Literary Notices
Harper and Brothers have published an edition of Layard's Popular Account of Discoveries at Nineveh, being an abridgment of his large work on the same subject, by the author himself. In this edition, the principal Biblical and historical illustrations are introduced into the narrative. No changes on any material points of opinion or fact are made in the narrative, as more recent discoveries have confirmed the original statements of the author. The present form of the work will no doubt be highly acceptable to the public. With as much condensation as was admitted by the nature of the subject, and at a very moderate expense, the curious researches of Mr. Layard are here set forth, throwing an interesting light on numerous topics of Biblical antiquity, and Oriental customs in general.
Memoirs of the Great Metropolis, by F. Saunders (published by G. P. Putnam), is not only a convenient and instructive guide-book for the traveler in England, but contains numerous literary allusions and reminiscences, illustrating the haunts of celebrated authors. The writer is evidently familiar with his subject from personal observation; he is at home in the antique nooks and corners of the British capital; and, at the same time, making a judicious use of the best authorities, he has produced a volume filled with valuable information, and a variety of amusing matter. We advise our friends who are about packing up for a European tour to remember this pleasant book, and if it should not be able to alleviate the misery of sea-sickness, it will at least prepare them for an intelligent examination of the curiosities of London.
Dream Life: A Fable of the Seasons, by Ik. Marvel. (Published by Charles Scribner.) A new volume in the same vein of meditative pathos, and quaint, gentle humor as the delightful “Reveries of a Bachelor,”—perhaps, indeed, bearing too great an affinity with that unique volume to follow it in such rapid succession. The daintiest cates most readily produce a surfeit, and it is not strange that the pure Hyblæan sweetness of these delicious compositions should pall upon the sense by a too luxurious indulgence. With a writer of less variety of resource than Ik. Marvel, it would not be worth while to advance such a criticism; but we are perverse enough to demand of him not only pre-eminence in a favorite sphere, but a more liberal taste of other qualities, of which we have often had such pleasant inklings.
In this volume we have the “Dreams” of the Four Seasons, Boyhood, Youth, Manhood, and Age, in which the experience of those epochs is set forth in a soft, imaginative twilight, diversified with passages of felicitous description, and with genuine strains of tender, pathetic beauty, which could come only from the heart of genius. His home-life in the country is a perpetual source of inspiration to Ik. Marvel, in his highest and best creations. He describes rural scenes with a freshness and veracity, which is the exclusive privilege of early recollections. In this respect, “the child is father to the man.” His pages are fragrant with the clover-fields and new hay, in which he sported when a child. With feelings unworn by the world, he lives over again the “dreams of his youth,” which are so richly peopled with fair and sad visions, drawing an abundant supply of materials for his exquisite imagination to shape, and reproducing them in forms that are equally admirable for their tenderness and their truth. What a striking contrast does he present to those writers who trust merely to fancy without the experience of life—whose rural pictures remind you of nature as much as the green and red paint of an artificial flower reminds you of a rose.
In the Dedication of this volume to Washington Irving, the author gracefully alludes to the influence of that consummate master in enabling him to attain the “facility in the use of language, and the fitness of expression in which to dress his thoughts,” which any may suppose to be found in his writings. This is a beautiful testimony, alike honorable to the giver and the receiver. The frankness with which the acknowledgment is made, shows a true simplicity of purpose, altogether above the sphere of a weak personal vanity. And the contagious action of Mr. Irving's literary example on susceptible, generous minds can scarcely be overrated. The writers now on the stage are more indebted to that noble veteran than they are apt to remember, for the polished refinement of expression which he was the first to make the fashion in this country. They may indeed discover no more resemblance between Mr. Irving's style and their own, than there is between that of Mr. Irving and Ik. Marvel. In this case, we confess, we should not have suspected the relation alluded to by the latter. We trace other and stronger influences in the formation of his style than the example of Mr. Irving. But the beneficial effect of a great master of composition is not to be estimated by the resemblance which it produces to himself. The artist does not study the works of Raphael or Michael Angelo in order to imitate their characteristics. His purpose is rather to catch the spirit of beauty which pervades their productions, and to learn the secret of method by which it was embodied. In like manner, the young writer can not yield himself to the seductive charm of Mr. Irving's golden periods, and follow the liquid, melodious flow of his enchanting sentences, without a revelation of the beautiful mysteries of expression, and a new sense of the sweetness and harmony of the language which he is to make his instrument. He may be entirely free from conscious imitation, but he has received a virtue which can not fail to be manifested in his own endeavors. If he be a man of original genius, like Ik. Marvel, he may not indicate the source from which his mind has derived such vigorous impulses; but his obligation is no less real; though instead of reproducing the wholesome leaves on which his spirit has fed, he weaves them into the shining and comely robes that are at once the dress and the adornment of his own thoughts.
Florence Sackville (Harper and Brothers), is the title of a highly successful English novel, dedicated to the poet Rogers. In the form of an autobiography, the heroine relates the incidents of her life, which are marked by a great variety of experience, including many passages of terrible suffering and tragic pathos. The story is sustained with uncommon power; the characters in the plot are admirably individualized; showing a deep insight into human nature, and a rare talent for depicting the recondite workings of passion. A lofty and pure religious sentiment pervades the volume, and deepens the effect of the thrilling narrative.
Clovernook, by Alice Carey. (Published by Red [pg 425] field). The author of this series of rural sketches enjoys a well-earned reputation as a poet of uncommon imaginative power, with a choice and expressive diction. Her specimens of prose-writing in this beautiful volume will serve to enhance her literary fame. They consist of recollections of Western life, described with great accuracy of detail, and embellished with the natural coloring of a picturesque fancy. Few more characteristic or charming books have recently issued from the American press.