REVIEW. THE MANCHESTER FLORA, a descriptive list of the Plants growing wild within eighteen miles of Manchester, with notices of the Plants commonly cultivated in gardens; preceded by an Introduction to Botany. By Leo Hartley Grindon. (See advertisement on cover.) "THIS book," the author tells us in his Preface, "is written for persons fond of nature, and especially of flowers, trees, and gardens, but who have not sufficient leisure to study Botany minutely, though ardently wishful to learn such portions of that pleasing science as are useful, practical, and easily at command. It begins with a general Introduction to Botany; then comes a key by which the name of any wild-flower of the neighbourhood may quickly be ascertained; this is followed by a second key, telling the names of Trees by the shapes and other peculiarities of their leaves; and lastly, there is a complete descriptive list of the plants indigenous to the district, with particulars as to where they grow, when they are in blossom, and other matters considered interesting or useful to be added." That he has succeeded in his aim will not be doubted, and our opinion is borne out by the local newspaper press. "We believe (says the Manchester Examiner and Times) that the various sciences would be much more eagerly sought and studied, were our instructors, when writing elementary volumes, to think less of themselves and more of those they propose to teach; if they would retain pedantry for home consumption, and address the outside world free from crowded technicalities, and in a language simple and illustrative. Take botany for instance. How few of us there are who, at some period of life, have not been charmed by the beauty of flowers, and tempted into long summer walks with a cabalistic book under the arm, bent upon making acquaintance with a class of objects that neither toil, nor spin, nor have yet care for the morrow. Vain the effort, -we might much easier get through a Greek lexicon, or the hieroglyphics of Euclid. We are merely floundering in a mass of nomenclature, interspersed with a few mystified remarks intended as explanatory, but whose tendency is to make confusion worse confounded. Mr. Grindon seems to be thoroughly alive to these mistakes on the part of the learned pioneers in advance of him, so he sits down and determines to try what clear description will do, accompanied by a multitude of cleverly drawn outlines of the subjects he undertakes to describe. Nothing can be more explicit than his conversational character of teaching. We flatter ourselves that we have gained more botanical knowledge in an hour's attention to what he has to say than in poring over the heavy and expensive tomes of many preceding instructors. Not that our author sets aside altogether technical phraseology; that would be a gross mistake; for every branch of knowledge has a language of its own; to dispense with it altogether would be as little complimentary to the student as hindering to his real progress;' but as few technicalities are introduced as possible, and none without explanation, either in the text, or in the shape of a drawing alongside, or in the glossary at the end. of the book.' Then, again, Mr. Grindon enters upon his task with an evident gratification; a cheerful spirit, the freshness of a spring morning breathes in every page; he sees beauty, and even poetry in the mechanical construction of all around him; and in walking forth into the fields gathers companionship from every blade of grass, from shrub, or tree, or flower. He is peculiarly happy in his illustrative analogies, and, above all, in exciting an interest in his very pleasant discourse. Those who have read in our columns, where they originally appeared, his Walks and Wild Flowers,' will readily endorse this latter estimate of his qualities as a writer and teacher. The present publication is to appear in numbers, perhaps not exceeding six, so that when complete the size will render the volume an agreeable pocket companion." The work referred to at the close of the preceding criticism is one of the prettiest little volumes we have seen for some time. The Manchester Guardian thus refers to its contents and character:— MANCHESTER WALKS AND WILD FLOWERS.-A few weeks back we noticed the appearance of the first parts of the Manchester Flora,' by Mr. L. H. Grindon, and already we find the companion volume, by the same author, in its verdant cover, blooming like the spring-time whose beauties it chronicles so lovingly. It is a book for the Spring time, for Summer-tide, and for Autumn; whilst its chapter on a rainy day might well be stretched over the otherwise dull season of Winter. There is not a delightful haunt within ten or fifteen miles of Manchester, but this charming little volume tells of its whereabouts, how to reach it-by rail, vehicle, or foot-suggests another road for returning; gives a glowing picture of its floral beauties, and adds many interesting particulars of its entomology, ornithology, &c. In short, with its companion volume (and they should never be separated) we have both a Flora and a Fauna of Manchester and the neighbourhood, which would make a south-country naturalist stare, as he exclaimed, Can all these be found near smoky Manchester; in dreary coal-growing Lancashire?' Not all, perhaps, in the same county; but Manchester is by rail near to Cheshire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire. There is not a vale or a meadow, a clough, carr, moss, or moor, rich in botanical treasures or butterflies, but it has due notice in this directory to all the pleasant rural haunts of the district. There are also interesting notices of that remarkable class of men, the Lancashire botanists in humble life, and their societies; with lists of lepidoptera, birds, reptiles, and amphibia, wild mammalia, land and freshwater mollusca, &c., of the district; and the two volumes (the Flora not yet complete, but appearing in parts at short intervals) form a most delightful vade mecum' for the young naturalist, and all who spend the Saturday afternoon holiday in rural rambles." 6 The excellence of this volume lies not more in its character as a directory to the neighbourhood of Manchester, than as a persuasive to the love of nature, and a guide to the true understanding of the beautiful and instructive forms by which we are surrounded. In this respect it is a book for the whole country,-nay, for the whole world. Our space forbids us to give more than one short extract, which we trust will induce many to read the work itself: Scenery and Railways (p. 54.)—"Not only is the river a pleasing object. On the opposite side lies Mr. Drinkwater's park, verdant and picturesque; in front rise the hills of Ringley; and across the fields, on the left, runs the railway. Some people think that scenery is spoiled by the presence of railways; we do not believe it, and would contend rather that they are a capital addition; for those spectacles in nature are always most salutary to the mind, and therefore most truly pleasing, where along with rural beauties are combined the grand circumstances of human life and human enterprise, as bridges, railways, ships, gardens, the ruined and desolate castles and abbeys of the past, and the dignified and stately residences of the present. Nature is beautiful, even in its most retired and lonely solitudes, just in the proportion that we connect with it, though unconsciously, the interests, the feelings, the aspirations of humanity; the more of what is noble and comely in human life we are able to assimilate with the outer world, the more does that world minister to our happiness and our intelligence. In the case of the railways, we are recipients of an immense amount of good. There is not only the interest of what we witness on the instant, but the pleasant flow of remembrance of the various places that they lead to. As, looking at the sea, we are led in thought all round the world, so, looking at the winged train and its pearly clouds, we visit over again a thousand delicious spots, photographed on the mind, and endeared by association. Here, for instance, in the valley of the Irwell, we go on to the lakes of Cumberland, and its ancient and purple mountains, and anon to the flowered and roofless aisles of sacred Furness. Should these be places yet unknown, there are nearer ones where we have been,Rivington, Summerseat, Hoghton Tower, with its precipitous beechenwood and lovely walk by the river underneath; or Southshore, where grow the blue eryngo and the grass of Parnassus, and where, on calm September evenings, the round red setting sun pours a stream of crimson light across the sea, that reaches to the last ripple of the retiring water, like a path of velvet unrolled for the feet of a queen; or, if the wind blow high and fresh, the grand old deep-voiced waves, with their gray locks hanging dishevelled over their broad bosoms, roll gloriously over the rattling pebbles, change for a moment into arcades as white as snow, then dissolve into a wilderness of foam. Thus to make the common things of life so many centres of thought, from which we can travel away to whole worlds of pleasant remembrance, lying calm perhaps in the golden light of lang syne, is one of the profoundest secrets of happiness, and one of the most useful habits we can cultivate. Everyone may acquire the art, and it strengthens every day and year that we live. Happiness is not a wonderful diamond, to be sought afar off; but, rightly understood, a thing to be reaped every day out of the ordinary facts of life, even out of the sight of a railway train steaming across the fields." Poetry. THE NEW CHURCH DISCIPLE. Lord! do I love Thee with a faith sincere? A mystic treasure, wrapp'd in close disguise, M. A. C. NEW PUBLICATIONS. An Account of the Reception of the Doctrines of the New Church. By the Rev. C. G. Macpherson, B. A. (formerly a Clergyman of the Church of England). Published by the Missionary and Tract Society of the New Church, 36, Bloomsbury-street, Oxford-street, London. Argument, when associated with a narrative of personal experience, appeals to the interest and sympathy of the reader with double force. It brings him, as it were, face to face with the writer, makes him acquainted with the inner workings, the struggles, and with the hopes and misgivings which alternately sway the mind, till final conviction brings settled faith and peace. The writer of this tract, as stated above, formerly a minister of the Church of Eng.. land, was at the time of his change of sentiment located in Trinidad, and his mind seems to have been gradually prepared for entering on his ministerial duties, under the belief that the Church of England was the best exponent of God's truth on earth; nevertheless, with the feeling that if God ever should afford men a better, it would be their duty to receive it. The various authorities of the church, how ever, gave him little satisfaction, their writings appearing to bring obscurity rather than light; so that he at length contented himself with the dogmatic teaching of the Prayer Books, taking for granted they were based on the Word of God, and that its doctrines were beyond human reason. He seems to have been fast settling into indifferentism, when a clerical friend urged in a new light the duty of loving, as well as believing in Jesus Christ. This led his mind into a new train of sentiment; and in the effort to realise this religion of love, brought it into more close and vivid communion with the Lord. Among his congregation was a member of the New Church. They often met, but, as if by tacit consent, never entered on religious topics. A long absence from church led to an inquiry relative to the cause, when the New Churchman set forth the contrast between the doctrines of the Establishment and those of the New Church in a manner that left a deep impression on the mind of the author. The New Churchman lent him tracts, &c., which were taken under the impression that their fallacy and absurdity would be easily exposed; the ultimate result, however, was, that Mr. Macpherson became convinced of their truth, and ultimately separated from the Establishment. We cannot, however, enter into all the details, interesting as they are; but must content ourselves with recommending the tract, which we do most cordially, not merely for perusal, but to lend, as one highly calculated to awaken an interest, and excite further inquiry. A Critical and Descriptive Notice of the Rev. T. T. Lynch, of the Independent Church, Grafton-street, Fitzroy-square. Reprinted, with Additions, from the Marylebone Mercury. London: Houlston & Wright, Paternoster-row, and 6, North-street, Manchester-square. Mr. Lynch is one of the celebrities of the London pulpit; not, indeed, as a popular preacher, his congregation seldom numbering more than 150, but for his freedom from the trammels of orthodoxy, and the great originality he introduces into his Sabbath ministrations. This pamphlet, as the title indicates, offers a critique on both the man and his preachings, which it eulogises, as formed mainly on the model of the Lord. Little of special interest to the New Church is found in it, beyond the picture it affords of the disjointed condition of religious society. The following sentence will furnish the key to the peculiar tone of thought of the writer. Speaking of the classes who find a sort of centre in Mr. Lynch, the writer observes-"There is also a large class who feel the vulgarity of much of our pulpit instruction. These, regarding Truth as a well of spirituality, of clear, bright, unfathomed depth, and finding it so often set before them as a muddy pool, turn away in disgust, and dwell alone; or, if that cannot be, they form little societies, as Plymouth Brothers, or become united to the adherents of Emanuel Swedenborg." |