period of life singularly calculated for active enterprise. Our country bookseller now sought to establish himself as a London publisher; and one of his earliest efforts was the originating of a Sunday newspaper, which, however, he appears to have attempted before leaving Leicester, as we gather from his own statement. “Previous to the year 1795,” he relates, "there were not more than two or three Sunday newspapers printed in London, and these had little circulation beyond the Bills of Mortality. In that year, Mr. Phillips, then of Leicester, projected a Sunday newspaper on an improved and more literary plan than the Craftsman and Monitor, (the then Sunday newspapers,) to be printed in large quarto, and enjoy a country circulation by being dispatched to the first post town where the Sunday restrictions of the London post-office did not operate. While making his arrangements, he was sought by Mr. John Bell, to whom he developed his plans, with a view to copartnership, the terms of which not being afterwards agreed upon, Bell, by himself, proceeded in the paper; and hence the origin of Bell's Messenger, the success and plan of which has given rise to so prodigious a shoal of Sunday newspapers.' ." The Messenger still flourishes; and, by a stamp return, in 1838, it stood, as regarded number, fourth in a list of thirty-three Sunday newspapers; its weekly sale being then 17,274 copies.

In his next speculation, Mr. Phillips was more successful, probably from being less communicative of his plan before its maturity. At this time, 1795, the principal magazines published monthly in London, were the Gentleman's and the Universal; if we except the Town and Country and the Ladies' magazines,

66

which latter were so frivolous in their contents as to have induced Sir John Hawkins to attribute the decline of literature to their ascendancy. In neither of the magazines first mentioned was a sufficient tone of political and philosophical inquiry to satisfy the demands of the age; at least, such was Mr. Phillips's inference, upon which he projected the Monthly Magazine, 'a work which extended the topics and objects of periodical publication, and which is universally admitted to have been as original a design as the Gentleman's Magazine itself, when compared with the periodical publications which preceded it."+ At the period of the commencement of the Monthly Magazine, Mr. Phillips lodged and boarded at the Chapter Coffeehouse, in Paternoster-row; and, amidst

Related in the Anecdote Library, p. 69. + Ibid. p. 69.

the intelligent company of this celebrated resort of men of letters, according to his contemporary, Alexander Stephens, "Phillips, then commencing his Magazine, was on a keen look-out for recruits, with his waistcoat-pocket full of guineas, to slip his enlisting-money into their hands." Phillips relates, too, that he knew "the characters of the Chapter,' from the voracious glutton in politics, who waited for the wet papers in the morning twilight, to the comfortless bachelor, who sat till the fire was raked out at half-past twelve at night; all of whom took their successive stations, like figures in a magic lanthorn. In reference to the enlisting-money, to which Mr. Stephens alludes, it may be proper to state, that so many trumpery periodical works, then, as now, were constantly obtruded on the public, that it was difficult to impress on men of talent the possibility of establishing a work of permanent character, like the Monthly Magazine; and, to secure reluctant aid, the editor sometimes, in a parting shake by the hand, therefore, left five guineas in the palm of his desired assistant." These recollections refer rather to the establishment, or early progress, of the Monthly Magazine; for, scarcely six months ago, (in September, 1839,) Phillips related to ourselves that he came to London, from Leicester, with little property beyond a cheque for thirty-eight pounds, which he placed in the hands of Mr. Johnson, of St. Paul's Churchyard, the first publisher of the Monthly Magazine, as security for the expenses of the first number. Its announcement was not by advertisement in the newspapers, but by circulars addressed to the most active persons, political as well as literary, in the opposition interest; the heavy expense of postage being saved by the enclosure of these letters in commercial parcels. The demand for the first number astounded the booksellers, many of whom scarcely knew of the announcement of the Magazine; and Phillips, calling on his publisher, about the fifth day of the month, received back his cheque, with the gratifying assurance from Johnson, that the success of the work was certain; and this prediction was strengthened by an increased demand for the second and third numbers. The Magazine was then sold at one shilling, and its politico-literary character insured it this instant success: it was altogether a novelty, or, rather, a phenomenon, in periodical literature.

Phillips, however, appears to have been only the conductor of the political portion of the Monthly Magazine, during the first ten years of its existence; the literary editor for this period being Dr. Aikin, who is stated, by his biographers, to have con

ducted the work with considerable credit to his literary reputation. His declining health and numerous other engagements could, however, scarcely have allowed the Doctor to devote much of his time to the Magazine; for, in the spring of 1798, we find him, from ill-health, compelled to have recourse to the relaxation of a country life, and passing four months at Dorking, in Surrey; during which time, he published, in the Monthly Magazine, a short sketch of this beautiful country.t In 1806, Dr. Aikin's connexion ceased with the Magazine: and his secession led him to engage in establishing a rival periodical work, which was called The Athenæum; and he continued to be its

editor during the two years and a half that the publication was carried on. (To be continued.)

New Books.

MARTIN'S NATURAL HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS.-PART IV.

[THE Introduction being now completed, and forming, as the Author justly infers, neither an unimportant nor uninteresting disquisition on the general laws and organization of Mammalia, the divisions of the class are lucidly made into two great sections, and these again into eleven orders. The enumeration is, at once, scientific and popular; for example:]

Dr. Aikin died in the winter of 1822; and, in the Annual Biography and Obituary for 1823, he is stated to have superintended the Monthly Magazine from its commencement; "the numerous papers furnished by the editor, and his friends, as well as the general spirit in which the management was conducted, contributed greatly to establish it in public favour" p. 358. We know not upon whose authority this statement is made; certainly not by the original editor of the Annual Biography, Alex. Stephens, who died about two years previously.

+ Dr. Aikin lodged in a small cottage upon Cotmandene, a public green, adjoining Mr. Hope's picturesque estate of the Deepdene; and while resident here he wrote the second volume of Letters from a Father to his Son. Salmon supposes Cotmandene to have once been "a camp, or fortified part," lying close to the military way, (Stane-street). He also mentions it as "a spot, famous, in everybody's mouth, for a most healthful air;" and upon the margin of a map of Surrey, (temp. Charles II.,) is noticed "Cotmandene, said by physicians to be the healthiest air in England." This circumstance has, doubtless, contributed to the famed salubrity of the Dorking air, which, however, in Dr. Aikin's case, proved of little benefit to his health; and, in 1798, he removed to Stoke Newington, where he continued to reside

BELVIDERE:-p. 105.

during the remainder of his life. Yet, the Doctor bears ample testimony to the beauty of Dorking and its neighbourhood, in these words: "It would be easy to enlarge on the beautiful scenes in this neighbourhood, all within the reach of a morning's walk or ride, and affording a source of daily variety for several weeks. The purity of the air-the fragrance from an exuberance of aromatic plants and shrubs-the music from the numberless birds-the choice of sheltered or open country-the liberty of wandering, without obstacles or questions, through the most cultured scenes, and the perfect repose which reigns all round-unite to render this tract of country one of the most pleasing to the contemplative man, and the most salutary to the invalid, that I have ever visited."-J.A. During Dr. Aikin's sojourn at Dorking, Mr. Phillips first visited this beautiful country, of which he was ever after an ardent admirer [Men are prone to associate strange fatalities with the occurrence of death. Scarcely twelve months have elapsed since we were located, for a month, in a cottage, upon the verge of Cotmandene, "the healthiest air in England," in company with one, who, in this paradise of Nature, contracted an epidemic, which, in six months, sent him to an untimely grave, and deprived ourselves of an amiable associate and invaluable friend.]

Order.

Example. Man.

1. BIMANA (Two-handed) II. QUADRUMANA (Four-handed) Monkeys,&c. III. CHEIROPTERA (Wing-handed) Bats.

[The order Bimana, consisting but of one species-Man, is then commenced, with a very attractive examination of the claim of Man to be regarded as the type of a distinct order; in which Mr. Swainson's eccentric violence is not for gotten. The next chapter enters" on the Main Stems and Principal Branches of the Human Race;" the various arrangements of which, by eminent naturalists, are quoted, and followed by Mr. Martin's own tabular view of the main stems and

primary branches, as they appear, upon careful examination, to be resolvable. He adopts five stocks: 1. Japetic. 2. Neptunian. 3. Mongole. 4. Prognathous. 5. Occidental. The Japetic Stock is then commenced; and from its second section we quote the following illustrated example.]

Physiognomy of the Greeks.

On the physical characteristics of the Greeks, the typical examples of the Pelasgic section, but few observations are requisite: the beautiful contour of the skull and of the face, and the harmony of their proportions, have been already described : a moderate stature; dark, flowing hair; a white skin, more or less tinged with olive or dusky brown; large eyes, over

shadowed by the superciliary ridge, which rather described a tranverse straight line, than a double arch; a straight or gently aquiline nose, falling directly, with but a slight depression between the eyes, from the forehead; and a short upper lip,are among their distinguishing features. It has been also observed, that, in the anlarger, and the limbs less slender, than cient statues, the feet are proportionately comports with our ideas of modern European beauty. As an illustration of the Greek style of head, that of the Apollo has been selected; not, indeed, that it was a copy of any individual of that nation; but, the conceptions of the Greeks themselves, what is far more important, it embodies intellectual greatness; it is an exalted or with respect to physical excellence, and deified personification of the Greek physiognomy, such as the sculptor contemhibits all the peculiarities of the Greek plated it in his countrymen, and it extype. The forehead is ample and prominent; the superorbital line is boldly marked; the nose, broad between the eyes, falls gracefully from the forehead; and the nostrils, somewhat expanded, as if from intense eagerness, or proud disdain, are large, but delicately turned; the eyes are large, open, and separated to a considerable distance from each other, this being the contrary to what is observable

in the Ape tribe, where the eyes approximate closely the inner angle, besides, instead of being the lowest, is rather the most elevated; this conformation being the reverse of what is seen in the Mongole style of countenance, in which the eyes are linear and oblique, the outer angle being decidedly the most raised. It is this elevation of the inner angle, to which their dignified expression, so remote from that of low cunning, is mainly to be attributed; and it is a character essential to the pure Japetic model of physical eminence. The mouth is moderate, the lips are beautifully chiseled, and the chin is full and prominent. The lower part of the face is subordinate to the upper part, and to the forehead, so as to produce an expression as remote as possible from that of the brute, but yet to convey no ideas of mental debility, which a retreating chin, an undeveloped lower jaw, and a very small mouth, with lips destitute of a marked outline, infallibly produce. This harmony, between the upper and lower parts of the face, is conspicuous in all the Greek representations of heroes, or of deities.

[Thence we pass on to another illustrated passage.]

Physiognomy of the Ottomans. The figure gives a good idea of the physiognomy of the modern Ottoman. The forehead is straight, and does not advance so boldly as in the Greek, yet it is well formed; the brow and the interorbital space, or glabella, above the root of the nose, is prominent; the nose is long and aquiline, not elevated as in the Roman, but falling more decidedly in a line with the forehead. The eyes are remote from each other, and large, and the inner and outer angles are on the same level; the upper lip is short, the chin full, but the distance of the chin from the angle of the lower jaw is very inconsiderable: the face, viewed in front, is long, and becomes narrow below the malar bones, which are moderately salient; viewed in profile, the line passing the nose, from the forehead to the chin, is vertical, the facial angle being 90°, or nearly so. The beard, which is scanty in the Mongole, is full and flowing. The whole style of the countenance, indeed, is Japetic, but it is neither of Greek nor Roman mould: the expression of the physiognomy is grave and dignified. [The illustrations of this Part, literary and graphic, are admirably executed; and the work, altogether, advances in interest with "the force of numbers."]

THE INTERDICT. A NOVEL.

[THIS tale is from the pen of Mrs. Steward, a lady who has already established

herself as a novelist of high class. We have rarely met with a book so amusing, and yet abounding in such pure moral philosophy; so lofty in its aspirations, and yet so abundant in droll humour; so unexceptionable in style, and yet so graphic in its portraiture of character. The tale is illustrative of social life in Ireland; and, as far as our judgment goes, it abounds with sad semblances of reality. We cannot do better, in support of our high opinion of the work, than extract the following, we fear, too true, description of the wretchedness of the Irish peasantry.]

Before I lead you to the audience-hall, you must attend me to the cabins of our less-gifted neighbours. Divest yourself of all romantic associations: it is to no rosemantled elysium of rustic tenants I conduct you; no ivied porch awaits you. Wade through that fetid bog; avoid the stagnant pool which settles at the thresthe low-browed hold; stoop beneath lintel, and enter this hovel, reeking with soot, and filled with bitter smoke, through which a sullen fire seems struggling for existence, even in the blinding cloud it has produced. View through your galled eyes the blackened walls, the naked rafters, the damp clay floor, the settle, with its loathsome bedding, and its wretched occupant; gaunt, feeble, starving, lifting his seared orbs to catch a ray of pity from the casual visitor. Alas! that visitor must want a heart who could, without a burst of sympathy, behold the penury of an Irish hovel! Look around, look at it well, think of your own children, healthful and joyous, seated at your board, sure of their portion of that substantial joint of which the poor Irish child can scarcely tell the name. Look around a second time, recall the ruddy faces of your darlings, and then mark that pale, shivering babe, piteously gazing in the mother's face, a face from which misery has swept the human character! Look at that squalid brood, snatching the garbage from the filthy tub; your fellow-creatures grappling with brutes for offal, the carrion at which dogs would sicken! Wonder not that, if they grow, they grow into the savage; already the wolfish impress is acquired, even in infancy, in prattling infancy; alas! theirs is no prattling infancy; they are prematurely silent, prematurely old; they learn not to earn, but to despoil; the little hands that should have been taught to dig are lifted up to beg; the young lips that should have parted with a whistle to urge the lagging team, are opened but to whine" a halfpenny, your honour, one halfpenny." The jocund spirit and ready wit, imparted by a bounteous hand to lighten hardship, are perverted to overreach and to extort, and sinewy frames

and active intellects are early marred, which, with better training, might have "scattered plenty o'er a smiling land." May some nobler feeling be called forth in those whom curiosity first conducts into such a hovel; may they co-operate with the wise and good in raising these neglected beings to the standard of humanity. This is no high-wrought colouring, no passion-moving fiction; such were, and still, to a great extent, such are, the homes and aliment of Ireland's peasantry.

CHINA AND ITS RESOURCES. BY ROBERT
MUDIE.

"WARS, and rumours of wars," invariably excite curiosity respecting the characteristics of countries, concerning which the public are but imperfectly informed. Such we take to be the case with the Chinese Empire, our knowledge of which has, doubtless, been influenced by the channels through which it has reached us; so that our acquaintance with China Proper is altogether the reverse of that distinction. The author of the little work before us refers its appearance, at this time, to the probability of a war with China, upon grounds which he considers" a perfectly new question in international policy." Besides comprising the "peculiarities, physical, moral, social, and commercial, of China," this volume contains "a view of the Opium Question, and a notice of Assam;" the latter being very interesting, in connexion with the result of our dispute with the Chinese, which Mr. Mudie considers will be the loss of our trade with them, whether we succumb to their insolence, or send out an armament and batter down a few towns along the coast;" or, if, on the other hand, we submit, and thus render intercourse with them less tolerable than ever. A higher and more permanent object with the author is, however, to explain away many erroneous conclusions respecting China; for people generally know as little of this vast country as the king of Persia, who, on the discovery of America, asked what sort of country it was, "under-ground, or how ?"

66

The work is very conveniently divided into sections: the first of these treats of the general importance and interest of the subject; in which the following very just view is taken of the small influence "which females have upon society in China, compared with that which they exercise in the western world, and have exercised in every European country, in proportion as it has been civilized. Though, when rightly directed, female influence is, like all other powerful principles, a great means of good; the perversion of it becomes a great means

of evil; just as in the case with religion and all other systems and subjects which take a powerful hold on the hearts and feelings of men. The Chinese philosophers, who, whether upon the throne or not, appear to have been the modellers of the Chinese system of government and manners, seem to have entertained pretty nearly the same notions of female influence as of state religion. For this reason, females are not only excluded from all concern in the government, throughout the whole of its degrees and departments, and regarded as a sort of property, which parents may sell, and husbands purchase; but a fashion has been introduced, by which they are all but confined to the dwellings of their purchasers. It is the established opinion, both of men and women, and it has been so long established that the absurdity of it is not perceived, that the smaller the female foot can be rendered, by artificial means, the more does it add to the handsomeness and the attractions of its possessor. In consequence of this, the feet of females begin to be strongly compressed by artificial means at a very early period of life; and on this account they have not, when the female grows up, half the size which is necessary for a symmetrical and useful foot. The consequence is, that there is no spring or elasticity in the deformed bones and compressed tendons; and a Chinese lady, even of the highest rank, can neither dance nor walk gracefully; but shuffles and totters along, as if she walked on pegs, and not on feet. This incapacity of females to move about with ease and grace, renders them unfit for appearing in public places, except as helpless dependants upon the other sex. Thus they are cut off from that arena upon which females appear in their most captivating attitude in other countries; and the simple fact of crippling the feet of the women, deprives them of that empire which they hold in western countries."

The second and third sections relate the name, situation, extent, and general features of the country. The fourth section treats of the systematic political divisions of the empire, including 4,402 cities, 489 fortified castles upon the coast, and nearly 3,000 towns attached to them. These are startling items for any power in a belligerent position with China. The eighteen provinces are then described separately, and their characteristics attractively noted. Thus, we are told of a bridge at Tseunchow-foo, in Fuh-keen, which " may be considered the Stonehenge of bridges. It is represented as being formed of a number of stone pillars, over which, instead of arches, there are five stones of equal size, laid from each pillar to the next; and.