Literature. Reviews.

Literature . REVIEWS .

At Home and Abroad : A Sketch-book . B y BAYARD TAYLOR London : Sampson Low . THIS is a collection of sketches of travel ; and as Mr . Bayard 'Taylor has been no inconsiderable traveller , there arc many easy , gossiping , and pleasant scenes recorded as the experience of his sightseeing . Iu his manner of narrating his journeys and sojourning iu many lands , there is a dash of the egotism usually

found in all traveller ' s stories ; but in Mr . Taylor's case it is rather more agreeable than otherwise , as ho is not inclined to bore us too much with the ever ready pronoun " I , " but introduces it just sufficiently to make us fool that we are in company with one who is really a traveller , and is describing the places and the scenes he speaks of . This book deals in very wide and miscellaneous subjects , and of course the interest in them is varied according to

the reader's knowledge of , or predilection for , the places our author describes . It would appear that the materials for this volume are culled from sketches written for some of his other books , but whim , from various causes , were not used . So a reader will lie iu his company in a walking tour in New Jersey , and find himself suddenly in tho Tlmringian Forest , with steamboat voyages to Smyrna and Newfoundland ; ' speculations on tho supernatural ; comparisons of the landscapes of the world ; psychological experiences , and visits to Humboldt , Tennyson , and Lockhart .

In the places visited we shall find no new description , as the routes arc pretty well as familiar to us , from volumes of voyages and travel , as our path up the Strand to our office , but yet the narratives arc sketchily and pleasantly told . Many of the episodes , however , have considerable interest for the reader , and one more particularly , in which he tells us how he came to London a penniless youth , strong in his poetical genius , and how some of

the great literary lions , more particularly Lockhart , treated him with great kindness , and gave him sharp but honest advice as to his poetical status ; and wonderful to relate , he , a poet , had the excellent good sense to appreciate their strictures and act upon , much to his present satisfaction , when he reads over the suppressed " Troubadour of Provence , " or " Liberated Titan , " Iu the paper "On the Supernatural" there are some very

curious experiences , and to those who are of an inquiring turn into the singular mental fancies of the hypocondriacal , we cannot do better than recommend their perusal of this part of the At Home anil Abroad . AVe have marked one very lively bit for an extract , showing Mr . Taylor ' s power of description of the great university jubilee at Jena , in 1858 . The gathering of the old alumni of that

roystering and pugnacious university , and the goodwill of the citizens and students , their jollity and manners , arc sketched with great vivacity , and a hearty relish for such reunions . He tells us : —

I hero was a flapping of flags in the wind , a bee-like hum of music gradually filled tho air , and the quaint old gabled dwellings , buried up to their roof tiles in garlands , seemed to sway hither and thither as their drapery was moved . Thick wreaths of oak leaves , studded with the scarlet berries of the mountain ash , hung from window to window : young firs , dug up bodily , were planted at the doors , aud long streamers of gay colours iloated from the caves . In all Jena there was not a house or building of any description without its decoration of flags and

garlands . The windows were open and full of bright faces , the streets crowded with studeut-c .-ips of every hue , even the old graduates wearing the colours o { their youth , and our progress was continually impeded by l-olliekiug companies , singing " guudeamus igitur , " or some other classic melody . But most impressive of all was the sight of the recognitions of old friends . The grey heads in the omnibus were continually shouting , "Karl , is it thou ? " "God bless me , there is Hardenberg ! " "Alt !

brother Fritz , art thou here too ? " while more than once , as we passed onwards , I saw men stop , stare doubtfully at each other , and then open their arms for a glad embrace . " Ah ! '' thought I , " it will be tho merest chance if I find any one of my friends in this crowd . " But as we drove into the market square , where John Frederick the Magnanimous stood resplendent in new bronze , my name was suddenly shouted , and a powerful but friendly arm pulled me down from the omnibus . "Andre !" I exclaimedfor it- was really that distinguished geographer .

, "To-day ' s procession is over , " said he , "but come into ' The Sun , ' and drink a seidl of hour , aud then we will go to dinner in the Beutsehen Uof , where there are many people whom you will like to know . " The festival ended by a great consumption of beer and tobacco in honour of " vaterland , " given by the town , and at which considerably more than four thousand persons assisted . The , scene

Literature. Reviews.

was eminently one of German student-life , which being ever welcome to the generality of readers , wc shall conclude with : — " Presently shouts and music announced the arrival of the Grand-Duke Karl August II ., whose duty it was , as Rector inagiiijieentissimiis of the University , to open the Comma ' s . Accompanied by the hereditary prince , he mounted tho tribune , made a few appropriate remarks , and drank prosperity to the i . isiitutiou in a huge glass of beer . A trumpet

thou gave the signal , and the first song , pealing simultaneously from three thousand voices , buried us in its magnificent surges . Enormous casks of beer—the gift of the city—roiled one after another into the euclosure , stopping at the head , quarters of the various societies , where they were instantly placed upon tap . Pipes aud cigars were lighted , and the Commers was soon in full blast . " At the head of each table sat a President , iu the old German costume , with crossed swords before him . As tlie festival became more

unrestrained and jolly , the strict arrangement of the societies was broken up ; old friends sought each other , and groups were formed by mutual attraction . I found myself near the traveller , Zeiglor , and opposite the younger Brockhaus ; on one side of me was a Thiiringian editor , on the other Dr . Alfred Brelmi , whose ornithological studies had carried . him to Abyssinia aud the AYhite Nile . To us came afterwards Fritz Reuter , a noted Low-German humourous poet , whose heavy round face and Saxon beard suggested Hans Sachs . A stream from the Thiiringian cask flowed upon our board , and the fresh acquaintances , dipped into the brown flood , were as thorougbly seasoned iu ten minutes as iu months of ordinary intercourse . Flood after flood of the mighty sea of

song overwhelmed us , but in the intervals we wandered over the world , and through the realms of literature and art . AA'e clashed glasses with the publisher , and with some venerable professors who flanked him ; Fritz Iteuter plied us from tlie inexhaustible resources of Ms fun ; and finally Brehm and I , exchanging recollections of Soudan , fell into Arabic , to the great edification of the others . I had not spoken the language for five years , and at first my tongue moved but awkwardly ; then , as if the juice of German barley were au " open sesame" to the

Oriental gutturals , the words came fast and free . The green turf under our feet became burning desert sand , and the lindens of the Saale were changed into tufted palms . " Tho sun sank , bat it was not missed . A mellow glow of inner svuishine overspread the festival—the hearty genuine merriment of four thousand hearts . And still the beer flowed , and still the glasses clashed like the meeting sabre 3 of hostile armies , aud the hedge of beautiful faces looked over the fir-wall . As the stars began to twinkle , the white and

red glare of pyrotechnic fires streamed over ns ; rockets burst into meteoric rain far above , and bonfires were lighted on all the hills . Then came the ' Landst ' ather' or ' Consecration Song , ' with its solemn ceremonial of pierced hats , clashing swords , and vows of honour and fidelity . On account of the immense number present , it lasted nearly an hour , though the orehestre so timed the performance that , at every one of the hundreds of tables the same stage of the Consecration might be witnessed . A more impressive scene could scarcely bo imagined . " "Finally , the discharge of a cannon and the flight of a storm ofrockets announced the termination of the jubilee , although the Commers was prolonged till after midnight . "

Such is a fair specimen of Mr . Bayard Taylor's style ; and to take up a book for a quiet hour ' s enjoyment , when we have no wish to call into serious action the more reflective qualities of the mind , wc cannot find a more agreeably companion than At Home and Abroad .

NOTES ON LITERATURE , SCIENCE AND ART . Oun well known literary and musical brother , Matthew Cooke , has in the press a very remarkable aud important work . It is a faithful copy of an ancient manuscript in the British Museum , called "The History and Articles of Masonry ; " this curious book was written iu the latter part of the fifteenth century , and is one of the most ancient records of

Masonry extant . It is being printed in black letter , rubricated , and accompanied by a version in modern orthography , together with a facsimile of the original , a dedication , ' notes , glossary , aud index . The volume will appear under the patronage of Bro . Havers , the President of the Board of General Purposes ; and being published at a very moderate price , and most carefully edited , deserves , and no doubt will obtain , a large sale among the brethren .

The Melbourne Argus announces the death , at the house of a relative near Melbourne , on the 21 st of February , of 13 . M . AAliitty , Esq ., lately of the LaaUv Loudon newspaper , aud author of the " Stranger in Parliament , " " The Bohemians , " and other works . Mr . AAliitty had only recently arrived in the colony , in the hope of better health from the change of climate ; but recovery was almost hopeless from the beginning , and he has slowly passed away to au early grave , lamented by all who knew him . The same journal notices the death of Mr . Ebenezer Syme . This gentleman was for some time a contributor to the Westminster Review , afterwards engaged upon the staff of the Argus , and subsequently pro-