NOTES ON NEW PUBLICATIONS.

The Plays of Philip Massinger. Part I. The first part of an elegant and correct reprint of Massinger, from the text of Gifford, with his critical and explanatory notes, and the general critical remarks of Dr. Ireland, appended to each play. This new edition of one of the noblest of our old dramatists merits our highest commendation, and can scarcely fail to command an extensive share of public favour. One entire play of Massinger, and the greater part of a second, elegantly printed, and in all other respects fitted to adorn the first libraries in the land-yet the price, ONE SHILLING! The cheapness of the plebeian penny press, combined with the elegance of the Aristocratic annuals.

Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, Parts I., II., III.—Uniform with the above, by the same spirited publisher (Templeman, Regent-street), and at the same incredibly low price; for such it must be deemed, considering that this work (like those of our elder dramatists), has hitherto been deemed one which addresses itself less to the general reader than to persons of a cultivated and matured taste. But in fact, the chief merit of this mode of publication is, that it brings within the reach of all classes of readers, those works which perhaps nothing but their inaccessibility has hitherto confined to so few. We shall look with some curiosity to the success of these admirable reprints, for a solution of the problem whether the great body of the English people are not as capable of appreciating the wonders and the beauties of those bards who are among the best glories of their country, as the fortunate few to whom they have hitherto afforded delight.

The Illustrated Shakspeare, Part I.-" Another, and another, and another!" There stop we in our admiring quotation-(for we would fain look in " a glass that shows us many more" such cheering proofs of the happy turn which the growing taste for cheap literature has lately taken. There is no one among those proofs which deserves higher praise, or more extensive encouragement than this "Illustrated Shakspeare," judging at least by this first part-which contains an entire play (The Tempest), illustrated with twenty exquisite engravings, designed (by Mr. Kenny Meadows), with an original and deep feeling for their respective subjects, and capitally cut in wood, by Mr. Orrin Smith;-the size, crown octavo, the typography, first-rate, and the price-NINEPENCE! "The force of cheapness can no further go ;" and if the public taste does not meet the claim on its favour, by a corresponding patronage, let its caterers feed it for the future on no" food more convenient for it," than the two extremes of penny magazines, and guinea annuals.

Scenic Effects of Covent-garden Theatre, Nos. I. to IV.-Though not falling strictly within our province, we cannot refrain from bestowing a word of well-merited commendation on these spirited illustrations of our dramatic literature. As the mere "recollections" of an extremely young artist, and his first essay towards public favour, we must regard them as extremely promising productions. But they are something more than harbingers of future excellence; they are in many instances excellent in themselves; and they will form perhaps the most pleasing and characteristic record that will remain to us of the too brief managerial career of the greatest actor of our day in Europe. Each part contains three separate " Scenic Effects" from one of the novelties or revivals produced at Covent Garden during the present season. 1. The Tempest. 2. William Tell. 3. Richelieu. 4. The Lady of Lyons. The price of each part being One Shilling.

The Poetical Works of Shelley, Vol. IV.-This volume concludes the reprint of Shelley's poetical works. It is rich to overflowing in poetic beauty, and would com mand all acceptance and admiration in virtue of one poem alone-The Adonais. The brief notes connected with the death of Shelley are of intense interest. The publication being now completed, we commend it to the attention of our readers, as among the most valuable reprints of the day.

Alison's History of Europe. Vol. VII.-This seventh volume of Mr. Alison's elaborate and valuable work, comprises a period of unexampled interest and importance. After taking a view of the state of British India, previous to and after the administration of the Marquis Wellesley, and glancing at the early career of Wellington in that scene of his first glories, and cradle of his after fame, it enters into a compre hensive examination and estimate of the continental contest with Napoleon, from the commencement of the Austrian war in the spring of 1809, to the battles of Barrosa and Fuentes d'Onoro, and the fall of Almeida, in May, 1811. This work now verges towards a conclusion, without, in any degree, forfeiting that reputation which its early volumes have so justly obtained for it.

Adrian: a Tale of Italy. By Henry Cook. This is one of the many contributions

at the shrine of the muse, which are to be attributed to an admiration of her charms, rather than received as an evidence of any marked portion of her favour having been bestowed on their writers. Nevertheless, it is not without promise of future excellence, especially when it is noted that the writer has not yet passed the limits which divide youth from manhood. The versification is smooth; the diction copious; and the story interesting.

The Coal Combination. By W. S. Northhouse, Esq. Although this pamphlet is a reprint of an article which had previously appeared in a periodical work, with the addition, however, of a large appendix of correspondence, &c., connected with the subject, that subject is of so much public interest and importance, that we cannot refuse to note the existence and value of the essay in its present form, and to recommend it to the earnest attention of our readers. Its statements speak for themselves, as to the unjust, injurious, and most impolitic tendency of the monopoly which it combats; and as the appendix contains the counter-statements of the chief coalowners themselves, both sides of the question are fairly placed before the public.

Notes on the Relations of British India, &c.—A pamphlet having for its object to advocate the policy of "erecting and maintaining a united and vigorous government in Affghanistan," with the view of effectually defeating the alleged designs of Russia (through the medium of Persia) on our possessions in India.

Address, &c. on the unsatisfactory State of the Court of Chancery. By G. Spencer, Esq. -This pamphlet includes a sketch of the present state of the Chancery Court; a glance at the various plans which are and have been proposed for its reform; a comparison of the merits and defects of those plans; and finally, some suggestions of the writer as to the desirableness of at once carrying Lord Lyndhurst's plan into effect. The Rights of Animals, &c. By S. Burdett.-Another well-meant little treatise, having the same humane and just object in view, which has so long been pursued with partial success by the praiseworthy "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals."

Idolatry. An earnest appeal to the influential orders of English society, chiefly referring to the prevalence and the consequent mischiefs of Idolatry in our Indian possessions.

A Popular Treatise on the Kidney. By George Gore.-This is a comprehensive, and will, doubtless, prove a useful treatise on that important organ of the human body, to which it is exclusively devoted. It commences with an abstract of all that has been written on the kidneys; then proceeds to examine those organs in an anatomical and physiological point of view; and concludes with remarks on the diseases to which they are liable, their treatment, &c. Brief as our notice of works of this nature must necessarily be, we cannot dismiss the present one, without expressing our regret that the writer has thought it advisable and fitting to make such a work the medium of obtruding upon the world his peculiar religious opinions;-a step which cannot fail to detract from the utility of his work in one way, without adding to it in the other.

The Book of Bon-accord.-This quaint title suggests any thing but the nature of the work at the head of which it stands. But they say a good horse cannot be of a bad colour: and on the same principle, we suppose a good book cannot have a bad title. And that the good folks of the good city of Aberdeen, will consider this a good book there can be little doubt-since it is wholly and exclusively devoted to setting forth the merits and attractions of the said city-which it does with all the laborious research of a confirmed antiquary, and all the partiality of a life-long resident. Moreover, though reaching to near four hundred pages, it does but half complete the design of its writer, who promises a 'second volume on the same fertile topic. The work is illustrated by several neat engravings of the chief localities.

Iniquities of the Opium Trade with China. By the Rev. A. S. Thelwall.-A most instructive digest of the disgraceful and disgusting facts connected with a trade that is only second in iniquity, both as regards its details and its results, to the odious slave trade itself. Well may the Chinese authorities look upon and treat us as "barbarians," when they see us the sole agents in a strictly forbidden traffic, which has cost their nation millions of human lives, and an amount of suffering and degradation that no words can express, and no imagination reach. Great credit is due to the committee of gentlemen connected with the India trade who have caused this exposure, which cannot fail to be a salutary one, if merely on the grounds of general commercial policy for there can be no doubt that a large share of the odium and the ob stacles which stand in the way of our intercourse with China, arises out of this scandalous traffic. This volume will be read with interest by all who resort to books with any view above and beyond the mere passing of an idle hour; but from all who are connected with our China trade, its details deserve the most earnest consideration; and we recommend it to their attention accordingly.

THE

NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE.

PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS.

BY THE EDITOR.

THE spirit and character of a nation are said to be tolerably well defined, distinguished, and illustrated, by the peculiar and indigenous amusements in which it delights. If this be true, most assuredly the spirit and character of our own country must have changed, marvellously and frequently, during the last century-nay, within the last half, we might almost say the last quarter of a century; for, by taking a hasty retrospective glance, we shall, in a moment, perceive as great (or even a greater) alteration in the pleasurable pursuits of English society during the shortest of those periods as has taken place in the "dresses and decorations" of the individuals of whom it is composed.

In this cursory review, it is not my intention to go farther back than the year 1739, involving just one hundred years. Nor does it appear that the changes to which I allude, were ever before so marked and decided as they have been during the last twenty-five years-a circumstance which may perhaps be satisfactorily accounted for by the constant intercourse of the English with the continent, secured to them by the Duke of Wellington, in the consummation of all his glories at Waterloo, now nearly a quarter of a century since.

One of our most popular coeval writers, and one of the most agreeable members of society, who has, for "love of his ease," become a denizen (naturalized altogether we believe by this time) of Brighton, some years since published an extremely clever and interesting work upon "British Sports," in which he carries us back to a much more remote period; but so interesting is one portion of his recapitulation, especially as bearing upon a change of public amusements during the period to which he refers, that we do not hesitate to extract from his valuable work the following passage:

"The Norman conquest effected two marked changes in the sports and pastimes prevalent at the close of the Saxon era, by restricting the privileges of the chase, and first establishing those barbarous gamelaws, the imposition of which was one of the greatest insults of tyranny, while their maintenance, in scarcely mitigated severity at the present enlightened era, cannot be otherwise designated, than a monstrous oppression upon the lower orders, and a flagrant outrage offered to the spirit of the times. When these laws were first passed, it might July.-VOL. LVI. NO. CCXXIII.

U

have been felt as some mitigation of their enormity, that they were enacted by a foreign despot, in right of conquest, and by virtue of the sword, which was then paramount over all legislation; but it must aggravate the bitterness of their present tyranny, to know that these sanguinary statues are upheld, and even made more terrible by those who ought naturally to be protectors, and not the imprisoners and persecutors unto death of their poorer fellow-countrymen. The second notable change in our pastimes, occasioned by the advent of the Normans, was the introduction of tournaments and jousts, together with all the pomps, gallantries, and observances of chivalry, which, although they all bore the visible impress of war, were decidedly civilizing, and even ennobling in their general tendency.

"All good and faithful knights swore by the symbolical cross on the pummel of their swords, to be the stanch champions of Christianity, which now for the first time began to exercise a marked influence upon the usages of war; at once exalting that courage which had previously been a brutal impulse into a noble principle, tempering it with generosity, mercy, and forbearance: while the romantic deference for the weaker sex, which forms such a distinguishing characteristic of chivalry, polished and completed the manners of the cavalier, by adding suavity and gentleness to his other accomplishments. Nor were personal comeliness, strength, and agility, together with perfect horsemanship, and adroitness in all martial exercises, the sole qualifications he was expected to possess: to invincible courage, and a strict regard for veracity, it was requisite that he should add graceful dancing, and a competent knowledge of music. Hunting and hawking were also acquirements that he was obliged to possess, as soon as he had strength enough to practise them. Of Sir Tristram, who is held forth as the mirror of chivalry in the romance of The Death of Arthur,' we are told that he had not only acquired the language of France, but all the rules of courtly behaviour; but in harping and instruments of music, he applied himself in his youthe for to learne; and after as he growed in might and strength, he laboured ever in hunting and hawking.' Another ancient romance says of its hero, He every day was provyd in dancing and in songs, that the ladies could think were convenable for a nobleman to conne. The king, for to assay him, made justs and turnies, and no man did so well as he in runnyng, playing at the paume,* shootyng, and castyng of the barre, nor found he his master.' Reading might, perhaps, be implied, but it is not expressly mentioned as an essential accomplishment. It is evident, however, that under the ennobling influences of chivalry, and of female society, the mind began to be cultivated as well as the powers of the body; and that the manners of the Saxon times were improved by an infusion of incipient politeness and urbanity. Where these qualities distinguish the upper classes, fashion will soon make them penetrate, at least partially, into the lower: we find accordingly that the sons of citizens and yeomen, and more especially the young Londoners, affected in all their sports and pastimes an imitation of the martial exercises and usages of chivalry. They fought with clubs and bucklers, they practised running at the quintain; and when the

*Hand-tennis.

frost set in they would go upon the ice, and tilt at one another with poles, in imitation of lances in a just; rude pastimes it must be confessed, but as they were doubtless accompanied with the strict regard to honour and fairness, as well as with the generosity and forbearance that characterized the exercises of chivalry, from which they were copied, they could not fail to have a beneficial effect upon popular

manners.

"When chivalry lost its primitive spirit, and the romantic enthusiasm which had distinguished the middle ages began to decline, a marked change occurred in the education of the nobility, the mind receiving a more attentive cultivation, and gentler pastimes, or sedentary amusements coming into vogue; while body exercises, and the exertions of muscular strength, were abandoned to the vulgar. This alteration soon began to exercise its influence upon the inferior classes, who gradually discontinued the sports that had sprung up from an imitation of the jousts and tournaments, and who, though they had not the means, nor perhaps the inclination, to imitate their betters in mental culture, readily aped them in their vices, resorting to games and recreations that promoted idleness, dissipation, and gambling. Personal prowess and vigour being rendered in a great measure unnecessary by the invention of gunpowder, and the consequent revolution in all the modes of war, chivalry began to decay towards the latter part of the fifteenth century, especially in this country, where the wars of the Roses occupied the nobility and gentry, and real battles afforded little leisure for exercising the mockery of war. Tilts and tournaments, indeed, continued to be occasionally displayed, sometimes with prodigious splendour and magnificence, until the end of the following century, being usually exhibited at coronations, royal marriages, and other occasions where pomp and pageantry were required; but these shadows of extinct chivalry possessed none of the utility, and therefore none of the vital spirit with which it had been animated in former days. What had once been a valuable school of war, and of all knightly accomplishments, had now degenerated into a tawdry and unmeaning game.

"Proud of his bodily strength and agility, and anxious to display them, Henry VIII. once more gave a temporary fashion to military pastimes and violent corporeal exercises. Even after his accession to the throne, according to his biographer, Hale, he continued daily to amuse himself in archery, casting of the bar, wrestling, or dancing, and frequently in tilting, tourneying, fighting at the barrier with swords and battle-axes, and such like martial recreations. These were not practised, however, to the exclusion of intellectual pursuits, for we learn from the same authority, that he spent his leisure time in playing at the recorders, flute, and virginals, in setting of songs, singing, and making of ballads. In the succeeding century we have the following description of the sports of Charles, Lord Mountjoy :* 'He delighted in study, in gardens, in riding on a pad to take the air, in playing at shovelboard, and cards, and in reading of play-books, for recreation, and especially in fishing and fishponds, seldom useing any other exercises, and useing these rightly as pastimes, only for a short and convenient time, and with great variety of change from one to the other.'

* From the "Itinerary of Fynes Morison," published, a. D. 1617.