is suddenly, and even over the accentuation of a single dissyllable, exchanged for the bass,-the rattle of the kettle is exchanged for the solemn rebound of the bass drum,-the warp of sound plays up and down; now the tenor and now the bass, are supereminent, till the opponent's argument is so loosened and unravelled, so twisted and twined into opposite meanings and constructions, that even Doctor Tough is at a loss to recognise the texture of his own workmanship. To mind, all things are possible; and here is mind enthroned on memory, a giant on a rock bobbing for whale. A seventy-four gun-ship does not move more unmovedly, and with greater certainty, over and through the flood, than Doctor Drive does to his mighty, luminous, and unanswerable conclusion. But scarcely has he resumed his seat, and received the congratulation of his friends around him, when a whisper is felt to travel with a sawing severity, from left to right. The Doctor is on his legs-that is he, holding with one hand by the railing on the further side of the throne, the other hand being reserved for action-action-action. With this hand he begins his speech--not with that graceful air with which an outstretched palm is sometimes waved to the admiring multitude-but he is undoubtedly cutting the air into faggots, upwards and downwards— backwards and forwards" punctem et cæsim," it passes. All this while Dr Blast is silent; it is his hand that speaks, and claims for the tongue's work the indulgence of a hearing. Silence gives way to sound,-sound and hand equally at variance with taste and elegance; the demon of embarrassment seems to have fixed his disfiguring claws in the very front of his oratory, and there is every chance that he will not get on. But the waters of the mountain lake have been troubled, and lifted in their level by the descent of the avalanche; and their roar and impetuosity is now in the gullet,—they are struggling, wheeling, hurling, and bursting onward; and so soon as they have overtaken the extension and the freedom of the valley below, they will carry tower and tree, hut and palace, before them. The shepherd, however, has marked their approach, and has betaken himself to his mountain; and the very roar of their approach has contributed to the safety of all. Dr Blast is now in his eleHe dives and plunges in the flood; the triton of ment. the mermaids; not a fin from beneath the bank but shivers with apprehension, nor a supple-tailed tenant of the mud but dives to Orcus. The Doctor is now in his element; he rides on the wind, and the inhabitants of earth and air are trembling spectators of his flight; the eagle screams, and is lost in the sun; the ravens croak, and are incontinently on the wing; the very doves and jackdaws desert their outfields and resort to their cots and ehimneys. The famous mirk-Monanday was nothing to this. It seems as if a new terror had been discovered, and a mental steam-engine of incalculable power had been set in motion. Imagination herself has run riot, and seems startled' at her own imaginings. Involuted, and convoluted, she rolls herself onward, head over heels, till the heads of the spectators are bedizzened with the whirl: And some say that we wan, and some say that they wan, But of one thing I'm sure, that mid uproar and stour, ORIGINAL POETRY. STANZAS FOR MUSIC. T. G. By J. H. Wiffen, Author of " Aonian Hours," and the Translator of Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered." To the greenwoods and waters one midnight I went ; The thoughts of my soul were of memory and grief,— All was wet with a cloud, that in misty descent Feil gloomy and sad on each murmuring leaf;But I heard, in the shade of my favourite beech, A nightingale near, through the storm singing loud,— Like a spirit endued with the accents of speech, Like a rainbow of music adorning the cloud. In that music was transport! I smiled through my tears: Even now, in dark moments, when exiled from bliss, From the baseless illusions of Hope's coming years, I turn to the truth and the sweetness of this! Such in life's lonely walk, is a delicate deed; Its music breathes forth in a desolate hour, Surpassing the nightingale's voice in its meed, Which more sweetly resounded the darker the shower! TO A LADY, WITH A BOOK OF MANUSCRIPT POEMS. By Alaric A. Watts. [This poem, and the one which follows, were both written fourteen years ago, and were presented to us by an early friend of the poet in the author's own handwriting. They have never before been published.-Ed. LIT. JOUR.] THE gift I have reserved for thee But oh! not long did thus remain They quickly were effaced. Some hours of bliss my bosom knew, As a few scattered leaves will show, When Love was wont in song to tell She smiled, and wrote a spell-word there, SONG. By Alaric A. Watts. Он, say not, dearest! say not so; I do but court the Muse's smile, Beloved, this tender truth believe, And if I seek the wreath of fame, Then say not, dearest! say not so; In grief or gladness, weal or woe, My sweetest thoughts and song; Then fear not I can ever be False to my heart, my lyre, and thee. SONNET. By Thomas Brydson, Author of " Poems," &c. THERE is a happiness we cannot find When wandering through the crowded ways of men ; Yet day by day it lies in distant ken,— A lovely thing unto the eye of mind: So have I seen amid the summer hills, (In early life) a shade-encircled spot Of sunniness-as 'twere a place forgot When earth was blasted by sin's thousand ills; I bounded o'er the turf with panting haste, As if a kingdom would have been my dower Could I have kiss'd the sunshine from one flower Of that bright fairy-land.-Lo! from the waste Around me, while I knelt, there came a cloud, And blotted out the scene.-I wept-I wept aloud! LITERARY CHIT-CHAT AND VARIETIES. THE EDINBURGH REVIEW.-It may not perhaps be generally known to our readers, that Mr Jeffrey resigned, a few weeks ago, the Editorship of the Edinburgh Review, which he has conducted with so much talent since its commencement. It is generally be lieved that the likelihood of a speedy professional appointment is at least one cause which has induced Mr Jeffrey to take this step,-not that he would for a moment compromise his principles, but that it might be prudent and necessary for him to bring them less conspicuously before the public. Mr Jeffrey is probably tired also of the toils of Editorship, and having done all that Editor could do, he may feel disposed to devote his attention to other pursuits.-We are enabled to state positively, that no one has yet been fixed on as his successor; and indeed it will be no easy task to find a successor, especially if the Review is still to retain the character of being a Scotch publication. Mr Rees, of the house of Longman, Rees, Orme, and Co. (who have the principal interest in the work,) is now in Edinburgh, making arrangements; but as these are not concluded, we refrain from mentioning the names of the one or two literary gentlemen who are spoken of as candidates for the situation. If the work is to enjoy any share of its former success, the new Editor must be an active-minded and nervous writer, well acquainted with the bearings of the times, and prepared to start upon a fresh and vigorous course with spirit and with principle. How would it do to put the Review under commission, as has sometimes been done with Ireland, and other places difficult to manage? THE ANNIVERSARY.-Extract of a Letter from Allan Canningham.—“The Anniversary will be published in monthly portions of forty pages each. The first Number appears on the 1st of July, embellished with a Plate, and accompanied by eighty pages of other miscellaneous matter, which will be superintended by Theodore Hooke. My part (adds Mr Cunningham.) will, at the end of a twelvemonth, assume the form of a volume of Poetry and Prose." We are glad to understand that Mr Sillery, whose name as a young poet is already so favourably known to the public, has nearly finished a new Poem, in two Books, and in the Spenserian stanza, which is to be entitled Eldred of Ein, or the Solitary. We have been favoured with a short and very beautiful extract from this Poem, which we propose laying before our readers next Saturday. Mr Alaric Watts has nearly ready for publication the Second Volume of the Poetical Album, containing a selection of all the best fugitive poetry of the day. The Rev. Alexander Fleming, A.M., of Neilston, has made considerable progress in revising a new edition of Pardoran's Collections concerning the Church of Scotland; in which will be incorporated the History, Jurisdiction, and Forms of the several Church Judicatories, together with the civil Decisions relative to the rights and patrimony of the established church and her clergy. Mr Guy must surely be a descendant of Guy Faux, for he seems, with his " combination of talent," to have entered into a conspiracy against the English language. PORTRAIT OF SIR JAMES MONCRIEFF.-Mr Walker has published a mezzotinto engraving from Watson Gordon's fine picture of this eminent lawyer. The likeness is happily preserved;-indeed, the print almost strikes us as more like than the painting. With regard to the manipulation, it possesses all that delicacy in the management of light and shade, which is the exclusive province of mezzotinto; and has less of that weakness and haziness, which is the inherent defect of that style of engraving, than any works of the kind we have seen lately, except those of Martin. Mr Walker is making rapid progress in his art. Might he not think of publishing a series of our eminent Edinburgh characters? The plate, we believe, is private, and not intended to come into the print shops. HAYDON.-We are happy to understand that this able artist's most recent picture has been sold for five hundred guineas. The subject is the death of the heir of Pharoah's throne,-his "first-born,”—at the passover, and the agony of the Queen and Royal Family in consequence. (Exodus, char. 12.) It is of a small size compared with most of the artist's preceding works of this class; but it is said to possess many striking beauties. NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY.-This is a new work, to be published in numbers, each number to contain three portraits of illustrious and eminent personages of the nineteenth century, with short Memoirs. The first number contains Portraits of the Duke of Wellington, Byron, and the Marquis Camden. They are, on the whole, well executed, and the publication will be a valuable one, if followed up with due diligence. Theatrical Gossip.-Kean has had a dispute with the Dublin manager, Mr Bunn, who, it is said, has refused to pay him his stipu The rudiments of Hieroglyphics and Egyptian Antiquities, in a course of Lectures delivered at the University of Cambridge, by the Marchese di Spineta, are about to be published in Numbers, (cach Number to contain one Lecture,) by Mr Murray, of London. The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge have just pub-lated salary of L.50 per night, (a mcst disgracefully large sum,) on the lished an Address, in which they present a rapid and satisfactory retrospect of the progress of their labours, which seems to augur well for the future. The Library of Entertaining Knowledge, (in which the Society is interested) is also proceeding prosperously; 14,000 copies having been already sold of the first volume, and 9000 of the second. A circumstantial account of persons remarkable for their Health and Longevity, by a Physician, is nearly ready for publication. We understand, that among other new works, Mr Colburn will speedily publish,-The Marquis of Londonderry's Narrative of the War in Germany and France in 1813 and 1814,-Geraldine of Desmond, an Historical Romance,-The Book of the Boudoir, in two volumes, by Lady Morgan,-Stories of Waterloo, in three volumes, -The Private Correspondence of David Garrick with the most eminent persons of his times,-Memoirs of the Bedouins, with a history of the Wahabis of Arabia, from the original manuscripts of the late celebrated John Lewes Burckhardt,-The History of Modern Greece, by James Emmerson,-Memoirs of the Court and Reign of Louis XVIII., by a Lady,-Recollections of the East, by John Carne, Esq. author of Letters from the East,-Random Records, by George Colman, Esq.-Tales of my Time, by the author of Blue Stocking Hall,-and Stories of a Bride. The Rev. Robert Everett, A.M., of Oxford, has in the press a Journey through Norway, Lapland, and part of Sweden; with remarks on the Geology of the country, Statistical Tables, Meteorological Observations, &c. To two of these countries Mr Derwent Conway's recent work has been very successful in directing public attention. The second Number of the London Review, edited by the Rev. Blanco White, has just appeared. The following are its contents: -Mineral Waters-Records of History-Peru and the Andes-Spanish Poetry and Language-Juvenile Library-Fashionable Novels -Mathematical writers-Human Physiology-War with TurkeyGame Laws-French Public Charities-Bishop Heber. THE TRUE MEANING OF WORDS.-In the twenty-ninth edition of "Guy's English Spelling-Book," just published, revised and improved, and stated in the Preface to be " the result of a combination of talent," we meet with the following definitions, which we beg to submit to the serious attention of our philological readers: odd enough plea, that Kean performs in a slovenly manner. This may be very true; but if the manager made a foolish bargain, he must abide by it.-Nothing very remarkable is taking place in the London Theatrical world. Charles Kemble is said to have cleared L.600 by his benefit, and the French actor, Laporte, L.1500. Du"His percrow is performing more equestrian wonders at Astley's. formances," says a critic in the Court Journal, "are the finest things extant, now that Kean is virtually defunct, and Macready asleep."— Pritchard's benefit here, last Monday, was quite a bumper. Madame Caradori renewed her engagement for three nights this week; the houses, however, have not been so crowded as at first. This is to be attributed to the monotony of a concert, where only one person sings a song worth hearing. We are glad to observe that, according to a suggestion made in our last, Madame Caradori is to appear in an operatic character this evening, having undertaken to perform Polly in the "Beggar's Opera,"-an arduous task for a foreigner, but which, we doubt not, will be triumphantly executed.-On Monday, Mr and Mrs Stanley take their benefit. Few members of our company deserve better of the public;-Mrs Stanley is a highly respectable actress of all work; and, in his own peculiar line of humour, mixed occasionally with a fine developement of the stronger passions, her husband is unrivalled. Our readers are aware that we do not speak of benefits indiscriminately; and our words, on the present occasion, will perhaps have the more weight. TO OUR CORRESPONDENTS. COMMUNICATIONS from Derwent Conway, Esq., John Malcolm, Esq., and others, together with a very interesting unpublished Poem, by Mrs Elizabeth Hamilton, Authoress of the "Cottagers of Glenburnie," will appear in our next number. Several poetical pieces, which are in types, are unavoidably postponed. The "Sonnet to," by "N. C." of Glasgow, shall perhaps have a place when the Editor is next in his Slippers.-"King Edward's Dream," though not destitute of poetical merit, is too long for our pages. We regret we cannot give a place to the lines "On seeing a Picture of Mary, Queen of Scots," nor to the verses of "Zella." Specimen copies of the First Volume of the LITERARY JOURNAL, boarded in a neat and substantial manner, may now be seen at our Publishers'. A few remain on sale. ADVERTISEMENTS, Connected with Literature, Science, and the Arts. FENCING. NEW PUBLICATIONS. ROBERTSON and ATKINSON respectfully re quest the notice of the public to the following List of New, Important, or Cheap Publications, which form part of their present the most favourable terms. MR JOHNSTON, TEACHER OF FENCING, takes stock, and which they will sell to their Friends and to the Trade on this method of intimating to his Pupils and the Public, that Private Tuition upon equally moderate terms, May 26, 18.9. LATEST ADDITIONS TO R. CHAMBERS' CIRCULATING LIBRARY, 48, NORTH HANOVER STREET. MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS. each. HENRY'S COMMENTARY, complete in 3 vols. 8vo, distinct type, and with copious Memoir; an edition of extraordinary cheapness, beauty, and accuracy. It may also be had in Parts, at 3s. JOHNSON'S DICTIONARY, without abridgement, in ONE volume, stereotype, 8vo, beautiful Portrait. An indispensable work in every library. THE COMPANION; a suppressed Periodical, by the celebrated Leigh Hunt. 1 vol. 8vo. EDINBURGH REVIEW-vols. 1 to 34-a set in fine order, £20, 8s.-for one-third of that price. THE WAVERLEY NOVELS, New Edition. Speci CHRONICLE of the CONQUEST of GRANADA. mens and Prospectuses to be had at R. and A.'s, who will receive By Washington Irving, 2 vols. Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala. By G. A. Thomson, Esq. Lord Londonderry's Narrative of the Peninsular War. 2 vols. Memoirs of the Extraordinary Military Career of John Shipp. vols. 3 Memoirs of General Millar, in the Service of the Republic of Peru. 2 vols. THE VILLAGE POLITICIANS, or a Short Dialogue on the State of the Nation, in April 1829. Price 6d. GUIDE to the PURCHASERS of HORSES, with an Appendix on the Equestrian Equipment of a Gentleman, by a Twelve Years' Military Adventure in various Quarters of the Glasgow Amateur, beautifully printed for the waistcoat pocket, 32mo, gilt edges, 9d. Memoirs of the Empress Josephine. 2 vols. Globe. 2 vols. Memoirs of Vidocq. 4 vols. Letters from the West. By the Hon. Judge Hall. THE THISTLE.-A Collection of the best Scottish Songs, with Notes by the Authorof the "Eventful Life of a Soldier," St Petersburg; a Journal of Travels to and from that capital. with two humorous Plates. Price 2s. 6d. boa ds. "The Collection contains many originals of great merit, as 'Funnery,' &c., and Notes that are curious, while it is very cheap." -Critical Gazette. THE SHAMROCK.-An unrivalled Collection of Irish Songs, Edited, and with Notes, by Mr Weekes, will speedily be issued. CONNEL'S SPELLING-BOOK, price 1s. bound, and First and Second Books, 2d. and 4d., sewed in stiff boards, in use in many of the first Seminaries in England and Scotland, stereotype editions.-These are now established School-Books, and while their cheapness makes them accessible to all. THE ANT.-Original Volume, 4s. 6d. cloth; Selected Volume the same. By reprinting portions of this work, a few sets are again completed, and original subscribers may now make up theirs for binding. The first portion is a collection of Essays, Tales, and Verses, chiefly illustrative of Glasgow life and character; the second is a selection of amusing and elegant Pieces, mostly from unexplored sources. RULES for GOVERNING LITERARY and DEBATING SOCIETIES, 4d. RULES for FORMING the GENDER of FRENCH. SKETCHES of the ISLE of MAN, by a Tourist. Beautifully printed. Boards 3s. This is a work meant to supply a want long feit by visitors to the delightful Island it describes. It has been spoken of by the Journals as a model to guide writers, and is obviously the production of a man of talents and letters: it is as amusing in the arm chair, as useful in the steam-boat. TO THE DYSPEPTIC, THE STUDIOUS AND SEDENTARY. BUTLER'S COOLING APERIENT POWDERS,-produce an extremely refreshing Effervescing Drink, preferable to Soda, Seidlitz, or Magnesia Water, and at the same Zillah, a Tale of the Holy City. By the author of Brambletye time A MILD AND COOLING APERIENT, peculiarly adapted to promote House. 3 vols. My Grandfather's Farm. Life in India. 3 vols. The Anglo-Irish. 3 vols. the healthy action of the Stomach and Bowels, and thereby prevent the recurrence of Constipation and Indigestion, with all their train of consequences, as Depression, Flatulence, Acidity or Heartburn, Headache, Febrile Symptoms, Eruptions on the Skin, &c. &c.; and Solitary Walks through many Lands. By Derwent Conway. 2 vols. by frequent use will obviate the necessity of havin: recourse to CaScenes of War, and other Poems. By John Malcolm. lomel, Epsom Salts, and other violent medicines, which tend to debilitate the system. When taken after too free an indulgence in the luxuries of the table, particularly after too much wine, the usual disagreeable effects are altogether avoided. In warm climates they will be found extremely beneficial, as they prevent accumulation of Bile, and do not debilitate. Prepared, and sold in 2s. 9d. boxes,-and 10s. 6d. and 20s. cases, by BUTLER, CHEMIST TO HIS MAJESTY, No. 73, PRINCE'S STREET, EDINBURGH; and (authenticated by the Preparer's name and address, in the Label affixed to each box and case,) may be obtained of all the principal Druggists and Booksellers throughout the United Kingdom. Of whom may also be procured, BUTLER'S CARBONATED EFFERVES CING HARROWGATE SALTS,-which contain all the solid ingredients of the celebrated Springs of Harrowgate, with the very important addition of the Volatile Gases in an immediate state of disengagement, by the addition of pure water, and altogether will be found a valuable substitute, proper for those Invalids who are ur able to reside at Harrowgate. The Water of the Harrowgate Springs is very successfully used in cases of Scurvy, Scrofula, and Bilious and Gouty Affections; and it has, in particular, acquired great celebrity for the removal of the most complicated and obstinate Cutane ous Eruptions. The Salts are sold in 4s. 6d. and 10s. 6d. Bottles. an active-minded and nervous writer, well acquainted with the bearings of the times, and prepared to start upon a fresh and vigorous course with spirit and with principle. How would it do to put the Review under commission, as has sometimes been done with Ireland, and other places difficult to manage? THE ANNIVERSARY.-Extract of a Letter from Allan Cunningham." The Anniversary will be published in monthly portions of forty pages each. The first Number appears on the 1st of July, embellished with a Plate, and accompanied by eighty pages of other miscellaneous matter, which will be superintended by Theodore Hooke. My part (adds Mr Cunningham) will, at the end of a twelvemonth, assume the form of a volume of Poetry and Prose." We are glad to understand that Mr Sillery, whose name as a young poet is already so favourably known to the public, has nearly finished a new Poem, in two Books, and in the Spenserian stanza, which is to be entitled Eldred of Ein, or the Solitary. We have been favoured with a short and very beautiful extract from this Poem, which we propose laying before our readers next Saturday. Mr Alaric Watts has nearly ready for publication the Second Volume of the Poetical Album, containing a selection of all the best fugitive poetry of the day. The Rev. Alexander Fleming, A.M., of Neilston, has made considerable progress in revising a new edition of Pardoran's Collections concerning the Church of Scotland; in which will be incorporated the History, Jurisdiction, and Forms of the several Church Judicatories, together with the civil Decisions relative to the rights and patrimony of the established church and her clergy. Mr Guy must surely be a descendant of Guy Faux, for he seems, with his " combination of talent," to have entered into a conspiracy | against the English language. PORTRAIT OF SIR JAMES MONCRIEFF.-Mr Walker has published a mezzotinto engraving from Watson Gordon's fine picture of this eminent lawyer. The likeness is happily preserved;-indeed, the print almost strikes us as more like than the painting. With regard to the manipulation, it possesses all that delicacy in the management of light and shade, which is the exclusive province of mezzotinto; and has less of that weakness and haziness, which is the inherent defect of that style of engraving, than any works of the kind we have seen lately, except those of Martin. Mr Walker is making rapid progress in his art. Might he not think of publishing a series of our eminent Edinburgh characters? The plate, we believe, is private, and not intended to come into the print shops. HAYDON. We are happy to understand that this able artist's most recent picture has been sold for five hundred guineas. The subject is the death of the heir of Pharoah's throne,-his "first-born,"--at the passover, and the agony of the Queen and Royal Family in consequence. (Exodus, chan. 12.) It is of a small size compared with most of the artist's preceding works of this class; but it is said to possess many striking beauties. NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY.-This is a new work, to be published in numbers, each number to contain three portraits of illustrious and eminent personages of the nineteenth century, with short Memoirs. The first number contains Portraits of the Duke of Wellington, Byron, and the Marquis Camden. They are, on the whole, well executed, and the publication will be a valuable one, if followed up with due diligence. The rudiments of Hieroglyphics and Egyptian Antiquities, in a course of Lectures delivered at the University of Cambridge, by the Marchese di Spineta, are about to be published in Numbers, (cach Theatrical Gossip.-Kean has had a dispute with the Dublin Number to contain one Lecture,) by Mr Murray, of London. manager, Mr Bunn, who, it is said, has refused to pay him his stipuThe Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge have just pub-lated salary of £.50 per night, (a most disgracefully large sum,) on the lished an Address, in which they present a rapid and satisfactory retrospect of the progress of their labours, which seems to augur well for the future. The Library of Entertaining Knowledge, (in which the Society is interested) is also proceeding prosperously; 14,000 copies having been already sold of the first volume, and 9000 of the second. A circumstantial account of persons remarkable for their Health and Longevity, by a Physician, is nearly ready for publication. We understand, that among other new works, Mr Colburn will speedily publish,-The Marquis of Londonderry's Narrative of the War in Germany and France in 1813 and 1814,-Geraldine of Desmond, an Historical Romance,-The Book of the Boudoir, in two volumes, by Lady Morgan,-Stories of Waterloo, in three volumes, -The Private Correspondence of David Garrick with the most eminent persons of his times, - Memoirs of the Bedouins, with a history of the Wahabis of Arabia, from the original manuscripts of the late celebrated John Lewes Burckhardt,-The History of Modern Greece, by James Emmerson,-Memoirs of the Court and Reign of Louis XVIII., by a Lady,-Recollections of the East, by John Carne, Esq. author of Letters from the East,-Random Records, by George Colman, Esq.-Tales of my Time, by the author of Blue Stocking Hall,-and Stories of a Bride. The Rev. Robert Everett, A.M., of Oxford, has in the press a Journey through Norway, Lapland, and part of Sweden; with remarks on the Geology of the country, Statistical Tables, Meteorological Observations, &c. To two of these countries Mr Derwent Conway's recent work has been very successful in directing public attention. The second Number of the London Review, edited by the Rev. Blanco White, has just appeared. The following are its contents: -Mineral Waters-Records of History-Peru and the Andes-Spanish Poetry and Language-Juvenile Library-Fashionable Novels -Mathematical writers-Human Physiology-War with TurkeyGame Laws-French Public Charities-Bishop Heber. THE TRUE MEANING OF WORDS.-In the twenty-ninth edition of "Guy's English Spelling-Book," just published, revised and improved, and stated in the Preface to be "the result of a combination of talent," we meet with the following definitions, which we beg to submit to the serious attention of our philological readers: This odd enough plea, that Kean performs in a slovenly manner. may be very true; but if the manager made a foolish bargain, he must abide by it.-Nothing very remarkable is taking place in the London Theatrical world. Charles Kemble is said to have cleared DuL.600 by his benefit, and the French actor, Laporte, L.1500. "His percrow is performing more equestrian wonders at Astley's. formances," says a critic in the Court Journal, "are the finest things extant, now that Kean is virtually defunct, and Macready asleep."— Pritchard's benefit here, last Monday, was quite a bumper. Madame Caradori renewed her engagement for three nights this week; the houses, however, have not been so crowded as at first. This is to be attributed to the monotony of a concert, where only one person sings a song worth hearing. We are glad to observe that, according to a suggestion made in our last, Madame Caradori is to appear in an operatic character this evening, having undertaken to perform Polly in the "Beggar's Opera,”—an arduous task for a foreigner, but which, we doubt not, will be triumphantly executed.-On Monday, Mr and Mrs Stanley take their benefit. Few members of our company deserve better of the public;-Mrs Stanley is a highly respectable actress of all work; and, in his own peculiar line of humour, mixed occasionally with a fine developement of the stronger passions, her husband is unrivalled. Our readers are aware that we do not speak of benefits indiscriminately; and our words, on the present occasion, will perhaps have the more weight. TO OUR CORRESPONDENTS. COMMUNICATIONS from Derwent Conway, Esq., John Malcolm, Esq., and others, together with a very interesting unpublished Poem, by Mrs Elizabeth Hamilton, Authoress of the" Cottagers of Glenburnie," will appear in our next number. Several poetical pieces, which are in types, are unavoidably postponed. The "Sonnet to," by "N. C." of Glasgow, shall perhaps have a place when the Editor is next in his Slippers."King Edward's Dream," though not destitute of poetical menit, is too long for our pages. We regret we cannot give a place to the lines "On seeing a Picture of Mary, Queen of Scots," nor to the verses of" Zella." Specimen copies of the First Volume of the LITERARY JOURNAL, boarded in a neat and substantial manner, may now be seen at our Publishers'. A few remain on sale. |