There is "May Talbot," from Cooper, engraved by I. C. Edwards; The "Death of Keledar," by Warren, also from Cooper, both very fine specimens of art. The Painter's Study," by Chalon; "Hero and Leander;" "The Farewell;" "The Widow;" "Nina;" "The Young Helvetian;" "The May Queen;""The Maid of Damascus," &c., are all charming specimens of the respective artists;-Cook, Phelps, Ensom, Mitchel, Davenport, Goodyear, and Engleheart. The typography is hardly equal to that of the other" Annuals" in neatness. The contributions are by Sir Walter Scott, C. Lamb, H. Coleridge, J. S. Stock, E. Herbert, T. K. Hervey, T. Marshall, E. Moxon, B. Cornwall, H. Smith, Bowring, Miss Mitford, B. Barton, Messrs. Kenney, Howett, Dale, and others, besides the Editor, who has several pieces which partake of his accustomed humour. We had forgotten to mention a magnificent engraving, from Martin, by Smith, "The Temptation on the Mount," in which that artist's power of pictorial composition is finely displayed. We have not time to read the volume fairly, and can but quote the following by the Editor, in his usual merry mood. It is "A Picture of Hero and Leander." Why, lover, why Such a water rover ? Why, lady, why So in love with dipping? Come all over dripping? Why, Cupid, why Why, maiden, why So intrusive standing? This is something of a lighter cast than our quotations from preceding Editors, and we imagine the volume to be a little too much in this vein. Not only, as before observed, is there a great improvement in the London Annuals this year, but a publication of the same class from the Liverpool press, "The Winter's Wreath," has this season so much improved, that it equals its metropolitan rivals in typography, and is uncommonly well got up; its engravings are most of them capital, by Goodall, Smith, Radcliffe, Finden, and other celebrated hands; and the literary part, besides numerous contributors of merit, whose names are not known in the metropolis, numbers Hemans, Montgomery, Mitford, Howitt, the respected Roscoes, Bowring, Delta, Opie, &c. &c. Thus among the novelties of the age, works of art and literature, formerly deemed great efforts in the metropolis, are producing in our provincial towns. What wormwood to the Newcastles, Kenyons, and Eldons of the day, are such innovations upon the good old times." The "Winter's Wreath" is, without exception, the most beautiful provincial publication we have ever seen, worthy the commercial sister and rival of our great metropolis, and entitled, every way, to the public patronage. Besides the foregoing Annuals, we have this year a series of juvenile publications, edited in a very superior manner, announcing a start in literary works for the young, commensurate with the intellectual progress of the age. Of these, three only have yet reached us, namely, "The Juvenile Keepsake," edited by Mr. T. Roscoe; The "Juvenile Souvenir,” by Mrs. A. Watts; and the" Juvenile Forget Me Not," by Mrs. S. C. Hall. The admirable logic taught in old school book-tales, such as that of the "Boys going to swim," who are flogged, some because they can, and others because they cannot swim, is dissipated for ever, and common sense, at length, obtains something like a mastery in tales for youth. These three works are well got up. The principal fault in the "Keepsake," is, that it is too good for the youngest class, and we must therefore divide youth into two periods, to that from the age of six to twelve, as judiciously fixed upon by Mrs. Watts, in her preface, must be devoted her elegant little book, the plates of which are charmingly executed. The contents show how well females and mothers understand the adaptation of ideas to children's capacities. Mrs. Watts's book is excellently fitted to its object. Its contributors number Mrs. Hemans, Hofland, Howitt, Miss Mitford, Mrs. C. Gore, Mrs. Opie, Delta, J. Montgomery, &c. nor is that of Mrs. Hall deficient in fulfilling the pretensions with which it set out; the plates are also very good, and her list of contributors highly respectable in name and talent. We are truly happy to greet two such works, in behalf of the hitherto insulted understandings of children. Mr. T. Roscoe's "Keepsake" is best adapted for youth from the age of twelve to sixteen or eighteen. It contains many pieces, of which far worse have appeared in "Annuals" of much higher assumptions. "The Knight Watching his Armour," "The Deaf Filea," "The Albanian Shepherd," and various other pieces, will be read with great pleasure. The poetry is good also, and we feel no hesitation in saying, that this volume, as a whole, is not only calculated for the intermediate station for which it is intended, but may be perused by those more mature in years and knowledge with high delight. And now, on taking our leave, for this year, of these beautiful publications, we cannot help holding them up as an example of that proud march of mind which the ignorant and bigoted deprecate, but which the man of talent and learning, whatever his creed or party, will, like the present Bishop of London, hail as great and glorious. We do not mean in respect alone to the excellence of the literary efforts they call into exertion, though these are not to be despised, nor to the aid to art which they afford so extensively, but to the incitement they will yield to thousands, whom their very elegancies will entice to read, and study, to the displacement of some frivolous luxury, or childish bauble, and in whom they will awaken thought, and infuse a taste for mental gratification. We recommend the rich to form annually a library of them ALL. And every one, according to his means, to buy one or two of them. All should encourage what is both elegant and entertaining. For the summer walk, or the unoccupied five minutes which so frequently, occur in life, they are admirably adapted as companions, and their crimson and green, or gold bindings, make them ornaments in the boudoir and drawing-room. We trust next year we shall find a further improvement in them, for nothing, in this age, must stand still; and with this hope we take our leave. THE PENENDEN HEATH MEETING. 1 ANXIOUS to witness the great assembly of "the Men of Kent," of which the High Sheriff had called a meeting, (having appointed twelve o'clock upon Friday the 24th for the immense gathering,) I proceeded from Rochester to Maidstone at an early hour. Upon my way, I saw the evidences of prodigious exertion to call the yeomanry together, and from the summit of a hill that surmounts a beautiful valley near Maidstone, I beheld a long array of waggons moving slowly towards the spot which had been fixed by the High Sheriff for the meeting. The morning was peculiarly fine and bright, and had a remnant of " summer's lingering bloom;" and the eye, through the pure air, and from the elevated spot on which I paused to survey the landscape, traversed an immense and glorious prospect. The fertile county of Kent, covered with all the profusion of English luxury, and exhibiting a noble spectacle of agricultural opulence, was before me; under any circumstances the scene would have attracted my attention, but upon the occasion on which I now beheld it, it was accompanied by circumstances which greatly added to its influence, and lent to the beauty of nature a sort of moral picturesque. The whole population of an immense district, seemed to have swarmed from their towns and cottages, and filled the roads and avenues which led to the great place of political rendezIn the distance lay Penenden Heath, and I could perceive that long before the hour appointed by the Sheriff for the meeting, large masses had assembled upon the field, where the struggle between the two contending parties was to be carried on. After looking upon this vous. extraordinary spectacle, I proceeded on my journey. I passed many of the Men of Kent, who were going on foot to the meeting; but the great majority were conveyed in those ponderous teams which are used for the purposes of conveying agricultural produce; and, indeed, "the Men of Kent," who were packed up in those vehicles, seemed almost as unconscious as the ordinary burthens with which their heavy vehicles are laden. The waggons went on in their dull and monotonous rotation, filled with human beings, whose faces presented a vacant blank, in which it was impossible to trace the smallest interest or emotion. They did not exchange a word with each other, but sat in their waggons, with a half sturdy and half fatuitous look of apathy, listening to the sound of the bells which were attached to the horses by which they were drawn, and as careless as those animals of the events in which they were going to take a part. It was easy, however, to perceive, to which faction they belonged; for poles were placed in each of these waggons, with placards attached to them, on which directions were given to the loads of freeholders to vote for their respective proprietors. I expected to have seen injunctions to vote for Emancipation, or for the Constitution, or against Popery and Slavery; these ordinances would, in all likelihood, have been above the comprehension of "the Men of Kent ;" and accordingly the more intelligible words, "vote for Lord Winchilsea," or "vote for Lord Darnley," were inscribed upon the placards. I proceeded to my place of destination, and reached Penenden Heath. It is a gently sloping amphitheatrical declivity, surrounded with gradually ascending elevations of highly cultivated ground, and presenting in the centre a wide space, exceedingly well calculated for the holding of a great popular assembly. On arriving, I found a great multitude assembled at about an hour before the meeting. A large circle was formed, with a number of waggons placed in close junction to each other, and forming an area capable of containing several thousand persons. There was an opening in the spot immediately opposite the Sheriff for the reception of the people, who were pouring into the enclosure and had already formed a dense mass. The waggons were laden with the better class of yeomen, with the gentry at their head. A sort of hustings was raised for the Sheriff and his friends, with chairs in the front, and from this point the waggons branched off in two wings, that on the left of the Sheriff being allotted to the Protestant, and the right having been appropriated to the Catholic party. The waggons bore the names of the several persons to whom they belonged, and were designated as "Lord Winchilsea's," or "Lord Darnley's," or, as The Committee's, and ensigns were displayed from them which indicated the opinions of their respective occupiers. The moment I ascended one of the waggons, where all persons were indiscriminately admitted, I saw that the Protestants, as they called themselves, had had the advantage in preparation, and that they were well arrayed and disciplined. Of this the effects produced by Lord Winchilsea's arrival afforded strong proof; for the moment he entered, there was a simultaneous waving of hats by his party, and the cheering was so well ordered and regulated that it was manifest that every movement of the faction was preconcerted and arranged. The appearance of Lord Darnley, of Lord Radnor, and the other leaders of the Catholic party, was not “ 66 ; hailed with the same concurrence of applause from their not that the latter were not warmly zealous, but that they been disciplined with the same care. I anxiously watched for the coming of Cobbett and of Hunt. I not only desired to see two persons of whom I had heard so much, but to ascertain the extent of their influence upon the public mind. Cobbett, Punderstood, had, before the meeting took place, succeeded in throwing discord into the ranks of the liberal party. He had intimated that he would move a petition against tithes to this Lord Darnley vehemently objected, and asked very reasonably how he could, as a peer of the realm, co-operate in such a proposal. Several others, however, although they greatly disapproved of Cobbett's proposition in the abstract, were disposed to support any expedient which would have the effect of extinguishing the Brunswick faction. It had therefore been decided first, to try whether the Brunswick measure could not be got rid of, without having recourse to any substitute, and in the event of failing in that course, to sustain Cobbett's amendment. Cobbett had dined the preceding day at Maidstone, with about a hundred farmers, and had been very well received. He there gave intimations of his intended proposition against the Church. His friends said that he had devoted great care to his petition, and that he plumed himself upon it. I thought it exceedingly probable that he would succeed in carrying his measure, especially as he had obtained a signal triumph at a meeting connected with the Corn Laws, and borne down the gentry before him. These anticipations had greatly raised my curiosity about this singular person, and I watched the effect which his coming should produce with some solicitude. He at length arrived: upon his entering the enclosure, I heard a cry of " Cobbett, Cobbett !" and turning my eyes to the spot from which the exclamation came, I perceived less sensation than I had expected to find. Some twenty of the lowest class of freeholders made some demonstration of pleasure at his appearance, and followed him as he made his way towards a waggon on the right of the Sheriff. He was dressed in a gray frieze coat, with a red handkerchief, which gave him a very extraordinary aspect, and presented him in contrast with the body of those who occupied the waggons, who, on account of the public mourning, were dressed in black. He seemed in excellent health and spirits, for his cheeks were almost as ruddy as his neckcloth, and set off his white hair, while his eyes sparkled at the anticipation of the victory which he was confident that he should obtain. He seemed to me to mistake the following and acclamation of a few of the rabble for the applauses of the whole meeting. When, however, he ascended the waggon, and stood before the assembly, he ought to have discovered that he did not stand very high in the general favour; for while the circle about him cheered him with rather faint plaudits, the moment his tall but somewhat fantastical figure was exhibited to the Meeting, he was assailed by the Brunswickers with the grossest insults, which, instead of exciting the anger, produced a burst of merriment among the Catholic party. "Down with the old Bone-grubber!" "Oh, Cobbett, have you brought Burdett along with you?" "Where's your gridiron ?" "Will you pay Burdett out of the next crop of Indian corn?" These, and other contumelies, were lavished upon him by a set of fellows who were obviously posted in the Meeting, in order to assail their antagonists and beat them down. Cobbett was so flushed with the certainty of success, and so selfdeluded by his egregious notions of his own importance, that his temper was not at first disturbed, but looking down triumphantly to those immediately about him, and drawing forth a long petition, tald them that he had brought them something that should content them all. I surveyed him attentively at this moment. Cobbett is generally represented as a man of rather a clownish-looking demeanour; and I have read, in some descriptions of him, that he could not, at first view, suggest any notion of his peculiar intellectual powers. I do not at all agree in the opinion. He has certainly a rude and rough bearing, and affects a heedlessness of form, amounting to coarseness and rusticity. But it is only requisite to look at him, in order to see in the expression of his countenance the vigorous mind with which he is endowed. The higher portion of his face is not unlike Sir Walter Scott's, to whom he bears, especially about the brow, a resemblance. His eyes are more vivid than the great author's, while the lower part of his countenance is expressive of fierce and vehement emotions. His attire and aspect certainly suggest, at first view, his early occupations, and the predilections of his later life (for he is more attached to agriculture than to politics); but whoever looks at him narrowly, will see the impress of intellectual superiority upon his countenance, and perceive, under his rude bearing, the predominance of mind. When he first addressed the people, he was in exceedingly good humour; and as he snapped his fingers, and cried out, "Emancipation is all roguery!" the laugh which the recollection of his own devotedness to the Catholic cause created, was echoed by his own merriment, and he seemed to enjoy his political inconsistency as an exceeding good joke. He told the people, that he was well aware that the Sheriff intended to adjourn the Meeting, but that he would stay there, and hold a Meeting himself. Next to Cobbett stood the great leader of the radicals, Mr. Hunt. A reconciliation has been recently effected between them, and they stood together in the front of the same waggon before the people. I was surprised to find in Mr. Hunt, a man of an exceedingly mild and gentle aspect, with a smooth and almost youthful cheek, a bright and pleasant eye, a sweet and urbane smile, and altogether a most gentlemanlike and disarming demeanour. His voice too is exceedingly melodious, and as soft as his manners. This Gracchus of Manchester is utterly unlike the picture which the imagination is apt to form of a tribune of the people; and indeed I do not consider him to possess the external qualifications of a great demagogue, though he is certainly endowed with that plain and simple eloquence which is so peculiarly effective with an English multitude. Near Hunt and Cobbett, the Pylades and Orestes of radicalism, stood Counsellor French, an Irish Catholic barrister, who is now a proselyte among the reformers, but seems to have many of the qualities necessary to constitute an apostle in the cause, and is likely one day to set up for himself. In the waggon next that in which Cobbet, Darrel, and Hunt were placed, sat Mr. Sheil, the Irish demagogue. This gentleman was said, by some people, to have been sent over by the Association; while others asserted, that he had of his own accord embarked in the perilous enterprize of addressing "the Men of Kent." There was a feeling of curiosity, mingled with |