of mercantile law; and the manner in which it is executed, while it increases our regret that he has left the profession, enables us to welcome, with great sincerity and pleasure, the first appearance, in this sphere of labour, of so learned and diligent an associate as Mr Sewall. We feel bound to remark, that we were rather surprised not to find, in this edition of Bayley, the American cases on the subject of want of consideration, when objected to a promissory note. They could not have been omitted merely because they are contradictory; and the erudition and research evinced throughout the volume, seem hardly to allow the suggestion that they were not "within the knowledge of the editors." We are the more dis appointed at this omission, as all the English treatises are very deficient on this topic, and as some American decisions, which we always deemed erroneous, are greatly shaken, if not overturned by subsequent adjudications. It is also to be regretted, that the paging of the English edition is not retained in this. We had already felt the inconvenience of this omission, in reading a case in 3 Pickering, where Bayley (4th edition), 47, is cited. On turning to that page, in Messrs Phillips and Sewall's edition, we could find no such doctrine as it was cited to support. We found it afterwards, on page 42. The paging of all books, that are cited as authority, ought to be uniform in the different impressions. The value of the American edition of Starkie's Reports, and of some other books, is greatly diminished by want of attention to this circumstance. The Lay of Gratitude; consisting of Poems, occasioned by the recent Visit of La Fayette to the United States. By DANIEL BRYAN. Philadelphia. 1826. 8vo. Pp. 104. THE late visit of Lafayette to this country, not only gave birth to innumerable demonstrations of patriotism and gratitude, in the way of processions, bonfires, illuminations, dinners, and speeches, but also awakened the sleeping muses of our prosaic hemisphere, and was the cause of divers congratulatory odes, rhyming mottos, and poetical addresses. In the instance of the work before us, it is made the subject of loftier and more elaborate strains. The author has attempted to record and perpetuate in verse the enthusiasm of that occasion. The principal poems in this collection, "The Greeting," a poetical address, in the anapæstic measure of Beattie's" Hermit," supposed to have been recited to Lafayette at Yorktown; and "The Valedictory," a poem in two cantos, the first of which contains the address of President Adams to Lafayette, and the second the General's reply, both which we believe are very faithfully versified. It would, undoubtedly, are, have been better for the sale of the work, had it appearance been contemporary with the occasion it celebrates. At present, we believe, all the interest connected with the subject, which could give circulation to a work of this kind, independently of its intrinsic merit, is nearly at an end. Lafayette has received his honcurs and rewards, and the citizens of the United States have had their holiday. The good old Frenchman has returned to his native country, and his warm-hearted entertainers to their ordinary occupations. The wreaths woven by fair hands for his brows, are faded and musty, the last Lafayette dinner was digested some months ago, and the last Lafayette speech is in the last year's newspapers. The author of the "Lay of Gratitude" must therefore be contented with finding readers only among those who are "smit with the love of sacred song." The following stanza is a favorable specimen of the work. The simile in the first quatrain seems to us very beautiful and striking. Like some proud courser, bearing on the rein, While from her sides recoil the broken seas And back like vanquished hosts in battle glide; The Traveller's Guide, or Pocket Gazetteer of the United States, &c. By JEDIDIAH MORSE and RICHARD C. MORSE. Second Edition; enlarged, revised, and corrected. New Haven. 1826. 18mo. pp. 336. THE continual and rapid changes taking place in our country, the reclaiming of wildernesses, the building of new cities, the erection of new territories; the laying out of new counties and townships, and the division of old ones; the multitude of recent establishments and institutions of every kind, and all that class of things called by the comprehensive name of internal improvements, render our geographical works imperfect and obsolete within a few years after they are published. Although their value is thus subject to be greatly diminished in a short space of time, they are by no means the less necessary to our citizens; for without their aid, we should be quite in the dark as to many important matters relating to the state of our national prosperity. Thus it happens, that the United States Gazetteers have a sort of histori39 VOL. IV. cal value, and each successive work is a kind of survey and record of the growth and extension of our empire. The makers of our geographical books are, we suspect, among the most successful of American authors; and fortunate is he whose work is the last printed, for it is certain, if he has used proper diligence, to be the most perfect, and in the greatest demand. We are glad, in the mean time, to see a second edition of this convenient little work. Some imperfections in the former edition have, we perceive, been supplied, and several important additions made. An Appendix contains the description of some of the principal places in the Canadas; a table of the principal canals in the United States and Canada, with the places they connect, their length, width, depth, lockage, and cost; and tables of the population and tonnage of the United States, &c. Elegant Extracts. originally compiled by VICESIMUS KNOX. A new edition, prepared by JAMES G. PERCIVAL. In six vols. Vol. I. Prose. Boston. 8vo. WE are glad to see an American edition of this valuable work, begun by a gentleman so competent to the task, as Mr Percival. The collection, as compiled by Knox, has gone through many editions in England. Some of the extracts, however, have become rather antiquated, and their place may be advantageously supplied by pieces selected from literature of a later date. In an American edition, moreover, we may expect that a respectable place will be assigned to our own writers. In the volume already published, Mr Percival has omitted considerable matter contained in the English edition,-part, as being fitted exclusively for the meridian of England, and part, as not having sufficient merit to deserve insertion. In the first book, consisting of extracts Moral and Religious, those from Gilpin's lectures on points of belief and duty contained in the ordinances of episcopal worship,Ferguson' Physico-theological Reflections,-Mrs Chapone's observations on different books of the holy scriptures,- -a large body of extracts from the Economy of Human Life,-together with some articles of minor importance, are left out, and a few extacts from English and American writers inserted. These omissions appear to us judicious. The subject of Ferguson's Reflections, however, being the constitution of the earth, sea, atmosphere, vegetable creation, &c. is so interesting, that a treatise of similar character, but of more modern date, might have advantageously occupied their place. The second book, called Classical and Historical, though it might more properly be termed Critical, is much reduced; and very judiciously, as it consisted, in a great measure, of matter taken from Blair's Rhetoric, now a common text-book in our schools and colleges, from Black wall's Observations on the Ancient Classics, hardly worthy of admission into a collection of this kind, and from Harris' Philosophical Criticisms, which are not sufficiently fitted to interest the minds of youth, for whom this work is principally intended. We do not observe that any new matter is added to this book, except some extracts from President Adams' Lectures on Oratory, delivered when he was professor at Cambridge. We hope, in the third part, containing Orations, Characters, and Letters, and in the fourth part, consisting of Nartives, Dialogues, and Humorous pieces, which we suppose will compose the next volume, to see more copious exstracts from our native literature. In the poetical department, moreover, the present character of the American muse justifies the expectation that many of her productions will find admission. The typographical execution is very neat, and the engravings of Addison, Ames, and Knox, with which this volume is ornamented, are elegant. The whole work, we understand, is to be printed on stereotype plates from the Boston Type and Stereotype Foundery. First Annual Report of the Board of Managers of the Prison Discipline Society. Boston. 1826. 8vo. pp. 83. THE Prison Discipline Society was organized in Boston, on the thirtieth of June, 1825, with a view to the improvement of public prisons. This is a subject of great moment, and imposes a weighty responsibility on our State governments, and on all intelligent and influential citizens. The state of prisons, both in England and this country, though much improved since the time of Howard, is still far below the proper standard. The condition of the common county jails is miserably defective. That of the Penitentiaries, though superior, is still very imperfect. To remove the sufferings and corruption, to which the occupants of both these classes of prisons are subjected, from bad management and imperfectly constructed edifices, is the object of this society. The Report presents a valuable body of facts, respecting the character of the prisons and the progress of crime in the different States of the Union, accompanied with judicious remarks on the means of remedying the existing evils. One of the greatest obstacles in the way of improvement, is the imperfect construction of a large proportion of our prisons, which are materially deficient in the important particulars of security, solitary confinement at night, ventilation, light, cleanliness, provision for sickness, and means of inspecting the convicts unobserved. The report enters into a full description of these defects, and of the bad consequences resulting from them. The progress of crime, though considerable, appears, when compared with that of population in several of the States, not on the whole to have exceeded it. Some of the causes of its increase, says the Report, are to be found in the state of society, and some in the defects of the Penitentiary system. One of them is the degraded character of the coloured population. In Massachusetts, only one seventy-fourth part of the population is coloured, and yet one sixth part of the convicts are of this description. In New-York and Pennsylvania, the proportion is nearly as great. We have reason to suppose, therefore, that if proper means were taken to raise the character of this class, the amount of crime would be greatly diminished. Another cause is the crowded state of the night-rooms in the Penitentiaries. In Massachusetts, from four to sixteen are lodged in one room. In Connecticut, from fifteen to thirty-two. In New-York eity, twelve. In Pennsylvania, twenty-nine, thirty, and thirty-one. In New-Jersey, ten or twelve. This crowding diffuses the leaven of villany through the whole mass of the convicts, and qualifies them to pursue their profession with more ability after their release. The want of moral and religious instruction in the Penitentiaries, and the inadequate support of the subordinate officers, laying them open to bribery, and inducing them to connive at criminal practices among the prisoners, are also reasons why they have effected so little in preventing the growth of crime. The last part of the Report contains an account of the excellent system of confinement and discipline in the State prison at Auburn, in the state of New-York. We are highly pleased by the appearance of this pamphlet. It is interesting and valuable, and affords evidence of the attention, that has been given to a subject, which calls most loudly for the labours of the legislator and the philanthropist. New Two Lectures on Classical Literature, being part of a Course delivered at the New IN the first of, thesc Lectures the author considers the general spirit and tendency of the ancient classics, their interest as monuments of ancient nations, and the elevating influence of the study of them. In the second, the effects which classical learning has produced on the arts, the literature, and modes of thinking, of Europe, are discussed. Mr Ray enters, at considerable length, into the character of grammarians, scholiasts, and commentators, their frivolous word-catching, and the deadening influence of their |