O'Connell.

It is rather difficult to account for the selection of some of these. On the same principle, a vast number of others might have been included, and the value of the work would thereby have been increased. Judging from the title-page, we expected to meet with reports of the trials of William Hone and others during the premiership of Lord Liverpool; but the first sentence of the Introduction extinguished such anticipations, by informing us that the cases selected were such as had occurred within the last thirty years. Why this limit was fixed, we know not. We regret the fact on many accounts, and principally as the trials alluded to would have afforded an opportunity of bringing out some of the most instructive comments suggested by the history of our past jurisprudence. Perhaps Mr. Townsend's limits were fixed on this very account, as no part of his work leads us to suppose that the censure of those in authority is grateful to his taste. We should also have been glad if the reports had been more condensed, so as to have admitted a greater number. The speeches of counsel and the examination of witnesses are sometimes given at too great length, so as to weary the general reader, for whom the work has evidently been prepared. A more condensed narrative, admitting of a larger selection, would, on many accounts, have been preferable. Taking the work, however, as it is, we receive it with grateful acknowledgment, as an instructive record of many transactions which Englishmen should clearly understand and long remember. It is interesting as well as instructive; and, though not suited for continuous reading, may be consulted with advantage and pleasure during the leisure hours which frequently occur. 'It has been the object of the editor to free the work from dry severity by introducing the " loci latiores" of the advocates, the salient parts of cross-examination, those little passages of arms between the rival combatants which diversified the arena, the painting of the forensic scene, the poetry of action of these legal dramas.' No intelligent reader will regret the money expended in the purchase of these volumes, or the time devoted to their perusal.

Daily Bible Illustrations: being Original Readings for a Year, on Subjects from Sacred History, Biography, Geography, Antiquities, and Theology. Especially designed for the Family Circle. By John Kitto, D.D., F.S.A. Edinburgh: W. Oliphant and Sons.

DR. KITTO's labours in the department of Biblical illustration have secured him a worthy place amongst his contemporaries. His labours have been equally varied, extensive, and useful, and entitle him to the best thanks of the Christian Church. The present work, of which the volume before us constitutes the second, is one of the best, and will prove, we doubt not, one of the most popular of his productions. It is based on an admirable plan, and unites many qualities well fitted to give it general acceptance, and to render it preeminently useful. The former volume was founded on the record we possess of the Antediluvian and Patriarchal Ages, while this proceeds

to the end of the Book of Judges,-making the more prominent narratives of scripture the basis of brief illustrations, suited to daily reading for the three months, April, May, and June. We know not a better book, of its kind, in our language. The results of very extensive reading are brought to bear on the illustration of scripture history in a style clear and unembarrassed, and in a spirit admirably suited to benefit the reader. The work,' as Dr. Kitto remarks, 'is not a history—not a commentary-not a book of critical or antiquarian research but is something of all these.' It is, in fact, the production of an intelligent, well-informed, and devout mind, earnestly concerned to give consistency and definiteness to the views of scripture readers, by encouraging the habit not merely of reading, but of thinking, over its contents.'

The heads of families will do well to adopt it as a book for daily perusal; and the young cannot easily find a more intelligent, instructive, or devout companion. We commend it emphatically to all classes of readers, as pre-eminently suited to remove misconceptions, to clear up difficulties, and to impress the mind with a deeper sense of the truthfulness and value of the word of God.

Readings for Railways: or, Anecdotes, and other Short Stories. Reflections, Maxims, Characteristics, Passages of Wit, Humour, and Poetry, &c. Together with Points of Information on Matters of General Interest. Collected in the course of his own reading. By J. B. Syme. London: Charles Gilpin.

We have copied this title-page in full, as giving-what some titlepages fail to do-an accurate account of the volume itself. It is scarcely necessary to say more than that the promise it makes is faithfully performed, and such of our readers as are about to travel, whether by railway, steam-boat, or other carriage, will find it a most pleasing and instructive companion. Referring to the exceptionable character of many of the works vended at railway stations, Mr. Gilpin remarks:

The publisher believes that it is perfectly possible to secure a class of reading, which, while not inferior in interest to those books which now almost monopolize the station tables, shall yet possess a decidedly moral tone and instructive tendency; and seeing the amount of time spent in travelling-an amount which it is probable will yet greatly increase he has determined to make the attempt to introduce such literature for railways as may be approved by the great mass of the reading public.'

Heartily approving the design of the series, we are glad to be able to speak well of the execution of this volume, which consists of a variety of papers, selected from the writings of some of our ablest and most popular authors. All have their merit and attraction, and some are exceedingly fascinating.

Memoir of the Life of Joseph Gutteridge, Esq., of Denmark-hill, Surrey. By Edward Steane, D.D. 12mo. London: Jackson and Walford. MR. GUTTERIDGE occupied a distinguished place in the religious body to which he belonged, and was held in high and deserved esteem. He lived to a very old age, and retained to the last the affectionate respect of all about him. His biographer was on intimate terms with him for many years; saw him at home as well as abroad; and had, therefore, a much better opportunity of estimating his character than those who met him only in public life. It is due both to Dr. Steane and to Mr. Gutteridge to keep this fact in mind, as otherwise the sketch drawn will be regarded as too uniformly eulogistic. We confess to some feeling of this kind, after all the allowance which the aforesaid consideration suggests. A want of discrimination is the fault of religious biographies, and the present volume is not free from the charge. We say not this in censure of Dr. Steane. Had our circumstances been like his, we should, probably, have written as he has done; but looking at the matter from a different point, we are sensible of what we deem a deficiency in the portraiture of his friend. It is not in human nature to be faultless, and the interests of the living are best served by a candid and loving acknowledgment of the failings of departed worthies. Mr. Gutteridge probably had as few failings as pertain to most good men, but the affectionate reverence of his biographer has painted him as a perfect man. The style of the work is chaste and graceful; and the memoir itself, without possessing any special points of interest, will be found both attractive and useful to a large class of readers.

Auvergne, Piedmont, and Savoy: a Summer Ramble. By Charles Richard Weld. London: Parker.

MR. WELD is a man of cultivated mind, with a quick susceptibility to the beauty of this fair world, and considerable power of communicating his impressions of men and things to others. He has been fortunate, too, so far as his book is concerned, in his field, rich in historical recollections, in beauty, and in scientific interest, and, above all, for a publishing tourist, almost untouched by the note-taking tribe. The result of this happy union of subject and sketches is one of the best books of travel we have lately had-full of life and freshness. Though coming under the modest title of a summer ramble, it is made of much less flimsy material than most of its class; being evidently the production of an experienced traveller, who, to wide knowledge of Continental Europe, adds a keen observant eye for the peculiarities of people as well as country, and is throughout the man of reading, the man of taste, and the gentleman. If any of our readers are hesitating where to wander to in these summer months, we advise them to take Mr. Weld for their companion, and be off; and if, like us, they are chained at home, they will find him a pleasant substitute for a trip in propria.

The National Cyclopædia. Vol. X. 8vo. London: Charles Knight. THIS work is steadily approaching to its completion, in honourable fulfilment of the promise of its publisher. We have had frequent opportunities of recording our judgment on its great merits, and, without pledging ourselves to an approval of all its contents, we are free to repeat our opinion that, for excellence and cheapness, it stands without a rival in our popular literature. Our fathers would not have credited the possibility of so much scholarship, varied research, profound science, and general information, being brought within the reach of so large a portion of the community. We, however, rejoice in the fact which they deemed so incredible, and gratefully acknowledge the claim of Mr. Knight to the admiration and thanks of his countrymen. Few have laboured so diligently, or have achieved for themselves so honourable a fame. The National Cyclopædia' is in itself a library, and should be obtained, even at some sacrifice, by every young man who wishes to possess the means of ready access to the multifarious results of modern learning and research.

The Vale of Cedars; or, the Martyr. A Tale of Spain in the Fifteenth Century. By Grace Aguilar. London: Groombridge. THE authoress of this most fascinating volume has selected for her field one of the most remarkable eras in modern history-the reigns of Ferdinand and Isabella. The tale turns on the extraordinary extent to which concealed Judaism had gained footing at that period in Spain, and on the terrible operations of the secret Inquisition. The heroine of the volume is a young Jewess, a beautiful creation, whose fortunes are blended with those of her husband, a Jew holding a high position in the court. His sudden violent death leads to the imprisonment and trial for murder of an English nobleman, a resident in Spain, whose early love for Marie has not escaped the observation of the secret grand inquisitor. To save his life, she has to give evidence on his trialavows herself a Jewess, is spirited away to the dungeons of the Inquisition, assailed there by the vile persecutions of the head of that tribunal, but is delivered in time to rescue the innocent, and to disclose the existence of the Inquisition. Refusing to abjure the faith of her fathers, she loses her royal friends, her young hopes, and returns to her father's house to die. This rapid outline will show there is incident enough in the tale; and we need only say that it is marked by much power of description, and by a woman's delicacy of touch. It contains stuff enough to float half a dozen three-volume novels, and will add to its writer's well-earned reputation.

The Missionary Souvenir. Edited by the Rev. Thomas Aveling.

London: John Snow.

THIS small volume, very neatly and tastefully got up, owes its appearance to the bazaar recently held on behalf of the Walthamstow School for the Daughters of Missionaries. It was thought,' says the

editor, that the occasion of a fancy sale, for the purpose of aiding the funds of this deserving institution, would afford a suitable opportunity for presenting to the public a work which, by its title and contents, might perpetuate the feeling of interest which has of late been awakened on the behalf of these children of the warriors of the Cross.' Such a design will of itself commend the volume to many readers, and its contents will not disappoint their expectation. Though brief, and light in texture, they are varied, pleasing, and useful. Poetry and prose, narrative and counsel, the bright hues of imagination and the more sober colouring of reason, are happily blended in a style of chaste and subdued ornament. We shall be glad to find that the sale of this small volume is as gratifying to Mr. Aveling, as the success of the fancy sale must have been to the lady by whom it was projected and carried through.

The Life of a Vagrant; or, the Testimony of an Outcast to the Value and Truth of the Gospel. To which is added, a brief and original Accoun of Andrias Stoffles, the African Witness. London: Charles Gilpin. THIS little volume will be read with considerable pleasure by all who are interested in tracing the fortunes of the poor. I can vouch,' says the Rev. John Waddington, for the correctness and fidelity of his narration. It is thoroughly genuine.' By the sale of this little book, it is hoped that funds may be realized which will enable the author to devote his time to the religious benefit of his class. We shall be glad to contribute to so desirable an end. The narrative is simply told. It opens up many views of humble life not commonly seen, and is pervaded by a devout temper, and an obvious desire to do good.

The Crisis of Being: Six Lectures to Young Men on Religious Decision. By the Rev. D. Thomas. Second Edition. London: Ward and Co. We are glad to find that a second edition of this little volume has been called for. The fact is honourable to the public, and affords gratifying evidence of the prevalence of a sounder and more healthy taste than has always been cherished by religious readers. We repeat the emphatic recommendation which we gave the work on its first appearance. It must not be confounded with the common run of religious works, the mental poverty and servile repetitions of many of which are only adapted to bring religion into disrepute, by associating it in the apprehension of intelligent observers with imbecility, narrow-mindedness, and a mere wordy devotion.

Health, Disease, and Remedy, familiarly and practically considered in a few of their Relations to the Blood. By George Moore, M.D. London: Longman and Co.

THE first part of this volume is a familiar exposition of the circulation of the blood, and the relation between that and the other animal functions. This is followed by a series of chapters on the conditions requisite