Antonina; or, the Fall of Rome. A Romance of the Fifth Century. By W. Wilkie Collins. New York: Harper and Brothers. 8vo, pp. 160.
It is long since the English press has sent forth a more truly classical and magnificent romance, than the present narrative of some of the thrilling scenes which attended the downfall of the Roman Empire. The author has been known heretofore by the biography of his father, the celebrated historical and landscape painter, the friend of Coleridge and Allston; but that work gives no promise of the splendor of imagination, and the rare constructive power which are shown in the composition of Antonina. It is one of those rich and gorgeous portraitures, glowing with life and radiant with beauty, which make a profound impression on their first exhibition, and long continue to haunt the memory with their images of mingled loveliness and terror.
D. and J. Sadlier have issued a translation of the Abbé Martinet's celebrated Solution of Great Problems placed within the Reach of every Mind, with a preface by the Rt. Rev. Bishop of New York, Dr. Hughes. This work holds a high rank in modern Catholic literature, and is brought before the American public by Bishop Hughes in a warm introductory encomium. It discusses many of the leading religious questions of the day in a racy and pointed style, and while opposing what the author deems the errors of Protestantism in general, reserves its hottest fire for modern Pantheism, Socialism, Rationalism, and other kindred innovations, which he regards as gaseous exhalations from the bottomless pit, taking a visible form in these latter days. From the well-known ability of the author, and the spicy relish of his pen, the work is adapted to make a sensation beyond the pale of the Catholic Church, without taking in account the high-toned sarcasm of the preface, in which department of composition the talents of Bishop Hughes are unquestionable.
Harper and Brothers have issued the second number of Lossing's Field Book of the Revolution, a work, which from the novelty of its plan and the ability of its execution, has already proved a general favorite with the reading public. It combines the authenticity of history with the freshness of personal narrative, and in the richness and beauty of its embellishments is hardly surpassed by any of the serials of the day.
The same house have published an original translation of Lamartine's Past, Present, and Future of the French Republic, which will be read with interest on account of the character of the author, and the light it throws on the practical workings of Democracy in France, though it has little of the fiery rhetoric of most of his former writings.
Harper and Brothers have issued a reprint of Dr. Lardner's Railway Economy in Europe and America, a work overflowing with scientific, statistical, and practical details, and which will be considered as essential to all who wish to comprehend the subject, in its various bearings whether engineers, stockholders, or travelers, as fire and water to the locomotive. Dr. Lardner has brought together the results of long and laborious research, and many portions of his descriptive narrative are as entertaining as a novel, and more so.
D. Appleton & Co. have published The Lone Dove, an Indian story of the revolutionary period, redolent of sentimentality and romance run wild, betraying a great waste of power on the part of the anonymous writer, who has evidently more talent than is made use of to advantage in the present work.
Mezzofanti's Method applied to the Study of the French Language, by J. Romer, published by the same house, is a work of great philological interest, on account of the curious analogies which it describes, and contains an excellent collection of specimens from French poets and prose writers, but its value as a practical manual for the teacher can be determined only by use.
The Ojibway Conquest, by Kah-ge-gah-gah-bowh, or George Copway, issued by G. Putnam, will find a place among the curiosities of literature as the production of a native Indian Chief, whose muse has been inspired by the forest and stream of his original haunts, without having incurred a large debt to the influence of civilization. Copway is an exemplary Christian and an intelligent man, but he will get less fame from his poetry than from his descent.