considered an 'exemplary' Christian. Whip us such 'Christianity!' In the foregoing extract, we have given what strikes us as the best specimen of 'composition' in the book; and with this act of justice,' we take our leave of it.

CRYSTALLINE, OR THE HEIRESS OF FALL-DOWN CASTLE. A Romance. By F. W. SHELTON, Author of 'SALANDER and the Dragon,' Rector of St. Bardolph's,' etc. In one volume: pp. 250. New-York: CHARLES SCRIBNER.

A PURELY imaginative and very charmingly-written romance is 'CRYSTALLINE.' It will enhance the already high reputation of its author. We have followed the little heroine through all her reverses and triumphs, with unabated interest; but it is not our purpose to let the reader into her secrets. We prefer that he should gather them from the book itself; and if, when he arrives at the end, he ascertains that the closing incident has been employed before, he will nevertheless find that genius has clothed the story with unwonted charms. The style is singularly graceful and winning; in proof of which we quote a single passage, all, unfortunately, for which we can find present space:

IN CRYSTALLINE there was a remarkably developed sentiment in one so young. She had an affection, and that of the tenderest kind, which engrossed her thoughts, and imparted a certain hue to all her conduct. Nay, it might have been the secret influence so impressing her, as to have excited a just alarm in the breast of those to whom she was dear. Perhaps you may not understand the idea exactly, but if I refer to an erotic tendency, even that is not a thing unknown at such a tender age. But this has no reference to the subject. A holier feeling, perhaps the less unusual, but still true, had taken possession of her mind, and actuated her from day to day, wherever her steps were turned; and this had sprung up without fostering, without observation, like a true instinct of the soul. In the ancient tower of the castle she had a furnished apartment of her own, to which she was wont to retire at will; a place, by reason of its solitude and desolate situation, entered by no intruding step, and where she kept those treasures which children sacredly preserve. But if you had privilege to enter there, it looked like no baby-house of a little girl. Its walls were hung with needle-work, and many specimens of the art of delicate embroidery which were made long ago, with blistered pictures rescued from some old garret, but precious still, with many fanciful lists of ancient tapestry, scissored out around the spots where the moths had made great havoc; while on a high and slender toilet-table, covered with purest and finest linen, was placed the WORD Of God.

Oh! consecrated tower!-if ever a spirit hovered around that ancient castle, it seemed to dwell there still among the ruins. Into the windows the vines insinuated their green tendrils, and birds built their nests about it, and oft-times voluntarily encaged themselves in the little room. It was a lovely spot after you had once reached it by the fatiguing stairs; for underneath, the river glided, and the vale wound between the lofty mountains, and over a thousand acres, without an intervening fence or hedge, the wheat waved. Far beyond, you could behold the sea and its white-capped breakers, and the sails of ships ploughing the deep; for this chamber was in the uppermost part of the tower. The lower rooms were occupied by the farmer and his wife. CRYSTALLINE had among her treasures a little cabinet of rose-wood, kept sacredly locked, and it contained a miniature of ivory, set in a plate of gold. Sometimes she would gaze upon it for hours in silence, and seemed to pass into another world; and then she would pass to that part of the castle where the chapel had once been, and stand till poor ANNETTE was sent to call her home. And this was the picture of little RALPH, her brother, who died before she was born, and who was buried in the vault beneath the chapel, a ruin among ruins. It indicated a peculiar organization to have formed an attachment so intense for one whom she had never seen, never known, and the impress of whose moral features had not been made. She did not love the memory of her brother; that could not well be: she loved her brother. For her he had never died; and she had developed by degrees an imaginary form and character suitable to those lineaments on which she loved to gaze. He was, in fact, her play-mate, her companion, the co-occupant of her tower, her twin-spirit, growing up together with her, linked to her by some angelic

bond. Her smiles were reflected from his, her gladness was borrowed from another sphere; in the grove and in the garden, she walked together with him. Yet how account for this, when the knight never opened his lips about his son? only the mother, when she showed the picture to CRYSTALLINE, had only told her that she had a little brother in the skies. But the manner of his death she mentioned not; she made no allusion to the curtain of blood. From the moment that she possessed this knowledge, CRYSTALLINE was like a child who goes through winding allies and walks, seeking diligently for her play-mate, and calling him often by name; until at last by the hyacinthine borders, she finds him with exceeding joy, and they wander ever after through the sweet garden, hand-in-hand. Enshrined in his transparent form, and finding purity on earth, this heavenly messenger, if such he were, must have dearly loved his mortal sister. For in her eyes beamed forth the calm expression of requited passion; a passion such as common lovers never know.'

We commend 'CRYSTALLINE' to all our readers, 'here, there, and elsewhere,' as a little work whose purity of style and diversity of incident will amply reward perusal.

THESAURUS OF ENGLISH WORDS. BY PETER MARK ROGET, Author of the 'Bridgewater Treatise on Animal and Vegetable Physiology,' etc. Revised and edited by BARNABAS SEARS, D.D., Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education. In one volume: pp. 468. Boston: GOULD, KENDALL AND LINCOLN.

use.

Ir the reader has ever sat and scratched his head in the vain pursuit of a word which should be the synonym of some other, and so avoid that unpleasing feature in literary composition, repetition, he will welcome the volume before us as a work which supplies a very important desideratum. It is the first work of its kind that has appeared in the history of our language, and in the completeness of its plan, and the fullness of its details, leaves little to be desired. The American editor does not claim too much for it when he remarks, that it may be taken up advantageously by the student of English composition as an ample vocabulary, furnished for his especial 'The body of our noble language is, in this invaluable manual, anatomized, as it were, and distributed, not under any merely philological arrangement, connected with the mechanism and structure of language, but classified by the wants of the mind, with reference to the purposes of expression, and the actual demands of written or oral communication.' The purpose of an ordinary dictionary is simply to explain the meaning of words; the object of the volume under notice, however, is exactly the converse of this; the idea being given, to find the word or words by which that idea may be most fitly and aptly expressed. For this purpose, the words and phrases of the language are classed, not according to their sound or their orthography, but strictly according to their signification. It is to those who are struggling with the difficulties of composition, that the work before us holds out a helping hand. The assistance it gives is that of furnishing on every topic, a copious store of words and phrases, adapted to express all the recognizable shades and modifications of the general idea under which those words and phrases are arranged. The inquirer can readily select, out of the ample collection spread before his eyes, those expressions which are best suited to his purpose, and which might not have occurred to him without such assistance. In order to make this selection, he scarcely ever need engage in any critical or elaborate study of the subtle distinctions existing

between synonymous terms; for if the materials set before him be sufficiently abundant, an instinctive tact will rarely fail to lead him to the proper choice.' The matter is clearly classified and arranged, and the work carefully printed.

A HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, from its Commencement as a State in 1814, to 1847. Containing a full account of the BLACK-HAWK War, the Rise, Progress, and Fall of Mormonisin, the ALTON and LOVEJOY Riots, and other important and interesting events. By the late Gov. THOMAS FORD. Chicago: S. C. GRIGGS AND COMPANY. New-York: IVISON AND PHINNEY.

THIS volume is introduced to the public by Gen. JAMES SHIELDS, who informs us that the author resided in Illinois more than forty years. After practising the legal profession for a considerable period, he was elected an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the State, and discharged the duties of that responsible station with distinguished ability. He was then chosen Governor, served in that capacity four years, retired to private life, and died in 1850, leaving this History to be published for the benefit of his orphan children. It will be seen from these statements, that Gov. FORD enjoyed rare facilities for the preparation of his work, and it is not surprising that it should be one of absorbing interest.

The reader will be greatly amused with the account of those non-committal judges who presided in the earlier days of Illinois. To avoid giving offence to either party, they left every thing to the jury without comment or instruction, unless expressly called for. This trait of judicial character is amusingly displayed in the following passage:

'I KNEW one judge, who presided at a court in which a man named GREEN was convicted of murder, and it became his unpleasant duty to pronounce sentence of death upon the culprit. He called the prisoner before him, and said to him: Mr. GREEN, the jury in their verdict say you are guilty of murder, and the law says you are to be hung. Now, I want you, and all your friends down on Indian Creek, to know that it is not I who condemns you, but it is the jury and the law. Mr. GREEN, the law allows you time for preparation, and so the Court wants to know what time you would like to be hung?' To this, the prisoner replied: May it please the Court, I am ready at any time; those who kill the body have no power to kill the soul: my preparation is made, and I am ready to suffer at any time the Court may appoint.' The judge then said: Mr. GREEN, you must know that it is a very serious matter to be hung; it can't happen to a man more than once in his life, and you had better take all the time you can get: the Court will give you until this day four weeks. Mr. CLERK, look at the almanac, and see whether this day four weeks comes on Sunday.' The clerk looked at the almanac, as directed, and reported that that day four weeks came on Thursday.' The judge then said: 'Mr. GREEN, the Court gives you until this day four weeks, at which time you are to be hung.' The case was prosecuted by JAMES TURNEY, Esq., the Attorney-General of the State, who here interposed, and said: 'May it please the Court, on solemn occasions like the present, when the life of a human being is to be sentenced away for crime, by an earthly tribunal, it is usual and proper for Courts to pronounce a formal sentence, in which the leading features of the crime shall be brought to the recollection of the prisoner, a sense of his guilt impressed upon his conscience, and in which the prisoner should be duly exhorted to repentance, and warned against the judgment in a world to come.' To this, the judge replied: Oh! Mr. TURNEY, Mr. GREEN understands the whole matter as well as if I had preached to him a month. He knows he has got to be hung this day four weeks. You understand it in that way, Mr. GREEN, don't you?' 'Yes,' said the prisoner; upon which the judge ordered him to be remanded to jail, and the Court then adjourned.'

The book is neatly got up, and was appropriately published in Illinois. We have seen no history of any of the newer States, that possesses more matériel for an entertaining work, or that was more deftly put together.

EDITOR'S

TABLE.

'Down the River, March, 1854.

'MARCII!-The 'moneth' of March in this climate is most trying to the tempers and constitutions of men. I think that it is, without exception, the most dreary season of the whole year. Every artificial appliance which people who are 'well-to-do' in the world can command, is necessary in order to modify its disagreeable character, and make it pass away with any degree of comfort. Tight houses, double windows, Liverpool and Anthracite furnaces, steam-pipes, flannels, cloaks, over-coats, shawls, gloves, mittens, clogs, etc., are most needed at the very time when you have been tempted to dispense with their use. It wants the sharp and stinging atmosphere of winter which makes the spirits brisk, and arouses all the physical energies to meet it. It has its snow-flakes, but they are soft and melting, not dry, and crystalline, and creaking. The merry sleigh-bells are no more hung about the necks of horses, nor do the latter neigh and squeal like blooded colts, as in the exhilarating air of Januarius. In the country, all the gutters run, the slush penetrates the pores of the finest leather, and rises above the uncomfortable gum-shoes which cling to the feet. The mud is ankle-deep. Woe be to him whose daily walk is over the red clay of the 'Jarsies,' which sucks off the shoes of horses, however well the blacksmith has nailed them down! Woe be to him whose habitation is on a romantic hill-top in one of the rivertowns! I paid a visit, on invitation, to my friend C, who lives in an elevated position, selected with a choice taste, for its commanding view of the Hudson, and the opposite Palisadoes.

'It was toward evening, when, in company of a timid woman, we entered a vehicle which had seen hard usage, and commenced an ascent which, for half a mile, brought back a forcible remembrance of the terrors of Mount Blanc, or, to say the least, of the dreadful post-roads over the Alleghany mountains. It required an artistic dodging to keep the carriage in balance. It groaned painfully, the driver rolled upon his seat, the horses strained their muscles to the utmost, and more than once, as the wheels sank deeply in some hidden gulley, we were fain to clench our fists spasmodically at the speedy prospect of being sepulchred in mud. Arrived at the top of the hill in safety, we alight, while JEHU, whose abilities had been taxed to the very

utmost, remarked that the man who would build a house in such a place, was worthy of a residence in Sing-Sing prison:

''An! few can tell how hard it is to climb

The steep where Fame's proud temple shines afar.'

It was as a preliminary exercise and training of the limbs, no doubt, in the noble race of ambition, that my friend has fixed his temporary abode as high as Crow's nest. After we had got up, and got in, and became refreshed, and warmed, and hung up our votive chaplets, what was my surprise to hear him propose that we should presently descend again into the valley to attend a lecture at a country lyceum! Moreover, a thick fog began to distil in copious rain. The feat was resolved upon, but it looked like one of unparalleled rashness; and what motive could there be to make so tremendous an effort? Were not lectures a drug in the market? Was there any prospect of being treated to a single novel or original idea? None, whatever. Still it is neces

in single file, four in number.

sary to stand by and encourage associations of the kind. We moved onward C- held the lantern, and swayed it around, so as to illuminate a tolerable circumference, leaping from tuft to tuft, from log to log, and from rock to rock, and from ditch to ditch. We followed suit. At last we reach the low-lands, where muck and mud still abound. 'But after all, the city, with its paved streets and municipal regulations, is not a whit better off in this respect. The little sweepers who, with bare legs, ply their brooms at the crossings, and stretch their supplicating palms for pennies, alone mimic the laborious HERCULES, who could perform the job of cleansing such an Augean stable. The metropolitan mud is, moreover, a most filthy compound, which no chemist could analyze, except into its constituent parts of decayed potatoes and vegetable things. The multitude of smells which lurk therein or hover around the sepulchral heaps raised up jocosely to the memory of some luckless functionary, are destitute of names or parentage. No one can find out what begat them, or whence they came, except that they are denizens of the city.

'Hope is soon dashed by despair in this treacherous month. Warm and genially the sun shines for a few days, the skies are blue, and the streets are thronged by gay pedestrians, and in the exhilaration of the feelings produced by such a change, we begin to say, 'The winter is past, the rain is over and gone.' Presently, from snow-mountains comes on a violent and most exasperating easterly wind, cutting you to the bone with a far sharper severity than the still, zeronian cold which we might think intolerable, and howling over the earth for a week incessantly, carrying with it, through the streets and thoroughfares, clouds of dust which destroy the clothes, fill the eyes, nose, and mouth with grit, and penetrate the pores like the fine particles swept along by the simoon or the sirocco. You put your head down like a camel in the desert, and in the corner of a street you stand to strengthen your position, as a ship casts anchor in a gale. In the broad avenues you see the yellow, murky cloud advancing, and turning your back as an obstacle, it wheels around you, and, separated into columns, rolls on till it shall meet some other barrier. Arrived at home, you must change every particle of dress upon you. Your linen is unfit to be seen; your cloth must be thrashed