We have the pleasure of informing our readers that with the January number we commence our “Monumental Series,” or the lives of the Generals of the Revolution who were killed at the very commencement of the struggle, and to whom Congress appropriated sums of money for the erection of a monument to each, but which with the exception of Montgomery has never been carried into effect. Each memoir will be accompanied by a splendid steel engraving from an original portrait engraved expressly for our Magazine.
REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS
Discourses on the Christian Spirit and Life. By C. A. Bartol, Junior Minister of the West Church, Boston. Boston: Crosby & Nichols. 1 vol. 12mo.
It is not customary with us to notice sermons, but the present volume is so much superior in thought and composition to the generality of new books, that its literary merits would alone give it prominence among the publications of the day. It contains thirty discourses on as many different subjects, all of which indicate a reach and profundity of thought, a wealth of imagination, and a power and beauty of style, which entitle them to be considered positive contributions to American literature. The leading peculiarity of the author is the combination in his mind of singular distinctness with singular spirituality of thought. In contemplating a spiritual truth, his understanding, sensibility and imagination act in fine harmony, presenting the thing in its dimensions, its relations, and its life; and so rich and free is the expression that the truth seems to gush out of his mind, in all the warmth and clearness with which it is conceived, without any impediments coming from a lack of appropriate words or images. There is nothing hackneyed either in the method or the style of the sermons, but every thing has an air of originality and freshness indicating a vision and a feeling of the objects before his mind, and an avoidance of hear-says and thoughts at second hand. The volume is full of fine passages which admit of quotation, and we might extract many illustrative of the author’s powers of statement, description, reasoning, and piercing spiritual insight, but our limits will not permit. Among the best discourses in the volume are those entitled, “Business and Religion,” “Forbearance,” “The Spiritual Mind,” “Death is Yours,” “Belshazzar’s Feast,” “Nature, Conscience and Revelation,” and “Eternal Life.”
Clarence, or a Tale of our Own Times. By the Author of “Hope Leslie,” &c. Author’s Revised Edition. New York: Geo. P. Putnam. 1 vol. 12mo.
This handsome volume is the first of a new edition of Miss Sedgwick’s complete works. It contains a portrait of the authoress, an engraved title page, and its general execution is excellent. The novel of Clarence was originally published in 1829, and we preserve a pleasant impression of its interest and beauty. Miss Sedgwick’s writings are especially characterized by the sentiment of humanity, which pervades equally her narratives and reflections; and one always rises from her books refreshed in spirit. Her powers, also, of observation, meditation and imagination, place her among the most intellectual and accomplished women of the age.