But yet the work is by no means so bad as this view might indicate,— there are scenes described with great ability and power,-the gorgeous imagination which conjured up the wondrous Tale of Alroy, frequently flashes forth, and the keen observation, which dazzled in Vivian Grey, is often apparent. In his political reflections there is much which merits consideration, and the interest which Coningsby himself excites, is very fairly sustained till the drop of the curtain. We are pleased, yet we scarcely know why. A close analysis reveals glaring deficiencies, yet a vivid fancy and an easy expression ever lures us on, and makes us forget the tedium of his politics, and his frequent aberrations from the orbit of the novelist. We close the book with a disposition to peruse it a second time,-a rare inclination in the case of most modern novels, and this alone would prove that there are merits which are not as easily pointed out as the defects. We cannot say that Coningsby will add much to D'Israeli's fame as a novelist, although it should increase his reputation as a thinker. And with this medley of commendation and censure, we must dismiss the work.

2.-The American Shepherd; being a history of the sheep, with their breeds, management and diseases. Illustrated with portraits of different breeds, sheep-barns, sheds, etc.; with an Appendix, embracing upwards of twenty letters from eminent wool-growers and sheep-fatteners of different States, detailing their respective modes of management. L. A. MORRELL. New-York: Harper & Brothers, 82 Cliff-street. 1845.

MR. MORRELL entertains, he tells us, an affection for sheep, and writes, accordingly, con amore. In the elaborate treatise before us, he has produced what he intended to do, a strong work, and, we may add, a standard one for American farmers and breeders of sheep. No man in the United States, as we are credibly informed,-has more experience in the management of sheep, none is better acquainted with the diseases to which that innocent and useful animal is liable, and with the remedies to be applied in every case. He is a practical man, but a complete enthusiast in all that relates to his favorite animal, the sheep, a little timid it would seem in courting public favor and wearing the laurels of authorship, but still quite worthy to wear them. This is, in fact, a most thorough and useful work. The author has taken pains to procure a recommendation of it from the Executive Committee of the New-York State Agricultural Society, which is prefixed to the titlepage. This was quite unnecessary. The work speaks for itself, besides deriving a sufficient passport to respectful consideration from the fact, that it was issued by the Messrs. Harper. We are quite tired of

the puffing system in all its departments. A modest man, who publishes a good book, like the one before us, does not require its aid.

This work was a desideratum. There was no American work on the management of sheep, and treating of the various breeds, that deserved a place in our libraries. We have now one that we can place on the same shelf with Youatt's, Blacklock's and Spooner's works, and feel a just pride in the fact, that it is an American production. We are indebted for our copy of this useful and interesting volume, embellished with a variety of appropriate wood-cuts, to Mr. Greer, of King

street.

3.-EUGENE SUE.-The Wandering Jew, superbly illustrated by the most eminent artists of Paris. A new and elegant translation. Harper & Brothers: New-York. 1845.

THIS splendid work is to be completed in about eighteen numbers. The embellishments are very noble, the type sufficiently large for easy reading, and the paper of the very first quality. We shall keep our numbers together, as we receive them, and shall have them bound in a manner suitable to the character of the work.

We are not now prepared to review this great production of the French novelist,-but shall avail ourselves of an early opportunity to do so. We have read it, as every body else has, with breathless interest. Every chapter is, by itself, a complete picture,—drawn to the life. Critics may, and will, cavil at it, but its merits are unquestionably great, and will carry down the author's name to future times as the most powerful writer of fiction of this, or of any age, or country. Still we have some serious objections, to the "Wandering Jew." It inculcates many fine moral lessons, but there are some scenes exhibited, and reflections uttered, which, however illustrative of the state of society in France, are unsuited to the tone of public sentiment in America, and are, in our view, highly objectionable. We are sorry that we feel constrained to express such an opinion in regard to a work of so rare and high an order of genius, and we cannot but think, that if the author had exercised a little more caution and circumspection, he might have rendered the work wholly unexceptionable in this particular. Nor are we satisfied with the denouement of the work. Our sympathies are deeply enlisted in behalf of the various noble minded and generous characters, who figure upon the author's stage of action. We fear for them; we struggle for them; we hope for them; when they weep, we shed tears; when they rejoice for a temporary season, we are happy; we detest, with them, the craft and wickedness of their enemies, and believe that they will finally circumvent and get the better of them, but, in this expectaVOL. VIII. No. 16.

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tion, we are disappointed. Vice, in this fascinating work, is rendered more powerful than virtue, and evil, in the end, is made to triumph over good. The virtue of the brightest characters, notwithstanding the various brilliant qualities attributed to them, is, so to speak,-too simple-minded, and too easily duped, and the conclusion does violence to all the finest feelings of the heart, and not less so to justice and to truth.

4.-The Wigwam and the Cabin. By WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS. New-York and London: Wiley & Putnam. 1845.

THIS work consists of a series of tales, which Dr. Simms has heretofore published in the annuals, but which, like old wine, he considers too good to be wasted. They are intended to "illustrate the border history of the South," and, we are told, "will be found" to do so "largely." They had appeared, from time to time, after considerable intervals, in volumes now scattered abroad, and their author was of opinion, that "their merits were such as to justify their collection into a compact volume." He says, also, that he "can speak with confidence of their general truthfulness," of which we do not doubt. We received this volume, just as we were going to press, and are sorry that we have not yet had time to read it. We can, however, and do, with pleasure, announce the fact, that it has arrived in Charleston, and can be procured at Mr. Babcock's, and probably at the other booksellers. We mean to take it with us into the country, and shall devour it, as a bon morceau, along with the good things of Christmas, and we recommend to our friends to procure it, and do so likewise.

5.—John Ronge, the Holy Coat of Treves and the New German Catholic Church. New-York: Harper & Brothers. 1845.

THE New Reformation, which has been brought about in Germany, by the instrumentality of John Ronge and the Holy Coat of Treves, and which has already extended, in some measure, to this country, will render this work particularly acceptable to Protestant readers, and will not be regarded wholly with indifference even by Catholics. The documents are translated directly from the German language, and the statement of facts is made from the personal knowledge of the author, or founded on facts derived from the public journals of Germany. We may consider this work of sufficient importance to render it the subject of an extended article in this Review, and forbear therefore further

comment at present. Its appearance may be regarded as one of the pregnant signs of the times, which begin every where to be characterized by great restlessness, and a tendency to radical changes in religious institutions and opinions.

6.-Harpers' Illuminated and Illustrated Shakspeare. All's well that ends well. New-York. Nos. 67-68. 25 cents.

By some oversight, we presume, of the publishers, this is the first number of the Illuminated Shakspeare that has reached our hands. It is an elegant and desirable work, and is rendered peculiarly valuable by its copious notes from the various commentators. It will be an ornament to the scholar's library, and richly deserves a place there. We thank the Messrs. Harper for the great pains they have taken to embellish it in a proper manner. The engravings are very fine.

7.-Puritanism; or a Churchman's Defence against its Aspersions, by an Appeal to its own History. By THOMAS W. Cort, D. D., Rector of Trinity Church, New-Rochelle, N. Y., and a Member of the New-York Historical Society. New-York: D. Appleton & Co. 1845.

THIS is a bitter work, dictated by no very christian spirit, but, still, gotten up with considerable ability. It is of the spiritual bellicose class of writings, the production of a sturdy champion of the church militant. It consists of a series of letters, of which the first is the best, being characterized by a fierce kind of eloquence, such as a man of decent sense and strong passions would be likely to pour forth, when his party was assailed, or his own self-love wounded. The succeeding letters are rather dry, dull and musty, exhibiting industry and perseverance that might have been better employed. The author seems to have been disgusted by the praises bestowed on the Puritans on the 22d of December,-by the almost classical associations connected with their landing on Plymouth Rock, and by the pains which orators and poets have taken to celebrate that event. He is of opinion that the Puritans, as a class, were no better than they should be, --that is to say,that they were not a remarkably good sort of people,—were not heroes nor demi-gods, saints nor angels,-that they obtained a certain factitious importance in the world under false pretences, were not so much persecuted as persecutors, were influenced, in their movements,

more by the love of gain than of God, were not driven out of England nor Holland by ecclesiastical tyranny, but went away of their own accord, very much after the fashion of freemen. He thinks Episcopacy is indebted to him for these luminous discoveries that he has made respecting the infirmities of the Puritans, and felicitates himself on the result of his pains-taking efforts. He has labored hard in his peculiar vocation. He has toiled all night amidst the damps and dews of that ungenial season, and all day, under the scorching rays of a crisping sun, and he has caught fish. He is a man of talents,-the Rev. Dr. Coit, a champion and antagonist not to be despised. He wields a pretty heavy mace. We acknowledge his merits and his spirit. He is doubtless, too, a conscientious person, and, being a minister of the word, and a distinguished one, wearing the laurels of a doctorate on his brow, he has thought it his duty to do something for the cause of religion, and, being a member of the Historical Society, something also for the cause of literature. The history of the Puritans is a very proper topic to occupy the attention of a writer, having such accomplishments and resting under such obligations, since it has an aspect, on one side, towards the church, and, on the other, towards letters, stimulating, by its twofold class of impulses, the zeal of the sectary and the ardour of the scholar. We are sorry for the Puritans,--more especially as they are dead and cannot defend themselves. The author, under the influence of a certain christian furor, seems quite to have forgotten the old heathen motto of Nihil nisi, etc. He comes down with his heavy sledge hammer on the ghosts of the departed. They cannot now brandish carnal weapons against him, else the issue of the encounter might be terrible even to the Doctor,-for some of the old Puritans were pugnacious men,--quite good at an argument, and obstinate as mules in the defence of their rights. He has succeeded, however, as he supposes, in making them appear good for nothing,-objects of abhorrence and loathing rather than of respect; and yet we venture to whisper into the ears of his reverence, that, with all their faults, (and the Puritans had great ones,) there were bold and brave spirits among them, and good ones, too,-christians, scholars and gentlemen, not a few. We think we might venture, without apprehension, to enter upon a defence of the Puritans,-not, of course, of their bad and tyrannical acts, but of such as were respectable and praiseworthy. We believe we could make a pretty fair argument in their favor,-not, perhaps, such a one as would silence sceptics, and melt the hearts of their enemies, but such as would be likely to ensure a larger share of respectful consideration for them from the friends of truth and humanity, than is rendered to their memory by the prejudices of Dr. Coit in the work before us. The virtues of the Puritans, were an uncomplaining endurance of the severest toils, patience under various hardships, courage amid appalling perils of all kinds, bravery in battle, and a sturdy love of independence. These are manly traits. In every age and country, they make heroes