| Charles Lamb, | 133 |
| The Caxtons.—Part XV. | 151 |
| Jonathan in Africa, | 172 |
| The Green Hand.—A "Short" Yarn.—Part III. | 183 |
| For the last page of "Our Album," | 205 |
| The Insurrection in Baden, | 206 |
| Lamartine's Revolution of 1848, | 219 |
| Dies Boreales. No. III. Christopher under Canvass, | 235 |
EDINBURGH:
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET;AND 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON.
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SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH.
BLACKWOOD'S
EDINBURGH MAGAZINE.
No. CCCCVI. AUGUST, 1849. Vol. LXVI.
To Charles Lamb shall be allotted—generalassent has already assignedit to him, and we have no wish todispute his claim—a quiet, quaintniche, apart to himself, in some oddnook or corner in the great temple ofEnglish literature. It shall be carvedfrom the solid oak, and decorated withGothic tracery; but where Madonnasand angels ordinarily appear, thereshall be all manner of laughing cherubs—oneamongst them disguised as achimney-sweep—with abundance ofsly and humorous devices. Some suchniches or stalls may occasionally beseen in old cathedrals, sharing theeternity of the structure, and drawingthe peculiar regard of the curious andloitering visitor. You are startled tofind a merry device, and a wit by nomeans too reverential, side by sidewith the ideal forms of Catholic piety.You approach to examine the solemn-lookingcarving, and find, perhaps, afox clothed in priestly raiment—teaching,in his own way, divers lessons ofmorality to the bears and geese. Suchvenerable and Gothic drollery suspendsfor a moment, but hardly mars,the serious and sedate feelings whichthe rest of the structure, and the othersculptured figures of the place, aredesigned to excite.
Some such peculiar place amongstour literary worthies seems, as wehave said, to be assigned by generalconsent to Charles Lamb, nor are weabout to gainsay his right to thisposition. He has all the genius thatcould comport with oddity, and allthe oddity that could amalgamate withgenius. With a range of thoughtmost singularly contracted, consideringthe times in which he lived, andthe men by whom he