defined to be, "that which includes neither the notions of eaters nor eatables." And letters without writing materials is just as ridiculously unsubstantial. Mr. Keightley says, "the Greeks may have had letters in the tenth century before Christ, but they had no means of procuring the papyrus before the seventh century, and parchment was not invented until long afterwards." The reference to "rolls," in the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, makes the latter clause of this sentence more than doubtful, especially as the Jews imported all their inventions in the arts; and, consequently, if parchment was used by them in the early part of the eighth century, when Isaiah flourished, it must have been known to some other Eastern nation, and most probably the Phenicians, at an earlier period. But, after all, papyrus and parchment may have been unknown, and yet other materials for writing have existed. The Rivas TTUкTog, which Homer mentions in the legend of Bellerophon, could scarcely have been slabs of marble folding on hinges: and, whatever were its materials, its existence was conclusive as to the knowledge of means of transmitting written information at the time when the Iliac poems were composed. It is not a little strange, that those who quote this passage

our English scholars meditate works on the subject. We have been induced, therefore, to make some observations on the flagrant errors committed by the combatants on both sides: all, indeed, arising from the same source-an attempt to settle the question by external evidence, of which there is not a sufficiency for its determination. We think, however, that internal evidence, far the most accurate test, may be found, of sufficient strength to set the controversy at rest; but to which side the scale will preponderate, we, as is the duty of honest critics in a matter not yet thoroughly investigated, refuse to deliver our judicial opinions.

SELECT LIBRARY.-Vol. VI. Lives of Eminent Missionaries. By John Carne, Esq., author of 'Letters from the East.' London: Fisher & Co. THE printing of this work is not yet completed; but, two hundred pages having been kindly sent to us, we are happy in being able to report on them, as giving promise of an interesting volume. They contain the Life of John Eliot, the early Missionary among the American Indians; an Account of the Mission to Tranquebar; and, the Life of Swartz. The zeal and labours of the latter the non-existence of letters at the time have been so often referred to of late years, of the Trojan war, because the words onpara that we intend to confine our extracts to the Avypa may, by possibility, signify hierogly- Life of Eliot, a man of extraordinary zeal, phic signs, should not have discovered that and more than ordinary good sense, who Riva TURTOS, however they chose to inter-early arrived at the sound conclusion, that pret it, completely overthrew an important and almost essential division of their argument; if the phrase woeful symbols proves the non-existence of letters, surely the phrase folded tablets proves the existence of some epistolary substance, as convenient and portable as papyrus or parchment.

prove

to

The uncertainty of the time and place of Homer's birth is but of little service to the opponents of his individuality—Quintus Curtius, Petronius, and many others, whom no one dreams of robbing of their personality, are precisely in the same predicament. The phrase in the History of Herodotus, so frequently adduced to prove that the life of Homer ascribed to the historian, is not authentic, proves nothing in a case where accurate chronology cannot be expected. From the biography of Homer, he appears to have flourished five centuries before the historian; but Herodotus, in his history, says that Homer and Hesiod flourished about 400 years before him, which the critics deem a manifest contradiction. Now this is really attributing to the ancients more accuracy in chronology, on all occasions, than either they or even we possess. Homer and Hesiod were not cotemporaries; and Herodotus, incidentally introducing their names, speaks vaguely of the time that elapsed since their account of the Grecian deities had been sanctioned by general approbation; and, of course, dates from the latter, whose genealogies of the gods were more precise and particular. Thus, in the present day, a person might say, "I write two centuries after the age of Shakspeare and Milton;" but who, from such a loose phrase, would attempt to identify the time in which either flourished?

The controversy respecting the individuality of Homer has excited more attention on the Continent than in this country; but we have reason to believe that more than one of

people must be first civilized, before they can be christianized; whose preaching went hand-in-hand with social instruction; and who not only expounded doctrines, but taught the wild hunters of the forest to plant, to reap, and to build. Of the early life of Eliot little is known: he was educated at Cambridge-was a non-conformist, and early in life, in 1631, embarked for America, where he passed many years in the quiet exercise of the ministry; but during this time, he was preparing himself for his mission, diligently studying the language of the Indians-no light labour, from the little affinity it bore to European tongues. The enormous length of some of the words, says Mather, was enough to make one stand aghast; for the simple words, our question,' was expressed by an Indian word of fortythree letters; and our loves,' by one of thirty-two;" quaintly adding, "the words looked as if they had been growing ever since the confusion of Babel."

66

Eliot, however, did not permit this ulterior object to interfere with his present duties; and Mr. Carne gives a very pleasant sketch of the simple-hearted goodness of the man, during this period:

"He rose with the break of day, and he had need to do so: these were the only hours he could allow for his beloved study. After his simple meal of vegetables was over, the cares of his people came thickly upon him.

豪豪

He

was their only teacher in the wilderness. There was another, and a silver cord, by which he drew the affections of his people to himcharity; as pure and lasting as was ever exercised by any man. 'How often,' says his biographer and friend, with what ardour, what arguments, he became a beggar to others, for them that were in sorrow.' The poor of his people, and they were many, for disasters often came on the colony, seldom failed to repair to his home with the tales of their distress. A

hindrance, however, like the interpreter in the Pilgrim's Progress, stood between them and success, and this was Mrs. Eliot, who would look keenly and coolly on the petitioners, and sift the tares from the wheat, and even then

deal out the dole with a prudent hand, while she

suffered little ingress to her husband's study.

This good lady had great skill in physic and surgery, and hundreds of sick, and weak, and maimed, owed praises to her; while her husband would often stand by, and urge her to do the most good to the worst enemies he had in the world.*** It was a joy to the poor, when they spied him coming across the fields, or through the forests, to their lonely homes; for they knew that his charity had little prudence in it. Dr. Dwight says, that one day, the parish treasurer having paid him his salary, put it into a handkerchief, and tied it into as many hard knots as he could make, to prevent him from giving it away before he reached his own house. On his way, he called on a poor family, and told them that he had brought them some relief. He then began to untie the knots; but finding it a work of great difficulty, gave the handkerchief to the mistress of the house, saying. Here, my friend, take it; I believe heaven designs it all for you.' Such a man had need of an excellent manager

at home."

"On the 28th of October, 1646, he set out from his home, in company with three friends, to the nearest Indian settlement: he had previously sent to give this tribe notice of his coming, and a very large number was collected coming of their guest, of whose name they had from all quarters. If the savages expected the often heard, to be like that of a warrior or sachem, they were greatly deceived. They saw Eliot on foot, drawing near, with his companions; his translation of the scriptures, like a calumet of peace and love, in his hand. He was met by their chief, Waubon, who conducted him to a large wigwam. After a short rest, Eliot went into the open air, and standing on a grassy mound, while the people formed around him in all the stillness of strong surprise and curiosity, he prayed in the English tongue, as if he could not address heaven in a language both strange their own tongue, and gave a clear and simple and new. And then he preached for an hour in

account of the religion of Christ, of his character and life, of the blessed state of those who believed in him. Of what avail would it have been to set before this listening people the terrors of the Almighty, and the doom of the guilty? This wise man knew, by long experience as a minister, that the heart loves better to be persuaded than terrified to be melted than alarmed. whole career of the Indian's life tended to freeze up the finer and softer feelings, and make the more dark and painful passions familiar to him.

The

"A few of the chiefs' friends alone remained, after the people were retired. One of the Christians perceived an Indian, who was hanging down his head, weeping; the former went to him, and spoke encouraging words, after which he turned his face to the wall, and wept yet more abundantly: soon after, he rose and went out. When they told me of his tears,' said Eliot, 'we resolved to go forth, and follow him into the wood, and speak to him. The proud Indian's spirit was quite broken: at last we parted, greatly rejoicing for such sorrowing. *

"Two or three days after these impressions had been made, Eliot saw that they were likely to be attended with permanent consequences. Wampus, an intelligent Indian, came with two of his companions to the English, and desired to be admitted into their families. He brought his son, and several other children with him, and begged that they might be educated in the

Christian faith: the example quickly spread, and all the Indians who were present at the fourth meeting, on the 9th of December offered their children to be instructed."

Eliot now lost no time in applying to the General Court of the colony, and the Indians received a grant, on which to build a

town:

"The progress of civilization which followed, was remarkable for its extent and rapidity: the women were taught to spin, and they soon found something to send to the nearest markets all the year round: in winter they sold staves, baskets, and poultry; in spring and summer, fish, grapes, strawberries, &c.

"In the meanwhile, he instructed the men in husbandry, and the more simple mechanical arts: in hay-time and harvest, he went forth into the fields with them. All this was not done in a day, for they were neither so industrious nor so capable of hard labour as those who had been accustomed to it from early life. * *

666

"I set them,' says Eliot, 'therefore, to fell and square timber. When it was ready, I went, and many of them with me, and on their shoulders carried all the timber together. There is a great river which divideth between their planting ground and dwelling place; therefore, I thought it necessary that we should make a foot bridge over, against such time in the spring as we shall have daily use of it. I told them my purpose and reason of it. With their own hands did they build a bridge eighty feet long, and nine high in the midst, that it might stand above the floods and inasmuch as it hath been hard and tedious labour in the water, I said, if any of them desired wages, I would give them. They answered me, they were thankful I had called them to such a work, and desired no wages.' This commencement soon after led to the raising a town, of the name of Naticke, in this very spot. His earnest efforts for the thorough settlement of the Indians were at last successful. He caused them to plant apple and other trees, and 'divers orchards.' A chapel and a school-house also were raised. The town consisted of three fair streets, two of which stretched along one side of Charles river, and the other along the opposite shore. The houses, some of which were built in the English style, evinced no small ingenuity in the construction. One of them, larger than the others, was used as a deposit for the skins, furs, and other articles for sale or barter by the Indians. A fort was also at this time finished: it was of a circular form, and palisaded with trees, and covered about a quarter of an acre of ground. Perhaps he foresaw the war, occasioned a few years afterwards by Philip, the celebrated Indian warrior." ‡

had lived so long together, that the idea of separation seemed not to have entered their minds; -the mother of his children, the companion of threescore years, was laid in the grave by his hand. And when he stood beside her place of rest, 'I heard and saw her aged husband, who else very rarely wept,' writes Mather, yet now with a flood of tears, before a large concourse of people, say, over the coffin, Here lies my dear, prudent, faithful wife; I shall go to her, but she cannot return to me.' He spoke not of hope or comfort-what had he to do with them-for he must soon be called also. And now he prepared to depart. *** He was still able to ascend the hill on which stood the church, and not long after he delivered his last discourse there; this was four years before his death. Even now, at the age of eighty-two, he persisted in going forth, as far as he was able, to visit his loved settlements; for such was the excellence of his constitution, that his frame was not yet bowed, and his eye was still bright: earth had nothing so welcome to him as to mingle yet a while with his Indians, sit in their assemblies, and listen, when he could speak to them no longer; and the groves, the fields, the isles, that his foot had known so long, were they not dear to him as ever, though his head was white with nearly a hundred years, and his hand shook at last like an infant's? The Indians saw, as they expressed it, that their father was going home. *

"The infirmities of old age now came fast upon him. When he could no longer leave his dwelling, the ruling passion was strong to the last: he caused a young Indian, in his primitive ignorance and darkness, to dwell with him, and, as life ebbed away, he occupied himself in teaching him passages from the scripture, with as much ardour and diligence as if a chief of the desert was before him."

We shall return to this volume, as soon as it is published.

THERE is so much nature, science, and learning about Izaac Walton, as to have secured for him the love of all classes; and the present truly splendid edition of the Complete Angler, will, we think, make him still more widely known. This work was heretofore illustrated, as we had imagined, to perfection--and we are still of opinion, that some of old Wale's designs have never been equalled in natural grace and simplicity. Major's edition was most beautiful—but this must, we suppose, be received as the crowning jewel-it is said, that three thousand pounds have been already expended on the work. The domestic scenes have fallen to the pencil of Stothard, and the fish to the pencil of Inskipp, and both have acquitted themselves worthily-some designs of the former are exquisitely happy, and the chub of the latter are as natural as nature itself.

For the remainder of a long life, Eliot pursued his labours with equal diligence, but varying fortune-failing sometimes from the opposition, sometimes from the indifference of others, and occasionally, it must be admitted, from his own visionary folly, as when he determined to instruct some of the young savages in classical literature. In 1674, when the great war with the Indian Chief Philip broke out, no less than twelve prosperous towns had been established. In the hope of averting the coming misery, Eliot sought an inter- Le Livre des Cent-et-Un. Vol. V. Paris, view with Philip; but the native warrior had set his fortune on the die, and resolved to abide the chance; desolation was let loose upon the country. Eliot, however, lived to see his people again gathering together, though in small numbers

"But the time came that his wife died, and the loss found him all unprepared for it; they

For a very interesting account of this celebrated man, see Athenæum, No. 208.

Ladvocat.

[Second Notice.]

We present our readers this week with a positor,' by Bert, formerly editor of the translation of the paper entitled the 'ComJournal du Commerce, and the bold champion of liberty and constitutional rights. Bert was one of those who signed the famous protest of the journalists against the royal ordinances of July 1830.

The Compositor.

"Let not the compositor be confounded with the printer or press-man. These two agents of a most marvellous art are separated by an immense interval in typographical importance. The one presides over the first transformation which speech undergoes-the other only directs the machine, which repeats it in a thousand echos. Mechanism already begins to deprive the latter of his occupation; without his assistance the ink is now spread over the types, without his aid the paper is placed upon the form, slid under the press, and given forth, by the mute instrument, with the stamp of thought and the voice of genius. Thus the press-man finds his department invaded by a workman more laborious than himself, and not, like him, subject to hunger, fatigue and sleep.

The compositor is beyond such competition: he may defy the power of matter to supply the place of his intellectual activity. There can exist no subtle combination of springs and wheels to enable the fingers of an automaton to seize the characters which correspond with the written word, and arrange them in the composing-stick; for to do this, the automaton must be able to read. See the compositor in action, his eyes fixed upon the manuscript, and scarcely paying attention to the motion of his fingers-and you readily infer, from the intelligence of his look, and the expression of his countenance, that in him the mind alone is at work, whilst his

right hand, which goes from the case to the composing-stick and back again to the case, seems but to follow the poise of his body. To read well is a very important part of the compositor's duties, and is the more difficult, because the literati and men of science who intrust their works to him, neglect, for the most part, to write legibly. I speak not here of those who leave to him the care of punctuation, sometimes even that of correcting their violations of grammar and orthography. What services does he not render to ungrateful authors, who repay them in calumny, and impose upon him in their errata the responsibility of their own blunders, which they term typographical errors, or negligence of the corrector? If his vanity had likewise the resource of errata, how many correct sentences might he not claim, substituted in the proof for the original solecism?

"It may readily be imagined that the compositor must come to his first apprenticeship in typography, with a mind stored with all the elementary knowledge necessary for any literary profession. He must be grammatically acquainted with his own language, and, according to the kind of work he has to do, must be conversant

with at least the nomenclature of the science treated of in the manuscript before him. More composing, as more than one author has done than one compositor, it is true, has learned whilst whilst writing. A printing-office is a school of his first throb of poetic inspiration, and he universal knowledge; it was there Beranger felt learned orthography in the exercise of a calling which was also the first occupation of Franklin. But in return for a few illustrious reputations, how much merit has remained unnoticed! Who knows how many men of talent and learning attain to obscure old age under the workman's jacket? Old age! I am mistaken. The life of a compositor is soon worn out by fatigue, night labour, and impatience at his uncertain and indefinite condition. What, in fact, is his social rank? To what class does he belong? Is he an artisan or a clerk-one of the people, or a mem ber of the upper classes? He feels himself out of lized society, so methodical in its scientific diviplace wherever he may be. The book of civiHe is a workman, for he lives upon wages, and sions, has forgotten him in its table of contents. is hired by a master. One of the people by his origin, his connexions and habits of life, he is

brought very near the higher classes by his attainments and his co-operation in producing works of intellect. Few roads to fortune are open to him, and if ever he raise himself to distinction, it is by paths not yet trodden. You would sooner see him turn author, soldier, or statesman, than become a master printer. He can never be an Elzevir, a Stephens, or a Didot. To found a printing-office requires either capital or credit; and the compositor is without patrimony, or the means of growing rich; nor is he able to borrow. He is not one who can speculate upon the dower of his wife-if he take one; and as for his bank, consisting of his weekly wages, he seldom sees it increase under the influence of thrift, or the power of compound interest. The most able compositor does not gain. at Paris, more than six francs a day; and if you want to calculate his yearly income, do not by any means multiply 365 by 6-for every day is not paid as a working-day. You must deduct, if you please, the days of rest forced and voluntary. And then, we men of letters, and men of typography, know not how to hoard: we live on, heedless of the future, and careless of money matters, following the variations of our temperament, whether they impel us to hard work or to the luxury of idleness; not that slothful idleness which kills time by consumption-but that ardent and energetic idleness which devours it; not that silly, loitering idleness which plays at dominoes, drinks beer, walks upon the quays and

boulevards, increases the number in mobs, and runs away at the sight of the police-but that idleness belonging to ardent imaginations, kind hearts, and manly propensities, which delights in billiards, in the estaminet, in jovial meetings and in midnight revels.

"If the compositor places little in the saving bank, he never fails in his subscription to the fund for mutual assistance. Above all, he is a good companion, and a faithful observer of the regulations of the masonic or other society of which he may be a member; he contributes his share of songs, for he is a song writer of the

school of Beranger, whose works he knows by heart and sings with feeling. He almost equals his master in richness of rhyme, patriotism, and philosophy, but is distinguished from him by a touch of carbonari-ism. Take notice, that, during the restoration, he conspired, as we conspire in France, in a loud voice and in full chorus.

"The spirit of association and confraternity supplies the place, with the compositor and the press-man, of that vulgar and provident care which is often nothing more than the virtue of egotism. The society for mutual assistance is his security against want; it possesses a common fund, formed and kept up by periodical subscriptions. Any member deprived of his resources by an unforeseen misfortune, or the want of work, receives a daily sum sufficient to guard him against the attacks of indigence, though not to maintain him in idleness. In sickness he is in want of nothing; he has the attendance of the physician to the society, receives medicines from the dispensary of the institution, and is cheered by the consolation of his brethren. His widow and children are not left without support, nor his remains deposited in the tomb without due honours. A committee directs the ceremony of his modest funeral-a deputation from the society joins his attendant friends-a brother, in a brief oration utters the last adieu, and eulogizes the good qualities of the deceased.

"Sunday is the day on which general meetings are held, to regulate the affairs of the society. The compositor on a Sunday seems quite a different man from the compositor during the week. He has quitted the workman's jacket, for the elegant frock, which he wears with graceful ease, and sports the gold chain en sautoir over his velvet waistcoat. His step is com

posed, and his countenance indicative of thought. He is about to make an important speech, move or criticize a measure; and a small dose of oratorical vanity is mingled with his zeal for the general good. His speech, whether read, recited from memory, or extemporized, is grave, elegant, and florid; nothing in it savours even of the familiarity of common language, much less of the slang of the printing-office. The meeting is not always unanimous; it contains divisions and parties, but without coteries or intrigue. Its finances form the principal subject of debate; but the accounts are not subjected to very severe regulations; the whole security consists in the integrity of the accountants and the confidence of their constituents. The society has never once had occasion to take measures against a breach of such confidence. "When the business is over, the meeting is dissolved; friends and intimates then approach each other, and groups are formed; invitations to breakfast are given, appointments made for the evening and the rest of the day devoted to pleasure.

"Such are the general outlines of a compositor's life; but in this calling, as in every other, there are exceptions and individualities. I could name the man who reads his manuscript without understanding it, without seizing the idea expressed by the characters which his fingers have assembled, like the tapestry workmen at the

Gobelins, who does not see the masterpiece he is producing. I could indicate another whom I could vouch for as prudent, economical and of regular habits-he is upwards of thirty, and has a wife and children; he is preparing to become a corrector and foreman.

certain individuals, wearing the same habiliments, and speaking the same language. They saw not those men with pale faces, blackened hands and fiery eyes, who had come from the printing-office, and moulded to a sense of freedom, a population reputed ignorant, and a slave to its physical wants. 'What do they require? Give them bread and let them disperse." But they already knew, that to have the certainty of obtaining bread, they must enjoy freedom. For the man of the printing-office, freedom was bread itself; and the censorship, poverty and death. If the effect of servitude acted less immediately upon others, it was not less certain. This is what the man of the press taught verbally; for he had himself learned it from books, and by communication with enlightened men. Thus is knowledge propagated, and, by intelligent reflectors, penetrates into the darkest corners of human society.

"The artisan of the printing office is the representative of manual labour in its most noble form, and when it approaches nearest to the functions of thought. It is his lot at all times to stipulate for the interests and rights of the laborious part of the population. When the day arrives on which the operatives in common shall claim a more equitable distribution of the fruits of industry, the compositor will be spokesman on the occasion."

Iolande, a Tale of the Duchy of Luxembourg; and other Poems. London: Cadell. WE like the border sound of some of the verses of this little book: the border is the northern Parnassus: there song has never been silent--it descends, like an inheritance, from father to son: no sooner has one bard laid aside the harp than another takes it up, and the voice of inspiration is continued. The author of 'Iolande' cannot take a high place amongst the minstrels; yet he has written some pleasing things-deficient, per

Within the Vale of Vianden lay

A fair green space, and wildly gay, Where Nature had her charms combined, Where grove, and stream, and valley join'd, Where glen, and rock, and mountain high Were blent in strangest harmony. The meetest spot when flow'ry May With blossom deck'd the hawthorn spray; When Spring her brighter tint renew'd, And Earth her greener mantle strew'd; Where 'neath the moonbeam's silver light, The elfin king and queen, And many a laughing mountain sprite, Within the forest sheen Might oft their midnight revels hold, And trace the ring, as wont of old. Here oft, when Evening spread her veil, Fair Iolande and Conrad met; While nought was heard along the dale Save the river's ceaseless fret, While winding amid rock and bush, The current onward sped, And, foaming, broke with noisy gush Along its channell'd bed. An oak the rugged cliff o'erhung, And wild-flowers to each crevice clung, The prickly gorse, the yellow broom Now freshly bursting into bloom, Did o'er the streamlet wildly wave, And charms to savage grandeur gave. Here oft in play would Conrad strain For Iolande each flower to gain, And sigh the tale that maiden's ear Delights from lover's lips to hear :Thus days flow'd on of love and joy, As though young life had no alloy. But where is he whose life is spun In Time's untroubled course to run? Though woman's heart may thus be blest, Man's warmer spirit brooks not rest; Her office is with lightsome play To chase each graver care away:

this book has produced a profit of forty-four per cent. This excessive rate of profit has drawn into the book trade a larger share of capital than was really advantageous; and the competition between the different portions of that capital has naturally led to the system of underselling, to which the committee above-mentioned are en

deavouring to put a stop.

this

combination,—the public and authors. "There are two parties who chiefly suffer from "Many an industrious bookseller would be glad to sell for 5s. the volume which the reader holds in his hand, and for which he has paid 6s.; and, in doing so for ready money, the tradesman who paid 4s. 6d. for the book, would realize, without the least risk, a profit of eleven per cent. on the money he had advanced. It is one of the objects of the combination we are discussing, to prevent the small capitalist from employing his

established in which booksellers have no interest, they can never be safely trusted."

The operation of the system in detail we have often exposed; but, as a proof that old experience can speak with the voice of prophecy, we venture to prognosticate that twenty out of the twenty-four reviewing columns in Colburn and Longman's Literary Gazette, will to-morrow be filled with Colburn and Longman's books. Does the reader ask why

to-morrow? Because it is "serviceable Saturday"! The orders, they know, will be hurried back from the country to be in time for the monthly parcels, and before an independent critic can offer an opinion.

It was to put an end to this system, so ably and honestly exposed by Mr. Babbage, that the Athenæum was established. Such an

pre

tures. By Charles Babbage, Esq., A.M. London: Knight. THE receipt of this work, in its present readable size, has been to us an unmixed gratification. It is one we anxiously desire to see circulated, and we hope that the price of six shillings will secure for it a sale of ten or twenty thousand copies. We have not now to review it; "the substance of a considerable portion of it," says Mr. Babbage himself, appeared among the liminary chapters of the mechanical part of the Encyclopædia Metropolitana." It is, in fact, the same work-under another form, and with additions-which was noticed a short time since at great length in this paper; and it only remains for us now to recommend it, once more, strongly to our readers. One subject, however, is touched by Mr. Babbage, on which we had an article actually prepared: but we had rather put a man of his weight and influence forward on this occasion, and shall, therefore, allow him to state the grievance-we allude to the combination existing among the Publishers. Not to involve the question with minute calculations, it may be stated generally, that the retail profit allowed by the publisher to the bookseller, is twenty-five

per cent.

"Until very lately, a multitude of booksellers in all parts of London, were willing to be satisfied with a much smaller profit, and to sell, for ready money, or at short credit to persons of undoubted character, at a profit of only ten per cent., and in some instances even at a still smaller percentage, instead of that of twentyfive per cent. on the published prices. *

"Now, a certain number of the London booksellers, have combined together. One of their objects is to prevent any bookseller from selling a book at less than ten per cent. under the published price; and in order to enforce this principle, they refuse to sell books, except at the publishing price, to any bookseller who declines signing their agreement. By degrees, many were prevailed upon to join this combination; and the effect of the exclusion it inflicted, left the small capitalist no option between signing or having his business destroyed. Ultimately, nearly the whole trade, comprising about two thousand four hundred persons, have signed the agreement.

"In whatever manner the profits are divided between the publisher and the retail bookseller, the fact remains, that the reader has paid for the volume in his hands 6s., and that the author will receive only 3s. 10d.; out of which latter sum, the expense of printing the volume must be paid; so that in passing through two hands

most advantageous to himself; and such a proceeding is decidedly injurious to the public." Surely, this strange proceeding cannot be justified; we doubt if it can be legally defended. Twenty-five per cent., though but a reasonable profit to a bookseller paying heavy rent and oppressive taxes, and giving two or three years' credit, is excessive when charged by a man living in some obscure court and receiving ready money; at any rate, a bookseller, who is a mere agent between the public and the publisher, is the best judge of his remunerating profit. The effect of the combination is cruelly oppressive on the small capitalist and industrious tradesman, and injurious to the public; and we confidently hope that many respectable men, who have become subscribing parties to the agreement, will immediately reconsider the subject.

Mr. Babbage sketches a plan of a campaign against Paternoster Row: it is, we fear, not a little visionary; but there is one important fact incidentally stated, which has often been urged in this paper, and we are glad to have his authority to justify our as

sertions.

"It will be fit to inform the reader of the nature of the enemy's forces, and of his means of

attack and defence. Several of the great publishers find it convenient to be the proprietors of Reviews, Magazines, Journals, and even of Newspapers. The Editors are paid, in some instances very handsomely, for their superintendence; and it is scarcely to be expected that they should always mete out the severest justice on works by the sale of which their employers are enriched. The great and popular works of the day are, of course, reviewed with some care, and with deference to public opinion. Without this, the journals would not sell; and it is convenient to be able to quote such articles as instances of impartiality. Under shelter of this, a host of ephemeral productions are written into a transitory popularity; and by the aid of this process, the shelves of the booksellers, as well as the pockets of the public, are disencumbered. To such an extent are these means employed that some of the

periodical publications of the day ought to be regarded merely as advertising machines. That the reader may be in some measure on his guard against such modes of influencing his judgment, he should examine whether the work reviewed is published by the bookseller who is the proprietor of the review; a fact which can sometimes be ascertained from the title of the book as given at the head of the article. But this is by no means a certain criterion, because partnerships in various publications exist between houses in the book trade, which are not generally known to the public; so, that in fact, until Reviews are

and resolute opposition; it was opposed to all trading influences, and our success has been little short of a miracle. We persevered, however, against all difficulties, and we think Mr. Babbage ought, upon this occasion, to have borne testimony to our humble exertions.

EDINBURGH CABINET LIBRARY. No. VII. British India. Vol. II. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.

THIS is the second volume of the work which we so lately recommended to our readers' particular attention. The History of India is concluded about the middle of this volume, and the remaining chapters treat of the social and political condition of India; the history' mythology, manners, and literature of the Hindoos; the British Government of India; the British social system in India, a very interesting chapter; and the industry and commerce of that country. The whole is written and compiled with the care which has ever marked the Edinburgh Cabinet Library,' and we are glad to see that the liberality of the publishers, and zeal and diligence of the editor, are not without their reward, and that a second edition of every volume of this work is almost a certainty. We have them of Egypt,' and 'Africa;' a third of the 'Palestine;' and, we hear, that the Polar Seas' is fast advancing towards a fourth.

Sermons. By the Rev. Hobart Caunter, B.D. 8vo. London: Bull; Rivingtons. A plain, sensible volume-the sermons good, as addressed to a congregation, and excellent for home meditation-earnest in their sincerity, and full of doctrinal authorities. There are twenty-four sermons-those entitled 'Death, the Wages of Sin'-'Forgiving Enemies'-'The Rich Man and Lazarus'-and 'On Evil Speaking,' are most to our liking. We shall glean one ear from the harvest, in the hope that the good seed, though scattered in the highways, may not perish :

"We are not to imagine, because a man may be depraved, be it in whatever degree, that we are thereby justified in calumniating him. Our detestation of his vices arms us with no judicial authority to condemn him. It is not for sinners to judge sinners. Where can be the moral equity in transgressors pronouncing sentence against the transgressing? I do not, of course, apply this argument to a condemnation of crimes cognizable by human laws, since here is a delegated authority to judge-an authority acknowledged by all civilized societies, and sanctioned by God himself;-I refer only o moral judgments.