tain extent, in the absence of Dr. Howe, the scheme of moral training which he had traced out. It is to be lamented, that, in such a peculiar case, the right purposes of piety should have been guided by so wrong a judgment; but the improper tampering with the poor girl's religious nature has had at least the good effect of convincing all, of whatever faith, that the attempt to make Laura comprehend the great truths of the Christian religion through the metaphorical and symbolical language in which sectarians see fit to clothe their faith must prove, in the present state of her mental development, not only wholly unsuccessful, but exceedingly dangerous. The wisdom of Dr. Howe's plan, and the soundness of his views, could not have been more satisfactorily demonstrated; and it is to be hoped, that, henceforth, inexperienced zealots will keep their clumsy hands off from a work that requires suchinfinite tact and delicacy.

The case of Oliver Caswell is scarcely, if at all, less interesting than that of Laura Bridgman. The third paper in the Appendix is a long and very interesting letter by Dr. Howe, detailing the particulars in the case of a deaf, dumb, and blind woman, which fell under his observation at Gosport, England. This is followed by an account of an institution in Bruges, where a person suffering the same privations as Laura Bridgman is in the successful process of education, by the same methods of teaching. Several other interesting and affecting cases are briefly described, and with them the Report closes.

There is one part of the machinery of education in this institution, which deserves the particular attention of the public; and that is the printing. More books for the blind have come from the South Boston press, than from all other institutions in England and the United States together. The expenses of this operation have been defrayed wholly by money obtained from liberal gentlemen, by the private solicitation of the superintendent. But no printing has been executed during the past year, for want of funds. It is stated, however, that the director has just put to press a work on natural philosophy, and that he has commenced a "Cyclopædia for the Blind," of which four or five volumes will be published during the year, if sufficient aid can be procured. It cannot be doubted, that so noble an object will meet the favorable notice of the charitable citizens of Boston, and that the needful funds will at once be raised, without adding to the responsible and absorbing labors of the director the task of going from door to door to collect the contributions of the generous. Let an effort be made to place this most important department on a permanent and liberal basis, by the concerted action of the humane. Some of the overflowing wealth of Boston may well

be made to run in this direction; and surely no better use can be made of the bounteous gifts with which our city is blessed, than in blessing the blind, the deaf, and the dumb, by enlarging the boundaries of their knowledge.

F. Bowen

9.1. Journal of Prison Discipline and Philanthropy. Published under the Direction of the Philadelphia Society for the Alleviation of the Miseries of Public Prisons. Vol. I. No. I. January, 1845. Philadelphia. 8vo. pp. 96. 2. First Report of the Prison Association of New York. December, 1844. New York. 8vo. pp. 63.

We have no room to go into even a statement of the deeply interesting subjects discussed in these two pamphlets. The one first mentioned is the commencement of a periodical publication, particularly occupied with expounding the principles of the Philadelphia system of prison discipline. A controversy has for some time existed, as the public well know, upon the respective merits of the Philadelphia and Auburn systems; and the cause of truth and justice and humanity, as well as of policy, is deeply concerned in having both sides of the question illustrated by all the light that their advocates can throw upon them. It is, therefore, a fit subject of congratulation, that the able advocates of the Pennsylvania penitentiaries have taken this mode of explaining and defending their views.

The second pamphlet is a very satisfactory report of the Prison Association recently established in New York. Besides the constitution of the Society, it contains a collection of valuable statistics, which deserve the attention of the public, and have an important bearing upon the questions as to the proper treatment of crime and criminals.

10. The Odyssey of Homer, according to the Text of Wolf, with
Notes; for the Use of Schools and Colleges. By J. J.
OWEN, Principal of the Cornelius Institute. New York:
Leavitt, Trow, & Co. 1845. 12mo. PP. 516.

We have examined this edition of the "Odyssey" with considerable care, and great satisfaction with the manner in which Mr.

Owen has performed his editorial labor. The excellent edition of the "Anabasis," published some time since by the same able scholar, and noticed in this Journal, had prepared the public to receive the "Odyssey" with approbation. It will fully bear out the expectations which Mr. Owen's previous work had excited. The Greek text is neatly and carefully printed; a map of Ithaca, after Leake, is prefixed; two hundred pages of notes in English are appended; and these are followed by a very convenient grammatical index and an index of persons. We have carefully read a large portion of the notes, and it is but justice to the accomplished editor, who is also one of the most distinguished classical teachers in our country, to say, that they are excellently adapted to the instruction of the young classical scholars for whom they were designed. They are learned without pedantry, and concise without obscurity; and they abound in elegant criticism. The points of real difficulty are treated with perspicuity, and the best sources of illustration have been conscientiously used.

For the first time, a useful and scholarlike edition of the most delightful narrative poem of antiquity has appeared in the United States; and the favorable reception it has met with is a good omen for the cause of ancient literature among us.

NEW PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.

Rural Economy in its Relations with Chemistry, Physics, and Meteorology; or Chemistry applied to Agriculture. By J. B. Boussingault, Member of the Institute of France, etc. Translated, with an Introduction and Notes, by George Law, Agriculturist. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1845. 12mo. pp. 507.

The Life and Correspondence of Thomas Arnold, D. D., late HeadMaster of Rugby School, and Regius Professor of Modern History in the University of Oxford. By Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, M. A. First American from the Third English Edition. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1845. 12mo. pp. 516.

Stable Economy: a Treatise on the Management of Horses, in Relation to Stabling, Grooming, Feeding, Watering, and Working. By John Stewart. From the Third English Edition, with Notes and Additions, adapting it to American Food and Climate. By A. B. Allen. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1845. 12mo. pp. 378.

Latin Lessons and Reader, with Exercises for the Writing of Latin ; introductory to Andrews and Stoddard's Latin Grammar, and to Nepos or Cæsar, and Krebs's Guide. By Allen H. Weld, A. M. Second Edition, enlarged. Andover: Allen, Morrill, and Wardwell. 1845. 12mo. pp. 231.

Correspondence of Mr. Ralph Izard, of South Carolina, from the Year 1774 to 1804; with a short Memoir. Vol. I. New York: Charles S. Francis & Co. 1844. 12mo. pp. 390.

A Treatise upon the Diseases and Hygiene of the Organs of the Voice. By Colombat de l'Isère. Translated by J. F. W. Lane, M. D. Boston: Otis, Broaders, & Co. 1845. 12mo. pp. 220.

An Elementary Treatise on Arithmetic, designed as an Introduction to Peirce's Course of Pure Mathematics, and as a Sequel to the Arithmetics used in High Schools. By Thomas Hill. Boston: James Munroe & Co. 1845. 12mo. pp. 85.

Historical Sketches of O'Connell and his Friends, with a Glance at the Future Destiny of Ireland. By Thomas D. McGee. Boston: Donahoe and Rowan. 1845. 12mo. pp. 205.

Twelfth Annual Report of the Trustees of the State Lunatic Hospital at Worcester. December, 1844. 8vo. pp. 112.

The Relation of Christianity to Politics: a Discourse delivered on the Day of Public Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, 1844. By William Hague, Pastor of the Church in Federal Street, Boston. Boston: W. D. Ticknor & Co. 12mo. pp. 32.

The Present Means of Suppressing Intemperance: an Address delivered at Fitchburg, before the Washington Total Abstinence Society. By Charles Mason. Fitchburg: S. & C. Shepley. 1845. 12mo. pp. 22.

Remarks upon the Controversy between Massachusetts and South Carolina. By a Friend to the Union. Boston: Crosby and Nichols. 1845. 8vo. pp. 21.

An Introductory Discourse on Medical Education, delivered to the Students of Geneva Medical College, October 1, 1844. By Charles A. Lee, M. D. Geneva: Ira Merrell. 8vo. pp. 40.

The Claims of Religion upon Medical Men: a Discourse delivered in Philadelphia, Nov. 24, 1844. By H. A. Boardman. Third Edition. Philadelphia: J. B. Ellis. 8vo. pp. 24.

The Southern and Western Monthly Magazine and Review. Edited by W. Gilmore Simms. January, 1845. Charleston: Burges and James. 1845. 8vo. pp. 72.

Justice to the Memory of John Fitch, who, in 1785, invented a Steam Engine and Steamboat. By Charles Whittlesey. Cincinnati. 1845. 8vo. pp. 12.

The Stay and the Staff taken away: a Discourse occasioned by the Death of Hon. William Prescott, LL. D., delivered in the Church on Church Green, Dec. 15, 1844. By Alexander Young. Boston: Little & Brown. 8vo. pp. 34.

Discourse on the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of William Penn, delivered Oct. 24, 1844, before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. By Job R. Tyson, one of the Vice-Presidents. Philadelphia: John Penington. 8vo. pp. 40.

The House of God: a Discourse delivered before the Second Presbyterian Church of Mobile, Ala., Nov. 21, 1844. By W. A. Scott, D. D. New Orleans: W. H. Foy. 8vo. pp. 40.

Third Annual Report to the Legislature relating to the Registry and Returns of Births, Marriages, and Deaths in Massachusetts, for the Year ending May 1, 1844. By John G. Palfrey, Secretary to the Commonwealth. Boston: Dutton & Wentworth. 1845. 8vo. pp. 110.