In a handsome Pocket Volume, with a Frontispiece and Vignette, engraved by HoRSBURGH, from Paintings by THOMAS STOTHARD, Esq. R. A., 5s. 6d. boards,

SPECIMENS

OF THE

LYRICAL, DESCRIPTIVE, AND NARRATIVE

POETS OF GREAT BRITAIN,

FROM CHAUCER TO THE PRESENT DAY:

"Although we have so many Albums of this description issuing from the press year after year, yet we think there was room for the present well-executed selection. Mr Johnstone is a man of sound critical discernment, and well adapted, by a peculiar course of reading, for the task he has undertaken. There is no puling sentimentality in his work,-no mawkish affection for what our forefathers called the didactic,-no maudlin ditties, or insipid elegies; but it is a spirited book of specimens, historically arranged, tracing the genius of English poetry from the dawn of letters in the period of the Anglo-Saxon dynasty.Not only has Mr Johnstone selected well and amply, but he has accompanied his selections with brief biographical and critical notices, replete with just observation and the fruits of vigilant research. We are not acquainted with any publication so admirably calculated to awaken a true zest for genuine English lore; nor do we think that the larger and more costly compilations possess half the ment of this unassuming little volume.--Mr Johnstone, we think, has produced a book for the general reader; nor would we consider our opinion hastily advanced, if we added, that his book contains much matter worthy of the attention of the poet and the annotator."--Atlas.

"The Specimens of the Lyrical, Descriptive, and Narrative Poets of Great Britain," are remarkably well selected, and form a regular series of the progress of English poetry from Chaucer to our own time, The introductory essay on English poetry before the reign of Henry VIII, is exceedingly nicely done; as are the biographical notices of the different writers."-London Magazine,

"We have nowhere met with a more succinct and excellent abbreviation of the History of Early English Poetry than is contained in the introductory essay, which extends to a hundred pages. The lives of Surrey, Shakspeare, Chatterton, Burns, and Shelley, are admirably written; and the specimens themselves, considering the narrow limits to which the editor was necessarily confined, most judiciously selected."-London Weekly Review.

"In intrinsic value, the volume is literally worth a great deal more than its weight in gold, for it contains the most precious portion of the most precious literature in existence. -Athenæum."

"It is, in truth, a history of English poetry, written with elegance, and accompanied with specimens of every poet in England and Scotland, from Robert of Gloucester and Barbour, down to Bowring and Allan Cunningham: we except, of course, those authors of whose works extracts were given in Mr Johnstone's former volume, "Specimens of Sacred and Serious Poetry." The two volumes, taken together, have the double merit of affording a selection of pieces possessing in general great beauty in themselves, and of presenting a very complete picture of the growth and progress of English poetry, in all its varieties of diction and sentiment, from its first rude origin to its last stage of refinement."-Scotsman.

"The critical remarks of the author are brief, forcible, and lively. He exhibits, with peculiar felicity, and in few words, the character and genius of the different writers; and those sketches, joined to the biogra phical notices, constitute a valuable compendium of this interesting branch of English literature."-Courant. "The editor presents to the public a most variegated and fragrant bouquet, composed of the finest flowers that ever were culled from the garden of the Muses. Of his historical introduction we cannot speak too highly. It exhibits the soundest judgment, in union with the most correct, but not over-fastidious taste, and both exercised upon a mass of very varied and recondite knowledge; and also powers of elegant illustration, held under the strictest subordination to truth, such as are rarely to be met with."-Edinburgh Weekly Chronicle.

"Altogether, we recommend this work as ranking among the very first of its class, for the variety and praiseworthy purity of its contents, the beauty of its embellishments, and the elegance of its typography." Dumfries Courier.

WORKS

RECENTLY PUBLISHED

BY OLIVER & BOYD, EDINBURGH.

SOLD ALSO

BY GEO. B. WHITTAKER, LONDON; WILLIAM CURRY, JUN. AND CO., DUBLIN ; ROBERTSON AND ATKINSON, GLASGOW; AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS.

FAREWELL to TIME; or, Last Views of Life, and Prospects of Immortality. By the Author of "The Morning and Evening Sacrifice." SECOND EDITION. 12mo. 7s. 6d. boards.

This work is intended for the use of the sick, or of those who may have occasion to minister to them, and is conducted on the following plan:

I. General Considerations for the Use of the Sick.

II. Devotional Exercises, a great part of which are in the language of Scripture, and so arranged as at once to exhibit a view of the leading articles of Christian consolation, and to afford a scriptural comment on the considerations contained in the preceding part. Under this general title are also included the following important sections:

1. Prayers to be said for those whose Trouble unfits them for joining in the Devotions.

2. Prayers to be said when Children are suffering.

3. A Private Funeral Service.

III. Things to be done by the Dying,-such as arranging Worldly Affairs-Making a Testament-Reconciliation-Restitution-Giving a Beginning to useful Plans-Parting Advices.

IV. Prospective Views of a Future Life.

The work is so conducted as to be useful not only to the younger members of the Clerical Profession, but to persons of all classes who may at any time witness scenes of distress, or be called to offer consolation or advice to the afflicted.

"The book is pervaded, indeed, by a spirit of rational and beautiful piety, which we should think it impossible for any heart to resist, and to the influences of which no heart, we are sure, would resign itself, without being made both wiser and better and happier. Of a work which is all so excellent, we scarcely know what portion to point out as deserving of highest praise. But we may mention the concluding section, entitled, Prospective Views,' as particularly admirable. We are not sure, indeed, that we have ever read any discourse on the subject to which it refers, of either the talent or the sound philosophy of which we should be disposed to speak with warmer commendation. The short discussions interspersed through the volume, on various other points of Christian feeling and belief, are also, in general, written with admirable good sense, and in the best spirit; and the devotional addresses, especially those in the language of Scripture, are all exceedingly impressive and appropriate. Altogether, the work is indisputably the best of those on the same subject which have yet been given to the public."-Monthly Review.

"This is a book of pure and beautiful Christian devotion, rendered the more effectual from being founded, in all its sentiments, on natural affections and rational picty. There is hardly a trouble or trial in this world which its simplicity, pathos, and consolatory suggestions may not help to sooth; and we sincerely recommend it to every class, but particularly to the afflicted and bereaved."-Literary Gazette.

"This is a book which neither Christian nor infidel can peruse without benefit, and without a feeling of solemn enjoyment."-London Weekly Review.

"An excellent and truly-useful volume, the object of which is to enable Christians in every rank of life to render soothing and enlightening services to the dying. The means by which this end is to be attained are clearly and powerfully stated; and there is an earnest simplicity about the author which cannot fail to produce conviction in the mind of every reader."-Literary Chronicle.

"It is pervaded by a spirit of seriousness which is completely free from morbid gloom and superstitious terror, and by a tenderness which shows itself, not in affected pathos, but in the earnestness of its counsels and the power of its sympathy.-The devotion of this book is mild and solemn, the sentiments are tender and solacing, and the style is characterized in a superior degree by elegance and beauty."-Evangelical Magazine. "The work at present before us we consider as one of the very highest merit, and more fitted, we think, than any other which we recollect at this moment, to give a just, and, at the same time, deep character to the religious impressions of its readers.”—Caledonian Mercury.

MORNING and EVENING SACRIFICE; or, Prayers for Private Persons and Families. By the Author of " Farewell to Time." FIFTH EDITION.

This work is divided into the four following parts :

Post 8vo. 78. 6d. boards.

1. Prayers for Private Persons, adapted to the different Days of the Week, to Sacramental Sabbaths, and Days of Humiliation.

2. Family Prayers for the Sabbath-day.

3. Prayers for Persons who are in Peculiar Circumstances.

4. A copious Selection of Prayers entirely in the Language of Scripture.

The work is introduced by two Discourses explanatory of the Lord's Prayer.

It has been the object of the author, by combining simplicity of language with elevation and Christian fervour of sentiment, to render this volume a suitable manual of devotion for persons of all ranks.

"The language of these Prayers is pure, and much more simple and becoming than that of any similar work which has yet fallen under our eye."-Scottish Episcopal Review and Magazine.

"This is a very splendidly-printed edition of a work whose commendation is almost in all the churches. We wish it all possible success. It ranks equally high in its intellectual and spiritual character; but it is eminently fitted to bind up the broken in heart."-Evangelical Magazine.

"As to the volume before us, it is a highly-respectable performance in every point of view. The forms of devotion are preceded by two Discourses on the Lord's Prayer, written with great neatness, and ably illustrating the different petitions in that compendium."-New Evangelical Magazine.

"It is admirable for its plan, and charming for the beauty and simplicity of its style."--New Monthly Magazine.

"It is in many parts very strongly imbued with the purest and most sublime Christian doctrine.”—The Athenæum.

-"We most cordially recommend it to all individuals and to all families, as peculiarly fitted to promote their highest and most lasting interests."-Edinburgh Theological Magazine.

HISTORICAL SKETCHES of the ANCIENT NATIVE IRISH and their DESCENDANTS; illustrative of their past and present State with regard to Litera ture Education, and Oral Instruction. By CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON. 12mo 5s. 6d. boards.

Also, by the same Author,

THE GENIUS and DESIGN of the DOMESTIC CONSTITUTION, with its untransferable Obligations and peculiar Advantages. Post 8vo. 10s. 6d. boards. "This book deserves a careful perusal and an extensive circulation. It presents to the reader scriptura! principles, striking exemplifications, and judicious advices, on a subject of vital importance to the church and to the world."-Evangelical Magazine.

"There is so much that is calculated to be useful to Christian parents, that we beg leave to recommend it very strongly to their consideration."-Congregational Magazine."

"To the heads of all Christian families, as well as to adult children and servants, it may safely be recom mended as the best manual extant in the English language on domestic duties."-Methodist Magazine. "The sketches of Scripture characters are drawn by a master's hand, and the biographical notices of cele brated men and women in modern times are admirable."-Baptist Magazine.

DISCOURSES in VINDICATION of the CHRISTIAN FAITH, and on the Responsibility of Man for his Belief. By ISAAC BARROW, D. D. To which is prefixed, a Preliminary Essay, by the Rev. ALEX. KEITH, Author of "Evidence of the Truth of the Christian Religion, derived from the Fulfilment of Prophecy." 12mo. 5s. 6d. boards.

A TREATISE on the SABBATH; or, Illustrations of the Nature,
Obligations, Change, Proper Observance, and Spiritual Advantages of that Holy Day. By the
Rev. JOHN GLEN, Minister of the Chapel in Portobello.
12mo. 5s, boards.

This small

"Mr Glen has presented the public with a very excellent work on a most important subject. volume possesses no ordinary merit. It obviously comes from the hand of a master, who has thought much and correctly on the subject which he discusses, and who has written upon it in a style plain, perspicuous, and unaffected. Our author does not confine himself to the illustration of practical topics, but argues the doctrine of the Sabbath with great energy and propriety, in a manner, we think, calculated to make a very favourable impression on the mind of every candid and intelligent reader."-Christian Recorder.

THOUGHTS on propagating CHRISTIANITY more effectually

among the HEATHEN. By the SERAMPORE MISSIONARIES.

18mo. 18. 6d. cloth.

DISCOURSES on the DUTIES and CONSOLATIONS of the AGED. By the Rev. HENRY BELFRAGE, D. D. SECOND EDITION.

12mo. 8s. boards.

"The aged, we think, are too much neglected from the pulpit and the press; and it is therefore with the greater pleasure that we apprise our readers, that Dr Belfrage has devoted a volume of Discourses to them. His Sacramental Addresses, his Family Monitor, and his Guide to the Lord's Table, will sufficiently prepare the Christian Church for a due estimate of the seasonable work before us; of which it is but justice to state, that it surpasses his former productions in the very qualities for which they are so justly celebrated, viz. pathos and melting devotion."-Evangelical Magazine.

"While we consider all the works of our author as valuable, we would especially recommend his Sermons to the Young, his Family Monitor, and these Discourses to the Aged, as on the whole an excellent economy of the Christian life, from childhood and youth to old age and death."-Edinburgh Christian Instructor.

"On all topics of a devotional nature, the author displays a richness and a fertility of expression peculiarly his own."-Edinburgh Theological Magazine.

"Discourses to the Aged, and Discourses to the Young,' are models of rational piety, Christian mildness of spirit, and chaste and simple eloquence."-New Monthly Magazine.

"This volume is the production of a clear head and an amiable heart, and every page of it abounds with ood sense and unaffected piety."—Literary Chronicle.

Also, by the same Author, uniformly printed with the above,

A MONITOR to FAMILIES; or, Discourses on some of the

Duties and Scenes of Domestic Life. SECOND EDITION.

7s. 6d. boards.

PRACTICAL DISCOURSES, intended to promote the Improve

ment and Happiness of the Young. THIRD EDITION, enlarged.

7s. 6d. boards.

This edition contains four additional Discourses, a limited number of which has been printed separately, for the accommodation of those who possess the former editions, under the title of EXAMPLES and COUNSELS for the MORAL GUIDANCE 12mo. Is. 6d. stitched.

of YOUTH.

SACRAMENTAL ADDRESSES and MEDITATIONS, with a few SERMONS interspersed. Vol. II. SECOND EDITION.

12mo. 58. 6d. boards.

A GUIDE to the LORD's TABLE, in the Catechetical Form;

to which are added, an Address to Applicants for Admission to it, and some Meditations to aid their Devotions. SECOND EDITION, improved. 18mo. Price only 6d.

THE SCRAP BOOK; a Collection of Amusing and Striking

Pieces, in Prose and Verse. With an Introduction, and Occasional Remarks and Contributions, by JOHN M'DIARMID, Author of the "Life of William Cowper," &c. FIFTH EDITION, revised and improved. 2 vols. post 8vo. 17s. boards.

Either volume may be had separately, price Ss. 6d. boards.

"For the firesides of the numerous class of men who have only leisure to read by fits and starts, this is an amusing and generally well-selected miscellany. It is more original than most of the collections which have been compiled from time to time of late years, and, on the whole, presents a fair mixture of the grave and gay, selected from the ablest modern publications."-Literary Gazette.

"They are exclusively selected from modern authors, and exhibit a sufficient extent of variety to be alluring to those readers who prefer light reading of this description to the trouble of selecting for themselves from more voluminous compositions. The original contributions, by the editor, are not inferior to the selections."-Monthly Magazine.

"This is an exceedingly entertaining and well-selected miscellany; and, as a travelling companion, nothing can be conceived more calculated for amusement. It contains what is light and pleasant, as well as what is sententious and speculative-short amusing anecdotes, diversified with poetical extracts;-so that we are sure, open the book where we will, to meet with some entertainment, more or less substantial, as we feel inclined. In short, this selection may be recommended as a model of works of this nature, and is the best literary contrivance that can be imagined for amusing a vacant hour.”—Caledonian Mercury.

-"Upon the whole, it affords many of the finest specimens of eloquence and reasoning to be found in the language, and which succeeding ages will hold too precious to be lost."-Edinburgh Magazine.

This work has also been favourably noticed in the New Monthly Magazine, Gentleman's Magazine, La Belle Assemblée, Scotsman, &c. &c.

ETYMONS of ENGLISH WORDS. BY JOHN THOMSON, M.R.I. and M. A. S., late Private Secretary to the Marquis of Hastings, Governor-General of India. Uniformly printed with Dr Todd's edition of Johnson's Dictionary. 4to. 18s. boards.

The object of this work is to trace the descent of English words; their affinity with the different dialects of Gothic spoken in Europe; and the connexion between our own and some other tongues both of Europe and Asia,-without introducing any remarks where the general meaning is obvious.

THE COOK and HOUSEWIFE'S MANUAL; THIRD EDITION, in which are given a Compendium of French Cookery, a New System of Fashionable Confectionary, a Selection of Cheap Dishes, and above Two Hundred additional Receipts. By Mrs MARGARET DODS, of the Cleikum Inn, St Ronan's. 12mo. 7s. 6d. boards.

The rapid advance of the culinary art in England, particularly since a free intercourse with the Continent has naturalized the better parts of French Gastronomy, has for some time past made a new system of English Cookery, suited to the progressive state of the art, highly desirable. To the combination and selection of the test modes of modern cookery, as practised by the skilful and admired by the fashionable at home, or adopted by them from the French kitchen, the Publishers are as much disposed to attribute the success of the Cook and Housewife's Manual as to its literary merits; and they venture to think, that, ou examination, it will be found at least as useful and instructive as it has been universally acknowledged to be lively and ingenious.

Extracts from Reviews of the First Edition of this Work.

"We have no hesitation in saying, that, if the humorous Introduction is not written by Sir Walter Scott, the author of it possesses a singular talent of mimicking his best comic manner, and has presented us with an imitation of the great novelist, as remarkable for its fidelity, facility, and cleverness, as any thing in the Rejected Addresses.-The Remarks on keeping Game, we should not omit to say, are very bold and judicious."-Monthly Review.

"You are one of the greatest characters of the age; and it is our intention, as the summer advances, to make a journey to the North on purpose to see you, Mrs Dods;-a sort of gastronomic pilgrimage to the Cleikum Inn."-New Monthly Magazine.

"We confidently recommend the Cook and Housewife's Manual to all mistresses of families, and, in short, to all whom it may concern, and that is no small number of his Majesty's liege subjects. We ought to add, that in the receipts a due regard is had to economy."-Literary Chronicle.

"The introduction and notes are adorned by learning, wit, and humour, worthy to entertain a masculine and cultivated mind; the receipts are all practical, and many of them rare or new; and the style, though plain, is spirited and elegant."-Ackermann's Repository.

"The Encyclopedia Britannica, and the Housewife's Manual, are alike an honour to Scotland, as they are both the result of a combination of its living genius and enterprise."--News of Literature and Fashion.

"The individual who has ingeniously personated Meg Dods is evidently no ordinary writer; and the book is really most excellent miscellaneous reading. Here we have twenty or thirty grave, sober, instructive, busi ness-like pages, right on end, without one particle of wit whatever; then come as many more sprinkled with facetime; and then half-a-dozen of broad mirth and merriment. This alternation of grave and gay is exceed ingly agreeable."-Blackwood's Magazine.

"It is, in short, a system of domestic management displayed on the favourite frame-work of a novel. The idea is ingenious, and the execution amusing."-Constable's Edinburgh Magazine,

"To speak seriously, this book is evidently got up by some person who knows la Cuisine well, and something else besides.-There are both wit and learning in it; and these not stuck on like the superfluous bayleaves which grace a pyramid of jelly, but entering, like well-prepared condiments, into its very substance.”— Scotsman.

"On the whole, we conceive this volume a valuable compendium of culinary knowledge, displaying more talent and intelligence than have usually been devoted to the homely but important affairs of the dining-room, pantry, and kitchen."-Edinburgh Courant.

Extracts from Reviews of the Second Edition.

"There cannot be too many editions of Meg's precepts, especially if every succeeding one, as is the case in the present, should come recommended by such captivating additions; and this, we cannot help thinking, will inevitably be the case."-New Monthly Magazine.

"More than two hundred new receipts have been added, and the revision of the whole has produced very marked improvement. French cookery is more particularly expounded; and, altogether, we consider the hostess of the Cleikum to be one of the best oracles extant for gastronomical consultation."-Literary Gazette. "The language of praise has been nearly exhausted on this volume; and our remarks on its general merits will be little more than a confirmation of the judgment already bestowed by other critics on the previous edi tion.-Excellent as are the receipts in this work, the numerous notes appended to them are still more accept able, and enliven our progress in that most profound, difficult, intricate, and important of all studies-the art of cookery."-London Weekly Review.

"In addition to every thing which the cook or housekeeper can desire in such a manual, Mrs Margaret Dods' treatise is sprinkled with the salt of rare Scottish wit, and rivals Dr Kitchiner's learned work, both in variety and pleasant humour. We are assured also, by certain sage and experienced persons, well skilled in the subject, that we may safely recommend it to public patronage, as a useful and well-qualified guide in all the mysteries of the culinary art."-Athenæum.

"The bills of fare are admirable; whilst the mingling of the modern French with the old English kitchen renders this a perfect composition, in which we find every thing, from roasting a goose up to the more sublime invention of complex cookery, sanctioned by the first professors of the gastronomic art."-New Literary Gazette.

"A good manual hardly requires the accompaniment of wit and amusing anecdote to obtain the attention of all sensible men; yet we have no doubt that the rapidity with which Meg Dods has run to a second edition is in no small degree owing to the literary talent displayed in its composition."-Morning Chronicle.

"As a curiosity the work is unrivalled-its author is the personage of a novel, and the scene of its experiments the invention of a poet. It is ushered in by a reference to imaginary personages; and finally ends with a council of reviewers, epicures, and nabobs,-in short, a Nor Cleikiana. But this is only the garnishing. Some folks may object to all this, and call it frippery, and not credit that it can surround any work of solid information. Let them, however, take stewpan in hand and try: they will find the way to much substantial delight lying through the pages of Meg Dods' institute of the culinary art.”—The Atlas.

A METHOD of FARM BOOK-KEEPING. BY ALEX. TROTTER,

Esq. of Dreghorn. Exemplified by the Forms and Accounts actually practised by the Author in the Management of his Farm at Colinton, near Edinburgh. Svo. 7s. 6d. half-bound.