Dealings with the Inquisition, by Dr. Giacinto Achilli (published by Harper and Brothers), is a work that has attracted great attention in England, on account of its relation to the Roman Catholic controversy, and for the same reason, will find many readers in this country. Falling under the suspicion of heresy, the author was subjected to the power of the Inquisition, which, though kept in the back-ground, appears, from his statements, to have lost none of its vitality with the lapse of ages. His book is full of curious disclosures, which are apparently sustained by competent authority.
Geo. P. Putnam has issued A Treatise on Political Economy, by George Opdyke, in which the author undertakes to present a system in perfect harmony with the other portions of our political edifice—a system grounded on the broad principles of justice and equality, and in all its doctrines and legislative applications solely designed to illustrate and enforce those principles. Maintaining the policy of freedom in its broadest sense—freedom of industry, freedom of trade, and freedom of political institutions, the volume has been especially prompted by the desire of the author to disseminate his peculiar views on the subject of Money. He claims to have discovered a plan for furnishing a paper currency, which, although irredeemable, and therefore free from the cost of production, he believes will perform the offices of money much better than either bank-notes or coin. He sustains his theories with considerable force of argument, and in a lucid and compact style; but he has not succeeded in freeing them from difficulties, which must embarrass their reception by cautious thinkers on the complicated science to which his work is devoted.
Harper's New York and Erie Railroad Guide, by William Macleod, is a seasonable publication, which will form an indispensable appendage to the preparations of the pleasure-hunter, who is about to view, for the first time, the magnificent scenery on this great public avenue. It contains nearly a hundred and fifty engravings, from original sketches made expressly for the work, and executed in the usual admirable style of Lossing and Barritt. The letter-press descriptions are written in a lively and pleasing style, and furnish a great amount of geographical and local information, with regard to the interior of the Empire State. Every traveler on this route, which is destined to be the favorite choice of the lover of the grand and imposing in American scenery, no less than of the hurried business-man with whom time is money, will find the enjoyment of his tour greatly enhanced by the cheerful and instructive companionship of this agreeable volume.
Lindsay and Blakiston have published a second series of Characteristics of Literature, by Henry T. Tuckerman, containing essays on Manzoni, Steele, Humboldt, Madame de Sévigné, Horne Tooke, Wilson, Talfourd, Beckford, Hazlitt, Everett, and Godwin. They are written in the style of polished elegance and graceful facility which has given the author such a high reputation with most cultivated readers. Free from extravagance of conception or diction, pervaded with a tone of natural and manly feeling, and thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the best literary productions, they claim a favorable reception from the public on the ground of their purity of taste, their refinement of expression, and their genial and appreciative principles of criticism. The essays on Humboldt and Horne Tooke, in particular, are, in a high degree, original and suggestive, and present a very favorable specimen of a kind of discussion in which the author excels.
The Gold-Worshipers (published by Harper and Brothers), is the title of a brilliant satirical novel illustrating the mania for speculation, and the extravagance of fashionable life, which have recently exhibited such remarkable developments in the highest English society. The characters are drawn with amusing life-likeness, and must have been copied from well-known originals. A more spirited and sparkling commentary on the times has not been issued by the London press.
Robert Carter and Brothers have issued a new volume by Mrs. L.H. Sigourney, entitled Letters to my Pupils, comprising a selection from her correspondence with the young ladies of her different classes, during their course of instruction at her private seminary in Connecticut. They are filled with valuable counsels, marked with the good sense, affectionate feeling, and practical tendency which are conspicuous features of the author's mind. In addition to the letters, the volume contains some pleasing reminiscences of Mrs. Sigourney's experience as a teacher, with sketches of the character and personal history of several of her more distinguished pupils, now deceased. The work will be found to offer a variety of attractive and useful matter for family reading.
Maurice Tiernay, by Charles Lever, has been issued by Harper and Brothers in their Library of Select Novels. The readers of this Magazine will no doubt welcome in a permanent shape this favorite story, which has formed such an agreeable feature in our pages.
Charles Scribner has published a new volume by N.P. Willis, with the characteristic title of Hurry-Graphs, containing sketches of scenery, celebrities, and society, taken from life. It is marked with the nice, microscopic observation of character and manners which, in the department of natural science, would make the fortune of an entomologist, and which, as employed by the author, has given him an unrivaled reputation as the delineator of the minutest phases of society. The verbal felicity of his expositions is no less remarkable than the subtlety of his insight, and so gracefully does he trample on the received usages of language, that the most obstinate adherent to the dictionary can not grudge him the words, which he combines in such bright and fanciful forms in his unlicensed kaleidoscope. In the present volume, which is filled with all sorts of enticements, we prefer the descriptions of nature to the sketches of character. Even the dusty road-side grows delightful under the touches of Willis's blossom-dropping pen, and when we come to the mountain and lake, it is like reveling in all the fragrant odors of Paradise. Here the author feels genially at home, and abandons himself to the natural, joyous, unreflective impulses of the scene; while, in his portraitures of character, which are usually more elaborate, he betrays the consciousness of an obligation to say something, which, if not original, shall at least astonish the reader with its appearance of novelty. His judgments, however, are often strikingly acute, and show his ready perception of individual life, no less than of the motley aspects of society. In this work they are singularly free from any tincture of bitterness, the result of a catholic appreciation of character, rather than of any milky sweetness of temperament.
Eastbury is the title of a recent English novel (published by Harper and Brothers), which even the opponents of fictitious literature must commend for its elevated moral tendency, and its pure religious spirit. It is free from the exaggerated views of life, and the morbid, inflated sentiment which form the staple of so many fashionable novels. With its reserved and quiet tone, it may at first disappoint the reader accustomed to a higher stimulus, but its cool domestic pictures, its fine illustrations of character, and its truthfulness and beauty of feeling will win the admiration of the most intelligent judges.
One of the most beautiful books of the season has been issued by J.S. Redfield, entitled Episodes of Insect Life, with copious engravings illustrative of the department of natural history to which it is devoted. The anonymous author is a passionate lover of nature, and describes the results of personal observation in glowing and picturesque language. Since the elaborate work of Kirby and Spence, nothing has proceeded from the English press more eminently adapted to inspire a taste for entomological researches, or treating the curious phenomena of insect economy with more animation and beauty of style. The fruits of accurate investigation are embellished with the charm of a lively fancy, making a volume no less delightful than instructive.