at the imperishable excellence of its contents. To make use of the Editor's language, "the Christian can be placed in very few circumstances of life, whether of sorrow or temptation, of prosperity, or adversity, without seeing in these volumes how some of the wisest, and holiest of men have felt, or acted, or thought, in circumstances closely resembling his own.” Or, we may adopt part of the concluding observations of the poet, whose fine and christianized genius has made a fitting display in the preliminary essay to the work (which we learn was undertaken in consequence of his suggestion) when he says of it : Among its diversified contents are presented beautiful and affecting examples of letters by martyrs and confessurs ; nobles, statesmen, and judges; eminent prelates, divines, and ministers of various evangelical denominations ;- Ladies of high as well as humble birth, distinguished by the virtues and graces peculiarly becoming their sex and adorning it;-celebrated patriots, philosophers, poets, and Christians of all classes, who have been successively the glory and defence of our country, from the sixteenth century to the present time." The preliminary Essay itself is not only a fine and ingenious piece of writing, which none indeed but a poet could have produced, but it breathes spirit so pious and scriptural, that, we believe, no other poet but James Montgomery at the present day has been imbued with. He does full justice to the innocent and exquisite pleasures which letter-writing communicates between friends that are widely separated by time or place, and he points out the requisites or characteristics of what alone can properly come under the denomination of epistolary correspondence. For the instruction of those who are apt to write essays with a view to publication, but who dub these formal and laboured treatises by the name of "Letters," we shall quote a passage which occurs early in his dissertation. "In letterwriting, when the heart is earnestly engaged, the first thoughts in the first words are usually the best; for it is thoughts, not words, that are to be communicated; and meaning, not manner, which is mainly aimed at. The ideas that rise, and thicken as they rise, in a mind full and overflowing with its subject, voluntarily embody themselves in language the most easy and appropriate; yet they are so delicate and evanescent, that, unless caught in their first forms, they soon lose their character and distinctness, blend with each other, and from being strictly simple in succession, become inextricably complex in association, on account of their multiplicity and affinity. The thoughts that occur in letter-writing will not stay to be questioned; they must be taken at their word, or instantly dismissed. They are like odours from a bank of violets,' a breath-and away. He that would revel on the fragrance by scenting it hard and long, will feel that its deliciousness has eluded him; he may taste it again and again for a moment, but he might as well attempt to catch the rainbow and hold it, as longer to inhale and obtain the subtle and volatile sweetness. He who once hesitates amidst the flow of fresh feelings and their spontaneous expression, becomes unawares bewildered; and must either resolutely disengage himself by darting right forward through the throng of materials, to recover the freedom of his pen, or he must patiently select, arrange, and array them, as in a premeditated exercise of his mind on a given theme." We cannot conclude this notice more appropriately than in the words of the same authority. "In spare intervals, then, let the Christian Corres pondent' be consulted, at whatever page the eye may first light upon; for open where he may, the reader will at once find himself in company with one of the excellent of the earth; and not merely admitted to a formal audience as in his published works or official memoirs, but received on familiar and confidential terms into his house, his closet, and his heart."" The work is got up in neat pocket-volumes, and is cheap. 64 ART. XXIX.-The Carthusian. No. I. London: Walker, 1837. In honourable rivalry," so says the prospectus, "of successful attempts of the same kind which have emanated from other Public Schools, the Carthusians (Charterhouse scholars) of the present day have determined to shew themselves on the green, and fly their literary kite in the wide æther of London publication; convinced that, though the number of ⚫ stupendous balloons,' which periodically soar aloft in the higher regions is so great that there is danger of jostling, there is yet ample room and verge enough for their paper ephemeral to sport its hour in the more contracted circulation of an humbler atmosphere, if those by all the ties of good public-school feeling are bound to lend a helping hand to their pastime, will every now and then supply an additional paper to the tail of their soaring aspirations, and contribute their due proportion of that currency, which the Conductors, while they deprecate any idea of raising the wind by unfair puffery, believe to constitute the circulating medium of all literary aerostation. To let go the string of their-metaphor; the Editors (we are three') confidently look to their Schoolfellows, both past and present, for their hearty co-operation in their present undertaking, without which they need hardly remind them this humble attempt to do their school honour and service must of a certainty fail." " The 66 Such is the proposed and professsed nature of this new periodical, and such a fair specimen of the juvenile, but scholarlike, character of the contents of the first number. The production, take it all in all, is extremely creditable to the young gentlemen who conduct it, and to the talent of their schoolfellows who contribute to it. There is a due admixture of poetry and prose, and a considerable variety of theme and style among the several productions. to be continued " of one or two of the pieces, the Preacher's Tale" particularly, is an injudicious arrangement, particularly in the outset of such a work; and there is something like drawling and weariful spinning of small threads in some of the dialogues. But not to be over nice, especially with a first num. ber, which, whether the conductors be old or young, generally bears tokens of such labour, anxiety, and incertitude, as are self-destructive, the effort is to be commended, and its results favourably spoken of; and if there be any good public school feeling" among the young and the old Carthusians, it will receive their support. The second number is to appear on the 1st of June. Among the contributions before us, some of which would not disgrace any monthly periodical of the day, we might find very amusing, tasteful, or instructive specimens. There is one called "Hints for Nonsense Verses," and though dealing chiefly with Latin spondees and dactyls, concludes with some nonsense verses in English, that are very clever, rich in rhythm, and musical. Indeed, to quote the 46 contributor's words, if the lines were read with emphasis to any circle of young poetical ladies, as the finest passage in the last prize poem of a particular friend, they would be voted far nearer to Byron, than the nonsense Latin verses will ever be to Virgil. We quote the lines: "Afraid? afraid? amiss?—in verdant sky Enwrapt the cobweb fluttering to the soul, And heaven's best refuge when the muse is o'er The verses we like best in the present number, are those addressed to a young lady" On the Morning of her Marriage," supposed to be by a scholar, who is thus doomed for ever to lose the object of his boyish attachment. These verses are glowing both in language and sentiment. ART. XXX.-New Light on the Irish Tithe Bill; or, the Appropriation Clause Recommended by the Heads of the Irish Church. In a Series of Letters. By ALIENUS. Ridgway. THESE Letters were originally published in the Morning Chronicle, and from the title of them and this circumstance, their drift may be easily understood. The writer professes strong attachment to the Church, and as one of its most zealous friends and members, strenuously counsels Englishmen to call upon their representatives in Parliament to set the Irish Tithe Question at rest. He says that the present policy of Protestants seems to be, to nail the colours to the mast, and sink with the ship. But instead of thus proceeding, he maintains that the motives of party must yield to the interests of the State-that the present balanced condition of its legislature-the nearly equal division of parties in the House of Commons-the Court adverse to the Ministry-and other symptoms, are alarming; but that if the leaders of party do not see, or yield to these dangers, the people must instruct them and force them to do it, at the hustings. One of the strongest positions taken by the author, is thisthat the Church before it even came to be Protestant, was burdened with the liability of general education, and that no authority exonerating it from that burden, since, can be shown, but quite the contrary; for example, the 14th Report of the Commissioners of Education. We have been deeply impressed with the force and earnestness of these Letters, and advise all who wish to be enlightened on the absorbing subject of which they treat, to peruse them dispassionately, for the sake not only of coming to a sound speculative conclusion, but of millions that are allowed to perish for lack of knowledge, or rather, of a sound education. THE MONTHLY REVIEW. APRIL, 1837 ART. I.-Second Annual Report of the Poor Law Commissioners for England and Wales; with Appendixes A. B. C. D. London: 1836. IN directing the attention of our readers to the First of the Reports given to the public by the Poor Law Commissioners for England and Wales, we could not avoid characterizing the precedent of thus making universally known the progress and conducting of the most important trusts that can be originated by any government, and largely subjected to the discretionary power of a few agents, but as worthy of admiration and proper to be followed on all occasions. And this for the most obvious reasons; for while the precise principles, tendency, and working, of any great enactment may thus come to be justly appreciated by all, sufficiently strong motives are offered to those to whom are intrusted the practical management of such mighty concerns, in the shape of inducements, to the securing of good conduct, or for checking effectually malversation in office. Now, if the opinion here expressed holds true as a general doctrine, assuredly it applies with unparalleled force to the Poor Law Amendment Act, and the conduct of the Commissioners who have been appointed under it to carry into effect its provisions; and to whom also extraordinary discretionary powers have been necessarily given. What other enactment can there be named which more closely affects the interests of every member of the community? But when one considers the character, the station, and the opportunities for obtaining accurate information on the part of those whom the measure in question most vitally touches, the paramount importance of such Reports becomes still more manifest-the peculiar and immediate objects of its provisions being the poorest and the most ignorant members of society; and yet they present those materials which constitute the best indices of a nation's strength or weakness. The value of these Poor Law Reports, however, and the necessity for their periodical publication, cannot be fully understood without a VOL. I. (1837). NO. IV. H H reference to the far-spread, the deeply-rooted, and the inveterate nature of the diseases which the Commissioners are appointed to remedy. When the numerous and singularly ingenious, as well as strenuous, efforts which have been used to defeat an effectual and salutary method of checking and subduing to a vast extent enormities that were a disgrace to civilized society, and a dreadful growing sore in the heart, and over the whole surface of our country, are considered, the subject acquires additional breadth and emphasis. Go on, however, we would say, if consulted by Government in an earnest and unflinching determination to uphold the great principles of the Amendment Act. You have made a bold, but a successful beginning; nay, your triumph is almost complete in practical effect, while it is more than achieved by speculative and abstract argument, as regards the purses of the rate-payers, but far more illustriously as regards the physical condition and the moral attainments of the pauper population. The same sort of urgent counsel we offer to the Commissioners, persuaded that if they persevere as they have hitherto done, through good and through evil report, they will soon find that all resistance to their activity will become extinct; for the real enemies of the poor will be shamed out of their opposition, and driven from the strong holds of misrepresentation. One thing is certain that the Report before us contains not only very many irrefragable evidences of conversions of opinion, both in respect of individuals and masses of the nation, but notable reasons for those conversions. Neither fabrications nor sophistry could have accomplished this; neither erroneous principles of legislation, nor the incompetency of the legislature's servants, could have blinded the majority of the people to the real force of constantly teeming and increasing evidence such as is here adduced. To the nature and extent of that evidence we are now going to invite attention and inquiry, by glancing at some of its prominent points and varieties. The present volume, after generally alluding to the measures which the Commissioners commenced with, as set forth in their First Report, goes on to inform us that nothing had transpired to intimate that a similar method of procedure should not be followed with respect to those localities and parties that had still to be dealt with, in the course of developing the new law, and that they, therefore, have continued to extend the measures thus approved; viz., to form Unions of parishes, establish Boards of Guardians, make arrangements for providing adequate workhouses, &c. It is known to many of our readers that to facilitate these measures, the whole of England and Wales has been divided into twenty-one districts, and an Assistant Commissioner appointed to the superintendence of each of these divisions, for the sake of more speedily and perfectly completing the fulfilment of the law's intention. At the presentation of the First Report (between the 1st of December, 1834, |