back any rib that may have been dislocated." The wound in my head not being deep, he healed it by stuffing it with burnt cotton. He then ordered that I should continue to walk much, supported by two persons, that I should not sit long, nor be allowed to sleep till ten o'clock at night, at which time I should eat a little thin rice soup. He assured me that these walks in the open air, while fasting, would prevent the blood from settling upon the chest, where it might corrupt. These remedies, though barbarous and excruciating, cured me so completely, that in seven days I was able to resume my journey.""— Vol. 11. pp. 184, 185.

There are many other curious and valuable extracts which we would gladly give; but for the sake of the subject, the author, and the sacred cause to which his labors are consecrated, we hope that the work will find its way into the hands of so many of our readers as to make our critical labors superfluous. We dismiss it with the sincerest esteem for the writer, and our best wishes for his usefulness in the noble career of effort to which he has devoted himself.

ART. II.1. Introduction to the History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia. By CHARLES CAMPBELL. Richmond: B. B. Minor. 1847. 8vo. pp. 200. 2. A History of Georgia, from its First Discovery by Europeans to the Adoption of the Present Constitution in 1798. By REV. WILLIAM BACON STEVENS, M. D., Professor of Belles-Lettres, History, &c., in the University of Georgia. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1847. Vol. I. 8vo. pp. 503.

THESE Volumes are valuable and commendable contributions to our national historical literature. Upon opening them, our thoughts are turned anew to a topic which often engages the attention of the American student. The materials for the illustration of the history of the States of our Union are copious beyond comparison in degree, and without precedent in many respects in their kind. They nearly fulfil the utmost conception of what is desirable. In this respect, certainly,

gias, that of two wrong-doers, one of whom suffers, and the other escapes punishment, the former is the happier. Notwithstanding the numerous legal checks, extortion is almost universal. Every functionary receives from three to ten times his stated salary. Each of a higher grade preys upon those next below, and the lowest are forced to levy heavy contributions on the people at large, to meet the incessant drain on their otherwise scanty revenue. But this is the greatest wrong that the subject endures. Punishments, though sometimes strange and barbarous, are not severe in proportion to the crimes for which they are inflicted; and the administration of justice is for the most part upright and merciful. At the same time, life, property, and personal liberty are full as secure as mere courts and laws, without a higher and purer moral standard, can make them.

Inordinate account has been made by most writers on China of the literary examinations and degrees. It is often remarked, that China is the only country in the world in which high literary proficiency is essential to a candidate for civil office. From a close examination of our author and of other writers on this subject, we are well convinced that the standard of intelligence demanded of the respective classes of officials is the very lowest with which they could be expected to discharge their several functions. The Chinese degrees, so far from corresponding to the degrees in arts and the doctorates in Occidental universities, might be compared to the certificates which a writing-master would award to his pupils at different stages of proficiency. As we have already indicated, it is a solemn thing to learn to write in China; and all that the candidates for degrees do is to acquire a certain measure of facility in the shaping of such characters as are in most general use, for this end transcribing large portions of the classics, and writing what are commonly called essays, though they are in fact mere memoriter copies from these same classics, and would be set aside in the examination, did they lay claim to originality. Now, with less knowledge than is demanded for these examinations, it would be impossible for one to keep records, write despatches, or even read the imperial edicts.

After a chapter devoted to "Education and Literary Examinations," Mr. Williams gives us a cursory sketch of the structure of the Chinese language, a catalogue of the classics,

and a general view of the polite literature of the nation, including novels, dramas, ballads, and pasquinades. Our limits will not permit us to give the numerous extracts which would be demanded in justice to this portion of the work. Suffice it, then, to say, that our author has given us no very elevated conception of the capacity of the Chinese mind or language for the lighter and more graceful forms of literature, while for the wisdom and lofty purpose of Confucius and the other ethical writers he has awakened anew our profound veneration.

The second volume describes the architecture, dress, diet, social life, industry, commerce, arts, science, and religion of China, and gives an abstract of the history of the Christian missions among the Chinese, their foreign intercourse, and the recent war with Great Britain. From the picture given us of Chinese society, we can imagine no external organization which would minister to its improvement. The people are industrious and frugal, as chaste and temperate as most civilized nations, and distinguished by some virtues, such as respect for age, and filial piety in its most reverential type, which are fast growing obsolete in Christendom. Yet the great mass of the population seem fixed at a point just below decency, comfort, and happiness, in the condition in which they must needs conceive of better things than they can attain, and be tantalized by a perpetual consciousness of destitution and depression. We agree with our author, that Christianity is the one thing that they need, as an inspirer of self-respect, as a stimulant to their dormant energies, as the emancipator of woman from her thraldom, as a guide and helper in the duties and amenities of domestic and social life.

As the Chinese have been reputed to possess the broadest catholicity of taste on the subject of animal food, we will give them the benefit of our author's limitations in their behalf.

"The meats consumed by the Chinese comprise, perhaps, a greater variety than are used in other countries; while, at the same time, very little land is appropriated to rearing animals for food. Beef is not a common meat, nor seen upon the tables of the natives, chiefly from a Budhistic prejudice against killing so useful an animal: Mutton is both rare and dear, and sheep have profitably been brought from Sydney to Canton. The beef of the buffalo, and the mutton of the goat, are still less used; pork is

more than in any other, American literature has the prospect of attaining a perfection nowhere else approached. The oldest nations of the world may do all that is possible in providing for their future annals; but they cannot recover and record the pristine periods of their history. Fable reigns, immovable and undisturbed, over long tracts of time, from their unknown origin. But the commemorative spirit became active and predominant over the whole surface of our country soon enough to rescue from destruction and darkness the leading and important incidents of the first planting of the various Colonies, and to perpetuate records of the men and events of each successive period of our history. The works published in this department may not all be interesting to a large circle of readers. In many cases, the materials of which their substance is composed may have but the narrowest local attraction; and often, no doubt, the literary execution and the mode of arrangement may not be all that could be wished. But, as a whole, there is already an accumulation of curious and important matter, illustrative of the history of civilized man within the bounds of the American Union, which can be paralleled in no age or country; and its quantity is constantly increasing. Already works have been produced among us, in the several departments of history, that will reflect lasting honor upon their authors, and retain a permanent classical character. Accessions will constantly be made to their number. The several Colonies or States have had, or will have, their historians. In centennial and anniversary discourses, personal memoirs, collections of historical, genealogical, and statistical societies, and in the histories of towns, parishes, and families, there is a confluence of materials promising to leave no wish or expectation unsatisfied.

The noble institution of which the foundations are now laid at Washington, on the basis of the munificent bequest of James Smithson, might with great propriety be so organized and arranged as to render not only sure and permanent, but universally conspicuous and available, this remarkable abundance of the resources of American history. To this end a distinct department of the library should be devoted, occupying separate rooms, where publications of every sort, documents, manuscripts, and memorials, illustrating the origin and progress of each Colony and State of America, may be deposited. No expense or pains ought to be spared in ren

dering the collection absolutely complete for the past, and keeping it complete for the future. Catalogues and indexes, arranged with reference to the different States, Territories, and Provinces, might be so constructed as to receive into its proper place every new work as it proceeds from the press, and every copy of an old publication as soon as obtained. There should be a reference, not only of each volume or document to the place where it may be found, but, as far as possible, of every general and particular topic to the works in which it is treated. The librarian should have the means of completing the collection by obtaining copies of every publication and document belonging to the history of the country, or any of its parts, wherever they may be discovered. Such a library would be unique in its kind, most honorable to the country, and invaluable in its uses.

Mr. Campbell's History of Virginia is presented to the public in a very unpretending form, and is written in a clear, agreeable, and manly style, without affectation, with no elaborate conceits of expression, and defaced by no ambitious and deliberate flights of rhetoric. The subject is a good one, and it is treated as if the author felt assured of its intrinsic attractions. He has evidently scrutinized the appropriate evidences in their sources, and the reader may repose with confidence in his statements. A large space, of course, is occupied, in the opening annals of Virginia, by the achievements of its principal founder, the famous Captain John Smith. His career of romantic adventure before coming to the New World qualified him for the perils and struggles incident to the first age of an American colony. His exploits and labors, his hairbreadth escapes, and his unparalleled services to the infant plantation of Virginia, and indeed to the general cause of North American exploration and colonization, are here related with great simplicity and clearness. There is a long list of other distinguished names connected with the settlement and early administration of the Old Dominion, that are worthy of remembrance in history. When the boundless regions of this continent were opened to the spirit of European adventure, and monarchs bestowed upon favorite courtiers or influential companies imperial gifts of American territory, experience had shed no light upon the methods or principles of colonization, and it is curious to witness how, in this as in every thing else, that can be the only adequate teacher.