Chapter 37

"A careful and elaborate historical composition, rich in personal anecdote. Nowhere can a more intimate acquaintance be obtained with the principal events and leading personages of the first half of the 17th century."--_Morning Post._

"A work of high literary and historical merit. Rarely have the strange vicissitudes of romance been more intimately blended with the facts of real history than in the life of Marie de Medicis; nor has the difficult problem of combining with the fidelity of biography the graphic power of dramatic delineation been often more successfully solved than by the talented author of the volumes before us. As a personal narrative, Miss Pardoe's admirable biography possesses the most absorbing and constantly sustained interest; as a historical record of the events of which it treats, its merit is of no ordinary description."--_John Bull._

"A life more dramatic than that of Marie de Medicis has seldom been written; one more imperially tragic, never. The period of French history chosen by Miss Pardoe is rich in all manner of associations, and brings together the loftiest names and most interesting events of a stirring and dazzling epoch. She has been, moreover, exceedingly fortunate in her materials. A manuscript of the Commandeur de Rambure, Gentleman of the Bedchamber under the Kings Henry IV., Louis XIII., and Louis XIV., consisting of the memoirs of the writer, with all the most memorable events which took place during the reigns of those three Majesties, from the year 1594 to that of 1660, was placed at her disposal by M. de la Plane, Member of the Institut Royal de la France. This valuable record is very voluminous, and throws a flood of light on every transaction. Of this important document ample use has been judiciously made by Miss Pardoe; and her narrative, accordingly, has a fulness and particularity possessed by none other, and which adds to the dramatic interest of the subject. The work is very elegantly written, and will be read with delight. It forms another monument to the worthiness of female intellect in the age we live in."--_Illustrated News._

MEMOIRS OF THE BARONESS D'OBERKIRCH,

ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE COURTS OF FRANCE, RUSSIA, AND GERMANY.

WRITTEN BY HERSELF, And Edited by Her Grandson, the COUNT DE MONTBRISON.

3 Vols. Post 8vo., 31s. 6d. bound.

The Baroness d'Oberkirch, being the intimate friend of the Empress of Russia, wife of Paul I., and the confidential companion of the Duchess of Bourbon, her facilities for obtaining information respecting the most private affairs of the principal Courts of Europe, render her Memoirs unrivalled as a book of interesting anecdotes of the royal, noble, and other celebrated individuals who flourished on the continent during the latter part of the last century. Among the royal personages introduced to the reader in this work, are Louis XVI., Marie Antoinette, Philip Egalite, and all the Princes of France then living--Peter the Great, the Empress Catherine, the Emperor Paul, and his sons Constantine and Alexander, of Russia--Frederick the Great and Prince Henry of Prussia--The Emperor Joseph II. of Austria--Gustavus III. of Sweden--Princess Christina of Saxony--Sobieski, and Czartoriski of Poland--and the Princes of Brunswick and Wurtemberg. Among the remarkable persons are the Princes and Princesses de Lamballe, de Ligne and Galitzin--the Dukes and Duchesses de Choiseul, de Mazarin, de Boufflers, de la Valliere, de Guiche, de Penthievre, and de Polignac--Cardinal de Rohan, Marshals Biron and d'Harcourt, Count de Staremberg, Baroness de Krudener, Madame Geoffrin, Talleyrand, Mirabeau, and Necker--with Count Cagliostro, Mesmer, Vestris, and Madame Mara; and the work also includes such literary celebrities as Voltaire, Condorcet, de la Harpe, de Beaumarchais, Rousseau, Lavater, Bernouilli, Raynal, de l'Epee, Huber, Goethe, Wieland, Malesherbes, Marmontel, de Stael and de Genlis; with some singular disclosures respecting those celebrated Englishwomen, Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston, and Lady Craven, Margravine of Anspach.

"The Baroness d'Oberkirch, whose remarkable Memoirs are here given to the public, saw much of courts and courtiers, and her Memoirs are filled with a variety of anecdotes, not alone of lords and ladies, but of emperors and empresses, kings and queens, and reigning princes and princesses. As a picture of society anterior to the French Revolution, the book is the latest and most perfect production of its sort extant; and as such, besides its minor value as a book of amusement, it possesses a major value as a work of information, which in the interest of historical truth, is, without exaggeration, almost incalculable."--_Observer._

"Thoroughly genuine and unaffected, these Memoirs display the whole mind of a woman who was well worth knowing, and relate a large part of her experience among people with whose names and characters the world will be at all times busy. A keen observer, and by position thrown in the high places of the world, the Baroness d'Oberkirch was the very woman to write Memoirs that would interest future generations. We commend these volumes most heartily to every reader. They are a perfect magazine of pleasant anecdotes and interesting characteristic things. We lay down these charming volumes with regret. They will entertain the most fastidious readers, and instruct the most informed."--_Examiner._

"An intensely interesting autobiography."--_Morning Chronicle._

"A valuable addition to the personal history of an important period. The volumes deserve general popularity."--_Daily News._

"One of the most interesting pieces of contemporary history, and one of the richest collections of remarkable anecdotes and valuable reminiscences ever produced."--_John Bull._

THE MARVELS OF SCIENCE, AND THEIR TESTIMONY TO HOLY WRIT; A POPULAR MANUAL OF THE SCIENCES.

BY S. W. FULLOM, ESQ.

DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO THE KING OF HANOVER.

Second Edition, Revised. 1 vol. Post 8vo.

"This work treats of the whole origin of nature in an intelligent style; it puts into the hands of every man the means of information on facts the most sublime, and converts into interesting and eloquent description problems which once perplexed the whole genius of mankind. We congratulate the author on his research, his information, and his graceful and happy language."--_Britannia._

"The skill displayed in the treatment of the sciences is not the least marvel in the volume. The reasonings of the author are forcible, fluently expressed, and calculated to make a deep impression. Genuine service has been done to the cause of Revelation by the issue of such a book, which is more than a mere literary triumph. It is a good action."--_Globe._

"Its tone is grave, grand, and argumentative, and rises to the majesty of poetry. As a commentary upon the stupendous facts which exist in the universe, it is truly a work which merits our admiration, and we unhesitatingly refer our readers to its fascinating pages."--_Dispatch._

"Without parading the elaborate nature of his personal investigations, the author has laid hold of the discoveries in every department of natural science in a manner to be apprehended by the meanest understanding, but which will at the same time command the attention of the scholar."--_Messenger._

"A grand tour of the sciences. Mr. Fullom starts from the Sun, runs round by the Planets, noticing Comets as he goes, and puts up for a rest at the Central Sun. He gets into the Milky Way, which brings him to the Fixed Stars and Nebulae. He munches the crust of the Earth, and looks over Fossil Animals and Plants. This is followed by a disquisition on the science of the Scriptures. He then comes back to the origin of the Earth, visits the Magnetic Poles, gets among Thunder and Lightning, makes the acquaintance of Magnetism and Electricity, dips into Rivers, draws science from Springs, goes into Volcanoes, through which he is drawn into a knot of Earthquakes, comes to the surface with Gaseous Emanations, and sliding down a Landslip, renews his journey on a ray of Light, goes through a Prism, sees a Mirage, meets with the Flying Dutchman, observes an Optical Illusion, steps over the Rainbow, enjoys a dance with the Northern Aurora, takes a little Polarized Light, boils some Water, sets a Steam-Engine in motion, witnesses the expansion of Metals, looks at the Thermometer, and refreshes himself with Ice. Soon he is at Sea, examining the Tides, tumbling on the Waves, swimming, diving, and ascertaining the pressure of Fluids. We meet him next in the Air, running through all its properties. Having remarked on the propagation of Sounds, he pauses for a bit of Music, and goes off into the Vegetable Kingdom, then travels through the Animal Kingdom, and having visited the various races of the human family, winds up with a demonstration of the Anatomy of Man."--_Examiner._

THE LITERATURE AND ROMANCE OF NORTHERN EUROPE.

CONSTITUTING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE LITERATURE OF SWEDEN, DENMARK, NORWAY, AND ICELAND, WITH COPIOUS SPECIMENS OF THE MOST CELEBRATED HISTORIES, ROMANCES, POPULAR LEGENDS AND TALES, OLD CHIVALROUS BALLADS, TRAGIC AND COMIC DRAMAS, NATIONAL SONGS, NOVELS, AND SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF THE PRESENT DAY.

BY WILLIAM AND MARY HOWITT.

2 v. post 8vo. 21s. bound.

"English readers have long been indebted to Mr. and Mrs. Howitt. They have now increased our obligations by presenting us with this most charming and valuable work, by means of which the great majority of the reading public will be, for the first time, made acquainted with the rich stores of intellectual wealth long garnered in the literature and beautiful romance of Northern Europe. From the famous Edda, whose origin is lost in antiquity, down to the novels of Miss Bremer and Baroness Knorring, the prose and poetic writings of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland are here introduced to us in a manner at once singularly comprehensive and concise. It is no dry enumeration of names, but the very marrow and spirit of the various works displayed before us. We have old ballads and fairy tales, always fascinating; we have scenes from plays, and selections from the poets, with most attractive biographies of these and other great men. The songs and ballads are translated with exquisite poetic beauty."--_Sun._

"We have most cordially to thank Mary and William Howitt for their valuable contribution to our knowledge of the literature of Northern Europe. They have effected a public good. They have offered to all classes of readers a work abounding in original and entrancing interest, overflowing with varied matter--of criticism, biography, anecdotes, sketches, and quotations, all tending to exhibit new treasures for the gratification and enlightenment of a vast circle of minds. Our authors have described to us in copious and entertaining detail the romance and the poetry, the writings and the imaginations, of the Scandinavian races, interspersed with abundant and well-selected specimens of the historical, romantic, legendary, chivalric, ballad, dramatic, song, and critical literature of Northern Europe. They have brought to light the treasures of the illustrious poets, historians and bards of Scandinavia, in a work of astonishing interest."--_Sunday Times._

"This work teems with information of the rarest and most curious character, and is replete with interest to the scholar, the philosopher, the antiquarian, and the general reader. The subject has the charming freshness of novelty. There is not any other book in the English language, which presents so vivid, so interesting, and so accurate a picture of the manners, customs, opinions, and superstitions of our Scandinavian forefathers."--_Morning Post._

"A standard work on the whole subject."--_Globe._

"A valuable addition to our literature."--_Daily News._

"A book full of information--and as such, a welcome addition to our literature. The translations--especially of some of the ballads and other poems--are executed with spirit and taste."--_Athenaeum._

JUDGE HALIBURTON'S NEW HISTORICAL WORK.

In 2 vols. post 8vo. 21s. bound.

RULE AND MISRULE OF THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA.

By the Author of "SAM SLICK," "THE OLD JUDGE," &c.

"A most attractive work."--_Standard._

"The cleverest volumes Judge Haliburton has ever produced."--_Messenger._

"We conceive this work to be by far the most valuable and important Judge Haliburton has ever written. The exhaustless fund of humour--quiet, yet rich and racy, and at the same time overflowing with the milk of human kindness--which his writings display on one hand, and the wonderful knowledge of man's character, in all its countless varieties, which they exhibit on the other, have insured for them a high, and honourable, and enduring station in English literature. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to arise from the perusal of any of Mr. Haliburton's performances without having become both wiser and better. His 'English in America' is, however, a production of a yet more exalted order. While teeming with interest, moral and historical, to the general reader, it may be regarded as equally constituting a philosophical study for the politician and the statesman. It will be found to dissipate many popular errors, and to let in a flood of light upon the actual origin, formation, and progress of the republic of the United States."--_Naval and Military Gazette._

"Those who wish for an accurate history of the rise of republicanism in America to its grand development in the United States revolution, will here find a narrative that is invaluable for its accuracy, its impartiality, its admirable order in arrangement, and that true philosophy of statesmanship which can attach to each incident a fitting moral, from which every honest politician can derive instruction. The work is one equally useful in the double aspect in which it may be regarded--first, an insight into the causes of past transactions; second, as a warning to guide mankind amid the many perplexing political questions of the day. The spirit of impartiality animates every page of this work. It is deserving of a place in every historical library."--_Morning Herald._

"We believed the author of this work to possess a power of humour and sarcasm second only to that of Rabelais and Sidney Smith, and a genuine pathos worthy of Henry Fielding or Charles Dickens. In his particular line of literature we believed him to be unrivalled. In the volumes before us he breaks upon a new, and--according to his method of breaking the subject--untrodden ground. We hail this book with pleasure; we consider it an honour to Judge Haliburton, as by it he has proved himself to be a Christian, a scholar, a gentleman, and, in the true sense of a mis-used word, a patriot. Mr. Haliburton places before us, fairly and impartially, the history of English rule in America. The book is not only a boon to the historic student, it is also filled with reflections such as may well engage the attention of the legislating statesman. Mr. Haliburton also shows us the true position of the Canadas, explains the evils of our colonial system, points out the remedies by which these evils may be counteracted, that thus the rule of the 'English in America' may be something better than a history of the blunders, the follies, and the ignorant temerity of colonial secretaries."--_Irish Quarterly Review._

SAM SLICK'S NEW COMIC WORK.

In 3 vols. post 8vo. 31s. 6d. bound.

TRAITS OF AMERICAN HUMOUR.

Edited BY THE AUTHOR OF "SAM SLICK," &C.

"We have seldom met with a work more rich in fun or more generally delightful."--_Standard._

"Those who have relished the racy humour of the 'Clockmaker,' will find a dish of equally ludicrous and amusing Transatlantic wit in the volumes before us."--_Herald._

"A new book, by the author of 'Sam Slick' causes some stir among the laughter-loving portion of the community; and its appearance at the present festive season is appropriate. We hold that it would be quite contrary to the fitness of things for any other hand than that of our old acquaintance, the facetious Judge Haliburton, to present to us a Christmas dish, and call it 'Traits of American Humour.' But even without the recollection of 'Sam Slick' to evoke the spirit of fun within us, we should have been forced to yield to the racy humour of these American 'Traits.' Dip where you will into this lottery of fun, you are sure to draw out a prize."--_Morning Post._

"The untravelled European who has not made the acquaintance of Sam Slick, can have but little knowledge of the manners, customs, humours, eccentricities and lingos of the countless varieties of inhabitants of North America who we are accustomed to conglomerate under the general name of Yankees. Assisted, however, by Sam Slick's graphic descriptions, literal reports, and racy pen-and-ink sketches, gentlemen who sit at home at ease, are able to realize with tolerable accuracy the more remarkable species of this lively family, to comprehend their amusing jargon, to take an interest in their peculiarities of person and speech, and to enter into the spirit of their very characteristic humours. No man has done more than the facetious Judge Haliburton through the mouth of the inimitable 'Sam,' to make the old parent country recognise and appreciate her queer transatlantic progeny; and in the volumes before us he seeks to render the acquaintance more minute and complete. His present collection of comic stories and laughable traits is a budget of fun full of rich specimens of American humour."--_Globe._

"The reader will find this work deeply interesting. Yankeeism pourtrayed, in its raciest aspect, constitutes the contents of these superlatively entertaining volumes, for which we are indebted to our facetious old friend, 'Sam Slick.' The work embraces the most varied topics,--political parties, religious eccentricities, the flights of literature, and the absurdities of pretenders to learning, all come in for their share of satire; while in other papers we have specimens of genuine American exaggerations, or graphic pictures of social and domestic life as it is more especially in the ruder districts and in the back settlements, or again sallies of broad humour, exhibiting those characteristics which form in the country itself the subject of mutual persiflage between the citizens of different States. The work will have a wide circulation."--_John Bull._

CAPTAIN SPENCER'S NEW WORK.

In 2 vols, 8vo. with Illustrations, and a valuable Map of European Turkey, from the most recent Charts in the possession of the Austrian and Turkish Governments, revised by the Author, 28s. bound.

TRAVELS IN EUROPEAN TURKEY IN 1850:

THROUGH BOSNIA, SERVIA, BULGARIA, MACEDONIA, ROUMELIA, ALBANIA, AND EPIRUS; WITH A VISIT TO GREECE AND THE IONIAN ISLES, AND A HOMEWARD TOUR THROUGH HUNGARY AND THE SCLAVONIAN PROVINCES OF AUSTRIA ON THE LOWER DANUBE.

BY EDMUND SPENCER, ESQ.

Author of "TRAVELS IN CIRCASSIA," &c.

"These important volumes appear at an opportune moment, as they describe some of those countries to which public attention is now more particularly directed: Turkey, Greece, Hungary, and Austria. The author has given us a most interesting picture of the Turkish Empire, its weaknesses, and the embarrassments from which it is now suffering, its financial difficulties, the discontent of its Christian, and the turbulence of a great portion of its Mohammedan subjects. We are also introduced for the first time to the warlike mountaineers of Bosnia, Albania, Upper Moesia, and the almost inaccessible districts of the Pindus and the Balkan. The different nationalities of that Babel-like country, Turkey in Europe, inhabited by Sclavonians, Greeks, Albanians, Macedonians, the Romani and Osmanli--their various characteristics, religions, superstitions, together with their singular customs and manners, their ancient and contemporary history are vividly described. The Ionian Islands, Greece, Hungary, and the Sclavonian Provinces of Austria on the Lower Danube, are all delineated in the author's happiest manner.

"We cordially recommend Mr. Spencer's valuable and interesting volumes to the attention of the reader. They are replete with information upon countries of which we know but little; they will be interesting to the military man for the details they give of the strength and defensive positions of the various countries through which the author travelled; to the merchant for the insight given into the state of trade; and to the man of the world as they place before his view the present political and social state of an empire, whose welfare it is the interest of England to promote. The work must be considered a standard production, enriched, as it is, by an excellent map derived from the most authentic modern charts, added to, and improved by the observations of the author during his travels."--_United Service Magazine._

"A work of great merit, and of paramount present interest."--_Standard._

"This interesting work contains by far the most complete, the most enlightened, and the most reliable amount of what has been hitherto almost the terra incognita of European Turkey, and supplies the reader with abundance of entertainment as well as instruction."--_John Bull._

"An excellent and admirable work. Mr. Spencer is a very able writer, a shrewd, experienced and philosophical observer, an eminently thinking and yet practical man. His work forms the most valuable addition that our literature has lately received. He sets forth to inquire and learn: he returns to inform and suggest; and information most valuable and interesting has he here bestowed upon us."--_Tait's Magazine._

REVELATIONS OF SIBERIA.

BY A BANISHED LADY.

2 vols. Post 8vo., 21s. bound.

"The authoress of these volumes was a lady of quality, who, having incurred the displeasure of the Russian Government for a political offence, was exiled to Siberia. The place of her exile was Berezov, the most northern part of this northern penal settlement; and in it she spent about two years, not unprofitably, as the reader will find by her interesting work, containing a lively and graphic picture of the country, the people, their manners and customs, &c. The book gives a most important and valuable insight into the economy of what has been hitherto the terra incognita of Russian despotism."--_Daily News._

"Since the publication of the famous romance the 'Exiles of Siberia,' of Madame Cottin, we have had no account of these desolate lands more attractive than the present work, from the pen of the Lady Eve Felinska, which, in its unpretending style and truthful simplicity, will win its way to the reader's heart, and compel him to sympathise with the fair sufferer. The series of hardships endured in traversing these frozen solitudes is affectingly told: and once settled down at one of the most northern points of the convict territory, Berezov, six hundred miles beyond Tobolsk, the Author exhibits an observant eye for the natural phenomena of those latitudes, as well as the habits of the semi-barbarous aborigines. This portion of the book will be found by the naturalist as well as ethnologist full of valuable information."--_Globe._

"These 'Revelations' give us a novel and interesting sketch of Siberian life--the habits, morals, manners, religious tenets, rites, and festivals of the inhabitants. The details of the author's painful journey will be perused with feelings of indignation and deep sympathy. The record of her residence of nearly three years at Berezov, which constitutes the most valuable part of her 'Revelations,' does credit to her heart and her understanding. Her extraordinary powers of observation, and the graceful facility with which she describes everything worthy of remark, render her 'Revelations' as attractive and fascinating as they are original and instructive."--_Britannia._