LIVES OF THE LORD CHANCELLORS AND KEEPERS OF THE GREAT SEAL IN ENGLAND, from the Earliest Times to the Reign of King GEORGE the Fourth. By JOHN LORD CAMPBELL, A. M., F. R. S. E., etc. Philadelphia: LEA AND BLANCHARD.

THESE three handsome and capacious volumes embrace the lives of many of the mightiest of England's great intellects. HISTORIES,' says the author in his preface, after Lord BACON, 'do rather set forth the pomp of business than the true and inward resorts thereof; but Lives, if they be well written, propounding to themselves a person to represent, in whom actions, both greater and smaller, public and private, have a commixture, must of necessity contain a more true, native and lively representation.' In writing the lives of those who have successively filled a great office, there is unity of design as well as variety of character and incident; and there is no office in the history of any nation that has been filled with such a long succession of distinguished and interesting men as the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England. The most eminent men of the age, if not always the most virtuous, have been selected to adorn it; and the narrative of their lives is replete with instruction, since it is a history of England's constitution and her jurisprudence. We are not surprised to learn that a second edition of the work was at once demanded in England, and that it is found on every table;' for there is, as is justly claimed, a sort of romance belonging to the true tale of many of those who are delineated, and the strange vicissitudes of their career are not exceeded by the fictions of novelists or dramatists. We have had great enjoyment in the perusal of these volumes, and would fain have our readers partake the pleasure. The dedication to the author's son, and his frank, straight-forward and manly preface, give us the best assurance that the qualities of his heart are not exceeded by his natural intellect and the riches of his acquirements.

THE LIBRARY OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. Conducted by JARED SPARKS. Volume Twelve: Second Series. Boston: CHARLES C. LITTLE AND JAMES BROWN.

THE lives of Commodore EDWARD PREBLE and WILLIAM PENN are included in this number of a series of works, the merit of which has been acknowledged by that best of all tests, the liberal patronage of the public. The narrative of the life and public services of Commodore PREBLE will be found plain and accurate; and although several sketches of this distinguished officer have from time to time appeared, yet until now no biography which contains all that should be known has been published. In several particulars the author has been compelled to differ from the writers who have preceded him; but without assailing others, it is due to him to say, that his own views have been stated in terms entirely respectful toward all. The papers in the possession of the COMMODORE's family were placed at the writer's disposal, and upon these materials he seems chiefly to have relied. They consist principally of original letters and documents received in the course of that brave officer's official duty, and copies of his own official letters to the various functionaries with whom he maintained a correspondence. Valuable information however was also obtained from other and hitherto inaccessible sources. An excellent portrait of the brave COMMODORE fronts the title-page. The life of the good WILLIAM PENN, the founder of Pennsylvania, is made up from an abundance of authentic matériel, including many family papers in possession of PENN's grandson in England.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF MAGIC, Prodigies aND APPARENT MIRACLES. From the French of EUSEBE SALVERTE. With Notes by ANTHONY TODD THOMPSON, M. D., F. L. S., Etc. In two volumes: pp. 629. New-York: HARPER AND BROTHERS.

THIS learned, highly instructive and most entertaining work is an elaboration of researches heretofore prosecuted by the author, and given to the public in brief, many years ago in the 'Esprit des Journaux' of Paris. The principle which guided him in his various researches was that which distinguishes two very strongly marked forms of civilization, the fixed form, which formerly governed almost the whole world, and which still subsists in Asia; and the perfectible form, which more or less reigns throughout Europe, although it is not there fully developed; nor has it, as yet, borne all those fruits which its elements permit us to anticipate in its progress to perfection.' The author indicates his theory in a few words: When the improbability of a fact is the chief objection to the belief in its reality, the evidence which attests it regains all its value, if the improbability be proved to be only apparent. Can a similar test be applied with success to the greater part of the prodigies and assumed miracles related by the ancients? It is more reasonable, then, to admit the truth of the facts and the accuracy of their explanation, than to condemn as impostures those recitals, of which modern discoveries have frequently demonstrated the truth.'

SONGS OF THE Sea, with othER POEMS. By EPES SARGENT. In one volume. pp. 208. Boston: JAMES MUNROE AND COMPANY.

THE present edition of Mr. SARGENT's poems has been carefully revised, and contains the first and only complete and authorized collection of the writer's poetical pieces. Many of these have appeared in the different periodicals of the day, including among them the KNICKERBOCKER, and have been widely admired. Mr. SARGENT has much delicacy and beauty of thought, and his versification is often uncommonly felicitous. This will account for the ease with which his descriptive pieces are wedded to music, and their wide popularity in the hands of an accomplished vocalist like Mr. DEMPSTER. We have often admired a picture in a beautiful setting, which is embraced in one of the neatest and most finished of Mr. SARGENT's poems, The Light of the Lighthouse; and though sadly pressed for space, we cannot forebear quoting a few stanzas from it here:

A FAIRY thing, not five years old,

So full of joy and grace,

It is a rapture to behold

The beauty of her face!

And O, to hear her happy voice,
Her laughter ringing free,

Would make the gloomiest heart rejoice,
And turn despair to glee!

'The ocean's blue is in her eyes,
Its coral in her lips;

And, in her cheek the mingled dyes
No sea-shell could eclipse;
And, as she climbs the weedy rocks,
And in the sunshine plays,
The wind that lifts her golden locks
Seems more to love their rays.

'When the smoothed ocean sleeps unstirred,

And, like a silver band,

The molten waters circling gird

The island's rim of sand,

She runs her tiny feet to lave,
And breaks the liquid chain;

Then laughs to feel the shivered wave
Coil down to rest again.

'And, when the black squall rends the deep,

The tempest-cradled maid,

To see the white gulls o'er her sweep,

Mounts to the balustrade:

Above her head and round about,
They stoop without alarm,
And seem to flout her threatening shout,
And her up-stretching arm.'

This brief reference to Mr. SARGENT's beautifully-executed volume, which rather indicates its mere existence than its many merits, will yet, we may hope, call the attention of our readers to a book from the perusal of which we are certain they will derive much enjoyment.

EDITOR'S TA BLE.

EXTRAORDINARY ANTIQUARIAN RESEARCHES AND DISCOVERIES IN THE EAST.- We commend to the attention of our readers the following interesting letters, now first given to the public. We shall have the pleasure of laying before them a continuation of these interesting papers, at such intervals as they may reach this country. Mr. LAYARD's letters are transmitted to Mr. KELLOGG, an American gentleman, a citizen of Ohio, now travelling on the Continent, who transmits them to his brother, resident at Cincinnati: Florence, November 26, 1846.

'MY DEAR BROTHER: I have not been able until this moment to send you extracts from Mr. LAYARD'S letters from Nimrod; but you will not regret the delay to comply with your request in this matter, when you learn that I have received another from him, even more interesting than the first, from which I shall also send you extracts. I do not know that you will take as much interest in perusing his letters as I have, yet if you feel but half the pleasant excitement that I do, I shall be well repaid for the trouble of transcribing them. You may remember that Mr. LAYARD was one of my travelling companions in Asia Minor last year, and from what I know of him, I can scarcely call to mind a person so admirably qualified in all respects for prosecuting such laborious researches as those in which he is now engaged. He is young, of a hardy and enduring coustitution, has resided several years in the East, is acquainted with the oriental languages, and speaks the Persian and Turkish fluently. He has moreover received a liberal education, having graduated with honor at one of the first universities in England. He is enthusiastic and indefatigable in every thing he undertakes, and plentifully endowed with courage, prudence and good nature. With this brief view of the character of the man, let us now turn to his account of the wonderful discoveries he is making among the ruins of one of the most ancient and illustrious cities of the world. His first letter is dated

'Nimrod, (near Mosul,) March 23, 1846.

'MY DEAR KELLOGG: You will scarcely make out where I am. I must tell you that after leaving Stamboul, I made for the South, and after crossing Asia Minor, found myself at Mosul, on the banks of the Tigris, some three hundred miles north of Bagdad. You may remember the discoveries made by the French consul, M. BOTTA, in this part of the world. I think you saw some drawings by FLANDIN. I have been

*MONS. FLANDIN was employed for some time in making careful drawings from the ruins at Mosul, with the design of publishing them; and on his return to Paris he stopped a few days at Constantinople, where I had the pleasure of seeing his works. I was greatly astonished at the high state of art

working away in the neighborhood of Nineveh, to look after similar remains, and you will be glad to hear, with very great success. After examining various mounds around Mosul, I set seriously to excavate among some ruins called Nimroud, and believed by the Arabs to be those of the city built by the mighty hunter himself. They are situate about six hours below Mosul, near the junction of the Zab and Tigris.* They may be the ruins of Nineveh; such is the opinion of one of our best orientalists, or perhaps those of Resen, mentioned in Genesis. They are undoubtedly of the very highest antiquity; but I wait until I have proceeded much farther, to form any decided opinion upon the precise epoch to which they may be referred. I can only tell you that they are Assyrian, and that while many of the fragments discovered are evidently of a much earlier period than those of Khorsabad, (the ruins excavated by the French,) the whole building appeared to have been built under the same dynasty of kings, though perhaps in a previous reign. The principal mound is very large, being about sixteen hundred feet in length. My first excavation brought me on walls with inscriptions in the cuniform character. I soon found that I had got into a palace that had been buried for many centuries. Sculptures soon followed the inscriptions; and I have now cleared out several chambers, the walls of which are covered with figures. The Turks as usual threw all manner of impediments in my way, and my work is now suspended until I receive the necessary firman from Constantinople, which I trust will be very shortly. As you have seen FLANDIN's drawings, I need scarcely give you a description of the sculptures, as they resemble in most particulars those of Khorsabad. They are religious and historical. The first consist of large figures (about eight feet in height) probably divinities; bulls and lions with human heads, and with wings, bird-headed figures, etc. The second, of sieges, battles, warriors, horses, kings, etc. They are all cut in low relief on marble, except the winged bulls and lions, the heads of which are in full, and the bodies in very high relief: the latter are usually gigantic; some of the bulls measuring fourteen feet in length. The sculptures are executed with great spirit, and show a very considerable knowledge of the arts. They are greatly superior in these respects to those discovered in Egypt. They are evidently painted. Some of the colors, principally the

which existed at the remote period to which the originals are referred. Nothing that I had seen of Egyptian sculpture equalled some of them, either in the spirit of design or the beauty of the execution; so that I can readily acknowledge the truth of Mr. LAYARD's observations in regard to those he has just brought to light.

* ACCORDING to HERODOTUS, Nineveh was upon the Tigris, and PLINY says the same thing, adding that it was built on the left bank of the river: others place it upon the right. DIODORUS however says it was upon the river Euphrates. Mosul is upon the right bank of the Tigris, which is deep and rapid, and about seven hundred feet wide. TAVERNIER, in his 'Voyage de Perse,' relates an ancient tradition of the country, which says that the city of Nineveh, after having become penitent under the denunciations of the Prophet JoNAH, returned after forty years to their former iniquities; that GoD overthrew the city; and that the inhabitants were buried beneath the ruins, with their heads down, and their feet upward. Another tradition says that the Prophet JONAH was buried there. A beautiful mosque is erected over the supposed burial-place, and the people hold it in so great veneration that no Christian is permitted to enter, except in a secret manner, by particular favor, and by a gift of money. In the centre of the mosque is the sepulchre of JONAH, covered with a splendid Persian carpet of silk and silver. Thus tradition adds its testimony to the proofs that recent discoveries are unfolding in regard to the site of the ancient capitol of Assyria.

THESE may be some of the 'graven images' of their gods, alluded to by the Prophet NAHUM, first chapter, fourteenth verse; and it is possible that the 'molten images' may likewise be found, upon a farther examination of the great palace.

blacks, still remain. The walls were formed by blocks of marble (in which the sculptures occur) about nine or ten feet in height, and varying from six to ten feet in breadth; and were generally exceedingly thick; the space between the marble being filled up with earth or mud-bricks. Above the marble were placed layers of bricks richly painted. They have generally retained their colors perfectly; the blues and greens are particularly brilliant, and laid on thickly with a glazing, or varnished over. I wish I could send you some of them to examine. The blue much resembles ultra marine.* The flooring of the chambers is either marble (slabs covered with inscriptions) or bitumen. The latter substance appears to have been in very great use. Such are the results of my labors hitherto. I have no doubt that when I am able to carry on the excavation on an adequate scale, I shall discover a vast number of things of the highest interest. As yet only a small corner of the mound has been explored. I am employed from sunrise to sunset in copying the inscriptions.' "Yours very faithfully,

'A. H. LAYARD.

'To M. K. KELLOGG, Esq., Florence.

• Mr. LAYARD's second letter is dated:

'Mosul, 10th August, 1846.

SINCE I last wrote to you, the chief impediments that were in the way of my proceedings have been removed. I have obtained a firman from the Porte, giving me full permission to excavate and remove; and I am now only waiting for pecuniary support from our government to enable me to carry on the work on an adequate scale. In the mean while I have not been idle. Some twelve or fourteen chambers have already been opened, and a large number of sculptures, in the highest preservation, discovered. I have just packed and forwarded twelve specimens to England. The subjects, as I mentioned to you I think in a former letter, may be divided into two kinds, the religious and the historical; they are both equally interesting. In the former, every day brings forth some discovery of interest and importance. That the connection which you mention exists between all the religious and mythological systems of the ancients I have no doubt whatever. That the Greeks borrowed their myths and religious traditions from the Egyptians, and other people who had preceded them in civilization, is evident; that the Persians borrowed theirs from the Assyrians will, I think, be proved by the discoveries at Nimroud; that personifications of the attributes of the DEITY, similar to those adopted by the Egyptians and Greeks, existed in the temples of Babylon at the remotest period, (these images of human-headed bulls, of lions, etc.,) is stated by the most ancient writers, and tradition did not bring them from the West, but the East. I was engaged on this letter when a man brought me a head which I at first took to be an Indian idol, or rather an idol from Central America, so completely it resembles some of those hideous countenances given in STEPHENS' travels in that region. On examining it, I find a long cuniform inscription engraved on the crown of the head, which stamps it at once as an Assyrian relic; but in all my researches I have found nothing similar: it gives rise to new reflections and ideas. I have described to you, I think, the religious figures usually met with at Nimroud. They are the lion with the head of a man and the wings of a bird; of these I have several pairs; two truly magnificent; the bull with similar head and wings; human winged figures in various draperies, and human figures with the heads and wings of the eagle. There are many small groups