in the columns of Blackwood's Magazine, and have been generally considered, not only to reverse the judgment of Lord Macaulay upon these particular points, but to shake one's faith in his historic accuracy altogether. The journals and reviews which are favourable to Lord Macaulay, have allowed the minimum of weight to these arguments, and those which are unfavourable to him have, we dare say, allowed the maximum. But, striking the balance evenly between the two, we shall, we fearlessly assert, find quite enough to convince us that Lord Macaulay was habitually, and by the constitution of his mind, indifferent to exact truth. We do not mean to say that he was wilfully unveracious. We mean that he was continually satisfied with an inadequate inductive process. When he had got a certain number of parts together, to bear him out in a particular statement, he troubled himself far too little to consider if there might not be counterparts in existence. He wrote, in fact, from general impressions. He read through a succession of memoirs and letters on both sides, till a picture was stamped upon his mind, and he then put up his books and dashed it off as vividly as he could. The result has been a series of wonderful panoramas, in which it cannot be surprising if greater severity of research has been able to discover many flaws. The only question is, whether we are to accept a work of this kind for authentic history in the ordinary sense of the word?

The unfounded, and in this one instance we fear we must say intentional, calumnies which Loid Macaulay has inculcated against the Duke of Marlborough, constitute his worst offence. All his other perversions and exaggerations admit of some kind of defence: not indeed likely to convince any impartial man, but still just that kind of defence which is always possible in cases of circumstantial evidence. The case of the Duke of Marlborough contains positive evidence of falsehood on the part of Lord Macaulay, which, if not wilful, is so extraordinary as to verge on the miraculous. It would be impossible to do justice to Mr. Paget's masterly argument within our present limits, and we satisfy ourselves, therefore, with begging all our readers who are as yet unaware to what length Lord Macaulay could go when he had a prejudice to serve, to make themselves acquainted with it at once.

Next to the Duke of Marlborough, the Highlands of Scotland have been, perhaps, the most unfairly treated. But what was tragic in the one case, is in the other comic. Few persons would believe, when told for the first time, that Lord Macaulay has put words into Goldsmith's mouth which he not only never used, but never had a chance of using; while his other witnesses actually turn against himself, and instead of bearing him out in the assertion, that robbery and murder were of constant occurrence in the Highlands, declare that these regions were safer than the neighbourhood of Highgate! Instead of the "cake of cow's blood," &c., they got broiled fowl, fresh eggs, and good claret.

The chief charge against Claverhouse is overthrown with equal conclusiveness; and the articles on William Penn and the Massacre of Glencoe, are not below the rest.

Ragged London in 1861; by J. Hollingshead. (Smith & Elder.) -Early this year Mr. Hollingshead undertook to survey various districts of the worst and poorest localities in the metropolis, with the view of publishing the result in a daily journal. In carrying out this plan he visited in turns Clerkenwell, Whitechapel, St. Georges-in-the-East, Agar Town, Jacob's Island, as well as some other spots less remote from the haunts of aristocratic humanity, seeing that they were situated almost within a stone's throw of Regent Street or the Houses of Parliament, but in condition scarcely better in any respect than the wretchedest hovels to be found in the eastern or northern suburbs, or even "over the water." The author chiefly restricted his survey to the exterior aspect and surface view of things, presenting us in fact with a perspective design of the dwellings in which the great majority of London labourers and the London poor are compelled to pass their existence. The details are very shocking, and fully bear out the statements with which, a short time since, Lord 'Derby challenged the sympathies of, and possibly awoke some incredulity in, the House of Peers. We wish we could add that the facts were either new, or that there was any early prospect of their becoming untrue. But we have known these things a long time, and many have been the abortive efforts made, and schemes designed, for their amelioration. Practical difficulties hedge in the problem from all solution by the bene

ficence of the philanthropist, or the wisdom of the legislature. The question of cost, the legal perplexities of ownership, the obstinate habits and prejudices of the very classes who suffer under the present condition of affairs, and whose lot it is desired to amend-each and all present almost insuperable obstacles to every suggestion of improvement. Even in parliament no plan can be suggested, and no statute framed, it seems, that will do more than afford a very slight, local, and temporary alleviation of the existing evils. Some day, perhaps, the remedy may be found, and applied. Meantime it is well that the facts should be kept constantly before the public, and we are glad to see Mr. Hollingshead's well-written paper presented in a separate form, and adapted for general and permanent circulation.

Our Social Bees; by Dr. Wynter. (Hardwicke.)-In a recent Number we noticed, with deserved commendation, the publication in a collected form of various articles contributed by Dr. Wynter to the Quarterly Review. The present volume contains a further selection of papers and essays from the same hand, which has appeared in Fraser's Magazine, Once a Week, the London Review, and other periodicals. Briefer in its individual extent than the former series, the chapters now collected present all the characteristics which have made Dr. Wynter one of the most popular, as he is among the most copious, contributors to the periodical press. The subjects range over a wide diversity of topic, from subtle questions of physical science to the description of some passing scene in a street. They are all, however, treated in a lively, genial style, replete with information carefully digested, and wrought into a form which renders the work not less entertaining than instructive. This volume will prove quite as successful as its predecessor.

Recollections of a Fox-hunter; by Scrutator. (Hurst & Blackett.) -Previous contributions to the "sporting literature" of the day, have enabled the general public to discover what every man of the hunting-field knows already—that the gentleman who writes under the pseudonym of " Scrutator" is a thorough master of his subject, as well as an admirable master of hounds. His present volume is by far the best of his productions, filled as it is with

anecdotes which are the more interesting because they are true, and containing besides a multitude of suggestions on all points of sportsmanship, and which possess special value as the results of long experience, guided by singular judgment and intelligence. Scrutator is among the few amateurs who are entitled to criticism. Rarey, and the chapter devoted to comments on that renowned horse-tamer's performance, is well worth the attention of every one who keeps horses.

Collieries and Colliers; a Handbook of Law and Leading Cases thereto; by J. C. Fowler, Esq., Barrister. (London: Longmans.) -An excellent book upon the legal rights, liabilities, and incidents of collieries. The colliery is considered under every possible circumstance under which it is held and dealt with, the points discussed thoroughly, and the decision made as intelligible as it is possible to persons unacquainted with law. The chapters upon the rights of way and rights of water are, on the whole, inferior to other chapters upon different points, and do not quite settle questions which are constantly subjects of dispute, and very often of the first importance. A valuable chapter upon the accidents in collieries, and a useful appendix, with an excellent index and table of contents, complete a volume which, at its price, six shillings, is within the reach of every body who has "diggins" down below.

Household Medicine and Sick-Room Guide; by Dr. Gardner. (Smith & Elder.)-Domestic medicine, as too commonly practised, is a very dangerous profession. Numbers of the ordinary public who, on the authority of some popular volume of prescriptions, undertake to cure themselves, their friends, or their children, too often prove the most dangerous enemies of the community. It is a fatal error to quack yourself. As the accepted guide and patron of this class, Dr. Buchan has been said to have become participator, before the fact, in a larger destruction of human life than was occasioned by the wars of Alexander, Cæsar, and Napoleon! The volume before us is written on a very different principle. Dr. Gardner never omits to point out, in the most precise terms, the line at which all domestic appliance and unprofessional skill are vain or even harm

ful, and when it is necessary to invoke the aid of the regular faculty. Neglect on this point may produce effects the most deplorable. A few hours' delay in summoning professional advice, may make all the difference between life and death. Even here, however, the author's instructions do not lose their value. On the contrary, his suggestions touching the innumerable details in which the physician's prescriptions must be aided by the careful solicitude of relatives, attendants, nurses, and other uncertain agencies, personal and material, are equally simple and valuable. His chapter touching the "construction, arrangement, and management of the sick-room," is replete with wise counsel and ingenious suggestion. We have, indeed, often wondered why the contrivance and manufacture of articles, designed with the special view of alleviating pain, promoting comfort, and facilitating recovery in various diseases, should not be made a special department of industry. In these days, when the division of labour is carried to an extreme point of refinement, this particular branch might well furnish employment-it would certainly supply a capital profit for its peculiar professor, whether engaged in the task of invention, of adaptation, or of manufacture. The learned doctor may know what is wanted, but he is probably ignorant of mechanics, unaccustomed to practical invention, and totally unacquainted with the materials or the processes by which the want could be supplied. He knows what ought to be done, but not how to do it. The manufacturer and mechanic, on their side, might find out how to do it if they only knew what ought to be done. Between the two, the matter is left very much to chance. Even thus, sundry improvements of the highest value to invalids have found their way to the sick-room in the shape of portable baths, mechanical beds, gas stoves, and divers apparatus for warming, ventilating, &c., &c; but the application has been generally incidental and casual. The subject has never been properly studied, as we believe it might be studied with a liberal advantage to the manufacturer, and with the utmost benefit to a large and suffering class of the community. Abundant hints on this point will be found in Dr. Gardner's volume, which contains, besides, a long mass of valuable information upon those more technical and physical topics of disquisition, with which we must not, in these pages, presume to meddle.