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Memoirs of his Own Time, with Reminiscences of the Events of the Revolution. By ALEXANDER GRAYDON; edited by John Stockton Littell, Member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Lindsay & Blakiston: Philadelphia.

The auto-biography of a violent political partizan, however congenial it may be to those whose strong prejudices and narrow views lead them to look upon the strife of party as the struggle of truth, and the success of party leaders as the triumph of a great principle, is not the source whence to derive correct notions, either of the men or events of what it professes to treat. More particularly when the writer is apparently smarting under the supposed injury of being deprived of an office, which he had long held, for political reasons. The most violent and intemperate abuse of the greatest and best men of the country is indulged in; and the vituperation denominated the "frankness of an honest man." Apart from the political portion of the work, the pages of Mr. Graydon are interesting, and afford an insight into the manners and habits of the men of the Revolution.

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Illuminated and Illustrated Shakspeare, Nos. 81, 82, 83, 84-The Wandering Jew. By EUGENE SUE. Illustrated-Nos. 13, 14. Harper & Brothers.

The superb manner in which these two works are illustrated and printed, in the hands of the Messrs. Harpers, is a credit to the city, as well as indicative of a new era in the progress of the publishing science, if it may be so expressed. Not only are popular works made more attractive by the beautiful manner in which the illustrations are executed, but the art of engraving on wood receives itself an impulse, from the liberal manner in which it is thus patronised. The magnificent manner in which the Pictorial Bible was got out by the same enterprising firm, met with the warmest support from the public and the

success which attended it is reported to have been so great, as to allow some of the engravers engaged in it to retire from business on a moderate competency. Such encouragement cannot but give a spur to the art; and while it adds to the attractions among readers, tends to improve the art.

A Dictionary of Practical Medicine, comprising General Pathology; the nature and treatment of Morbid Diseases, &c. &c. By JAMES COPLAND, M.D., F.R.S. Harper and Brothers.

A most valuable addition to medical literature, and got up in a well-printed and desirable form. It is published in monthly numbers, of which No. 15 is before us.

Lives of the Kings of England. By Thos. Roscoe, Esq. Lea & Blanchard: Philadelphia.

In looking back through the dull vista of time, at the long line of men raised above the multitude to direct the course of a great nation, we observe the importance of their movements, and the impress which their conduct makes upon their own and succeeding ages. Public events, however, afford but a slight and uncertain clue to the motives which impelled conduct, sometimes of the most eccentric character, and of the utmost importance in its results. The history of their private lives; the state of society at their courts, and their personal habits, are far surer indications of the circumstances under which they acted, and are, therefore, to the reader and student of history of the greatest importance. These have been depicted, in the volumes before us, with a degree of interest seldom imparted to works of their general cha

racter.

HARPERS' LIBRARY OF SELECT NOVELS.— 1st, No. 80. The Female Minister, or a Son's Revenge: translated from the French. By EUGENE SUE.

2d, No. 82. The Park Ranger of Van Dieman's Land. By CHARLES RowCROFT, Esq.

3d, No. 84. The Confessions of a Pretty Woman. By Mrs. PARDOE.

These are of that class of cheap publications that have of late years so inundated the country, and which are the fruits of the improvement in the art of printing, and the diffusion of general knowledge. We are not of those who consider these

works an evil, even although they be works of fiction, and many of them not of a high order either of literature or morals. They are, nevertheless, a mark of an advanced state of society, as far as the masses of the people are concerned. They are useful, also, inasmuch as that they fasten the attention of those who are not possessed of a habit of reading, and in whom the taste for better productions grows as their appetite for mere excitements fails. Like the cheap diurnal press, they, from the simplicity and familiarity of the matter they present, in a concise form. draw the attention and excite an interest in the young or indolent, which soon ripens into a habit of reading, and leads to an improvement in the taste. If our neighbors of Mexico could be induced to read, with interest, the cheap publications, in the proportion in which they are devoured here, a speedy reformation in the whole structure of society might be looked for.

Life in Prairie Land, by ELIZA W. FARNHAM, 1 vol. 12mo. pp. 408. Harper & Brothers.

This volume forms the XIIth number of Harper's New Miscellany of Sterling Literature; it will be found a work of unusual interest, and one that addresses itself to almost every class of readers. Its intrinsic value, aside from the high reputation of the authoress, must give it a wide circulation. It is made up of a series of charming and life-like pictures of a personal residence in the Far-West-perfect daguerreotypes of a settler's daily habits, customs, methods of husbandry, &c.; together with graphic sketches of travel in various sections of that far spreading and fertile country. The work is enlivened by a rich vein of irresistible humor, interwoven among passages of great power and eloquent beauty, eminently impressive and suggestive Mrs. Farnham has already acquired no unenviable degree of reputation for the distinguished ability with which she has sustained the office of Directress of Sing Sing Female Prison, where, by her knowledge of the human mind, her prudence and love in controlling it, she has made a place of profanity and disorder, so far as criminals were concerned, one of

order, submission and peace. We speak the more freely, knowing that Mrs. F. is actuated from a high sense of duty and love of her race, rather than the mere love of reputation; and that she has less fear of enemies, if such she has, and is more indifferent to praise, than the majority who come before the public. The author of "Life in Prairie Land," has for some years past contributed largely, although

anonymously, to many of our leading periodicals. We advise all who would laugh heartily over passages of keen satire, or be charmed with glowing and beautiful descriptions, who would drop a tear over some of the most touching and thrilling incidents they have ever yet perused, to read this volume.

Library of American Biography. By JARED SPARKS, vol. viii. Boston: Little & Brown. 12mo.

The labors of Mr. Sparks are productive of a fund of information, concentrated from the amplest sources, and almost invaluable to the reader of modern history. The volume before us contains the life of Charles Lee, by Jared Sparks; and also that of Joseph Reed, by his grandson, Henry Reed. These heroes of the Revo lution are presented to the reader in a spirit of impartiality and general accuracy which reflect high credit on the authors. Mr. Sparks has sought to extenuate the conduct of Lee on the field of Monmouth, which led to a court-martial, and his susvice. At this distant day it is rather up-hill pension, and final retirement from the serwork to attempt to impeach the decision of a court-martial then sitting, at a time when every motive must have existed to sustain the accused. The rash and disappointed ci-devant Russian officer, no doubt, retire to his estates. met fully his deserts in being allowed to

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Barrow, of the British Admiralty, possesses the best qualifications for the task of condensing, in a most readable and elegant form, a history of all the voyages, with the stirring adventure and results of each. The volume forms perhaps one of the most valuable numbers of Harper's new miscellany.

The Life of Martin Luther, gathered from his own writings. By M. MICHELET, author of "The History of France.Translated by G. H. Smith, F.R.S.: D. Appleton & Co., 200 Broadway.

One of the most acceptable of Appleton's Literary Miscellanies is before us in the biography of Martin Luther. Not as expressed in the author's preface to the life of Luther, turned into an historical romance; nor a history of the establishment of Lutheranism, but a biography, consisting of a series of transcripts from Luke's own revelations. The work was written during the year 1828 and '29, although not published until 1835. It is full of interest, and commends itself to the reader of the history of Christian religion.

Twenty-four Years in the Argentine Republic; embracing its Civil and Military History, and an account of its Political condition before and during the administration of Governor Rosas. By CoL. J. ANTHONY KING, an officer in the army of the republic. D. Appleton & Co., 200 Broadway, New-York.

The events in the River Plate during the last few years have drawn the attention of diplomatists and politicians, as well as the public generally, to that portion of the globe with increasing interest. The fact that England and France have undertaken gratuitously and of " their own wrong" to interfere in the affairs of two nations upon this continent, has excited a painful interest, inasmuch as that it points to great future difficulties between the new and old world, should such a precedent gain the sanction of even a portion of the people on this continent. The importance of the movement seems to have created two parties; the one attempts by all means to blacken the public and private character of Rosas, apparently as a palliative for the course pursued by foreign powers in relation to the troubles between Buenos Ayres and the Banda Oriental. Whatever may be the conduct of Rosas in the administration of his own government, or the nature of the difficulties between him and the republic of Uruguay, they can afford no possible ground for two nations, 6,000 miles dis

tant, thrusting themselves between the disputants, and attempting to tyrannize over and dictate to both. The meddling of the English government with the matter is probably the greatest error of the present administration of Great Britain, and will bring with it its own punishment. The duplicity of Mr. Ouseley affords no redress for want of candor on the part of Rosas, whose character has been formed in turbulent times, in a country where rigor is more requisite than perhaps any other. Independent of the political bias of Col. affords a very good picture of men and King's work, it is highly interesting, and things in that quarter of the world, in relation to which little has been heretofore known, because public attention has not, until lately, been particularly directed to it. The style of its publication is exceedingly neat and inviting, and it is well worthy an attentive perusal.

Animal Magnetism; or, Psycodunamy.
By THEODORE LEGER, Doctor of the
Medical Faculty of Paris, &c., &c. D.
Appleton & Co.

He

The public have become more familiar with the science of magnetism through its abuses than through its merits. In the present volume Mr. Leger has gone into the history of animal magnetism in a most thorough and interesting manner. divides the history from the practice of the art, as two distinct heads; under the former is comprehended all the phenomena that consists in the manifestation of some peculiar human faculties that are coeval with the creation of the world. The practical operation of the science, as a satisfactory and rational system, is altogether new, and indeed, by a large portion of the public, its very existence is denied. This latter division is to form the text of another volume to be shortly published. The history, as embraced in the volume before us, comprehends its academical history with the report of the Royal Academy upon the subject in 1825 and 1831; Dr. Berna's experiments and reports in 1837; opinion of Dr. Husson. The second section comprises the history in the ages of antiquity, and the evidences of its existence among the Pesians, Egyptians, and other ancient enlightened nations; the progress through the middle ages down to Mesmer; the subsequent discoveries of somnambulism, and the spread of the science in England and the United States. The term "Psycodunamy" the author tells us, is derived from Greek words, signifying the "power of the soul." To those who feel an interest in the science this work is invaluable.

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