NOTES ON BOOKS, ETC.
So long as the people of this country are animated by that deep-rooted love of true liberty and national independence, which have proved at so many momentous periods of our history to be at once their ruling principle and the country's safeguard, so long will the memory of Gustavus Vasa, the patriotic king of Sweden, be to all Englishmen an object of the deepest interest. The publication therefore of a History of Gustavus Vasa, with Extracts from his Correspondence,—which, although based upon the narrative of his startling adventures, his gallant exploits, and the picture of his manly sincere character, and his quaint but telling eloquence, given by Geijer in his History of Sweden, has been carefully elaborated by references to original authorities, and rendered more picturesque by the introduction of copious extracts from his correspondence,—is good service rendered to the cause of historic truth. The writer is obviously an earnest, able, and painstaking man; and we think that his work will be received (as it deserves) with such favour as to induce him to furnish us with other illustrations of the history of the North.
If ever mortal man was a hero to his valet de chambre, such was the "Great Cardinal" to his gentleman usher Master George Cavendish; and to this fact and the reverent spirit which pervades his narration, may the great popularity of Cavendish's Life of Wolsey be in a great measure ascribed. Few biographies have been perused with greater interest; few have exercised the editorial skill of better scholars. Dr. Wordsworth, Mr. Singer, and Mr. Hunter, have all displayed their learning and ingenuity in its illustration; and we have been led into these remarks by the receipt of a new and very handsomely printed edition, which has just been published by Messrs. Rivington, and which has been edited by Mr. Holmes of the British Museum. Mr. Holmes' name is a sufficient guarantee for the manner in which that duty has been executed.
We learn from The Athenæum of Saturday last that the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Copenhagen, whose works illustrative of the early history both of Greenland and America are known to many of our readers, are about to publish a new edition of the Orkneyinga Saga, and sundry old Northern fragments relative to Great Britain and Ireland; and in the prosecution of this important and useful object they are desirous of having the assistance and co-operation of the scholars and antiquaries of this country. Antiquaries find favour in the North, for The Times reports that the general yearly meeting of this Society was held on the 25th of February at the Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen, his Majesty the King of Denmark in the chair. The secretary, Professor C. Rafn, read the report of transactions for the last year, and gave a précis of the articles in the forthcoming archæological works of the Society. The printing and engravings of the second volume of the great work, Antiquités Russes et Orientales, are now nearly completed. The learned professor exhibited four Icelandic planispheres and maps of the world, from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and made some observations on the geographical and astronomical knowledge of the ancient Scandinavians. The second volume of the Arna-Magnean Committee's edition of Snorro Sturleson's, or the Younger Edda, was also nearly finished, and preparations were being made for the publication of an Icelandic Diplomaticum. His Majesty the King exhibited a remarkable collection of antiquities of the bronze period discovered at Smorumorre, evidently belonging to a workshop for the fabrication of such implements, and clearly proving that bronze weapons, &c. had been made in Denmark. On the characteristics of this collection His Majesty was graciously pleased to deliver some very interesting observations. Professor Wegener, Vice-President, read an able memoir on the history of the old castles of Soborg and Adserbo, in the north of Iceland. The Archæological Committee exhibited a collection of articles discovered at Anhalt (in the Cattegat) which belonged to a workshop for the manufacture of stone implements, on which Mr. Thomsen made some useful remarks. The museum was in a flourishing state. There had been 148 donations received and 761 presentations of antiquities. The proceedings were closed by the election of Victor Emanuel, King of Sardinia, and his Royal Highness Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg Gotha, as fellows of the Society.
BOOKS RECEIVED.—The French in England, or Both Sides of the Question on Both Sides of the Channel, being the Story of the Emperor Napoleon's projected Invasion. A brilliant, we might say eloquent, description of the feeling which ran through the whole length and breadth of the land when Napoleon's threats of invasion drew from the united nation, as with the voice of one man, the declaration that "England never did, and never shall lie at the proud foot of a conqueror!" In this picture of the past we have a prophecy of the future, if the peace of Europe should be again disturbed, and any attempt be made to renew the project of 1803. We do not think this likely; but to secure Peace we must be prepared for War: and he who, in the present aspect of affairs, would bid us disarm, must be or fool, or traitor, or both.—Memoirs of the late Thomas Holcroft, written by himself, and continued to the time of his Death, from his Diary, Notes, and Correspondence, forms the new parts of The Traveller's Library, and gives an interesting variety to this valuable series.
BOOKS AND ODD VOLUMES
WANTED TO PURCHASE.
HALLERI (A.) ELEMENTA PHYSIOLOGIÆ CORPORIS HUMANI. 8 Vols. 4to. Lausannæ and Lugd. Batav. 1757-66. Vol III.
RACCOLTA DI OPUSCULI SCIENTIFICI, &c., dal Padre Calogera. Venezia, 1728-57.
POWNALL'S TREATISE ON THE STUDY OF ANTIQUITIES. London, 1782. 8vo.
THE WHOLE DUTY OF A CHRISTIAN, by Way of Question and Answer: designed for the Use of Charity Schools. By Robert Nelson, 1718.