The Life and Religion of Mohammed, as Contained in the Sheeãh Traditions of the Hyât-ul-Kuloob. Translated from the Persian. By Rev. James L. Merrick, Eleven Years Missionary to the Persians. Boston: Phillips, Sampson & Co. 1 vol. 8vo.
This is altogether the most important and trust-worthy work relating to Mohammed ever translated into English, giving, as it does, “a full view of his life and religion, with sketches of his ancestors, companions, and times, blended with maxims and legends illustrative of Oriental manners.” To the theologian it is invaluable, while to the general reader it is as interesting as an Oriental romance, being in the form of narrative, with frequent flashes of magnificent poetry. The account of the birth of Mohammed, especially, is exquisitely beautiful. As a specimen of the style, we give a paragraph embodying Sawadbin-Karib’s testimony. “Four days after the birth, Sawadbin-Karib, a man celebrated among the Arabs for his knowledge, came to congratulate Abdulmutalib, and see the child of whom he had heard many marvelous accounts. On going to the house of Aminah they were informed that he was asleep. When the cover of the cradle was removed to gratify them with a sight of the wonderful babe, such lightning gleamed from his blessed countenance that the roof of the house was cloven by it, and the visiters drew their sleeves over their dazzled eyes.”
Gleanings from the Poets, for Home and School. A New Edition, Enlarged. Boston: Crosby & Nichols. 1 vol. 12mo.
The title of this volume is an honest title, accurately describing the contents. The poems are selected from a wide variety of English authors, and consist of pieces which have not been worn threadbare by previous publication in school-reading books. Some of the selections will be new to most readers of poetry, such as the narrative poems of French and those of Mary Lamb. We notice two poems by Tennyson not included in the edition of his works. “The Skylark” is here, not only in Shelly’s rapturous lyric, but as he was viewed by the imaginations of Wordsworth and Hogg. Wordsworth’s wonderful “Ode on the Intimations of Immortality from the Recollections of Childhood,” the grandest and subtlest of modern odes, is given in full. We notice also a number of pieces by Vaughan, Quarles, and holy George Herbert, not generally known. The Prioress’s Tale is reprinted in Chaucer’s old spelling, its quaint phraseology truly embodying its intense sweetness of sentiment. Altogether, we think that “home” to be deficient in which this volume has not its place.
Redwood: A Tale. By the Author of “Hope Leslie,” etc. New York: George P. Putnam. 1 vol. 12mo.
This novel, the third volume of Mr. Putnam’s elegant re-issue of the works of Miss Sedgwick, is especially interesting, as giving the best account we have ever read of life among the Shakers. The effect of the doctrines of that singular sect upon individual character is traced with masterly discrimination. The story is also one of the most interesting which even Miss Sedgwick’s genial fancy has invented, and fastens the attention which it once engages.