The concluding lines of 'Dreams,' are descriptive, and allude sadly and feelingly enough to the uncertainty of literary distinction and rewards. It is of poets he is speaking.

This group seem'd numberless, and some there were
Who rav'd most loudly, and they swore that they
Would heave the earth from her old resting place,
Scoop oceans up-stop each volcano's mouth,
And sink the mountains in some horrid cave,
If she would give one smile for all their pains.
Others were forming projects how to twist
The moonbeams into necklaces, to deck
Some fair one-or to rob the comet's train
To twine 'mid her dark hair-or cull the stars
For spangles to her girdle-or to bring
The breezes of Arabia, to perfume
Her bower; - and one had made a vow
To mount astride the billows, when the storm
Was heaving them to heaven, and tear away
The broad, blue curtain of the sky, because
Its color rivall'd his fair Delia's eye.
And when at length a flashing crown was hung
Far in the distance, every eye was turn'd,
And firm intent to win it, seem'd t'impress
Each mind. But a low breathing in the air,
Unheard by them, came o'er my list'ning ear;
Ye seek the wreath of Fame;-toil on-toil on ;
When ye are low, perhaps they'll bring its flowers,
And strew them carelessly upon your graves.'

Aristotle says somewhere, that all men of parts are melancholy.' Poets, indeed are proverbially sad, and eminent writers have said much to prove this temperament constitutional. We are half inclined to believe it is so. The poet's feelings are deeper than other men's. His associations are wider; the rich glow of a summer evening, beautiful in the sight of all, and pregnant with pleasureable emotion to most, may be to him a fruitful source of tears; the mountain crag, and the sublime but dreary scenery of nature, may perhaps bring him back to the wild and desolate waste of his own mind. Yet may his heart be pure and childlike, and his thoughts innocent; for imagination will sometimes rear ruinous fabrics, amidst scenes of fertile and cultivated luxuriance. Unwilling, indeed, should we be to think, that this was the tendency of our author's mind, and yet some of his finest productions are shaded by a tinge of melancholy.

We might, were we so disposed, detect errors in this volume, of false rhyme and quantity,

As where's that palace whereinto foul things
Sometimes intrude not?

Some of these are evidently typographical, others quite as clearly result from the author's own carelessness. The following line does not contain syllables enough,

The gigantic rocks that look as firm;'

and in this,

The green luxuriance of Spring sparkled,'

the measure requires the accent to bear on the last rather than the first syllable of the concluding word.

With these remarks we must dismiss the volume, pleased with our author's first attempt and glad to say to him, Macte virtute.

4.-A Chronological History of New England, in the form of Annals; being a summary and exact Account of the most material Transactions and Occurrences relating to this Country, in the Order of Time wherein they happened; with an Introduction containing a brief Epitome of the most considerable Transactions and Events abroad, from the Creation. By THOMAS PRINCE, M. A. Boston, 1736. A new edition. 1826. Cummings, Hilliard, & Co. 8vo. pp. 439.

THIS very elaborate and useful history is now for the first time published in a uniform edition. It was the misfortune of the learned author to live at a period, when the country was too poor, and the patronage bestowed on literary labors too limited, to enable him to proceed in the publication according to his original design. The first volume, was published, in duodecimo, in the year 1736, embracing what is contained in the first three hundred and sixteen pages of the present volume. It is much to be regretted that the sale of the volume was not sufficient to encourage him to proceed immediately in the work. For want of due encouragement, it was delayed for nearly twenty years, when, in 1755, three pamphlet numbers, of thirtytwo pages each, appeared, in continuation of the work. In 1758 the author died, leaving the work unfinished.

The Reverend Thomas Prince was a native of Middleborough, in the County of Plymouth, and was graduated at Harvard College in 1707. His curiosity was early excited to inquire minutely into the history of the country; and before he left college he had begun to form a collection of all such books, pamphlets, and manuscripts, coming within his reach, as tended to illustrate the object of his research. He afterwards travelled several years in Europe, during which time he prosecuted his favorite inquiry,

and greatly enriched his collection of books relating to American history. Everywhere, he says, he found the want of a regular history of this country complained of, and he was often moved to undertake to supply it. Soon after his return to this country, in 1718, he was settled as pastor of the Old South Church in Boston, in which situation he found no leisure, for a number of years, for the undertaking. He continued, however, his care in collecting materials for a New England history, and was at length induced, by the urgent solicitations of those who were acquainted with his eminent qualifications for the task, to undertake the present work. Having formed this design, to add to the stock of his materials, all the ministers throughout the country were requested to furnish him with such information as would aid his undertaking. The materials thus collected, added to his precious stock, formed what he denominated a 'New England Library.' This valuable library, with the exception of some material dilapidations which it suffered during the revolutionary war, is still extant, and by the liberality of the proprietors of the Old South Church, is now mostly deposited in the library of the Historical Society.

It has generally been considered a matter of regret that Dr Prince prefixed to his 'New England Annals,' a long and elaborate Introduction, consisting of a chronological record of remarkable events from the creation to the settlement of this country. This portion of his work, though the fruit of vast labor, and careful research, and for many purposes highly valuable, seems to be here misplaced, and however highly we might be disposed to value it, we could not avoid the reflection that the peculiar talents of the author would have been much more profitably employed on that part of the work which was embraced in his original design. This Introduction, most of which is in a tabular form, is, in the present edition, judiciously printed in a small type, and thus compressed within a comparatively small space.

Of the New England Chronology,' so far as it extends there has been no difference of opinion. It is distinguished for its accuracy and extreme caution. It contains, within the period embraced in it, almost every thing that later research has been able to discover, and in a form which enables the reader to judge of the authenticity of every statement. Almost the only regret is, that it comes to so premature a close. For the narrative of events which led to the emigration of the first settlers of New England, from 1603 to 1620, and for a minute history of the first settlement of the Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies, to the year 1633, it may be confidently consulted, not only as the most complete and satisfactory work, but as containing almost everything that is extant, arranged in chronological order, with the authority uniformly cited, and generally in the words of the original narrator. It is therefore a work of the greatest utility, and almost necessary to one who would form an intimate acquaintance with the history of the first planting of New England.

A new edition has long been wanted, as the old one was no where to be purchased, and was only to be found in old libraries. The editor of the present edition, besides adopting a more modern and uniform orthography, and introducing in their proper places the additions and corrections made by the author at the end of each part of the original publication, has adopted a more intelligible mode of referring to the authorities quoted, and has added a few explanatory notes. Every public library in the country ought to be furnished with a copy of this work.

5.-Summary of the Practical Principles of Political Economy, with Observations on Smith's Wealth of Nations, and Say's Political Economy. By A FRIEND OF DOMESTIC INDUSTRY. Cambridge. Hilliard & Metcalf. 8vo. pp. 88.

As we have not room to examine this work in detail, we shall do no more than give our impressions of its character in a few words. The first part, called a 'Summary,' consists of a series of brief maxims, or principles, on the various topics of political economy, methodically arranged. The second part is made up of criticisms on some of the opinions of Adam Smith, and of Say. The principles show an acute mind, quick in research and de-cision; they are sometimes sound and pithy; but, as far as we understand the subject, they are often of dubious import, and very often entirely erroneous. Precipitancy, imperfect examina-tion, and a proneness to decide on first impressions, we fear have in too many cases led the author astray. We know of no science requiring more patient investigation, than the one which is here briefly dispatched in a series of aphorisms. It is a science involving all the relations of political and social life, and has proved itself too much for the grasp of many of the first order of minds, after years of laborious study and inquiry. It is not surprising, therefore, that our author should fall into many mistakes, in attempting to comprise the whole in so short and hasty a sketch; and that, too, with some professions of originality and new illustrations. Such an undertaking would have appalled most men, and the courage, which, in defiance of such obstacles, has prompted this attempt, may demand our praise even in its failure.

The criticisms on Adam Smith and Say, which constitute the second part of the work, are not altogether to our liking. We agree with our author in some of his objections to the doctrines of those great leaders in the science; in a few cases, he has detected these with discrimination, and exposed them with force; in others, he has called up old objections and confuted them in the old way; in others still, he imagines them to exist where few will accord to him a discovery. Adam Smith was one of the master spirits of his age, possessing a mind of extraordinary power and resources, and throwing a new and brilliant light upon every subject he touched. In such a man's opinions there may be errors, but they are not the errors of a hasty decision, or of a feeble grasp of his subject; nor are they to be confuted by a syllogism, a sentence, or a paragraph. Smith and Say have passed the ordeal of the world, not as exhibiting a new science in its perfection on the day of its birth, but as writers of very great merit on political economy, who stand indeed at the very head of the list, and whose errors, compared with the truths they enforce, are as a drop in the sea. Their faults are mere specks on the bright mirror of their fame. Let these be cleared away, but in a manner, which shall show equal respect for the judgment of mankind, in assigning to these writers so a high a rank, and for themselves as honest expounders of a system, which they believed to be true, and which they put forth the strength of their genius to develope and explain.

6.-A Map of the New England States, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, with the Adjacent Parts of New York and Lower Canada; compiled and published by NATHAN HALE. ton, 1826. Engraved by J. N. N. Throop.

Bos

In illustrating the geography of New England, nothing has recently come before the public, which can be deemed of so much importance as this map. It has been the work of several years, with all the facilities for executing such an undertaking, which could be obtained by a diligent research, and a free access to the means of knowledge. It is drawn on a scale sufficiently large to exhibit the boundaries of every town, and all the important geographical features of the country which it embraces; and the public have the surest pledge of its accuracy, not more from the known ability of the editor to execute such a work, than from the uncommon advantages, which he has possessed, in the variety and