1815.] Intelligence in Literature and the Arts and Sciences. ELIZA S. FRANCIS has in the press Sir Wilibert de Waverley, or the Bridal Eve: a Poem. Mr. JOSEPH COGGINS will shortly publish the Governess's Musical Assistant, chiefly intended for the use of teachers on the piano-forte, containing the different scales in music, with a short dictionary, explaining the use of the clefs, notes, graces, characters, marks of expression, &c. with appropriate preludes and lessons. Mr. BRADLEY has in the press Exercises and Questions for the Lower Classes, adapted to the best Latin Grammars, designed as an introduction to the Exercises of Valpy, Clarke, Ellis, Turner, and the Eton Exempla Minora. Mr. ANDREW BECKET is preparing for publication, in two vols. 8vo. a full but dispassionate examen of the reading and interpretations of the later editors of our great dramatic bard, under the title of "Shakspeare himself again, or the Language of the Poet asserted." The whole will be comprised in a series of sixteen hundred notes, illustrative of the more difficult passages in his Plays. Mr. PHILIPPART will publish in the month of January the Royal Military Calendar, containing the services of all general officers living at the close of 1814. The following new Novels, of 3 vols. each, are announced by Messrs. Longman and Co.-Guy Mannering, or the Astrologer, by the Author of Waverley; St. Valentine's Eve, by Mrs. Opie; the Pastor's Fire-side, by Miss Porter; Varieties of Life, or Conduct and Consequences. Mr. FLAXMAN has finished a series of compositions in outline from Hesiod's Works, which will be engraved by Mr. J. Blake, and printed in folio, to correspond with the outlines from Homer, by the same eminent professor. Mr. JOHN Scorr is preparing for the press a History of the Public Events of Europe, from the commencement of the French Revolution, to the Restoration of the Bourbons. The spirit of this work may be deduced from the declaration of the author, that the ambition which chiefly animates his mind, will be grati fed, if he shall succeed in convincing his readers that a man may be a lover of freedom, without being a partisan of licentiousness, or a foe to tyranny, yet not hostile to just government, and an advocate for improvement, yet not blindly enamoured of change. Two new works by that eminent preNEW MONTHLY MAG.-No. 12. 537 late, the late Bishop HORSLEY, are in the press:-1. A Translation of the Psalms of David, with notes, in2vols.8vo. 2. Sermons on Ancient Prophecies of the Messiah, dispersed among the Heathens; also four Discourses on the Nature of the Evidence borne to the Fact of our Lord's Resurrection, in one vol. 8vo. Proposals are circulated for re-printing, by subscription, an edition of 100 copies of Censura Literaria, by Sir EGERTON BRYDGES, in 10 vols. 8vo. The work, which contains an extensive fund of information on English bibliography, has not only risen to more than four times the original price, but lately become almost unattainable. Mr. Hey, Surgeon to the General Infirmary at Leeds, will speedily publish a Treatise on the Puerperal Fever, illustrated by cases which occurred in that town and its neighbourhood in 18091812. The editor and proprietors of the New Cyclopædia have announced, that in consequence of measures lately adopted, they hope to be able to complete that work in about two years. Fifty-six parts are already before the public, and they calculate upon com→ prizing the whole in 72. An English Translation of the Travels of Ali Bey, concerning which some particulars were given in our last, (p. 441), is preparing. We have received a sketch of the contents of this interesting work, which shall be given in our next number. Mr. WILLIAM JERDAN is engaged in translating a Miscellany, which has obtained great celebrity at Paris, under the title of L'Hermite de la Chaussée d'Antin, and to which he has given the appropriate name of The Paris Spectator. British Biography of the eighteenth century, containing also Lives of the most eminent Characters of the present Age, written by Members of the University of Oxford, will appear during the present season, in 3 vols. 8vo. and royal 4to. The Cadet, a Poem, being Remarks on British India, as it respects the happiness of those who go thither as cadets, is printing in two small octavo volumes. Mr. WM. ANDERSON has in the press a Description of the Cyclometer, a new invented machine for dividing a circle into any uumber of equal parts, &c. Mr. JOHN COOPER will soon publish a Translation of Ptolemy's Quadripartite, with notes and observations. Messrs. NICOL have issued proposals 4 B 538 Intelligence in Literature and the Arts and Sciences. [Jan. 1, for publishing by subscription, the Mosiad, or Israel delivered; a sacred Poem, in six canticles, with notes, &c. written by an artist during his detention in France, as a prisoner of war, for nearly twelve years. Mr. JAMES MITCHELL will speedily publish an Easy System of Short Hand, exhibiting all the latest improvements, upon an entirely new plan, founded on long practical experience, and peculiarly calculated for persons who study by themselves. MARY ANNE SCHIMMELPENNINCK is preparing for publication in 4to. illustrated by engravings, Theory on the Classification of Beauty and Deformity, and their Correspondence with Physiognomic Expression. The Rev. Archdeacon CoXE is preparing for the press Memoirs of the Great Duke of Marlborough, chiefly compiled from the papers and correspondence preserved at Blenheim. The lovers of Topography will be gratified to learn that there is some prospect of the appearance of a History of Huntingdonshire. John Symons, esq. of Paddington-house, in addition to the acquisition he some time since made of Hutchinson's Collections for that county, all ready for press, after a labour of 30 years, has recently purchased the further Heraldic ones of the same county, by the Rev. Robert Smyth; and the Earl of Carysfort has presented him with three folio volumes of collections on the same subject; so that, if any one were inclined to give a full and complete publication of that hitherto inedited county, the materials are all ready to his hand, wanting nothing but a little arrangement to render it in all respects a perfect work of the kind. Mr. DAVID LAING, architect and surveyor to the Board of Customs, has circulated proposals for publishing Plans, Elevations, and Sections of Buildings, Public and Private, executed in various parts of England, &c. including the Plans and Details of the New Custom House, London, with Descriptions. This work, containing not fewer than 50 plates, will be engraved by the best artists, and printed on imperial paper, making a handsome volume, in large folio, to be delivered in June, 1816. Mr. JAMES BALDWIN BROWN, of the Inner Temple, has circulated proposals for publishing, by subscription, an Historical Inquiry into the Ancient Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Crown, commending with the Period in which Great Britain formed a Part of the Roman Empire. It will be printed in 8vo. and published in parts, the first of which will appear in February. Should the author meet with adequate encouragement, he may be induced to bring down the work to the period of the Reformation. It is intended to publish by subscription, in two vols. crown 8vo. Christian Experience, manifested in the Life and Writings of Major-gen. ANDREW BURN, late Commandant of the Royal Marines at Woolwich, and author of several publications distinguished for piety. Some wag bas quizzed the editor of the Infidel's Magazine, as the Old Monthly has been justly denominated with an account of what he styles a 66 new reformation in the Prussian church." This notable reformation is represented to consist in throwing open the esta blished church "to all possible biblical sects, Jew, Calvinist, Deist, and Mahometan;"" the inspiration of scripture to be abandoned, and every preacher to be at liberty to teach concerning any book, or part thereof, the truth and the whole truth." The Jews are to be invited to belong to this new church, and to be permitted "to object in the established pulpits, against the applica tion of ancient prophecies to Jesus, or against the extravagant mysticism of Paul." Those who can swallow such egregious absurdities will find no difficulty in believing that the dead will be summoned to officiate in this new church; for we are gravely assured, "It is whis pered that application has been made to Fichte to accept preferment in it."Fichte died on the 29th January, 1814. FRANCE. We have great pleasure in presenting our readers with the first portion of an interesting sketch of the present state of French literature, furnished by an enlightened scholar, resident at Paris. It would contribute, were farther proof wanting, to enable the public to set a proper value on the panegyrics pronounced by certain apostate English journalists on the splendid patronage bestowed by their fallen idol upon literature and the arts and sciences; and the malignant comparisons and inferences, which their admiration of the usurper was incessantly suggesting. French literature begins to recover a little from the kind of lethargy into which it was plunged by the oppression of Buonaparte. If that despot had reigned another year, the French book 1815.] Foreign Intelligence-France. selling trade would have been utterly ruined. A great number of booksellers had already become bankrupt, and those who still maintained their ground durst not engage in any speculations, for fear of sharing the same fate. The severity, or rather the cruelty, of the censorship, strengthened their apprehensions. For this reason nothing appeared at last but works of no consequence or mercantile value. The small number of undertak ings of the higher order were suspended. Happily the return of the Bourbons has changed this state of things. We were at first inundated with a deluge of pamphlets, and no other kind of reading would go down with the public, which cannot appear surprising to those who consider that, for several years, no person durst write on political subjects, and that the most important facts did not come to the knowledge of the public. People, therefore, fell upon the pamphlets, as a man, nearly famished to death, seizes the victuals of which he has so long been deprived. Most of these ephemeral productions ran through two, three, four, or more editions. The Recueil des Pieces officielles propres à detromper le Public, by Schoell, the bookseller, has been several times reprinted. Of M. de Chateaubriand's pamphlet, 10,000 copies were sold. L'Histoire de la Campagne de Paris, by Giraud, has reached the sixth edition; and L'Histoire de la Campagne de Moscou, by Labaume, has also been reprinted. Several periodical works on political affairs have started up, such as the Censeur, which first appeared in detached sheets; but the conductors being too much restricted by the censorship, announced their intention of publishing their work in future, in volumes of more than 20 sheets. (It will be recollected that, according to the law, works of more than 20 sheets are exempt from the jurisdiediction of the censors.) Accordingly, there has since appeared a continuation of the Censeur in a thick volume; but it is very doubtful whether the work will long continue to please in this form. Malte Brun began his Spectateur, which appears in numbers, and contains arti cles on literary, political, and moral subjects. The author, in the papers written by himself, is often very caustic according to his custom; but it cannot be denied that some of his ideas are very original; and that, as a foreigner, he tells the French such truths as their countrymen durst not address to them in their publications. But he is equally 539 severe in regard to other nations, especially the English, whom he treats with very little ceremony in several of his papers. The Veridique is another miscellany, but it has not met with any great success. One singular circumstance is, that it is edited by a lady, named Madle. Raoul, who made some noise at Paris about a year ago, when she came up from the country to the metropolis, to claim her share in the success of a comedy intituled le Tyran domestique, by Duval, pretending that this piece was copied from a manuscript play which she kept in her port-folio. The animosity with which she pleaded her cause, highly amused the Parisians, who stand in need of such events to furnish food for conversation. Two old literary miscellanies, the Magazin Encyclopedique, edited by M. Millin, the well known antiquary, and the Mercure de France, formerly so flourishing under the direction of Marmontel and La Harpe, have fallen so low that they have scarcely subscribers sufficient to pay their expenses. There are nevertheless articles of merit in both; but the reason is, that the public are accustomed to derive their notions of the literature of the day from the newspapers, which since the Revolution have had a literary as well as political character. A detailed analysis of a new book is too long, too tedious, for the Parisians; they are much better pleased with reading what is said of it in a column or two of a newspaper. The Reviews, some of which have such an extensive circulation in England, would not be liked here: they would have no readers, except a few literati by profession. In Paris amusement is the grand desideratum; this is the point that the publishers of periodical miscellanies have to study. It is by a due mixture of the useful and the agreeable that M. Malte Brun has been so successful with his Annales des Voyages, 23 volumes of which have already appeared; but it is not certain that he will be able to continue the work much longer. When a miscellany becomes old, the Parisian public grows tired of it, and looks out for novelties. There is a small publication under the title of Journal des Arts et de la Litterature, which supports itself entirely by exposing the blunders of others, and amusing its readers at their expense. Some time since a Mercure étranger, designed to give some account of foreign literary productions, was established; but it languishes for want of support, and it will have great difficulty 540 Foreign Intelligence-France, to work itself into notice. I say nothing concerning the scientific journals, such as the Journal de Physique et d'Histoire naturelle, by M. De la Methrie; the Gazette de Santé, by M. de Montègre; the Annales des Arts et Manufactures, by M. Barbier; the Annales de l'Agriculture, by M. Tessier; the Bibliothèque Medicale, by M. Sedillot; and others. Such as these are not generally circulated; they are known only to the small number of the friends of the sciences, or persons cultivating the respective branches of them. A few years since was commenced a Journal academique, which gave an account of the proceedings of academies, national and foreign: this useful undertaking was not encouraged, and consequently abandoned, Two scientific men of Nismes publish a periodical miscellany devoted to the higher departments of the mathematics; the sale of which seems to be sufficient to clear the expenses. The most splendid work published during the late war was, beyond dispute, the Description de l'Egypte, the conclusion of which is now in the hands of the printers and engravers; so that the public will enjoy the pleasure of seeing that grand undertaking brought to a termination. Unfortunately the size of the work is too inconvenient. Next to this may be classed Le Musée, by M. Robillard, and the continuation of it by M. Laurent; the Voyages de M. de Humboldt, the geographical part of which has begun to be printed; the Voyage pittoresque de l'Espagne, by M. De la Borde, of which about 34 parts have appeared; Les Lilieces, by M. Redouté; Les Hindous, by M. Solvyns, completed in 4 folio volumes; the Peuples du Russie, by M. de Rechberg, in 2 vols. fol. with 96 coloured plates; the Musée des Antiques, by M. Bouillon, of which 7 or 8 parts have been published; the Collection de Vases elrusques, by M. Dubois Maison-neuve, with the text by M. Millin; the Monumens de l'Hindostan, from Daniell and other artists, with historical descriptions, by M. Langlés, to be completed in 25 parts, 7 of which have already appeared; the Maladies de la Peau, by M. Alibert, &c. For such amateurs of the fine arts who cannot conveniently purchase the large Musée, by Robillard, M. Filhol has published a Musée in 110 numbers, 8vo. and M. Landen his Annales du Musée. In literature one of the most remarkable works lately published is Correspondance du Baron de Grimm, which con [Jan. 1, tains contributions from Raynal and GERMANY. The At the public meeting of the Academy 1815.] Foreign Intelligence-Germany. of Munich, on the 11th October, the publication of a new volume of Memoirs of the Academy, of the 23d volume of the Monumenta Boica, and of the third part of Detached Essays of the historical class was announced. This is the fourth volume of memoirs that has appeared since the revival of the academy in 1807. It contains, besides a history of the academy, an important disquisition on the poems of Hesiod, their origin and connexion with those of Homer; which is followed by 17 essays in natural history, natural philosophy and mathematics, by Tiedemann, Spix, Tilesius, Schrank, Panzer, Flurl, Gehlen, Chladni, Seyffer, Steffenelli, and Soldner; lastly, the conclusion of the historical work of M. Lang, "On the union of the different Provinces composing the Bavarian monarchy;" a Memoir sur la Lizmie, by the Chev. de Bray; and Streber's explanation of the nanies of Theophanes and Archidamis on a coin of Mytilene. Two prize essays on the state of the arts and sciences in Bavaria during the reign of the Dukes William IV. and Albert V. were far from giv.ng satisfaction to the academy. A circumstantial history of the sons of the Emperor Lewis IV. was proposed as the new subject for a prize. The historical class adheres to its plan of selecting such subjects as are calculated to enrich Bavarian literature by the labours of native talents. M. Lang, director of the national archives then read an important contribution to the history of civilization in the middle ages in Germany, intituled, "Fragment of a History of Bavarian commerce under Lewis the Severe, from 1253 to 1294," chiefly compiled from records preserved in the archives. One result of this paper is, that most of the necessaries of life were as dear then as they are now. M. Roth, counsellor of finance, then communicated" Remarks on the Signification and Use of the term Barbarian." Lastly, M. Streber, director of the cabinet of coins, read a paper on some rare medals of Albert V. in which he introduced a panegyric on one of the wisest and best princes of his age, who in 1558 magnanimously pardoned those who, during the religious ferment of the times had conspired against him, a circumstance transmitted by a medal of that date to the historians of future ages. According to accounts from Leipzig the university there is in a very flourish ing state. It numbers between 1500 and 1600 students. The valuable present of the Prince 541 Regent of Great Britain to the univer sity of Göttingen, comprizing all the English works of importance published during the last ten years, has reached the library of that celebrated seminary. On the 22d of November Beethoven gave a grand musical entertainment at Vienna, consisting of-1. A new Cantata to words by Professor Weissenbach; 2. A Musical composition on Wellington's Victory at Vittoria, and 3. A new symphony. A letter from Brunswick of the 13th of October states, that the works of art carried off from that' city had just returned from their seven years captivity. They were never set up and arranged at Paris, and will now be made better use of than ever, as it is intended that these, as well as the rest of the ducal collections, shall be exhibited and illustrated in the lectures to be held in the newly erected Caroline College. Dr. Herrmann, a Bavarian professor, has lately been lecturing at Vienna in the building belonging to the university on his most recent mechanical inventions and improvements. All his hearers are said to have admired the simplicity and effect of his machine for dividing hops, his fire-engine, and an improved waggon, for which he has obtained patents in Bavaria. [We should be thankful to any of our correspondents who can favour us with accounts of these inventions, as they might, perhaps, furnish our chanics at home with, some useful hints.] me The announcement of a spurious edition of Wieland's works, to be printed at Wishaden, has drawn from Professor Bottiger of Dresden a public declaration that he has long been in possession of the corrections made by his deceased friend himself, in his translation of the epistles and satires of Horace, and in his Lucian, and that he shall shortly prepare for the press a new edition, with considerable alterations and additions, of all Wieland's translations, including those which appeared in the Attic Muscum. The public exhibition of the large col. lection of pictures, drawings, and prints, belonging to Prince Nicholas Esterhazy, at Vienna, has been for some time closed. A building has been purchased expressly for this collection, which is under the superintendance of Mr. Jos. Fischer, the engraver. The paintings occupy twelve apartments, and are arranged according to the different schools. The collection of prints is one of the |