"In perusing the History of the Reformation of our Church, and pursuing it up even to the present time, it cannot but strike the man of cool observation and unbiassed feeling, that the demands of the Non-Conformists were for the most part, weak, frivolous, and unworthy. It behoved that man to have a high opinion of his own judgment -yea of his inward worth and holiness, who would venture to resist authorities- to withdraw himself from the communion of his fellow-creatures, and disown the sacred functions of God's appointed ministers, merely because his eyes were offended with the sight of the priestly raiment, and his conscience alarmed when he saw those who were receiving the elements of bread and wine kneeling in humble adoration before the throne of grace-kneeling to petition for the benefits of Christ's passion-"that their bodies might be made clean by his body, and their souls washed through his most precious blood." The Schismatics of the great Revolution did indeed carry their opposition to the Church to extraordinary lengths. "Omitting the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith," they made war against weathercocks and steeples-against the surplice and tippet.

to be observed, that many of them are old irregular buildings, and that the reparation of them in the Gothic style unites both taste and economy; and as to building such houses de novo in the style mentioned, Mr. Hunt very judiciously observes:—

"Our English domestic Architecture seems so peculiarly adapted to the purposes of buildings connected with ecclesiasti cal institutions, that its adoption is almost as indispensable in designing the humble residence of a village pastor, as in forming the more important edifice-an episcopal palace."

"Without_entering into the question, whether the Greek or the Gothic be the more worthy of general cultivation, the Author will venture an opinion that, in the wide range of all the various styles, none will be found to accord so well with what has been denominated Christian Archi

tecture,' as the style of our own country; for even the purest Grecian, sublime and beautiful' as it is, appears to be out of harmony when brought into close neighbourhood with any of our old Churches. Nor is the advantage of assimilation the ouly one to be derived; it possesses another quality, which in these days of economy must be highly recommendatory, namely, that frugality may be exercised without the appearance of poverty. All the forms which particularly mark this congenial style, may be wrought in the cheapest materials with comparatively little labour; and a small portion of ornamental work tastefully dis

posed, is capable of producing very considerable effect." P. 4.

There is certainly nothing more picturesque than the Gothic. The misfortune is, that people confound the ideas of it in dwellings, with cold and dark rooms, endless passages, closets, and a bad disposition of the interior; but none of these evils are indispensable. On the contrary freedom from confinement to a regular form of the outside, furnishes a means of greater convenience, and less waste of room for stair cases, pantries, &c. Besides, such a house not being subject to fashion is another saving. No more expence is required than reparation of wear and tear. Concerning the merits of Mr. Hunt's plans we can justly say, that they are perfectly correct. We see nothing Chinese intermixed. In plate ix. we object to the length of the roof at one end, because we know the difficulty of keeping such long roofs waterproof. We also feel that none but stone tiles which require heavy tim

bers, will harmonize with Gothic buildings, and old tiles which have be come gray (as recommended p. 7.), are still not the thing. But surely, if there were a demand, housepotters can ma nufacture tiles, of a sober grey; at least we should think they might, for bricks are made of a drab colour.

115. Academic Unity; being the Substance of a General Dissertation contained in the Privileges of the University of Cambridge, as translated from the Original Latin, with various Additions. By G. Dyer, A. B. Editor of the "Privileges of the University of Cambridge," and of a "History of the University and College of Cambridge," &c. with a Preface, giving some Account of the Dissenting Colleges in the United Kingdom, and of the London University. 8vo. pp. 192.

WHEN our ancestors imposed dis qualifications and tests upon Catholics and Sectaries, they did it with the view of encouraging the Established Church, for, as they thought it right to establish it, they thought it right also to support it; and hold out a prospect of superior civil benefit to those who were members of it. Now Mr. Dyer thinks this to be very unjust, and makes the gist of this book the unfairness of requir ing subscription to the Articles, in order to become members of our two great Universities. We, on the contrary, are of opinion that, if Recusants deem it their interest or pleasure to become members of such Universities, the Subscriptionists have precisely the same plea for denying them admission. It is neither their interest or their plea sure to have the Colleges filled with men of all religious persuasions, nor can any law enforce it. Nearly all the ruling powers are clergymen of the Established Church; the Statutes of the respective Colleges in general re quire ordination in their fellows at certain periods of their standing; often the degree of B. D. or D. D. By what means are regular clergymen be compelled to admit persons of whose doctrines they do not approve, to be inmates of dwellings, which in a cof porate capacity are their sole property By what feeling of pretended right it to be expected, that they should communicate their knowledge and pa tronage to their political enemies; of if they so do, where is their integrity? We might mention infinite mischiefs and inconveniences, which would en

to

PART 1] REVIEW.-Thierry's History of the Conquest of England. 607

sue from the adoption of the liberalism recommended by Mr. Dyer; but it is unnecessary. If the two Universities furnish as they do the Ministers of the Established Church, it would be highly improper that the candidates for ordination should be exposed to corruption of their principles by intimate communion with all sorts of heterodox thinkers. Natural parents exercise a right of controul as to what society their children shall keep. Why may not spiritual parents do the same?

are brevity approaching to meagreness, and occasional carelessness. We doubt if St. Germain fought against the Saxons, and if the Welsh proverb concerning the Wolf and the Lazy Shepherd really applied to the Romish Church: neither do we perceive it in the remains of St. Cadoz, but it occurs in the Gorwynion of Llywarch Hêu. In describing the march of William to London, he betrays an ignorance of our provincial geography.

The second portion begins with the victory of Hastings, and ends with the year 1070, when the country may be considered as reduced. A curious misinference occurs in b. 5. "When the hour of rest arrived, at the time of making all fast, the head of the family repeated aloud the prayers used at sea on the approach of a storm-" preces quasi imminente in mari tempestale," says Matthew Paris, probably without expecting this bold translation of his words.

Waltheof. The fourth contains the new arrangement of the country, terminating in 1086. The fifth contains the various insurrections and civil wars till 1152. In this division we have to remark a good account of the Scottish polity, but that the character of Lanfranc is underrated, that the extracts introduced into the text disfigure it, and that the remarks at the end of the several books are pertinent.

116. History of the Conquest of England by the Normans, with its Causes from the earliest Period, and its Consequences to the present time. Translated from the French of A. Thierry. 8vo. 3 vols, Whitaker. THE Norman Conquest is one of the most splendid events in history, whether we look to its extraordinary achievement, its immediate consequences, or its ultimate results. It united the British kingdoms under one head, The third portion comprizes the and even the separation of that conti- series of efforts made by the conquernental territory which it connected ors to degrade the natives, and termiwith them must be regarded as fortunates in 1076, with the execution of nate, since a cause of unprofitable wars was thereby removed. So much for political considerations, but historically the Norman Conquest is most remark able, as being the last territorial conquest that has taken place in the western part of Europe: since then there have been none but political conquests." A good history of this event has long been a desideratum in literature, nor do we feel quite easy that a foreigner should have the credit of supplying it, though there are portions of the subject which derive their advantages from that circumstance. We thus perceive how a foreigner calmly regards those parts of our history about which we are apt to be biassed; and we obtain information on many points which is accessible only to himself. M. Thierry has divided his work into seven portions. He begins by narrating the early condition of Britain, the Saxon invasion, the Breton migration, the Frankish Settlement in Gaul, the transactions of the Danes and Normans, and the Anglo-Saxon history till the battle of Hastings. This division he has made very interesting, by blending the different details, and placing his reader

sometimes in Great Britain, sometimes on the Continent." His defects

The sixth division terminates with the execution of William the Saxon at the close of the twelfth century, the last event which marks the distinction between the two races, as the separation of England from Normandy in the following reign necessarily moulded them into one. Here we doubt if Becket be a Saxon name, and still more if the Primate befriended the Saxon population as such,and still perhaps further whether the Welsh were attached to him. Adrian the third was surely not an Englishman. We do not consider Robin Hood as a political character, and still less as a Saxon partizan. There is a ballad relating to the manner of his death. We thought that Bertrand de Boru had been a typographical error for Bertrand de Born, till we perceived it throughout the work.

sion into the hive, which, from its unwieldiness they could not remove, and which, from the impenetrability of its shell they could not destroy: here then their only resource was to deprive it of loco-motion, and to obviate putrefaction, both which objects they accomplished most skilfully and securely, and, as is usual with these sagacious creatures, at the least possible expence of labour and materials. They applied their cement where alone it was required, namely, round the verge of the shell. In the latter case, to obviate the evil of putrescence, by the total exclusion of air, they were obliged to be more lavish in the use of their embalming material, and to form with it so complete an incrustation or case over the "slime-girt giant," as to guard them from the consequences which the atmosphere invariably produces upon all animal substances that are exposed to its action, after life has become extinct. May it not be asked, what

means more effectual could human wisdom have devised under similar circumstances?"

118. Poems by Two Brothers. pp. 228. 12mo. Simpkin and Marshall.

Dr. JOHNSON has a remark, "that no Book was ever spared in tenderness to its Author;" -we think otherwise, and we believe that occasion and circumstances have frequently tended to mitigate, if not to reverse the censure of criticism. Why to such a volume as this should a test be applied which should have reference only to high pretensions? These poems are full of amiable feelings, expressed for the most part with elegance and correctness--are we to complain that they want the deep feeling of a Byron, the polished grace of Moore, or the perfect mastery of human passions which distinguishes Crabbe? We would rather express our surprise and admiration that at an age when the larger class of mankind have barely reached the elements of thought, so much of good feeling, united to the poetical expression of it, should be found in two members of the same family. The volume is a graceful addition to our domestic poetry, and does credit to the juvenile Adelphi.

119. Pettoletti: by Henry Bailey. Small 8vo. pp. 81. London, 1826, Relfe. THE scene of the Poem before us

appears to be laid in Italy, the fertile soil of romance and poetry; the subject GENT. MAG. Suppl. XCVII. PART I.

E

of it, as the Author bespeaks in the motto he has selected for his title-page, is a tale of the passions. In adopting such a subject, a young Author must feel he is treading on fearful ground, in the delineation of the boisterous and breast of a proud and wicked man, or turbulent feelings which agitate the the mild and agreeable tenants of the peaceful bosom of a young and innocent feinale. He must feel that he has to follow in the same path in which aByron has triumphantly moved, the splendid meteor of the age, and as the painter of scenes of which a Radcliffe has left such forcible pictures; our Poet has to encounter com→

parisons which can be resisted only by the master hand of genius.

the five cantos already published, may The plot, as far as it is disclosed in be told in a few lines, and we adopt this brevity in our remarks, that our readers may not be deprived of the pleasure of reading specimens of Mr. Bailey's genius, by extending the narrative to a greater length than absolute necessity requires.

Gelardoni, a beautiful Italian Girl, has been entrusted in her infancy by her father, on his being called to the battles of his country, to the guardianship of Pettoletti, a feudal prince, under whose care she has arrived at an age, in which her natural charms, heightened by the accomplishments bestowed by her guardian, conspire to render an object of universal admiration. At the opening of the poem, the heroine, amid the luxuries of the palace of her seemed parent, is introduced to the reader as the prey of melancholy, and though the following lines applied to her condition convey little more than a truism, the thought is conveyed in delightful language :—

"Ah 'tis not radiant hall, nor roseate grove,
Can always yield the luxuries we love;
No, no; the heart can cloud, by magic pow'r,
The brightest scenes of palace or of bow'r."
Canto 1, p. 2.

The cause of this dejection is afterwards developed. The guardian has contracted an unhallowed affection for his beautiful ward, and, to win a rethose luxuries and pleasures which turn of his passion, surrounds her with have no attractions for one whose heart is with her father, and his companion, her former playmate, the youthful Fazello, her guardian's son.