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LITERATURE AND THE FINE ARTS.

A COPIOUS AND PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE GAME LAWS. By John Bell, A.M., of Lincoln's-inn, Barrister-at-Law. London: William Crofts, Chancery-lane. 1839.

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By a pleasant fiction in jurisprudence, every man is supposed to be familiar with the laws of that state of which he may happen to be a citizen. Now, where the statutes of a country occupy, probably, some hundred acres of parchment, it may be permitted us to doubt, whether the people have not credit for rather more than they have just claim to. As such, there is reason to believe, is the popular status" in these United Kingdoms, from time to time some barrister of bowels puts forth a manual-a sort of legal life-boat, wherein, haply, some few unfortunates are rescued from perishing according to Act of Parliament. Among the latest of these Samaritans is Mr. John Bell, of Lincoln's-inn; and of a verity he has done a service, if only by directing men's attentions to the monstrous absurdities of that preposterous code. As an illustration of the knowledge of the Game Laws possessed by those functionaries, whose peculiar province it is to manage the machinery of their exchequer, we beg to refer the reader to Mr. Bell's Appendix, No. 1,-wherein are given sixty-one cases, decided by the Judges, under appeals against charges by surveyors of taxes: out of such sixty-one cases the Judges pronounced that the decisions of the Commissioners were wrong in thirty-eight instances! Speaking of these surcharges by surveyors, our author

says:

"It is hoped that any information the author may be able to give upon this subject, will be acceptable to that part of the public who have occasionally to appeal against such charges: and more especially as the practice of conducting those appeals seems not to be thoroughly established; one body of commissioners putting the defendant upon his oath, and another body of commissioners declining to put him upon his oath, except he voluntarily agrees to be sworn."

We have read Mr. Bell's book with care, and have much pleasure in bearing testimony to its many excellencies. No extracts that our space would allow could convey a just idea of the order and system upon which it is constructed, and wherein consist its chief merits. Every patient therein may minister to himself; he will have no difficulty in discovering a prescription analogous to his case. We cannot, however, part with the volume, and leave unnoticed a few of the niceties in game-legislation :

"If a person discharge a gun into a field, so as to break up the sod by the shot, it will be a breaking and entering; upon which an action may be founded: but firing across a field, where no part of the shot touches the soil, does not amount to a 'clausum fregit.'" (p. 120.)

Now, who is there so obtuse as not to detect the vast moral distinction between these two cases, or not to admire the profound wisdom of those who so gravely provided for them? Sometimes, we find even the cauliflower-wigs sorely puzzled,-ex. gr.: B

having placed "dog-spears" in his wood, A's dog, running a hare into such close (notwithstanding A used every exertion to stop him), is killed thereby.

"The plaintiff having brought an action upon the case against the defendant, to recover a compensation for the loss of his dog, the Court of Common Pleas were equally divided in opinion, whether the action was maintainable— Gibbs, C. J., and Dallas, J., holding that it was not; and Park and Burrough, Js., holding that the plaintiff was entitled to recover." (p. 210.)

With two samples of the principle upon which the Game Laws have been constructed, we close our notice of Mr. Bell's useful little multum in parvo :

"A party riding along the high road, accidentally meets a pack of harriers (legally returned and paid for under the Assessed Tax Acts), and, being invited, joins them, without aiding or assisting-but merely as a spectator: the Judges held him liable for a game certificate." (p. 308.)

"Parties in the company of another person who shall have obtained a certificate in his own right, may aid and assist him in taking and killing game (provided the dogs are the property of the certificated person), and are not liable for game certificates.” (vide Coursing Case, No. 9, p. 258.)

What is law for coursing, is not, therefore, law for hunting; the principle being in a direct adverse ratio to the common-sense application of the cases.

FINDENS' TABLEAUX: The Iris of Prose, Poetry, and Art, for 1840.
Illustrated with Engravings by W. and E. Finden, from paintings
by J. Browne. Edited by Mary Russel Mitford.
Charles Tilt, Fleet-street.

London:

The contemplation of a work like this-the most splendid of all the gorgeous Annuals-may be likened to placing before a man of straitened means, a feast of all that is richest and most exquisite in wine and victual,-present enjoyment scarcely making amends for the conviction that such treats are "few and far between." The designs from which the engravings are executed, are very beautiful; but, as Ovid says of the labours of Vulcan on the gates of the palace of the sun, "materiem superabat opus." The literary matter is of a high character. "The Maid's Trial," by J. R. Chorley, is a poem of extraordinary power and interest-equal, we had almost said superior, to the "Lay of the Ancient Mariner." In the harmony and magnificence of all its arrangements, this volume stands alone among the class to which it belongs it must command admiration and patronage so long as the Fine Arts are esteemed and supported.

THE ORIENTAL ANNUAL; a series of Tales, Legends, and Historical Romances, by T. Bacon, Esq., F. S. A., &c. &c.; with Engravings by W. and E. Finden, from Sketches by the Author and Capt. M. Taylor. London: Charles Tilt, Fleet-street, 1840.

To the lovers of Eastern story and Eastern scenery, this beautiful work especially addresses itself; for every one of taste it has claims surpassed by few of its contemporaries. The literary portion of it, for the most part narratives of facts connected with Oriental histoy, is full of interest and novelty: the wild and gorgeous embellishments re

minded us of the fancies stirred in our young imagination by the tales of "The Thousand and One Nights." We cordially recommend this candidate for public favour; it is got up in a spirit, and with a spirit, that deserves to be upheld.

FORGET-ME-NOT. A Christmas, New Year's, and Birth-day Present, for 1840. Edited by F. Shoberl. London: Ackermann & Co.

This Annual-the first-born of the family-has long enjoyed the condition and privileges that attach to its position. Nor has it held them alone by mere conventional claim. From the first number, to that now before us, all that a liberal and well-applied outlay could effect has been done to keep it on the best terms with the great literary movement of its day. Without essaying to soar out of its original sphere, it has maintained its position with credit to itself, and those by whom it was projected. The present number is quite equal to any of its predecessors. Both the literature and embellishments are the productions of talent and skill; they will win their own way better than any eulogy of ours can recommend them. Let the " Forget-Me-Not" only continue the course it has so long pursued, and it has little cause to fear oblivion.

THE NATURALISTS' LIBRARY: Vols. IX. and X.-Vol. IX. The Natural History of the Birds of Great Britain and Ireland. Illustrated by thirty-six Plates, with Memoir and Portrait of Sir Robert Sibbald, Bart., M. D. By Sir William Jardine, Bart., F. R. S. E., F. L. S., &c. &c. Vol. X. Illustrated by thirty-two Plates, with Memoir and Portrait of Wm. Smellie. By Sir Wiliam Jardine, Bart., &c. &c. Edinburgh: W. H. Lizars, 3, St. James's-square; S. Highley, 32, Fleet-street, London; and W. Curry, jun. and Co. Dublin, 1839. There is no portion of our monthly duties that comes more pleasantly recommended than that which calls upon us to notice the constant succession-crops of books devoted to instruction and amusement combined, with which the press teems. Foremost of these we have already classed works on Natural History; it scarcely needs here to say, that not one among them has obtained a more deserved popularity than "The Naturalists' Library "of Sir William Jardine. The ninth and tenth volumes will certainly not lessen its character. They abound in matter of the most entire interest, and are lavishly embellished with ornithological specimens, coloured after nature with a rare and admirable fidelity. It is a work without which no library can be complete, and we predict that very few will be without.

THE ORACLE OF RURAL LIFE. An Almanack for Sportsmen and Country Gentlemen, 1840. Embellished by fourteen beautifully engraved Illustrations; and numerous Wood-engravings after W. and H. Barraud. London: A. H. Baily and Co., 83, Cornhill, 1840. We spoke of "The Oracle of Rural Life" for 1839, as the best of the Sporting Almanacks, and we have a still better right to commend that for 1840. It has been got up at an expense bearing very little reference to the price at which it is sold, as well as with a care and consideration for every subject which it treats of, infinitely creditable to all engaged upon it. We know of no publication of the kind so

generally useful for all rural purposes, or one we can more conscientiously recommend to our country friends.

FANNY ELSSLER, in the "Cracovienne" Dance, in the Ballet of the Gipsy. London: Mc Lean, Haymarket, August, 1839.

Chance placed in our hands this morning at breakfast, "The New York Spirit of the Times," of August the 17th. We are often indebted to that most excellent miscellany for many a pleasant literary scrap. Europe certainly can boast no journal to compete with it. for amusing small-talk. Upon this occasion, we encountered in it an article entitled "Taglioni," by Mr. W. P. Willis, selected from, we believe, a transatlantic periodical, to which that gentleman contributes at this present writing. Now, Mr. Willis's "Pencillings by the Way,” when they were in our way, gained him small favour in our eyes. He made a gigantic exhibition of himself in his sporting (!!!) notice of Gordon Castle. Scarce had we begun to recover from that attack, than, with a perfection of cruelty, he inflicts upon us an essay on the ballet. With every possible respect for brother Jonathan, surely he is the last of men from whom we desire a lecture upon the poetry of motion. Because "Jim Crow" was popular among us, Mr. Willis has no right to assume that, as Mr. Rice's compatriot, he is in a condition to legislate upon our taste for dancing. By'r Lady, but it moves our bile, when such a huckster of gossip writes in a strain like this. It is easy for the Elsslers and Augusta and others, who are said to be only second to her (Taglioni), to copy her flying step," &c. &c. We tell the libeller, that "Fanny" copies neither mortal nor goddess. "She of herself is her own parallel." Taglioni may be Mr. Willis's déesse de la dance-" Fanny" is our womanly embodiment of the music of motion! Let any who saw her in that ravishing "Cracovienne," say, was she not the very ideal that "the youthful poet dreams of when he loves?" Let the unfortunate, who never did, place Mc Lean's exquisite presentment of her in the choicest nook of his choicest chamber-where will he seek more lovely embellishment? Sweet favourite of the Graces! thus do we solace ourselves in thine absence-" Heu! quanto minus est cum reliquis versari quam tui meminisse."

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"HONOUR." A debt of honour payable at sight. "SATISFACTION." A debt of honour duly discharged. Drawn by E. Bristow, and Engraved by E. Duncan. London: R. Ackermann, 191, Regent Street, October, 1839.

Two subjects, most cleverly conceived and treated, wherein two pair of Jockos are the dramatis persona, but two such brace as we wouldn't exchange "for a wilderness of monkeys." The plot relates, as will be imagined, to an affair of honour; the first plate representing (not to speak it profanely), "the Meet;" the second (we wonder it wasn't "the Run,") "the Death." The painter, in his satire, has embodied a conception that "imitates humanity most abominably," as the annals of Chalk Farm and Battersea Fields would testify; written by one who should "nothing extenuate." The colouring and effect of these plates come as near painting as anything we can conceive; they will serve the counterfeit presentment of the "homo caudatus," as much as a certain countenance in high places has brought the actual little gentlemen into fashion and repute.

TURF REGISTER.

It is not thought convenient to give the details of the running at the Minor Meetings.

CURRAGH MULGRAVE MEETING.

THURSDAY, July 25th.-Her Majesty's Plate of 100 gs.; for three-year-olds, 7 st., and four 8 st. 7 lb.; f. and g. allowed 5 lb.; two miles.

Mr. Harrison's ch. c. by Recovery, out of Taglioni, three-years old ...
Mr. Watts's br. c. Clone, three-years old
Mr. Davis's b. f. Romp, three-years old

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The following also started, but were not placed:-Mr. Graydon's b. f. Alba, four-years old; and Col. Westenra's ch. f. Verona, four-years old.

FRIDAY.-Her Majesty's Plate of 100 gs.; three-year-olds, 6 st. 3lb.; four, 8 st. 12 lb.; six and aged, 9 st.; m. and g. allowed 5 lb.; four miles.

Mr. Graydon's b. f. Alba, four-years old
Major Hay's br. c., M.P., four-years old

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Mr. Hutchins's ch. c. by Vestris, three-years old Mr. Montgomery's br. c. Salute, four-years old Lord Howth's b. c. Claret, by Alcaston, three-years old, 10 st. 10 lb. (owner), beat Mr. Maher's b. g. Perdition, five-years old, 11 st. 13 lb.; one mile and a quarter on the Peel Course, 25 sovs. The Howth Corinthian Stakes of 10 sovs. each, h. ft., with 20 added by Lord Howth and 20 by the Club; the second horse to save his stake; heats; Peel Course (eight subscribers).

Mr. Power's b. c. Clone, by Philip the First, or Alcaston, three-years old, 11 st. 2 lb.
Mr. Montgomery's ch. h. Cordova, five-years old, 12 st. 4 lb.
Lord Howth's b. c. Cromaboo, three-years old, 10 st. 8 lb. ...
Mr. Purcell's ch. g. Frank, five-years old, 12 st. 4 lb.

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WEDNESDAY, August 28th.-The Hereford Stakes of 15 sovs. each, 10 ft., and 5 only if declared, &c., with 50 added; about two miles and a distance (six subscribers, two of whom paid only 5 sovs. each).

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Capt. Lamb's br. h. Gardham, by Falcon, five-years old, 7 st. 9 lb. (Moon)
Mr. Gough's b. c. Bay Hampton, four-years old, 7 st. 7 lb.
Mr. Bristow's b. c. Alzdorf, three-years old, 6 st. 4 lb.
Sweepstakes of 3 sovs. each, with the Coronation Plate of 50 sovs. added by the Citizens of
Hereford, for all ages; heats, once round and a distance (four subscribers).

Mr. Walmsley's b. g. Catamaran, by Strephon, aged, 9 st. 8 lb. (Wadlow)
Mr. Morris's b. g. Young Hesperus, five-years old, 9 st. 3 lb.
Mr. Page's b. f. Miss Foot, three-years old, 7 st. 1 lb.

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The Farmers' Plate (handicap) of 50 sovs., given by the Members for the County; the owner of the second horse received 10 sovs. out of the plate, and the last horse paid 2 sovs. to the fund; heats, once round and a distance.

Mr. Walker's ch. g. Pic-nic, by Piscator, five-years old, 11 st. 11lb. (owner)
Mr. Vevers's b. g. Cruikshanks, aged, 11 st. 2 lb.
Mr. Jones's b. m. Gorse Bush, five-years old, 10 st. 13 lb.
Mr. Holloway's gr. g. Ranger, four-years old, 10 st. 7 lb.
Mr. Bodenham's b. m. Glow-worm, six-years old, 10 st.
Mr. Turner's Eagle, five-years old, 8 st.

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The Hunters' Stakes of 10 sovs. each, with 20 added, for horses which have been regularly hunted with any established pack of hounds; gentlemen riders; heats, two miles and a distance. Mr. Vevers's b. g. Charity, by Woodman, aged, 11 st. 10 lb. (Mr. Oliver) Mr. Walker's ch. g. Pic-nic, five-years old, 11 st. 2 lb. Mr. Powell's b. g. Cholstrey, aged, 10 st. 11 lb.

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Mr. Hawkins's b. g. Liberty, six-years old, 9 st. 12 lb. THURSDAY.-Sweepstakes of 15 sovs. each, 10 ft., and 5 only if declared, &c., with 25 added, instead of the City and County Gold Cup of 50 sovs. in specie, which would have been added if three horses had started; the winner of the Herefordshire Stakes to carry 4 lb. extra; about two miles and a half (six subscribers, three of whom paid only 5 sovs. each).

Capt. Lamb's br. h. Gardham, five-years old, 7 st. 10 lb., and 4 lb. extra (Moon) ... 1
Mr. Gough's b. c. Bay Hampton, four-years old, 7 st. 61b.

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A Selling Stakes of 3 sovs. each, with 25 added; the winner to be sold for 25 sovs. if demanded; heats, once round and a distance.

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