Books Published by William Blackwood and Sons. ALISON'S EURO PE. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Edinburgh Review. "A valuable addition to European literature: it is evidently compiled with the utmost care, and its narration, so far as we can judge, is not perverted by the slightest partiality." North American Review. "After a full examination, we do not hesitate to say, that this is the most complete and honest history of the French Revolution which has yet appeared, either in England or France. Certainly, no work by a British pen deserves to be compared with it; and we think every reader will accord it the preference, in point of fulness and impartiality, over the early narratives of the French Royalists, Bertrand de Molleville, Lacretelle, and others, and the more recent and popular works of Mignet and Thiers." Blackwood's Magazine. "We congratulate the country on the possession of one of the noblest offerings which our age has laid upon the altar of historic literature." Dublin University Magazine. "The interests at issue in the narrative of Alison come home to every heart; they are peculiarly those of present times-our fathers or ourselves took part in the contest he describes. Democracy, Scepticism, Machinery-these are the prominent characteristics of the present age; and he shows us the era in which they all began. His work forms a magnificent portal to the Present; it contains a key to the strange characters which the passions of men are now writing upon the earth-those hieroglyphics of which the writers themselves know not the meaning." Times. "An extraordinary work, which has earned for itself a lasting place in the literature of the country, and within a few years found innumerable readers in every part of the globe. There is no book extant that treats so well of the period to the illustration of which Mr Alison's labours have been devoted. It exhibits great knowledge, patient research, indefatigable industry, and vast power. Few men living could have done greater justice to the subject, how much soever writers hereafter, profiting by Mr Alison's toil, may improve upon his plan. The History of Europe from the commencement of the French Revolution to the Battle of Waterloo is a valuable and indispensable addition to the histories of the world with which mankind has been favoured; and the avidity with which every rapidly succeeding edition is bought up, testifies not only to its intrinsic worth, but, as we have already said, to the intellectual character of the great mass of the British people." Standard. "In common with all, we are deeply indebted to its learned, acute, and eloquent author for this monument of British wisdom, British honour, and British prowess; but, as journalists, we are especially bound to acknowledge that often Mr Alison has furnished us with facts and arguments, and the exposition of great principles, by which we have been enabled to combat the falsehoods and sophistries of the ignorant or malicious enemies of that system by which Great Britain obtained strength to restore peace and liberty to the world, and to become, in the most glorious sense, the queen and benefactress of nations. History has been described as 'philosophy teaching by example,' and never did any historical work fulfil the conditions of this description better than the work before us. This task Mr Alison has accomplished in a work-simple, graceful, and forcible in its style, eminently clear in its arrangement, but, above all, characterised by a most chaste impartiality, and by the unquestionable good faith which is ever sure to win the confidence and secure the attention of an honest and intelligent reader." From the Preface of the German Translation of D. Ludwig Meyer. "Alison's History of Europe and the States connected with it, is one of the most important works which literature has produced. Years have elapsed since any historical work has created such an epoch as that of Alison; his sources of information and anthorities are of the richest and most comprehensive description. Though his opinions are on the Conservative side, he allows every party to speak for itself, and unfolds with a master's hand how few institutions make nations great, and miglity, and prosperous. In common with the whole civilised world, he does homage to the blessed Scriptures and an enlightened religion. Such a work and such a man belong to no party or country; they are the patrimony of all the friends of mankind in every part of the world, for they contend only for the clearest interests of the human race." 4 Books Published by William Blackwood and Sons. Essays; Political, Historical, and Miscel LANEOUS. By Archibald Alison, LL.D., Author of the "History of Europe," &c. In Three Volumes, Demy Octavo, uniform with the "Besides their prescient sagacity, what is well worthy of remark in Mr Alison's Political Essays, is their eminently practical nature. Not a plan which he proposes, not a remedy which he suggests, but leaves the stamp of efficacy and simplicity. Well versed in the affairs of men, and in the functions of civil administration, no crude theory or speculative plan escapes him; and he makes his views as intelligible to others as they are manifest to himself. His Essays are a splendid supplement to his History, and the two combined exhibit his intellect in all its breadth and beauty."-Dublin University Magazine. "They cannot fail to enhance his already brilliant reputation, and to stamp him as one of the most learned, able, and accomplished writers of the age. His depth and originality of thought, his extensive scholarship, his almost universal grasp of mind, his profound sagacity, and his complete mastery of the English language, are all as faithfully evinced in these Essays as they are in the more bulky and elaborate works which have proceeded from his pen, and rendered his name illustrious."-Glasgow Constitutional. "To his Political Essays, however, it is impossible to deny the general praise of a rare and prescient sagacity:... In these volumes the reader is instructed in the tendencies of the present generation, by the most accurate, sound, and approved historian of that immediately preceding."-The Watchman. The Military Life of John Duke of MARLBOROUGH. By Archibald Alison, L.L.D. In 8vo, with "Mr Alison has here a congenial subject, and he has written as one delighting in his task. The general reader need not look elsewhere for a popular history of Marlborough's campaigns. The reader who desires a continuous narrative of the great military exploits of Marlborough and Eugene-one with all the interest of a romance, and all the authenticity of a series of State papers-one which may be read without pause, and consulted again and again with renewed advantage-would do well to place this volume on his shelves."-Atlas. The Principles of Population, and their CONNECTION WITH HUMAN HAPPINESS. By Archibald "In Mr Alison's most able and well-timed work on population, the whole subject is handled with distinguished ability."-Morning Herald. "This work contains the settled views of one whose indefatigable research, patient investigation, comprehensive views, original powers of thought, and elegance of expression, mark him as one of the most eminent men of our day."-Britannia. "Those who peruse his volumes will have their minds expanded by various and enlarged speculation, and instructed by the new light in which existing information is placed."-Spectator. Epitome of Alison's History of Europe. For the use of Schools and Young Persons. Fourth Edition, Post "This is a masterly epitome of the noblest contribution which has been made to the historie literature of the present day. The epitomist has been worthy of the history; and the result is, the production of a book which is undoubtedly the very best and safest book on the subject-for the use of schools or young persons which has been published."-Hull Packet. "The Epitome of Alison's History of Europe' is a capital piece of work, which, though primarily designed for schools and young persons, will be found very useful to all as a coup-d'œil of the History of Europe during one of its most important periods."-Spectator. "The condensation has been effected with skill and judgment, and no important historical fact has been omitted; so that the reader who has neither means nor leisure to make himself acquainted with the larger edition, will obtain in this Epitome a very clear and complete view of those important events of the era comprised in the history. We recommend this book, especially to parents and teachers, as a most admirable school-book."-Dublin Evening Mail. Books Published by William Blackwood and Sons. 5 The Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiqui TIES OF SCOTLAND. Illustrated by Robert William Billings and William Burn, Architects. Publishing in Monthly Parts. Each containing Four large Engravings on Steel, by J. H. LE KEUX, and other Artists; and one or more Woodcuts, with Descriptive Letterpress. Price, in Medium Quarto, 2s. 6d. each. The Work will be completed in Sixty Parts, of which forty-five are published, forming Three Volumes, each containing Sixty large Engravings on Steel, with Letterpress Descriptions, and numerous Vignette Engravings on Wood, price In Medium Quarto, cloth, £2. Imperial Quarto, £3 4s. India Proofs, £4 148. Memoirs and Adventures of Sir John HEPBURN, Knight, Colonel of the Scots Brigade in Sweden, Governor Memorials of the Castle of Edinburgh. By James Grant, Author of "Memoirs of Kirkaldy of Grange," &c. &c. With Twelve Illustrations, Engraved on Wood by Branston. In crown 8vo, price 7s. 6d. "Of the different books of this nature that have fallen in our way, we do not remember one that has equalled Mr Grant's Memorials of the Castle of Edinburgh.'"-Spectator. **Mr Grant's very interesting history of the Castle of Edinburgh-a work equally distinguished by research, accuracy, and pictorial interest."-Alison's Essays. "We have rarely met with a more agreeable or more interesting work than this. . No one can ever have visited the Modern Athens' without being struck with the position of its castle, and the peculiarity of its site. Many books are thrown aside after an examination of the first few pages, but this will never be the fate of the Memorials of Edinburgh Castle."-Bell's Messenger. "We have been much amused with this little book, which abounds in pleasant and interesting episodes, and we recommend it as an excellent specimen of local history.”—Athenæum. Memoirs of Sir William Kirkaldy of GRANGE, Knight, Commander of French Horse, Lord of the Secret Council, and Governor of the Castle of Edinburgh for Mary Queen of "It is seldom indeed that we find history so written,-in a style at once vigorons, perspicuous, and picturesque. The author's heart is thoroughly with his subject; and he exhibits, ever and anon, flashes of the old Scottish spirit, which we are glad to believe has not decayed from the land."-Blackwood's Magazine. "This book professes to give an account of one of the most accomplished knights and bravest soldiers of his age. It is written in a manner worthy of the subject, and we shall be much surprised if its success be not proportioned to its merits. We do not know where we have studied a biography so pleasantly and graphically written as the work before us. It is the very spirit of Sir Walter Scott transfused into history, and it is so because the author appears to have passed over every spot of ground referred to in his book-to have studied the position of all parties whose deeds are depicted by him, and thus to have lived again amongst the men of whom he gives an account."-Morning Herald. "One of the most remarkable and valuable contributions to Scottish history that the fertile press of our northern neighbours has ever given to the world,-a history which embraces within its range many of the most memorable incidents in the life of Mary Queen of Scots-which brings us often into the company of the veteran reformer John Knox-which records the violent deaths of no less than four successive representatives of royalty, and which pictures Edinburgh with her famous castle garrisoned and fortified, and the cannon on its battlements sweeping the city below them,-a history like this must take a prominent and permanent place in Scottish literature."-Dorchester Journal. Books Published by William Blackwood and Sons. Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers, and Other Poems. By William E. Aytoun, Professor of Rhetoric in the University of Edinburgh. With an Appendix; containing an Examination of the Statements in Mr Macaulay's "History of England," regarding John Grahame of Claverhouse, Viscount of Dundee. A New Edition. In small 8vo, elegantly bound in gilt cloth, price 7s. 6d. "Professor Aytoun's Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers-a volume of verse which shows that Scotland has yet a poet. Full of the true fire, it now s'irs and swells like a trumpet-note-now sinks in cadences sad and wild as the wail of a Highland dirge."—Quarterly Review. The "Finer ballads than those, we are bold to say, are not to be found in the language. ballads of Professor Aytoun have the life-like reality of the old pictures, and much of the warmth and fulness of their colouring. They take up an inspiriting event, nairate it, and by the mere force of the narrative excite in you ennobling passion and a love of human greatness, together with deep sympathy in its sufferings. Suh is the aim and scope of ballad poetry. Such ines fix themselves in the memory as the first loved melodies of childhood. We have read them with great enjoyment, and now heartily thank the author for his delightful volume, the prose notes and illustrations of which are as interesting as the verse is admirable."-Times. "Fervidly and intensely national, Mr Aytoun sings with all the enthusiasm and all the warlike spirit of a Border minstrel; his soul is with the ancient kingdom of Scotland, and he delights to pur forth in spirit-stirring verse the story of her bravery and of her chivalry. They are racy of the people and of the age-graphic and truthful in the pictures which they conjure up before us, and ringing in every syllable with the clash of spear and morion.”—Morning Chronicle. "Mr Aytoun's Lays' are truly beautiful, and are perfect poems of their class, pregnant with fire, with patriotic ardour, with loyal zeal, with exquisite pathos, with noble passion. Who can hear the opening lines, descriptive of Edinburgh after the great battle of Flodden, and not feel that the minstrei's soul has caught the genuine inspiration."—Morning Post. "There is the true stir and roll of the old ballad poetry in these lines."—Scotsman. The Course of Time. A Poem, in Ten Books. By Robert Pollok, M.A. Nineteenth Edition. In Small The Poems and Ballads of Domestic Verses. By Delta. Fcp. 8vo, price 5s., bound in cloth. "The poems refer chiefly to the deaths of three beloved children. The sad and solemn beauty of several of them, indeed, speaks with even painful force to the heart; the very form of verse adapted in some, as for example in the case of the Ode to Casa Wappy,' is so mournfully attuned that the production cannot be read without tears. This little work, altogether, will be felt as a rich boon and treat to the feeling heart."-Scotsman. Sketches of the Poetical Literature of THE PAST HALF-CENTURY. By D. M. Moir, (Delta.) In small 8vo, price 5s. "The whole book deserves to be read and studied attentively. It is the most valuable little manual of poetical criticism that has ever come under our observation."-Court Journal. Books Published by William Blackwood and Sons. The Poems of Felicia Hemans I. 7 A New Edition, elegantly printed in Six Pocket Volumes, price 24s., in gilt cloth. Each Volume is complete in itself, and sold separately, price 3s. in paper cover, or 4s., elegantly bound in gilt cloth, gilt edges. RECORDS OF WOMAN, AND OTHER POEMS. THE FOREST SANCTUARY, AND OTHER POEMS. TALES AND HISTORIC SCENES. II. A New Edition, in one vol. royal octavo, with Illustrative Notes, a Selection of Contemporary Criticisins, and a Portrait of the Author, engraved by FINDEN. Price One Guinea. "Here is a volume in which high poetry and deep passion are united with feminine delicacy and unsullied moral purity. Here is a volume which a father may give to his daughter on her birth day, or on some day of this gift-giving season, with a feeling not less confiding or holy than that with which he gives his child her night and morning blessing and kiss. The name of Felicia Hemans has become, and is doubtless destined to remain, one of the loved and cherished household words in connection with British poetical literature."-The Watchman. The best, the most accurate, and the most splendid edition that has yet been published of our English Sapphio."-Sun. "She is ever alive to the dignity of her calling and the purity of her sex. Aware of the difficulties of her art, she aspired towards excellence with untiring perseverance, and improved herself by the study of the best models, well knowing that few things easy of attainment can be worth much. Her taste thus directed her to appropriate and happy subjects; and hence it has been, as with all things of sterling value, that her writings have not been deteriorated by time. Of no one modern writer can it be affirmed, with less hesitation, that she has become an English Classic, nor, until human nature becomes very different from what it now is, can we imagine the least probability that the music of her lays will cease to soothe the ear, or the beauty of her sentiment to charm the gentle heart."-Blackwood's Magazine. A Memoir of Mrs Hemans. Sister. With a Portrait, price 5s. Mrs Southey's Works 1. CHAPTERS ON CHURCHYARDS. 2. 3. By her By Mrs Southey, (Caroline Bowles.) A New Edition. Fcp. 8vo, price 78. 6d. THE BIRTHDAY, AND OTHER POEMS. Fcp. 8vo, price 7s. 4. ROBIN HOOD, AND OTHER POEMS. By R. S. and C. S. Fcap. 8vo, price 8s. "Those sweet poems in the little volume of Solitary Hours, which for truth and depth of feeling, and for tenderness and holiness of thought, are among the most beautiful that have been produced in this generation. We do not remember any recent author whose poetry is so unmixedly native; and this English complexion constitutes one of its characteristic charms. No purer models of our genuine home feeling and language could be placed in a young foreigner's hands than Mrs Southey's Works. Moreover her versification, especially in her two later volumes, is not only generally correct, but, in several instances, of very great beauty and perfection. In her last poem, The Birthday, she has attained to a still higher excellence of style."-Quarterly Review. Poems by the Lady Flora Hastings. With a Portrait. Fep. 8vo, price 7s. 6d. "All lovers of that purer poetry which catches half its grace from heaven, will seek for records of its pious beauty upon the gentle pages of this graceful book. We have but glanced at the poems, and gathered only snatches of the beauties which we are prepared to meet on deeper and closer perusal, and of which our readers shall receive their share."-Morning Post. |